“What about humans?” Fiona asked.
“I don’t know how a human, or even a group of them, could have done it,” Danyon said. “They would have had to subdue the were in human form, and any attempt to restrain him would have caused the were to transform. Once that happened, no human would stand a chance. One swipe of a paw, and the were would literally claw the human’s face off, or rip his heart out.”
“I see what you mean about the unlikelihood of it being a human,” David said. “But humans can be very stupid sometimes. No offense, ladies.”
“None taken,” Fiona said.
“I can just see some drunk yahoo and his buddies suddenly thinking they have superpowers and deciding to add a were-head to their trophy wall back home.” David shrugged. “Not hard to imagine with humans, is it?”
Armand snorted in disgust. “With humans? No. Stupid is as stupid does.”
“Talking about stupid,” Jagger said. “Word has it that some new biker gang rode into town about a week ago. They call themselves BGW.”
“What does that stand for?” Armand asked. “Big, gold watch?”
Jagger grinned. “From what I’ve heard, it’s supposed to stand for Blood, Guts and Women.”
“How original,” Caitlin said, shaking her head.
“They haven’t had any run-ins with the eighth precinct yet, so I don’t have much information on them. I do know, though, that the gang leader’s name is Frank Macina, but the members of his gang call him Big Frank. And with good reason. The guy is six-five and weighs about four hundred pounds. A stereotypical biker, even down to his bald head, which has naked women tattooed all over it.”
“Oh, how tacky,” Armand said.
“The word on the street is they plan to upstage the Bloods and the Crips.”
“Fat chance of that happening,” Ryder said, “The Bs and Cs are two of the most hard-core gangs in America. If this so called BGW gang plans to nudge into their territory, they’d better go armed with Uzies and lots of them.”
“It might not be a bad idea to talk with Macina,” Jagger said. “I could be pointing at shadows here, but it seems a little too coincidental that the murders happened about the same time Big Frank and his gang got here. Might be worth checking out.”
“Something else we may want to check out,” Shauna said. Everyone turned to her, which made her nervous, so she looked at August and kept her focus on him. “Banjo Marks came into the store yesterday.”
“Banjo Marks?” August asked.
“Yes,” David said. “He’s a vamp from an old bayou family who never quite fits in anywhere. Banjo does his own thing and is always high on something. To be honest, I think the kid is some sort of a half-breed and don’t ask me how that’s possible, because I don’t have a clue. I know he’s a vamp because I’ve seen his fangs, and I’ve seen him feed. But I’ve also seen him eat food and sleep so hard at night he’d snore. There is just something really off about the guy. He’s homeless, as far as I know. Walks the streets and begs for loose change.”
“Banjo just needs someone to tend to him, to care about him, that’s all,” Fiona said. “The kid comes into the shop a couple of times a week, and he always looks half starved. I know what you mean about him eating, David, because Banjo does eat and drink whatever I give him, just like a human. When he first started coming to A Little Bit of Magic, I didn’t even know he was a vamp.”
“It would be you to feed tea and cake to a junkie vamp,” Jagger said, the adoration on his face blatant.
“Oh, she’d take in a stray skunk if it crossed our threshold,” Caitlin said. “She’ll mother anything.”
“Now what about this Banjo Marks?” August asked Shauna.
“He came into the store yesterday, acting really weird.”
“Banjo always acts weird,” David said.
“Weirder than usual,” Shauna explained. “Fiona had brought cookies to the shop that morning, and Banjo claimed he smelled them from across the street, and he wanted some. He was creating such havoc in the store, Fiona tried bringing him back into the office, offering to fix him a sandwich, but he refused to go, yelling that he wanted cookies instead. He was really wired, like he’d taken a mega dose of cocaine. Then he fixated on me, sing-songing that he’d trade me a secret for a cookie. When I finally gave him one and he ate it, he started talking about three dead blind mice, no teeth, and something about no big fingernails, and his voice changed when he said it. Sort of low and monotone. Not the chitter talk he’d been doing since he arrived. When I tried to get more information out of him, he ran out of the store. In Banjo’s jumbled up way, I think he was trying to tell me that he knew about three dead weres and that their claws and fangs had been removed. I only knew about two of the weres then. How could he have possibly known all that?” Shauna wanted to tell them more—elaborate about Banjo’s heightened sense of smell, about Banjo and Mattress Mattie’s fight, and how she’d dented the light pole with a fist. But she didn’t. She couldn’t. Not without revealing what August had told her and Danyon about the metaphysical powers in were claws and fangs.
