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When I reach the clinic, Dr. Bea is packing small brown bottles into shelves. She turns as I walk in.
“You heard,” I say. There’s no mistaking the look she’s giving me.
“Barrett, I’m so sorry. I warned you that—”
“She didn’t do it.” I close the distance between us.
“Honey, I know you want to believe that, but you have to be realistic.” She puts her hand on my arm. “If she’s too far gone…”
“She’s not gone. She’s there. And she didn’t do it.” I hold up the scrap of linen. “I have proof.”
“What is this?” The doctor steps closer.
“Blood. It was on her this morning. Everyone assumes it’s from the human who was killed. It’s not. This is wolf blood.”
Dr. Bea cocks her head in thought and reaches for the cloth. She doesn’t say anything.
“Can you test it somehow? Run DNA or something?” I’m grasping at straws, but it’s all that I have.
She purses her lips. “DNA tests will take a bit of time. But I can confirm whether or not it’s human. It won’t take long. That should give you a starting point.”
“I’ll take it.” I’m eager.
“First prize would be to pinpoint the source.” She remains thoughtful. “I’d like to run it against the database I have here. I’ve logged in blood samples for everyone in Steel Lakes. If it’s someone from here…”
“It can’t be.” I don’t want it to be. Because I don’t know what would be worse – knowing that Cedara attacked some random human…or one of our own.
“It’s not anyone from Steel Lakes,” a voice interrupts us. Edirn is standing in the doorway. “It’s Leadmills.”
“Leadmills?” I’m confused.
“That’s a Leadmills wolf. I recognize it.” Edirn’s jaw sets. “I thought I picked it up when you showed it to us earlier. Just didn’t realize it at the time.”
“How can you be sure?” asks the doctor.
“It’s one of the fuckers who beat the shit out of me before I came here. It’s not the kind of thing you forget in a hurry.”
“They worked you over pretty well,” the doctor says. She’d know better than anyone. She’d been afraid Edirn wouldn’t pull through after he’d been brought here, bloodied and broken. They say no good deed goes unpunished, and the man certainly got more than his share of punishment for helping our team get Savannah out of that hellhole.
“So, what does that mean?” I rub the back of my neck where a knot is forming.
“It means she had to have been outside Steel Lakes, Barrett,” the other male says. “Which isn’t great. But if she was out there fighting off someone from Leadmills, there’s a good chance she wasn’t killing humans.”
“Fuck.” I don’t like either option at all.
“What do you intend to do about this, Barrett?”
I stare at the doctor. “I need to find out more. Now. She can’t stay in there much longer. I won’t allow it. It’ll push her over the edge.” I’m so afraid that she’s already too close.
“How can I help?” the doctor asks.
“Can you go to her? I may be barred, but as our doctor, you’ll have access.”
“To do what?”
I consider this for a moment. “Could you give her another shot of the antidote?”
Dr. Bea chews her lip. “I don’t know, Barrett. We don’t know how safe that stuff is. It might make things worse.”
