Read Online Blood of the Pride by Sheryl Nantus - Free Book Online

“Guess I didn’t empty my garbage as often as I thought I did.”
    “So there’s the envelope.” I tossed it onto the table. “You’ve got three minutes to produce the original before I move this garbage bag across your entire clean apartment to search for it.”
    “What makes you think I kept the photo?” Bran shuffled over toward me, an angelic expression on his face.
    “Because I can smell it.” I tapped the tip of my nose. “You don’t get rid of anything you can recycle. That photo’s something you’re saving for the ‘best of’ volume in your scrapbook.”
    He let out a low whistle, crossing to the computer desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out a thin file folder. “You ever play poker?” He walked over and placed it on the marble island between us, opening it to face me. “I think you’d be deadly.”
    I shook my head. “Not good at bluffing.” Nudging the cold-water faucet with my elbow to get the water flowing took a second. I washed my hands quickly and wiped them on the pristine dishtowel hanging from the bar set on the refrigerator side.
    The shot was the same as in the tabloid but this one was untouched. Janey’s blank eyes stared up at me, the slightest tufts of orange hair breaking free across her face.
    Attached to the photo was a printed note, the blocky letters on generic lined paper. “What is she?” in fat capital letters.
    I couldn’t hold back a gasp at seeing the unmarked photograph. I’d seen dead bodies before but this was personal, this was family. It was almost a voyeuristic shot, catching her in mid-Change.
    “You knew her.” It wasn’t as much a question as a statement, his words low and soft. I started, suddenly aware of him standing way too much inside my personal space. The thin hairs on the back of my neck began to tingle. I had never been a big fan of letting anyone get close to me, physically or mentally.
    “We didn’t know each other directly. Family friend.” At this distance I could smell the beer mixed with sweat and his personal musk. Dang, it was seductive. It’d been a long time since I had gotten involved with anyone. When you’ve had your entire life ripped away you learn not to trust anyone, not let anyone in too quickly. Some scars you just can’t hide.
    I reached out and touched the dead woman’s face, stroking the glossy fur.
    “I’m sorry,” he whispered, still too close for comfort. I shook my head and spun around, breaking the contact while I washed my hands again.
    “Yeah, well. Everyone dies. For most of us the timing sucks.” We were back on professional ground and I was glad of it. I wiped my hands and then flipped my ponytail back over one shoulder. “Not a chance of getting prints.” I leaned in toward the photograph, inhaling deeply. Scent tracking might not be standard procedure for most investigators and wasn’t admissible in court, but it worked for me.
    “I’d think not.” Bran scratched the back of his head. “Mine are definitely on there and I doubt he’d have been stupid enough to leave his own.”
    I nodded, closing my eyes. Damn it. It was faint, so faint I could barely catch it, but it was there. Felis scent. I turned my attention to the envelope. The inside might have a stronger smell. But I couldn’t start sniffing it like a bloodhound with Bran watching. Instead I went for the safer, more common types of detection.
    The envelope was blank on all sides, the flap torn open where the owner had taped it shut. “No chance of getting saliva from here.” I shook my head. “He’s a smart one.”
    “It’d take you weeks to get a DNA match anyway.” Bran leaned forward again. “That sort of fast response only happens on television. And with you not being a cop, well…” He chuckled. “I don’t think you’re willing to wait that long.”
    “I still don’t understand why you didn’t turn this in to the authorities.” I traced the black-and-white image with one finger.
    “Because they’d haul my