The Hotel - 35

"Good morning," Edwin said when I awoke Saturday morning.

"Umm, good morning to you." I was surprised, but not terribly so, to find he was still in my room. The last thing I remembered was a lot of good sex before I fell asleep with him spooned behind me. "What time is it?"

"Close to nine." He finished putting on his shoes. "I have things to do but I didn't want to leave until I did this." He bent to kiss me. "I'll see you when you get downstairs."

I kissed him back then watched as he checked the hallway and gave me a thumbs-up before taking off. Our having sex, because I wasn't about to call it making love, was becoming a habit. One I'd miss when we finally were able to leave and return to the city.

After I showered and got dressed, I headed down to the dining room to get something to eat. Everyone was there except Ramsey, who I presumed was still sleeping off his binge from last night.

The moment I walked in I knew they had heard that we weren't leaving this morning as planned.

"Okay," I said when I got to our communal table. "Let's not get bent out of shape. We can do another show tonight, which will help Caitlin polish her performance. That way I won't have worry about the show when we get back home. That is if it's all right with you."

Caitlin's face lit up. "You're serious? I get to keep on doing her?"

"Yep. I don't see why not. I'm not promising I won't look for another actress to replace Tessa, because I will. But having you available, too, means we can do shows with more than two females in them."

For someone who once told me she wasn't an actress and never wanted to be, Caitlin seemed very excited to be joining the acting roster. That gave me pause when I recalled Edwin's comments from the previous evening. While I couldn't picture Caitlin as a murderer, I supposed it could just as well have been her as anyone else.

"Can we at least get out of here for the day?" Kirby asked. "I'll go crazy if we're stuck inside, especially since the weather's better. There's even sunshine and most of the snow has melted."

"I don't see why not. All I ask is, you don't go out alone," I replied.

"Afraid one of us will take off if they're the killer?" Marsh asked sourly.

"Not at all. None of us know the area that well. It wouldn't pay to get lost, or fall into some abandoned pit and not be able to call for help."

"Or run into a wolf," Jenn said, shivering.

"Probably the least of our problems," I told her. "As far as I know, no one's seen one since the first night we were here," I added, lying through my teeth. Knowing what I did, that the 'wolves' were wolf shifters who had no reason to bother any of us, I figured I could at least lay that fear to rest.

Guardian Angels – Ambivalent - 31

Link called Mike the next morning to say he'd pick up him, and Paddy, around eleven-thirty. He arrived right on time, meeting them at the front door of the apartment building to escort them to his car.

"You looked tired," Link told Mike, concern lacing his words.

"I didn't get much sleep."

"Oh?" Link glanced between Mike and Paddy.

Paddy chuckled, following them down the walk to the car. "I had nothing to do with that."

"He didn't," Mike agreed hastily. "I was tense and kept twisting and turning, dozing off then waking up again."

"Understandable." Link patted his shoulder then went around to the driver's side of the car. Mike took the passenger seat and Paddy got in the back.

"I think we're in for rain," Mike commented, looking out at the fast rolling clouds descending on the city. "Be ready for an invasion."

"That bad?" Link asked.

"Yeah. Kids will be looking to get off the street to somewhere dry."

Link nodded, grumbling that Mike was right about the rain when the first raindrops started hitting the windshield.

* * * * 

They were halfway to the shelter when Paddy's phone rang, followed seconds later by Link's. They both checked the Caller ID and answered, Link waiting to do so until he'd pulled off to the side of the street.

Paddy listened intently for a moment then said, "You're sure, Vic?" The reply must have been positive because Paddy swore softly before hanging up.

Link's conversation took a bit longer. When he finished talking he looked at Mike, then glanced at Paddy. "I presume your caller told you the same thing Detective Massey told me?"

"I'm sure he did."

"Okay, would one of you mind telling me what's going on?" Mike asked tightly.

Link nodded. "We now know who Mr. Keefe really is. A few hairs and a partial fingerprint were found at the scene where the kid was pushed down the stairs. The hairs had been dyed from light brown to black. Neither pieces of evidence conclusively pointed to Mr. Keefe but the presumption was they came from him. The forensics team ran the partial and came up with a list of possible names. Mr. Kingston had been in touch with Detective Massey and sent him the information he'd gathered on your family, Mike, at Massey's request."

