been the first time."
Lukas slowly approached the desk. He picked up one of the pictures. I saw him study it. His face was passive, but I knew that his mind was whirling at a million miles a minute. I wasn't sure how he could be so calm.
"You have to have known it was Markus once you found him," Lukas said.
That made me think of something that I remembered from that night. "I heard you make the call to Magna on the radio. You said you weren't sure, but you thought it might be Markus Kasper." As I saw Billy's eyes raised toward me, I thought about what I just said. Then the realization dawned in my mind. "You did know that it was Markus. But you didn't say that because no one here knows that you're part of the clan. Nobody knows you’re a shifter."
"Markus thought that it was best, and the sheriff agreed. They needed eyes and ears inside the department, so he gave me the task."
"Why would the sheriff think that he needed someone on the inside that nobody knew about?" Lukas asked.
"Apparently a couple years ago there were some things that were leaked from the department to the press," Billy said. "I didn't really ask a lot about it. To be honest, I was looking to get out of my clan. This seemed like the right fit."
Lukas seemed satisfied with Billy’s response. "Okay, so tell me the rest," Lukas said.
Billy hesitated. "I went around to the front of the car, and I saw Markus lying there on the side of the road. Somehow he had managed to drag himself from wherever he got caught in the trap to the road. I don't know how I didn't feel him there to be honest. It was as if he was so close to death that he couldn't make the connection anymore. He should've been able to call out for someone. He should've been able to let someone know where he was. But all of that was gone. It could have been because he hit his head when he went down, or because he had almost bled out by that point. In any case, I could tell that he was in a lot of pain. I didn't try to move him, and so I put the call for help."
"Did he recognize you? Did he say anything?" I could tell that Lukas had a million questions, but he wasn't asking the right ones. At least, those weren’t the right ones yet. Asking questions was part of my job.
"What else did you see? Are you sure there wasn't anyone else out there in the dark?" I asked.
"I had my gun drawn, but there wasn't anyone else nearby. I let my senses search the air for another’s scent, and I listened for any sounds of movement in the woods. Honestly, though, all I could think about was Markus. I knelt down beside him, and all I could see was blood. I knew it was bad, real bad. I just kept thinking that the ambulance had to get there. It was right before the Summit, and we couldn't afford to lose Markus. Everything rested on him being able to close this peace treaty with Lopers. It was a freak accident at the worst time. I couldn’t help but be a little pissed at him too. Going out running alone seemed reckless and stupid."
"There is no way that Markus would've been out there if he didn’t have a reason," Lukas said venomously. "You're missing something. There has to be something in that file. The sheriff would have known why Markus was out there." He started to push the papers around looking for something, even though I was sure he had no idea what he was looking for either.
Billy pushed his seat back from the desk. He seemed to be at a loss. "You can look through the paperwork as much as you want to, Lukas. Whatever you're looking for isn't there. There was nothing about this that was suspicious. It was a freak accident. It could've happened to any one of us."
Lukas's fist slammed down on the desk. "But it didn't! It happened to Markus!” His hand landed on one of the pictures. He pulled it closer to him. I saw his forehead wrinkle as he looked at the picture. He pointed. "What's that?"
Billy and I pushed forward in our chairs to take a closer look at whatever Lukas was pointing at. I couldn't
Lukas slowly approached the desk. He picked up one of the pictures. I saw him study it. His face was passive, but I knew that his mind was whirling at a million miles a minute. I wasn't sure how he could be so calm.
"You have to have known it was Markus once you found him," Lukas said.
That made me think of something that I remembered from that night. "I heard you make the call to Magna on the radio. You said you weren't sure, but you thought it might be Markus Kasper." As I saw Billy's eyes raised toward me, I thought about what I just said. Then the realization dawned in my mind. "You did know that it was Markus. But you didn't say that because no one here knows that you're part of the clan. Nobody knows you’re a shifter."
"Markus thought that it was best, and the sheriff agreed. They needed eyes and ears inside the department, so he gave me the task."
"Why would the sheriff think that he needed someone on the inside that nobody knew about?" Lukas asked.
"Apparently a couple years ago there were some things that were leaked from the department to the press," Billy said. "I didn't really ask a lot about it. To be honest, I was looking to get out of my clan. This seemed like the right fit."
Lukas seemed satisfied with Billy’s response. "Okay, so tell me the rest," Lukas said.
Billy hesitated. "I went around to the front of the car, and I saw Markus lying there on the side of the road. Somehow he had managed to drag himself from wherever he got caught in the trap to the road. I don't know how I didn't feel him there to be honest. It was as if he was so close to death that he couldn't make the connection anymore. He should've been able to call out for someone. He should've been able to let someone know where he was. But all of that was gone. It could have been because he hit his head when he went down, or because he had almost bled out by that point. In any case, I could tell that he was in a lot of pain. I didn't try to move him, and so I put the call for help."
"Did he recognize you? Did he say anything?" I could tell that Lukas had a million questions, but he wasn't asking the right ones. At least, those weren’t the right ones yet. Asking questions was part of my job.
"What else did you see? Are you sure there wasn't anyone else out there in the dark?" I asked.
"I had my gun drawn, but there wasn't anyone else nearby. I let my senses search the air for another’s scent, and I listened for any sounds of movement in the woods. Honestly, though, all I could think about was Markus. I knelt down beside him, and all I could see was blood. I knew it was bad, real bad. I just kept thinking that the ambulance had to get there. It was right before the Summit, and we couldn't afford to lose Markus. Everything rested on him being able to close this peace treaty with Lopers. It was a freak accident at the worst time. I couldn’t help but be a little pissed at him too. Going out running alone seemed reckless and stupid."
"There is no way that Markus would've been out there if he didn’t have a reason," Lukas said venomously. "You're missing something. There has to be something in that file. The sheriff would have known why Markus was out there." He started to push the papers around looking for something, even though I was sure he had no idea what he was looking for either.
Billy pushed his seat back from the desk. He seemed to be at a loss. "You can look through the paperwork as much as you want to, Lukas. Whatever you're looking for isn't there. There was nothing about this that was suspicious. It was a freak accident. It could've happened to any one of us."
Lukas's fist slammed down on the desk. "But it didn't! It happened to Markus!” His hand landed on one of the pictures. He pulled it closer to him. I saw his forehead wrinkle as he looked at the picture. He pointed. "What's that?"
Billy and I pushed forward in our chairs to take a closer look at whatever Lukas was pointing at. I couldn't
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