“I don’t think you can trust anything Banjo says or does,” David said. “Half the time he can’t even remember his name.”
“You may not be able to trust him,” Armand said, with a flap of a hand, “but I’d love to have a little of whatever he was on right about now. I’ve been so exhausted lately. Probably becoming anemic. I could use the energy boost.”
Caitlin glared at him, and Armand tsked and turned away.
“All I ask,” August said, “is that you stay alert, keep an eye out for unusual activity, whether it is within your circle or outside of it, human or some other subculture. Nuit du Dommage is tomorrow, and all of you know how crazy it gets during that time. Because of the holiday, many were will be working longer hours, especially at night. That concerns me. With so many tourists in the city, it will be difficult to discern the unusual from the drunken norm.”
“Eyes wide open here,” David said.
Armand nodded. “Same for me.”
“I know you probably have an alpha who’s already stationed weres to keep watch on the West Bank, August,” Jagger said. “But I have a friend on the force there. Really sharp guy. I’ll ride over and talk to him. Find out if he’s seen or heard anything.”
“Are you talking about Luke Simms?” David asked.
“Yes.”
“You’re right. Luke’s a very smart vamp. Not much gets past him.”
“If you’re taking the West Bank, then I’ll take a couple of shifters with me Lakeside,” Ryder said. “We’ll check out that area, then head north.”
“I’ve got the Quarter covered,” Danyon said. “I want to find this Banjo character and the leader of that new biker gang, Big Frank.”
“You may want to let me take Frank,” Jagger said.
“His gang might not have a lot of muscle yet, but that can make them twice as dangerous. They still have to prove to everyone how tough they are, you know? Don’t get me wrong, I’m in no way saying you can’t handle Frank. I’m just thinking that if he sees a badge, it might temper his mood.”
Danyon smiled, but the gesture looked more menacing than pleasing. “I’m wolven, remember? I think I can handle Big Frank.”
“I’ll cover the Quarter with you,” Shauna said.
Danyon’s head snapped back as though he’d been shot. “No, you won’t.”
“And I’ll go with you Lakeside,” Caitlin said to Ryder.
“No, you’re not,” Ryder said adamantly. “I know you and Shauna want to help, but it’s crazy enough out there. The last thing I need is to be worrying about you getting hurt, while I’m trying to dig up a killer.”
“I agree with Ryder and Danyon,” Jagger said. “I think—”
“You may want to think again,” Fiona said. “Because I’m going with you to the West Bank. I know I don’t have to remind you that the three of us are Keepers. We protect and look after our race.”
Jagger shook his head, held up a finger. “But—”
“No buts,” Fiona said. “The end.”
After ten more minutes of round table debates, the men finally conceded—as Shauna suspected they would.
When they finally adjourned, it was with the understanding that everyone would meet back in the conference room the morning after Nuit du Dommage so they could compare notes and share any new evidence.
As they stepped out of August’s office complex and onto the street, Danyon took Shauna by the arm and pulled her closer to him.
“I know toward the end there I said it was okay for you to come with me, but I really don’t want you to,” he whispered. “There’ll be so many people out tonight. If I end up chasing a lead, I could lose you in the crowd. Shauna, I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt.”
She leaned against him and whispered back, “I promise, I won’t get hurt.”
He sighed heavily, and Shauna closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, taking in the air he had exhaled. She felt her body flush with heat. The response seemed inappropriate, considering the seriousness of the matter they had met about only moments ago. But she couldn’t help it. She was no more in control of her body’s reaction to Danyon, than she was to the cloud cover overhead.
He touched her cheek, then lifted her chin gently, until her eyes met his. Under his gaze, every molecule inside her sprang to life.
And, as was always the case when Danyon touched her, the rest of the world simply vanished.
She only wished when it returned again, it would be sans a murderer.
Chapter 13
Shauna actually felt hope as she stepped into the shower.
