Page 14 of The Eagle and the Shrew

“Why?” Grayson asked, a bushy eyebrow raised.

“Seems he has a mistrust of medical facilities, since apparently Grimm worked at one, and that’s how he came to know Anson’s sister. He was one of Ariel’s treatment providers.”

Through the front window, she could see Anson still snuggled up on the couch. She wondered how challenging it was for him to get comfortable. Hopefully his body was healing itself now that he was back to resting. She worried about his condition.

“That’s an interesting tidbit of information,” Grayson brought her back to their conversation. He rubbed at his jaw as if mulling it over. Nari opened the cabin door for him and followed him inside. The warmth of the air took the dampness out of her bones. She hadn’t even realized how chilly she’d become from being outside such a short time; the cold had tried to settle deep in her body. Nari crossed the room to the dying fire, opened the wood-burning stove’s door, and added a small log. Flames licked at the rough bark, charring the wood.

She ushered Grayson to the kitchen, not because she didn’t want Anson to overhear, but more so, he wouldn’t be woken by them. He needed his rest if he was to get better. She sat at one of the wooden chairs opposite Grayson at the table. The manila envelope felt heavy in her hand. She pushed out the metal prongs holding the flap of the envelope down and opened the paper sides to look inside. Confused about the importance of the clues, she tipped the envelope to lay its contents on the table. A small, clear zip-top bag filled with mousy-looking fur, a receipt from a pet store, and another zip-top bag containing a few grains of black dirt spilled out onto the table.

Nari picked up the receipt. It would probably be the only piece of evidence Grayson wouldn’t have to explain. She figured the dirt had been found at the scene, likely tracked in by whoever had intruded into Anson’s house. It could perhaps have originated from the floor of one of Grimm’s labs. As for the fur? It might be from the shifter who was involved, but her paranormal senses wouldn’t be of use in learning more about those. The receipt, however… She had the brains to help figure that out. She didn’t need a well-honed olfactory sense for that.

The receipt was from a pet store not too far from Anson’s house. “Anson didn’t have any pets at his house, did he?”

Grayson shook his head.

The receipt was for bird seed—a lot of it—some hanging toys to put into a birdcage, and a small harness and leash for a ferret. “These might be items for the shifters Grimm is experimenting on.” And paid for in cash, so there was no credit card to trace back to its owner.

Grayson nodded and waited for her to continue. She pulled up the bag of fur. The strands were short and thin, brownish in color with grey tips. She looked to Anson sleeping on the couch. It reminded her of his fur. “Shrew fur?” Nari asked Grayson.

“Yes. Except it isn’t his,” he said, nodding toward the slumbering Anson.

“Did you test the DNA?”

“Yes. And while it’s a close match, it’s female.”

“It’s probably Ariel’s then.” While it wasn’t a guarantee that Ariel shifted into a shrew just because her brother did, it was pretty likely. At the very least, it was a female family member who shifted into a shrew. Nari would have to ask Anson to be sure.

Grayson nodded. “That’s our assumption anyway. We didn’t have any of Ariel’s DNA to compare the sample to. I’m hoping you can see what Anson thinks.”

“I plan to.” She looked at the receipt again. “I understand the bird seed and toys. Dr. Grimm liked his birds. But what’s up with the ferret halter?”

“I have no idea. We assumed it may be for Ariel when she’s in shrew form. But whyever would she need a harness?” He shrugged again. “It doesn’t make sense.”

He was right. It didn’t make sense. Hopefully Anson had some answers. Though how quickly they’d be able to go out and investigate the clues was a different story. She glanced at the date on the receipt. “This is from after we already had Anson in custody.”

Agent Stone nodded.

That was curious. Nari glanced over at Anson. The edges of his light brown hair could just be seen over the arm of the couch. The blanket pulled up to his neck hid the lump of his body beneath it. It moved up and down with each even breath as he slept. “With any luck, he’ll know what it means.” Nari assumed Anson knew more than he was willing to tell her. “At least it’s not all a wash. Anson had mentioned that Grimm emailed him.”

“What did it say?”

Nari grimaced. “He hasn’t offered that information, and I didn’t want to pry too much and risk what little rapport we’d built. I’m hoping he’s willing to share tomorrow.”

Grayson’s brown eyes touched Anson for a brief pause before they settled on the contents of the first aid kit strewn across the coffee table. Rolls of gauze and packets of ointments were left where they fell when Nari had done her best to patch up Anson, but when she went off to make dinner, she’d never bothered to clean it up. She thought it a telling sign that Anson was in bad shape that he hadn’t tidied it himself. He usually did such things.

“Do you need more supplies to get ready to move out tomorrow?”

She thought about Anson’s catalogue of injuries. “Maybe a splint for his humerus. More bandages and antiseptic ointment couldn’t hurt. I’ve put some ice in the freezer, because we only had the one ice pack. I could send you a grocery list, too.” Nari added with a tight smile. If Anson were to heal up, he needed to eat. A lot.

“All right.” Grayson slid his chair back on the wooden floor as he moved to stand up. “I’ll get going on your supplies. Text me a list of food and expect me and Cass at oh-nine-hundred tomorrow.”

At the mention of her peahen friend, Nari shrank. “Does she know about the car?”

Grayson’s smile pulled tight. “Look, Cass will get over it. It’s not like she doesn’t have insurance.” His voice was soft and sympathetic.

She nodded before quickly adding, “Just you and Cass.” Her eyes bounced back to Anson as he stirred with a slight groan. He didn’t appear to fully wake, though. “I don’t think he’d be too keen on waking to a cabin full of agents.”

“You’re probably right about that.” He turned to leave and then paused. “One more thing.”

---