Page 66 of Wild Wolf
"Nothing you say, short of admitting to murder, is going to get you in trouble. We’re just trying to get to the bottom of this.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Cameron said, "We both popped a tab of X earlier. The plan was to come to the cemetery and bang it out while we were peeking."
"So you could have hallucinated the whole thing?”
"I didn't hallucinate shit! A fucking werewolf came out of nowhere and attacked me and my girlfriend.”
I shared another doubtful look with the sheriff.
I shined a flashlight on his clothes. It was hard to see against the dark fabric, but there didn't appear to be much blood, apart from his hands. A few cast-off speckles here and there. "What's your relationship like with your girlfriend?”
Confusion wrinkled his brow. "I love my girlfriend. We’re gonna get married eventually. We’re going to be together forever.” His eyes filled again. "At least, that was the plan." He broke down into sobs.
“Was anyone else around?” I asked.
“No,” he replied with a tight throat.
We stepped away with the sheriff for a conference, giving the kid a moment to compose himself.
Daniels muttered, "I'm not inclined to believe any of this nonsense. Everybody who's seen this thing has been on some kind of substance. Now, I don't think this kid is just making it up, and I don't think he killed his girlfriend. But I certainly don't believe there's an eight- or nine-foot werewolf stalking the cemeteries and beaches of Coconut Key. And this ain't no panther.”
"We’ve got a couple of weak leads that we're going to followup on tomorrow," I said. “I’m convinced we’re dealing with a guy in an elaborate costume.”
"This ain’t like no costume I’ve ever seen. If and when Avery gets out of surgery, I want to hear her perspective on this.”
"We’ll follow up with her,” I said.
Paris Delaney and her crew were on the scene, soaking up the footage as usual.
I gave Cam a card and told him to get in touch if he remembered any additional details.
Paris interviewed him, and he repeated his story just as he told us. That was the third time he told it—once to Daniels, once to us, and now to the reporter. His story maintained consistency throughout. Liars usually can't keep their story straight.
Daniels had another deputy drive Cam to the hospital after the interview.
Paris approached as JD and I walked back to the Porsche—this time, without her camera crew. "Tyson. I interviewed Cam. He talked about the werewolf. I know you’re concerned about how we’re portraying this whole thing. But he swears up and down it's real. I made a statement at the end of the segment that hunting any animals within the city limits is illegal and that anyone attempting to kill or capture a supposed werewolf will face legal consequences. I am not endorsing this thing. I am just reporting what's happening in our city.”
"I understand. You’ve got a job to do. I appreciate you trying to bring balance to the reporting.”
"So, are we good? Or are you still mad at me?" she asked with a sassy hip and a cutesy voice.
I smiled. "Who could stay mad at you?"
She laughed. "I think a lot of people. But don't worry, I'll keep pissing those people off. It's the people I care about that matter.”
I gave her a look, then I asked JD, “Did she just say she cared about us?”
"That's what I heard.”
"Neither one of you have proof I said it. If it's not on video, it didn't happen.” She smiled, spun around, and marched back to her crew, her high heels clacking against the asphalt.
We left the scene and headed back to theAvventura. There was no point spending the evening in the hospital. If Avery survived, she would need time to recover and would likely be heavily medicated when she got out of surgery.
When we got back to the boat, I grabbed Buddy's leash and took him out for a walk, then settled in for bed. I flipped on the TV before going to bed and caught the replay from the cemetery. I watched Paris interview Cam. There was no doubting the sincerity in his voice. But I still couldn't wrap my head around the idea of a mythical beast roaming the streets.
Brenda called first thing in the morning with the break that we were looking for.
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