Crime Scene Investigator

Colleen Underwood’s POV

Coven Vehicle, West of Cancun

It was quiet as we drove through the dark jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula. Our vampire driver, Esmerelda, either didn’t know or wouldn’t say anything. She just went towards the spot where our people had been.

I was texting back and forth with Luna Adrienne. The signals from the necklaces had stopped, but she had the last known location. Pulling it up on Google Maps, I turned to the satellite view. Two buildings and a carport in a jungle clearing, one trail leading in, and nothing but trees around for miles. It was the perfect spot for a hideout. “This is our target; we need to find out all we can without leaving clues, as eventually, the Mexican Police will find it. Jenny, when we make the turn off the road, I want you to shift. Run a perimeter at least five hundred yards from the clearing. If anyone got away, I want to know about it.”

“Understood. I’ll link you when I’ve finished the circuit.”

“Mark, watch my back. I don’t trust vampires as far as I can throw them. Stay with the car, and keep your eyes and ears open. If there is trouble, you are to shift and run. Pick up Jenny when you can, and call the Luna for help. DO NOT come after me if this is a trap. Understood?”

“Understood.” I could tell he was unhappy with the order; warriors wanted to fight, and leaving a Pack member behind was against his code. He moved his phone, keys, and wallet to a pouch hanging around his neck. If he had to shift, it would stay with him as his clothes shredded or fell off.

Ten minutes later, we were near the turnoff. We slowed down and turned onto a dirt track, where the headlights illuminated a man. As soon as Esmerelda stopped, Jenny got out, leaving her shoes and dress in the SUV. She shifted into her small black and grey wolf and took off to the east with her nose in the air. I closed the door behind her. The man walked to the passenger door and sat down, and Esmerelda started driving forward. “Where is that wolf going?”

“Perimeter check. I want to make sure no one else is out there.”

He nodded. “I am Mateo, leader of the Cancun Coven.”

“Colleen Underwood and Mark Johnson of the Miesville Pack in Minnesota. You found the trackers?”

“Yes, but we were too late to find anyone alive. I have to warn you; the scene is gruesome.”

“Sheriff’s Deputy. No matter how bad it is, I’ve seen worse.” I saw the clearing up ahead. “Let me out at the near edge of the clearing. I’ll check the scene myself.”

“What about us,” Mark said.

“Go back out and drive a mile or two down the road; wait for my call. If the police find this place, the car is trapped. I can always shift and run.”

“Do what she says,” Mateo told Esmerelda. She stopped as soon as the clearing started, and I got out. Opening my purse, I pulled out the crime scene kit I carried while off duty. I donned the Tyvek suit, putting my hair inside the hood, then booties and gloves. Mateo got out with me. “It’s better if I do this alone,” I said.

“My footprints are already on the scene, so more won’t matter,” he said.

“Fine.” I slapped the side of the SUV, and Esmerelda backed up and started to drive off. The first thing I did was to use my senses to take in the scene. Taking a deep sniff, I sorted through the smells coming to me in the light breeze.

Blood and gunpowder dominated. I could smell the girls, their scents betraying their fears. “What did you find when you arrived?”

“Six men, dead next to their rifles,” Mateo told me. “Three in the trees back there,” he pointed to the spots, “Two in the house, and one up here by the parking area. There was a gun battle, and they lost big time.”

“Their attackers weren’t injured?” We knew from Linda the gang had AK-47’s; you’d think they’d have taken a few down with them.

“If they were, they took them with them when they took the girls.”

“Stay behind me while I walk the scene.” I went first to the parking area; the attackers had come here in cars. I could see spent brass, 5.56mm from an AR-15 or similar weapon, but I could also smell large quantities of bleach. I killed the scents of anyone who had gotten out of the car. “The attackers were supernatural,” I said. “They knew to hide their scents.”

“That was my conclusion,” Mateo said. “From the tire tracks, they had two large vehicles.”

The dead man had been hit five times in the chest and twice in the face and hadn’t gotten off a shot. Flash burns on the skin indicated the shooting was at point-blank range. “The attackers got close, but they weren’t entirely trusted,” I said. “Only the leader went to them; the rest stayed back in support.”

