Am I really having this ridiculous conversation?
Sally chuckled. “I know all about that, Sheriff. Did you forget I’m a hedgehog? We’re small enough to remain unseen when we tend to hang out in the woods in shifted form.”
She had to be talking about the night Floyd came to Vincent’s cabin. “You were there that night?”
“I was just another pair of eyes hidden in the trees. You, Lasco, Floyd, and his pack had a lot of observers, mostly out of curiosity. By the way, nice work with the magic, unicorn.”
I gaped at her.
She leaned over and bumped my side with hers. “Relax, Sheriff. I’ve known you were a shifter from our first meeting. I didn’t know what form you’d take, and it was a nice surprise when you took unicorn form that night. I thought unicorns were extinct. No one I know has ever seen one or even heard about a living one.”
I shook my head to clear it. “This is all hard to swallow, Sally, so forgive me for being surprised. What else? Specifically, what do you know about werewolves? I mean, they seem to be involved in not only Buck’s murder but this one too.”
She shrugged. “I’ve known about werewolves living near—and doing business in—Prosper Woods ever since my husband moved us here years back. Werewolf packs don’t get along with people too well. They are an unpredictable violent breed of shifters for the most part. In fact, Greg Brown is the only one I’ve ever known who isn’t a total bastard. They don’t consider themselves shifters anyway. They think they’re better than the rest of us…a better breed.”
“I suppose that makes some sense. Floyd is a particular bastard.” Something dawned on me. “You knew who killed Buck Walters out in the woods, didn’t you?”
She nodded. “I could smell the werewolves. I knew Floyd’s enforcers were the ones responsible for Buck Walters’ demise because their scent was all over the crime scene. And, as soon as I knew that there was a vamp in town, I predicted things were going to get dicey with Floyd. He’s had a grudge against vampires and made them out to be the worst of all the supes. I think it’s one of the ways he keeps his pack so loyal. He makes them think they have a dangerous enemy and that may be, but so far, his own pack has been responsible for the mayhem. Not a lone vampire who doesn’t seem the least bit aggressive.”
“Vincent just wants to be left alone.” I sighed. “Sally, you let me believe you knew nothing about Buck’s murder or the warning it was for Vincent to get out of town,” I said. I was disappointed that she hadn’t trusted me with this. “Why didn’t you say something?”
She sighed, and then resumed her careful steps toward Sheriff Willis’ final resting place. I walked beside her as the Geiger counter continued to click slowly in that steady low beat.
She shrugged. “When we discovered Buck’s dismemberment, I knew you didn’t know you were a shifter yet. You didn’t walk around trying to pick up any scents, observing the crime scene like an animal would. I watched you closely, Sheriff. Why would I say anything? It wasn’t until that night at Vincent’s cabin that you figured out who you were and what you were capable of. There was no reason for me to point it out to you before that time. You wouldn’t have believed it until you actually experienced it anyway.”
“You knew that I was involved with the new vampire before that confrontation?”
Sally nodded. “I smelled him on you when you met me out at Buck Walters’ murder scene, Sheriff. And to be honest, I’d heard rumors about a vampire moving in, but I hadn’t been sure he was actually here until I caught his scent on you. The Prosper Woods gossip chain sometimes gets it wrong, so I wasn’t at all certain until then.”
“Christ,” I growled. “I wish you would have at least said something after I shifted that first time. You knew I was aware of paranormal creatures, so it’s strange that you didn’t tell me about the werewolves who killed Walters. It’s been two weeks. Why haven’t you said anything until now?”
Sally sighed. “Look, I know this is all new to you and I know you’re still working on focusing your powers, but I didn’t know whether you were really a good guy or one of the bad ones. I mean, I figured you were one of the good ones when you dispatched Floyd and his pack without killing any of them.”
I almost choked.
She stared at me with a little smile on her face. “I told you I was in the trees that night, watching.”
This was almost too much to take. “I guess all shifters in town know about me and what I am—I assume there are a lot more shifters in Prosper Woods, right?”
Sally chuckled, sounding relieved at the change of subject. “There’s a lot of us. You just met one of them.”
I stopped and turned to look at her. “Who, Dave?”
She shook her head and gave me a little smile. “No, Dave’s human. I’m talking about Tico Mendez, the kid. He’s Ricky Mendez’s brother. And Brady comes from a shifter family too.”
I pursed my lips, trying to remember the name. Nothing came to mind. “Ricky is who now?”
“The pimply mechanic who’s a whiz with cars. He runs the gas station and is a damned good mechanic when you need one.”
“Huh, and…they’re what kind of shifters?”
“Rabbit,” Sally said with a smile. “The Mendez family is the largest in town. Ricky’s mom has ten kids.”
I chuckled. “So, it’s no joke to say rabbit shifters breed like bunnies, huh?”
She laughed. “Yes, and they’re a
