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“Right, those murders. The coroner thinks a shifter is at fault, and he specified that he suspects a wolf shifter from my Pack. I knoweverymember of the pack. As the Alpha—their King—nothing gets by me. And I know that no one in my Pack is guilty. But the sheriff has set her sights on one of my lieutenants. Elroy may be hotheaded, and he goes off half-cocked sometimes, but he’s not a killer.” Faron shook his head. “He’s a handful, but I’ve known him since he was a pup. He might get in a few brawls, but he’d never hurt a woman, let alone kill her. The same goes for the man.”
I sat back, wondering what I could do. “All right, but why did you come to me? How can my magic help you?”
“Witches can talk to ghosts, and they can also see through deception, right?” Faron sounded so sincere that I realized he truly believed both things.
“Some of us can talk to ghosts, yes, but not all. As for seeing through deception…if I had that power, I’d be rich. But…let me get this straight. What you’re asking me to do is to see if I can find Olivia’s ghost and ask her who killed her? I’m sure if the cops had that capability, they’d have the killer in hand, right?” I didn’t want to burst his bubble, but it only made sense that the cops would have already thought to bring in somebody who could hunt down the ghosts and talk to them about it. And if theyhad, maybe that’s why they had their sights set on Elroy.
“I suppose,” he said. “But would they actually do that? Testimony from spirits isn’t admissible in court. Why bother if you can’t prove to the judge who did it?” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Honestly? To give them an idea of which direction to look. If they think they know who their suspect is, then they could search for the actual evidence to support the suspicion. Did you ask Sheriff Parker if she’s talked to someone about that?” I wasn’t sure that I wanted to insert myself in a murder case, regardless of how small of a part I’d play.
He shook his head. “No. The sheriff doesn’t like me. Her eye’s always glued on my community. The local Puma Pride doesn’t care for the Olympic Wolf Pack.”
From hanging out with Bree so long, I knew that the puma shifters tended to view the wolf shifters as a bunch of thugs. The feline shifters saw themselves as more intelligent than most of the other shifters. It was a genetically based bias more than anything, and though science had proven the opinion wrong, on a cultural basis the belief was widely prevalent.
“Well, I can’t argue with you there. I do know the bias exists,” I said.
“Right. So how can I be sure they’re examining all angles? I know Parker’s a decent person, but what if she’s letting her instinctive dislike for my kind affect her? She might not even realize what she’s doing.”
Faron made another good point. “All right, I’ll call the sheriff and ask if they’ve had someone in to search for the victims’ ghosts.” I stared at him. He really was a good-looking guy, and he seemed to be an alpha without being an asshole, like I had first thought.
Leaning back against the sofa cushion, he said, “Thank you. I appreciate any help you can give us.” He glanced around the room. “This is nice. I’ve never been here, but I pass by on my way to my sister’s house.”
“Doesn’t she live out in your compound? I thought all wolf shifters lived in one neighborhood.”
“Not all. Those belonging to other packs don’t live out in the Shifter Village. Those from my Pack do, for the most part, but there are exceptions. My sister married outside of the Pack, and her husband didn’t want to live by the rules of the Village.”
“He’s not a shifter?”
“No, he’s not. He’s human. They live about five miles up the road from here, near Quilcene. They have three children—fraternal triplets. Matt and Sue have been married for ten years. I go out to visit and play with my nephews every couple weeks. They’re nine years old.”
I wasn’t sure how the genetics worked. “Are the children shifters? Can you be half-shifter? You can be half-Witch and inherit some or all of the magical genes.”
“No, actually. Or rather, it’s very rare for someone to be half-shifter. Two of the boys inherited the shifter genes, and I’m helping them learn how to hunt. The third boy—Ben—is human like his father. But he got the brains. He’s a genius and the school has skipped him ahead so that he’s going to start high school this fall.” Faron stopped, as though suddenly aware he’d been talking up a storm. The pride and love he had for his nephews was evident with every word he said.
I smiled, ducking my head so he wouldn’t think I was laughing at him. “That’s pretty impressive. What’s your sister like?”
Faron shrugged. “Sue always has been the rogue of the family. She’s still a member of the Pack, but only because I’m her brother. When she fell in love with Matt, our parents were pretty pissed about it. But since they live in a different state, and I’ve been the Alpha for a while, they left it to me to deal with it. They’re slowly coming around, though, the longer that Sue and Matt are together and they see that he treats her like a queen.”
It made me sad to hear that his parents had turned their back on their daughter. But in some shifter communities, it was tradition, and tradition was hard to buck. At least it sounded like they were open to change.
“I’m glad you’re still friends with her,” I said, not knowing why I cared.
Faron studied me for a moment. “Yeah, me too.”
“Listen,” I said. “About the sheriff. Doesn’t Elroy have an alibi? Why is the sheriff looking at him as a suspect?”
That elicited a response. Faron burst out cursing. “Fucking idiot likes to run off alone in his wolf form without telling anybody. He was out gallivanting around, and he didn’t tell anybody where he was going, or that he was evengoing to goout for a run. His girlfriend isn’t any smarter, and she wasn’t with him to provide an alibi. My Pack is trained to tell the truth, Elphyra. They know better than to lie to me.”
He leaned forward, clasping his hands. “Truth is, I’m afraid that Daisy could railroad Elroy. She doesn’t care for us, and he has no alibi. But he doesn’t have any motive either. I’ve asked them to perform DNA tests, to see if there’s any of his DNA at the scenes. I’mthatconfident he’s innocent.”
“If he’s so chaotic, why is he one of your lieutenants? I’m not sure how rank works in the wolf shifter packs, but I wouldn’t think to put someone who’s that erratic in a position of power.” I glanced at the grandfather clock. It was going on quarter of one. It wasn’t like I had any pressing appointments, but this had been an awkward meeting.
Faron cleared his throat. “He’s good at his work and he’s loyal.” He paused again, then added, “Okay, I’m going to ask even though it’s none of my business. Where did you get the shiner? Who the hell hit you? If you need me to, I’ll go after him. Was it Bran?”
Startled by the suggestion, I stiffened. “Bran? No! He wouldn’t… No, my black eye’s the result of being a good Samaritan. I’m working on a haunting, and the husband’s possessed. He decked me. Except it wasn’t him—it’s the entity who’s possessing him.”
“Bran’s not as polite as you might think,” Faron said. “He’s been involved in more than one altercation with a couple of the men in my Pack. But as for the man who hit you—you said he’s possessed?”
