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11
It was another three days before Hamish finally agreed to send me home with Maria. I’d regained my ability to walk and move around. All that remained of my injuries were a series of evenly spaced bruises lining both sides of my ribcage.
Maria got me home, got me situated on her couch, after a lengthy argument about how I wouldn’t take her bed from her, and then she fell asleep on the recliner beside me.
Practically vibrating, I offered God a silent thank you and stole an old piece of mail from the coffee table. I wrote a quick note about where she could find me and snuck out the front door as quietly as I could. I winced at the loud roar of my car’s engine and then pulled out of the driveway, driving slowly through the town until I was parked outside Annie’s front gate.
Jamie had mentioned he lived somewhere across the street, but I couldn’t be sure which house. I’d never seen him come or go from one of them. Staring down the line they even looked the same. All white ranch houses with colored shutters and a small porch. Like someone had hit copy and paste one too many times.
Getting out of the car, I shuffled across the road onto the sidewalk and sniffed the air. In wolf form my sense of smell would’ve been better, but as a human I could still pick up faint traces of a rogue walking thunderstorm moving around in the distance.
I followed the aroma to the house directly opposite Annie’s and padded my way up to the front door, weakly climbing the three stairs onto the porch and lifted my hand to knock.
Jamie opened the door before my fingers connected with the wood. He had a phone pressed to his ear. He glared at me and sighed. “Yeah, Maria. She’s here. I’ll bring her back soon.”
I heard my best friend snap something at him from the other end of the line, and he jerked the phone from his ear hanging up on her.
I smiled sheepishly. “Hi.”
“Hi,” He nodded. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”
“Yeah well,” I turned my eyes to the ground and wrung my fingers. “When someone tells you that your grandmother’s death wasn’t what everyone said it was, it gets a little hard to sit still.”
He stepped back pushing his door open wide. “Come on in. If you’re not concerned with your health, I’m not going to lecture you about it.”
I rolled my eyes and walked past him. “I appreciate that. Maria’s already gonna give me an earful when I get back there.”
Jamie chuckled, and followed behind me, as I took in the layout of his house. Immediately inside the door the room opened up into a decent sized living room. There was a small door a few feet to my right, and then on the other side of the living room along the left side of the hallway sat a set of French doors, and the side of a round table shoved into the corner.
“This way,” Jamie said, pointing me into the first room. He walked in ahead of me and my jaw dropped. Where the living room and hallway had been whitewashed, his office walls were dark blue, at least the parts I could see were. Most of the space was covered in bookshelves. He had a desk tucked under the window, and a glass white board tucked into the corner.
“You know,” I said, running my fingers over a few of the books. “I’d never have pictured you as a reader.”
He shrugged. “It passes the time.”
“Very true.” I nodded and turned to face him. “So, what makes you think Annie wasn’t driven off the road?”
His jaw dropped and he turned to look at his desk. “Shewasdriven off the road, but there are a few things about the scene that don’t scream that she had an accident.”
“And what things are those?” I asked walking closer.
“Here,” he stepped back. “Sit. Please. I don’t want you hurting yourself while you’re here. I don’t need Maria trying to kill me.”
I arched an eyebrow, and he tapped the top of his desk chair. He looked so uncomfortable having me in his space. Part of me wanted to stay upright, and enjoy it, but the other part recognized the burning spreading through my ribs as I sign I probably did need to sit down.
Sinking into the chair, I was instantly enveloped in his scent. It sent a chill over my skin, and he pulled over a footstool from the corner to perch on.
“I have the photos up on my computer, just click the button,” he said. “And brace yourself.”
My fingers hesitated over the touchpad. “Is she in the pictures?”
“No, I wasn’t there when they pulled her from the water,” he said. “I only got images of the scene after I got back into town.”
“Backinto town?”
“Adrian sent me down South to check on the Crescent packs, and ensure the peace is still…I don’t know. It was really pointless.” He shrugged.
“Was it?” I sighed, pursing my lips. “Or was it convenient?”
