Page 48 of Wolf Bound

Fisher was checking his phone and looked up at them. “We have a full moon phase right now.”

Everyone waited to learn why he had even mentioned it. The cougars probably never paid any attention to it. Royal wolves who had been shifters for generations might not think about it, but more newly turned wolf shifters couldn’t shift during the new moon and had to shift during the full moon. Was that why the three men had been running as wolves? It made more sense that way.

“They’re more newly turned,” Kira said.

“Yeah, that’s just what I was thinking,” Fisher said.

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.” Demetria finished the rest of her coffee. “And that makes it even worse. I mean, if they went to a human prison for kidnapping, they wouldn’t be able to stop from shifting during the height of the full moon phase.”

“Asses,” Fisher said. “They make it more dangerous for all of us.”

“I agree,” Demetria said. “I’m just glad jaguars don’t have that issue, but even so, if they got picked up and imprisoned, and someone tried to beat on them or shank them, they most likely would strip off their clothes and shift. Self-preservation in a case like that would be all that would come to mind. Forget about how it would affect the rest of our kind. Though I would probably feel the same way if that happened to me.”

Kira nodded. She was certain all shifters would feel that way as a defensive mechanism, just like when she had bitten the guy who had tried to kidnap her when she was a young girl. If she could have turned wolf, she would have. She was certain Fisher had wanted to tear into the guy who had shot him, if he could have. Since the kidnapper was also a wolf, Fisher could have lawfully done it, according to the wolf shifters’ rules of engagement. But since the kidnapper had been holding a gun on him, Fisher would never have reached him in time.

Then Kira and Fisher sat down to look at the one computer and see what they could learn about Royce.

Dan set the phone down on the desk.

“Can I look at it?”

Dan said, “Sure.”

Kira picked up the phone and started looking at the text messages. “Reggie was giving the time and place information of when they were going to go hunting. He didn’t say anything about kidnapping children.”

“So if anyone saw the messages, they wouldn’t be privy as to what they were really up to,” Demetria said.

“Exactly. It’s all in kind of a code. But he texted Royce a number of times about this. And looking back in his messages, Royce and Oscar were also talking about hunting. They don’t mention grabbing anyone or being successful at it. But they do mention the time and place for meetups,” Kira said. “I’ll make a list of the times and places.”

“I’ll begin investigating those for possible kidnappings in those areas,” Demetria said.

“I’ll help you with it,” Everett said.

Kira began making a list, and Demetria took the first time and location to investigate. Everett took the second one.

Demetria said, “I found a case. A little boy was taken when he got off the school bus and he was left at a clinic two days later. He’d been fed, but he was still traumatized.”

“Of course.” Kira handed her another possible case.

Everett said, “Okay, in this situation, a boy was grabbed who was skateboarding later at night, no one else around, so in that case, it took a while for anyone to realize he had been picked up. Then the parents paid the ransom, and the boy was left at a library.”

“This is the case that was near where I was at when I heard about the kidnapping of a boy—Billy Forsythe. He had been walking home from his friend’s house. The guys pulled up in a big black FBI agent car, is how some described it. But that’s when I smelled the wolf who had grabbed him and secured him in the Suburban. And that’s how I got the case,” Kira said.

“That’s a good thing too,” Fisher said, “or these guys would still be out there doing this. I suspect with one of their co-conspirators caught, they’re not going to be out kidnapping for a while.” Fisher scrolled through a screen on the monitor. “A ton of black Chevrolet Suburbans are registered to Denver homeowners.”

“We have five cougar citizens who have black Suburbans in Yuma Town also, which adds to the confusion,” Dan said.

Then a distinguished-looking, dark-haired man wearing an expensive dark gray suit and a burnt orange tie featuring a cougar walked into the sheriff’s office and introduced himself to the jaguars and wolves. “I’m Larry Pierce. It’s an honor to meet all of you.” Introductions were made all around, then Larry said to Dan, “I’m ready to see the suspect…uh, client.”

Kira immediately wondered if Royce would realize that since the lawyer was a cougar, he might not truly be on the kidnapper’s side. Then Royce might not reveal anything about his involvement in the kidnappings or his partners in crime.

“Bridget let us know that Royce Farmington is the name of the guy we’re holding in the kidnapping cases. And Oscar Farmington is his older cousin who was another member of the team. I’ll go get Royce from his cell and take him to the interrogation room,” Dan said.

Kira was dying to know how their office handled a situation like this. Fisher glanced at her, and she reached over and squeezed his hand, assuming he was thinking the same thing.

Dan escorted Royce to the interrogation room and Larry went in there to speak with him.

Once Larry closed the door, Kira asked Dan, “So can we listen in?”

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