It took Mike a moment to get what Link was saying. Then he shook his head. "Mr. Keefe is not my uncle. I'd have recognized him. And even if I hadn't, because it's been a long time since I saw him, he'd have recognized me."

"There's one other male in the picture," Vic said. "Your sister's fiancé, Owen McKim."

Mike appeared shocked, sighing deeply, scrubbing one hand over his face. "So she is involved in…in what's been going on."

"Not necessarily," Paddy replied, reaching over the back of the seat to grip his shoulder. "Tell him what Massey found out, Link. Vic was a bit sketchy on the details."

"Owen McKim has a history of fleecing gullible young women. He finds a victim, becomes engaged to them and then convinces them to loan him sizable amounts of money. Once they have, he disappears. When the victim realizes what's happened she's usually too embarrassed to file a report, although in some cases a family member has in her stead."

"But Amanda doesn't have any… Oh my God."

"Exactly," Link said. "From the reports Mr. Kingston gave Detective Massey, your sister met Mr. McKim about a week after your father's death."

"Vic presumes," Paddy added, "that McKim probably accessed the probate files and found out that she stood to inherit a fair amount of money if you weren't found or if you died."

"So he worked his way into her life and then came looking for me to get me out of the picture."

"That's what it looks like at this point. Now all we have to do is find him," Paddy said.

Link nodded. "Which isn't going to happen sitting here." After pulling out of the parking space onto the street, they drove to the same lot he'd used the day before. By the time they reached the shelter the skies had opened and what had been a light rain turned torrential.

It's release day for 'Lonesome Men'!

Lonesome Men

https://www.jms-books.com/erotic-romance-c-29_94/lonesome-men-p-2584.html

GENRE: Gay Erotic Romance
LENGTH: 37,236 words

Two men with nothing in common except friendship.

One man is Darren Cameron, a cop who patrols the streets nightly. After his divorce -- because he revealed to his wife he was gay -- he gained full custody of his son, Jesse. Jesse is now twenty-one, living with his girlfriend, and trying to play matchmaker between his landlord, Malcom, and Darren.

The other is Rob, a homeless war veteran living on the streets, who has adamantly resists all Darren's efforts to help him start his life over. When Rob is attacked, Darren finally has what he needs to help his friend get off the streets. Despite Rob's wariness, he moves into Darren’s home under the guise of protective custody ... much to Jesse's dismay.

Can Darren and Rob handle what comes next, including their growing attraction for each other? Or will Rob ultimately reject Darren's help and return to his former life?

EXCERPT:

Darren stopped at the bottom of a fire escape, signaling to Zack that he was going up to check the rooftops. Zack nodded, heading to one on the opposite side of the alley. Darren grinned when he heard Zack mutter "I'm getting too old for this" as he started up. It amused Darren because his partner was only thirty-eight as compared to Darren's forty-five.

At the top of the fire escape, Darren paused, scanning the roofs. Most of them were flat with no way onto them other than fire escapes or a trapdoor. Only two had actual huts covering an exit, and one had a large swamp cooler. Darren checked the huts to be certain their doors were locked, then moved down to the cooler. As he came around the side he shook his head.

"I wondered if I'd find you up here," he said to the man who was leaning against the cooler's housing. The guy was thin, with dark hair, a short, scruffy beard and mustache, and fine features, although it was obvious his nose had been broken at some point in his life.

"No hiding from the long arm of the law, huh?" the man replied with a grin. "How you doing, Darren?"

"Better than you from the look of it, Rob."

Robin Wright, A.K.A. Rob, was a veteran of the Iraq War. He was forty-two and had been on the streets since leaving the military seven years previously, just before the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'. While he hadn't said that DADT had been part of the reason he hadn't re-upped, Darren had the feeling from a few offhand comments Rob had made that it was.

