Page 14 of Patrick’s Seduction

“No, that can’t be,” Patrick said, shaking his head. “You can’t tell me that an animal attacks a human with such precision that it rips only the heart out and leaves all other organs intact.”

“I’m with Patrick,” Nicholas said. “Could it be that a wild animal came upon the dead body and that’s how the wounds got contaminated with animal hair?”

Buffy rolled her eyes and huffed. Clearly, she didn’t like her findings being questioned.

“If I’d only found hairs in the defensive wounds and the open chest wound, I’d be inclined to agree with you. But hair doesn’t get stuck deep beneath the fingernails, unless the victim gripped his attacker. Ergo, our vic was alive when he came in contact with the animal.”

Patrick stood there, stunned and silent for a moment, just like Benjamin and Nicholas. They exchanged surprised looks. “And you’re sure it’s animal hair?”

“Absolutely.”

“Any chance you can narrow it down to a specific animal?”

“Not yet. I’m still going through samples, but my best guess at the moment is that it’s either a coyote or a mountain lion. Those are really the only kinds of wild animals in San Francisco.”

“A mountain lion? In the city?” Benjamin asked.

“A couple of them were spotted in Golden Gate Park last month,” Buffy claimed. “And there are plenty of coyotes in the city. Buena Vista Park has a den somewhere. That’s why people avoid walking their dogs there after sundown. But as I said, I haven’t found a match to a specific species yet. It could also be a rabid dog.”

Slowly, Patrick nodded. “Good work, Buffy.” Then he turned to his two colleagues. “That complicates our investigation. Assuming that a wild animal doesn’t just go for the heart without chowing down on anything else, there’s the possibility that somebody attacked our victim and then made it look like an animal attack.”

Buffy shrugged. “If that’s what you wanna go with.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to discount your findings, Buffy, you’re doing an exceptional job,” Patrick said putting his hand on her forearm. “But if you’re right, this whole thing is going to be so much harder to solve.”

She nodded in agreement, accepting his apology.

He turned back to Benjamin and Nicholas. “Find out if there have been any other so-called animal attacks in San Francisco, down the Peninsula, on the East Bay, and in Marin County. I want to see whether these attacks have a common denominator. Maybe it’ll shed a light on what’s really going on here.”

Benjamin nodded. “Consider it done. What about the victim himself? Since we know he’s one of the jewelers in town for the convention, do we know if he had any enemies?”

“I’ve already asked Ethan and Damian to make inquiries,” Patrick replied. “They are on security detail at the convention.” He glanced back at Buffy. “Call me when you’ve identified the hair sample.”

“I’m on it.”

Patrick acknowledged her reply with a nod, his mind working overtime. Who had the skill to use a wild animal to make it look like this had been an animal attack and not cold-blooded murder by a person, be it human, vampire, or any other supernatural species? How had the perp done it and why?

9

Standing in her darkened bedroom, Fallon stared out of the window, looking over the rooftops of the neighboring houses. The moon was not quite full yet, but its light was nevertheless enough for her to make out a person with their dog walking in the narrow alley behind the apartment building that connected to a small neighborhood park, even though no streetlights illuminated the path.

The fog from earlier in the day had lifted, and the night was clear. Despite the comfortable temperature in her flat, she shivered and wrapped her arms around her torso. After leaving Scanguards, she’d returned to the lab for an hour to check on one of her ongoing experiments, making sure everything was in order. She could have taken the bus home, but the closest bus stop was three blocks from her apartment building, and she was too scared to walk those blocks on her own in the dark. Therefore, she’d taken an Uber home. She’d asked the driver to wait until she was inside the building, giving him a tip in cash, and he’d complied.

It had made her feel somewhat safer. Not that anything could truly dispel the fear that sat deep in her bones, anchored there, unwilling and unable to leave her body. Would she ever feel truly safe again? What would it take for Cameron to leave her in peace once and for all? What could anybody do to stop him from stalking her, from threatening her?

Still shivering, Fallon walked into her brightly lit kitchen. Maybe a cup of herbal tea would make her feel better. She reached for the kettle to fill it with water when her eyes fell on the bottle of red wine tucked into the corner next to the toaster. Maybe a glass of wine would calm her down better so she would be able to sleep for a few hours. She placed the kettle back on the counter without filling it, and instead poured herself a glass of wine.

She took a sip, inhaling the rich aroma, tasting its bouquet, a mixture of cherries and chocolate. Yes, this would help. She took her glass and walked into the living room, where she switched on only one standing lamp, keeping the lights subdued, and took a seat on the sofa. She leaned back and rested her bare feet on the coffee table, closing her eyes.

Fallon breathed evenly, listening to her heartbeat, willing it to slow so that a calmness could descend on her. She’d always meditated when she’d been in medical school and during her residency, combatting the stress and the long hours of work. It had always helped her feel refreshed and ready to face her next challenge. But tonight, she couldn’t get into it. Her thoughts drifted off every few seconds to focus on her problems. She wanted her normal life back, the way it had been before she’d met Cameron.

She’d been content, dedicated to her research, and had enjoyed spending time with her colleagues. She’d moved from Boston to San Francisco for her fellowship and had been lucky to be offered a position to stay on as a researcher. Her future looked promising, and everything had been perfect.

If only she’d never gone to that bar in Cow Hollow, where she’d waited for a girlfriend who’d called last minute only to tell her that there’d been an emergency with one of her patients. Fallon had already ordered a drink, and stayed to finish it, when Cameron had come to the bar and started flirting with her. If only she’d left, leaving the drink on the bar, she would have never met him. But there was no such thing as a do-over.

Fallon gave up on trying to meditate and instead, drank more of the red wine until the glass was empty. She was about to set the empty glass back on the coffee table when the shrill sound of the doorbell spooked her and almost made her lose her grip on the glass. She shot up from the sofa, her pulse rising, adrenaline shooting through her veins. Fear instantly gripped her by the throat, making her gasp for air.

Who was at the door? Was it Cameron? Fuck! With the living room windows facing the street, anybody from below could see that the light was on, even though they couldn’t see her. Who else but Cameron would dare show up at her doorstep so late? She glanced at the clock over the TV. It was close to ten p.m.