Mateo snorted. “Like that did any good.” As I walked away from the parking area, the bleach scent weakened, and I started to pick up others. I stopped a few times to sort through them. The leader was the strongest, but I could scent the five others as well. I could pick up the girls’ scents, easily picking out Vicki and Amy’s familiar scents. The trail led from the center of the clearing to the small concrete building and back.

I stopped outside the building to look at the two dead men outside. They’d gotten off some shots, but not for long. Both had single gunshots to the head. Their brains painted the whitewashed block walls behind them. “Damn. The attackers had training.”

Mateo nodded. “The three in the treelines got cut down just as easily. A Cartel hit squad is my conclusion. Many of them are ex-military, special forces types. Highly trained and dangerous.”

There was an open barrel nearby; looking inside, I found a pile of wetsuits and bikinis. They belonged to the girls. “You left this?”

“It confirms the girls were here. Burning it would create a lot of smoke, so we left it.”

I went to the open doorway and took a sniff. The smells of the girls were strong inside, and they raped one girl. I could smell the blood, semen, and sweat. Peering in, I could see the dried fluids on the concrete floor next to the collars and chains used to hold them. It wasn’t a Pack member, but I wanted blood on my teeth. As I gathered myself, I picked up a new scent.

A familiar scent.

One that didn’t belong within two thousand miles of here.

I sniffed the door, then walked inside. Picking up one of the collars, I couldn’t deny it any longer.

Lawrence Fenwick, a lawyer and friend to the Alphas for over a decade, had taken the collar off Vicki himself.

I had to push back my wolf. “Mark, send a text to Luna Adrienne. Tell her Lawrence Fenwick took them.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“I wish I wasn’t. Lawrence’s scent is on the collar used to hold Vicki in the smaller building. It’s all over here.”

“Fuck. Be careful, Colleen.” I broke the link as I looked around; other than the humans and a few vampires, I didn’t smell anyone else. “You were in here?”

“Yes, my men and I had to check it out. We found the collars over there in the corner, smashed, and we took them with us. The police don’t need to know about the trackers.”

He was right. “Let’s go to the house.” We walked back out, and I could smell the raped she-wolf’s scent mixed with the males. Going inside the small house confirmed my suspicion. The gang-rape happened on the couch before taking her back into the prison. I looked around the rooms for clues; in the bedroom, I found a cellphone with the leader’s scent on it. “Did you find any other phones?”

“No, just that one.”

It was locked, needing a code or a fingerprint to open. Walking back outside, I went over and pressed the dead man’s thumb to the pad. The phone opened up; looking through the messages and the call log, I got the proof I needed. I memorized the number of the last call, made just a few hours ago, then walked back to the house. I returned the phone to its previous spot and kept looking around for another ten minutes, finding nothing. “Colleen, perimeter run is done, no scents detected crossing it.”

“I’m almost done. Wait near the entry road for pickup.” Staying longer wasn’t going to help; I had what I needed. “We’re done here. What are you planning?”

“Torch the place. It will destroy most of the evidence, leaving enough out in the other building to tell the police the truth. Most importantly, the fire will lead them here after we are gone.”

I considered the alternatives; this was the best. “How?”

“Gas cans near the carport. I’ll get them.”

Five minutes later, the rest of our group was back, and the small house was on fire. We turned onto the main road, heading back towards Cancun before the flames were visible from the road.

As we drove, my emotions were all over the place. I was furious that a family friend would betray Vicki like that, but something about the crime scene was off. I closed my eyes, going through everything again as I tried to figure out what I was missing.

Mateo used a burner phone to call in the fire to the emergency number once we got clear.

I’d found nothing at the scene to lead me to them except Lawrence Fenwick’s scent. It was going to crush our Alphas to know he’d been a part of the kidnapping plot. Alpha Leo would not make his death quick or painless, and he would not stop until every wolf involved had their blood staining his teeth. He loved his Sharkbait enough to go to war with the entire Council.

I’d report back to my Alpha, and we’d go from there.