Page 5 of Wake the Dream

Chapter Two

Kieran

His coworkers werea bunch of animals. He’d rather they wereactualanimals, honestly, because it would be easier working with cows and chickens and pigs than middle-aged men in search of the glories of youth.

Savages. Truly, he could think of no better word to describe them.

Kieran Shanahan had joined the Hedgehill Marsh police department on a literal bet after he graduated out of the academy. His big brother bet him twenty-five cents that he wouldn’t last a day at the precinct most on the west coast knew for being a little weird. A little out of the ordinary.

Kieran didn’t know why his brother even tried. Kyle had initially bet Kieran that he couldn’t pass the physical test on the first try. His weight had something to do with it, surely, having breached two hundred fifty pounds and climbing in eighth grade. The weight came off, eventually, around the same time their family dynamic changed forever with the loss of their mother.

Kieran’s determination stayed the same. It gave him an edge in the academy.

By God, he had earned every cent of his quarter once he won the bet, along with a healthy dose of respect from the older Shanahan sibling.

Neither did him much good.

His performance in the academy landed him a good spot in the department at Hedgehill, where the older brass had snapped him up in a second. The respect and admiration of his coworkers once he made detective? Not so much. And the ability to get them to pull their own weight? Absolutely not.

Once the old regime who had initially hired him went into retirement, all bets were off for him.

Inky shadows from the maple trees in front of the station cloaked the dark windows of the station house from the prying eyes of tourists, although everything in town became subject to scrutiny with summer looming just around the corner. The town had become famous for their displays celebrating the changes in seasons, although no one recognized the magic they saw as real.

It was part of the charm. He learned more about the Marsh the longer he lived there, including what the natives didn’t want the rest of the world to see. That monsters were real. Myths came alive.

And Kieran fit right in with the rest of them, or so he told himself.

“If no one cares, I’m going to head home for the night.” He rose from his wobbly wheeled chair, swinging a brown corduroy jacket over broad shoulders kept fit by habitual exercise. Otherwise, his weight would creep back up into the high two hundreds. His penchant for junk food virtually guaranteed it.

He should have left hours ago. Unfortunately, he got caught in the paperwork vortex. It sucked him in and refused to let him go until he’d cleared the stack in front of him.

“Yeah, not so fast, Shanahan. Last minute assignment. Just got the call.”

Osgood. His superior officer, a man with sandy-blond hair, a disagreeable disposition, and more midsection than brains, shuffled over as fast as his overworked legs allowed. He dropped a yellow folder down on Kieran’s desk then winked, the rest of his face moving with the gesture.

“Missing person.”

Kieran moved his gaze from the folder up to Osgood. His brows drew together. “Get someone else to handle it.” His stomach chose that moment to growl in agreement. When was the last time he’d eaten? Couldn’t remember.

Osgood startled at the statement. “I thought you wanted to make rank this year, detective. Heard you had your eye on rising to sergeant.”

Kieran’s eyebrows drew closer until they nearly became one long line. He had been coveting the promotion, sure, and he hadn’t bothered hiding the desire. But for some reason, it sounded as though Osgood brought up the offer like blackmail.

How curious.

Kieran refused to apologize for the unruliness of his stomach when it growled again.

Instead, he plastered a fake as hell smile across the lower half of his face. It was the only half that wanted to listen to his brain. “You know what? What’s a couple of hours of overtime?” he replied at last. “I can’t turn down a missing person.” He took hold of the folder.

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