Page 4 of Hellhounds and Homicides

"I could not get inside his head. I thought perhaps it was because I was using a shotgun approach and getting as many as I could mentally reach while trying to remain unnoticed." Reis gave a possible explanation, but Dumas had the feeling there was more to it than that.

“How close were you able to get to the detective?”

"At one point, I was about six feet from him on the left. Why?"

“Did you get any sense of him . . . were you able to read him at all?” Dumas was overcome with a sense of there being more to the Detective than met the eye. He wasn’t sure where this was coming from but the entire picture last night of him at the scene with the potential witnesses was strange and oddly charged. Dumas waited as Reis searched for a suitable response.

"I couldn't get into his mind. There was something preventing me, but I can't tell you what it was. It was a resistance of sorts, and I didn't try again because he moved to the other side of the parking area to speak with the crowd gathered there. I couldn't get close to him after that." Reis was not sure what he encountered. "I could access the minds of the humans around him, but for some reason, I couldn't get into his head."

Honestly, there could be a reason for it, such as magic residue from the crime scene still clinging to Dalhousie or someone in the crowd with a cloaking spell around them, and it may have affected the Detective. But with that said, Dumas wanted to know for sure what was ailing Det. Dalhousie. He wanted a clear picture of the man who could be their undoing.

CHAPTER THREE

Dumas was on his own this evening with Reis meeting up with Michael's team. Dumas took over for Gage who had shadowed the Detective earlier. Dalhousie worked primarily overnight so Gage was basically positioned outside his apartment and listened to him sleep. Although Gage reported that the man slept very little.

“He lives in a nice part of town the Holbrook apartment building apartment number 504 with a great view.” Gage reported. Dumas met him a block down from the tenement building so they could meet and speak freely. The authorities were present at the building and so was Dalhousie.

“Did you notice anything strange or off putting about him?” Dumas asked figuring he might as well get Gage’s opinion of the man as well.

“I didn’t get close he left the office at six this morning and went to his apartment no stops. He stayed in his apartment all day until he returned to work six this evening. He headed to the tenement at eight just a little over an hour ago.” Gage stated dryly. “Why, do you sense something off about him?”

"Not sure, but something is getting my beast riled. It might just be the tension in the air and the threat of our secrets being laid bare." Dumas downplayed.

"We'll find who committed these horrific acts, and we will control the dissemination of information even if we have to wipe the minds of every human being in Pittsburgh. Dalhousie is a formidable detective, but we are the Hadden Coven, and no one beats us." The pride was clear, and Dumas seconded the sentiment. There was no second-guessing in this business.

"We'll find them, and I'll keep the detective out of our business," Dumas added.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Gage bade farewell and headed off to his beloved Harley, no doubt. The young human kept him busy and very happy. Dumas proceeded to the tenement building with all the stealth of a hellhound born from the fires of hell. He made his way to the apartment of the last victim.

Det. Dalhousie was there, and he was alone. Dumas remained in the hallway in the shadows, well away from his view and awareness. Humans were normally fairly easy to evade, but the Detective seemed more astute than the average human. He glanced at the door several times and even moved to the hall at one point, obviously picking up on something. Dumas shielded himself and continued to observe from a distance.

Det. Dalhousie did the strangest thing when he was completely alone or at least he thought he was alone, he began to smell things. He smelled the rug the area of the floor beneath where the man had lain. He smelled the doorknob; he smelled the side table near the chair. He smelled everything in the small apartment. Dumas watched him study everything and constantly write in his notebook.

Dumas wasn't sure what he was discovering but at times he looked intrigued. He ached to walk up and ask some questions, but he and the Detective were not on chatting terms, and he had no right to be hanging around the crime scene. Dalhousie once again stepped into the hallway and looked first left and then right and then stood there for at least a minute listening and taking in the scents.

He was acting like a shifter, but he was a human. Dumas took the chance to step slightly closer in order to get a better sense of the man, and what he discovered shocked him. The Detective was shrouded by a glamour of sorts, not exactly like vampire glamour but similar. This one was very specific and clung to him like a second skin. It was mystical in nature but not evil. The power it emanated was clean and harmless. It was simply a shroud, but why? Why would a human need a cover, and what was Det. Dalhousie hiding?

Rowen studied the apartment from end to end, not missing a single square inch, and still, he did not have an answer to who or what had drained the man of all life and all fluids. His Sergeant was on him to close this case. They needed a suspect or two to get things rolling, but so far, he had come up empty.

On top of that pressure, he began to notice that Master Hadden's men were hanging around. They showed up at the apartment building shortly after the victim was found, and then he was almost certain one had followed him to the station and then home.

They were suddenly everywhere inserting themselves into this investigation and it raised Rowen’s suspicions. Why would the Hadden Coven be so curious about this murder to the point of following and keeping track of the detectives progress?

There were two detectives at the station who were watching Rowen and reporting to the Coven, Det. Grant Dorsey and Det. Iker Dawson. Neither of the men were with homicide, but they were following the case. Rowen wasn't clear as to their connection to the Coven since Dorsey was a wolf shifter and Dawson was human, but he would find out.

The intense interest in his case by the Hadden Coven had him thinking perhaps they know who the killer is and are hiding him or intending to cover for him. Could a vampire do the damage he saw? They were bloodsuckers, yes, but they didn't drain a person of all fluids and their soul as well.

That man was left as nothing but a dry husk and magic was present in the atmosphere of the apartment and also present in small amounts in the apartments of the other missing residents. He knew for a fact that Master Nikolas Hadden abhorred magics, especially the dark and evil kind. He would not be sanctioning such abuse of power, but he might be covering for someone else.

He walked over to the one window in the living room of the apartment actually it was the only window in the small apartment. It looked out onto the street below not much of a view, just potholed pavement and junk cars along with a dreary ambiance that always hung over this section of town.

While standing there he saw what he thought to be more of Hadden’s men approaching the building. He knew this was his chance to get information on their intention by eavesdropping on their conversation. He quickly left the apartment and proceeded to the fire escape.

Dumas watched the Detective stare out the window for several minutes and then abruptly dash to the fire escapeaccessed from across the hall. Dumas followed, unclear as to what had spurred his interest in the fire escape.

He hung back a little, not wanting to be seen or detected. He knew that there were few places for the Detective to go, so it would be easy for Dumas to catch up. He followed his essence of leather and cotton to the alley floor and looked around, but the Detective was not there.

The scent of leather and cotton that surrounded him was there but was quickly dissipating. There were no doors nearby, and there wasn't enough time for him to reach the roadway in either direction or out of the alley. Finally, Dumas looked up, and something told him to go to the roof. On the roof, he found the two soldiers Dalhousie had been observing from the apartment. They were checking the area for clues and discussing the case. Dumas fell into step with them, asking about their findings but not bringing up Dalhousie.

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