After chatting with Hugo a bit more, Nick returned to his desk and went over the transcript from yesterday's interrogations.
As he skimmed through the text, he let his mind wander. What if they actually found the killer and that person really turned out to be a werewolf?
They'd have to be arrested, but Nick couldn't let that happen. If he and Kate ever came close to finding that person, he'd have to get to them first and.. then what? Lock them in his basement?
Kill them?
Yeah, because that would definitely work, Nick thought as he turned the page.
What did he hope to gain by essentially exposing Kate and the rest of the world to a ruthless, supernatural serial killer when he could just as easily walk away from all of this?
If he was being honest with himself, he was really searching for a friend. Someone who shared the same secret and could help him, because nobody had ever helped him with this.
The murderer-werewolf could never be his friend, though, and he needed to stop believing in that fantasy.
While closing the transcript and putting it back in the drawer, he felt sick as he thought of the many times he'd come close to losing control. What if the other werewolf hadn't meant to harm these lawyers at all? What if they had simply lost control and killed the lawyers accidentally?
Nick suppressed the sudden urge to growl. I'm a killer, too, his wolf seemed to say, just haven't gotten around to it yet.
"You look like you've just seen a ghost."
Nick almost jumped as the familiar voice disrupted his thoughts. Kate.
His wolf was provoked, now, and Nick was on edge, nervous. He had to be careful and, under no circumstances, let that feeling take over because his wolf would jump at the opportunity to show himself.
He couldn't let that happen, ever. Not in front of Kate.
"It's nothing," he said, too quickly for her to believe him.
"No, it isn't. If it's about the case, I want to hear your thoughts."
She put her hands on her hips and regarded him expectantly.
Her black hair was partly hidden by the collar of her trenchcoat, which fit her perfectly, accentuating her natural curves.
Nick's breath caught for a moment. She was just so effortlessly beautiful.
She must have a boyfriend, he told himself, trying his best to convince his wolf to stand down and simultaneously formulate an appropriate answer.
"I was just going over our suspects again. Maybe we're approaching this the wrong way."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you can't really control animals, right? Especially when they're on a killing spree. Maybe the owner isn't at fault here."
"Obviously," Kate laughed. Nick quickly looked away as a comfortable feeling spread through his body, even soothing his wolf.
She placed her hands on Nick's desk, bending over and speaking slowly, like she was explaining something to a child.
"For now, we're treating this as a homicide, Nick. Of course, animals have been known to act of their own volition. Considering the reputation of the victims, however, we have to assume that this was planned."
Wow. Nick wondered if she was aware of how sexy it was when she talked like that.
She handed him a file. "This is why I came. We have a new suspect. Grab your coat, you can read it on the way."
****
Hope you liked this chapter!
In the next one, Nick and Kate will be interrogating their newest suspect.. and not everything will go as planned ;)