Romeo
Sally and Precious got to the station at just about the same time that morning. I was rereading Sheriff Willis’ autopsy report and looking at the crime scene photos Sally had emailed me from her digital camera. The only thing that stood out in the evidence we’d collected was the fact that he’d died of natural causes and that there was no evidence pointing to how the hell the body got in there.
“Good morning,” Sally said.
I looked up, seeing her standing in the doorway holding a cup of coffee. I smiled and held out a hand to a chair in front of my desk.
“Hey there! Good morning, Sally. Have a seat.”
She moved over and plopped her round butt into one of the padded chairs in front of my metal desk. I slid the autopsy report across the desk to her.
“Got the autopsy report for Sheriff Willis.”
She looked down at the closed folder, pulling it toward her. “Cause of death?” she asked before even opening it.
“Can you believe it? Natural causes,” I said.
Her jaw dropped open as she flipped the file open. I watched as she looked over the file, reading the autopsy report from start to finish and examining Doctor Willoughby’s sketches and x-rays in excruciating detail. She looked up and closed the file after several minutes before leaning back in her chair.
“How in the hell did he get in that mine? I mean, fine, let’s say he was depressed or whatever…what motive could he have had for slinking off to die alone in that mine? He could have just eaten a bullet from his own gun. Not only that, did he just walk in on his own? Neither of us saw footprints other than those of the kids. I smelled werewolves but there were no claw marks anywhere on the body. He wasn’t drugged and there was no obvious sign he’d a disease or illness. What the hell is going on here?”
I met her deep frown with one of my own. “Exactly. That’s what I was wondering.” I stopped for a second. I did have one thought and it had been percolating all morning, especially after talking to Vincent about the drive-in. “Okay, this is going to sound so fucking weird, I’m just going to lay it out there. Just promise not to shoot me until you hear me out.”
She smirked, lacing her fingers together over her belly. “Fine. Give me your worst, Sheriff.”
“Okay, after the dustup at the saloon last night…” I began.
“Dustup?” she asked, interrupting me.
“Oh, shoot. I forgot. I was at the saloon last night with Vincent. Sam sat down with us along with Sid, the witch—”
“Hang on.” Sally sat forward. “Sid the witch? And who’s Sam?’
I snorted. “Let me back up. I forget that just because I’m new in town, doesn’t mean everyone here knows who everyone is.”
“Right. So, you were saying, Sid the witch? Sid Farrell is a witch?”
I frowned. “Didn’t you know he was a witch? I thought you said you knew about me being a shifter because you said you watched what happened from the trees the night I first transformed.”
“Right, and I saw Sid with you and Vincent that night. I just guess I didn’t realize he was a witch. He didn’t use his powers that night…at least not that I witnessed.”
“No, he didn’t but apparently, he’s a very powerful witch.”
“Okay, well that makes a hell of a lot of sense then. I always knew there was something special about Sid, but I didn’t realize he was a witch.”
“Well, he is. Anyway, also Sam was there. He’s Greg, the bartender’s best friend.”
“Oh, Sam the werewolf,” Sally said, sitting back. She thought for a second and then sat forward again, looking alarmed. “Hang on. Did you say Sam sat at a table with you, Vincent the vampire, and Sid?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, that comes as a huge surprise. Werewolves and vampires are massive enemies as you witnessed that night at Lasco’s cabin.”
“That’s exactly right, and it was the reason we asked Sam to join us for a meal when he came in to talk to Greg,” I said. “I was hoping Sam would be a bridge between the pack and Vincent. To be honest, he wasn’t going to sit with us until Greg encouraged him.”
“Well, that makes a lot of sense. Sam and Greg have been connected since they were pups. Like we discussed before, Greg takes a lot of flak from the Frederick pack about being impulsive, and Floyd not only allows the bullying, but he encourages it. I can’t stand that piece of shit. I wish those boys could get free of that alpha once and for all.” She paused before continuing. “But go on. You were saying there was a dustup.”
“Yeah, so anyway, Sam sat down with us, and Sid showed up to round out a booth for the four of us. We ordered and were waiting on food when Floyd came into the saloon flanked by his enforcers.”
Sally nodded, frowning. “Those assholes are a pain in my side. I’m constantly giving them speeding tickets for charging through town or out on the highway riding their Harleys and scaring everyone. They never pay them of course, and somehow, the mayor lets them get away with it.”
“Why haven’t you impounded their bikes?” I asked.
She shook her head,