Strangely enough in Darren's opinion, he and Rob had become friends, with Darren doing his best to convince Rob to find a job and get off the streets. Rob resisted, pointing out the fact there were damned few, if any, jobs for a veteran with no real job skills and PTSD. "Not that my PTSD is that bad," he'd said, the first time he'd told Darren a bit about himself. "I just tend to fly off the handle pretty quickly if I'm stressed." He'd smiled then, adding, "Living the way I do now, the only stressors are where I'm going to crash without cops like you rousting me, and how to get my next meal. Luckily, I don't mind dumpster food too much, since I know which ones have the best offerings, and I do make a bit of cash panhandling so I can hit up a fast-food place sometimes."

The first time Darren had run into him that was exactly what Rob had been doing. Panhandling. When had Darren told him to move on, Rob had stared at him for a long moment then sighed and with a quirky grin, mostly hidden behind his beard and mustache, he'd replied, "Damn, you're not susceptible to the Jedi mind trick."

"No really," Darren had said, laughing. "So you'd better do as I said. I don’t think the guards at the jail are either, meaning you won't be able to influence them to let you go."

Rob had picked up the battered Starbucks cup he'd been using to collect change, dumped the money in the pocket of his well-worn coat and pushed off the wall between the windows of a clothing store and a tourist shop. "Don't suppose you have fifty cents you could loan me. Then I'll have enough for fries with my burger."

"Loan you?"

"Well, yeah. I'll pay it back when I can. Hell, I see you around here all the time, even if you don't see me."

Darren had shaken his head. "You seeing me is no surprise. It is my beat."

"Yours and that beefy blond's. Say, Officer --" Rob had looked at Darren's name badge "-- D. Cameron, what's the 'D' stand for?"

"Darren. And while we're trading names, what's yours?"

"Rob."

"Just Rob?"

"Until I trust you, yeah."

"Okay, Rob." For whatever reason, one he couldn't put a finger on, Darren had dug a couple of dollars out of his pocket, handing them to him. "If I find out you spent this on booze or drugs," he'd cautioned.

"Naw, not my thing. Thanks, Darren. I'll see you around I'm sure."

"Undoubtedly," Darren had replied, watching Rob shuffle off.

He had found out later the shuffle was just one of the many ways Rob tried to gain sympathy when he was panhandling. He also had a sling he put on, on occasion, When he was outside the bus station, claiming he only needed a couple of dollars more to pay for his ticket home, he carried a battered messenger bag and wore the only decent jacket and jeans he owned.

After their first meeting, Darren saw Rob at least once a week. Usually it was when he and Zack were doing alley patrols late at night. Then one evening, when he was off duty, after going to a movie downtown, Darren had run into Rob while going back to his car. 

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Lonesome-Men-Edward-Kendrick-ebook/dp/B07LBJ99PC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1546097644&sr=1-1&keywords=Lonesome+men+edward+kendrick

The Hotel - 34

"Did Caitlin know about the falling out between Tessa and Jenn?" Edwin asked.

"Not that she's said to me but, like Ramsey, I suppose she could have overheard their argument if she was in her room."

"So she could have taken advantage of Jenn being upset with Tessa, or vice versa I guess." When I started to protest he held up his hand. "Suppose she, and Ramsey, saw Tessa leave with Vern. Ramsey's upset, because he figured he could step in and convince Tessa she should be with him rather than chasing after Kirby. Caitlin, on the other hand, hangs around somewhere waiting for Tessa to come back into the hotel proper. Then she does the girl thing of wanting to know all the details, suggesting she and Tessa take a walk so they can talk in private."

"That's a stretch," I replied. "Would you go outside on a cold night, sneak out actually, which is what happened, just to brag to a friend about making it with Vern?"

Edwin grinned momentarily. "Nope, but Vern's straight so that wouldn't happen." When I flipped him off, he laughed and sobered again. "I'm not saying that's what happened, if it was Caitlin, but it's possible. In Ramsey's case, he could have run into Tessa when she got back and…what? Come on to her?"

"She'd just rejected Vern, to hear him tell it. Why would she accept Ramsey's proposition?"

"Because he'd be around for the long run. Once she left here, she'd never see Vern again, which might have been why she didn't let things go any further than having a nightcap with him."

"Okay, that's sort of logical, I guess."

"And then we have…" Edwin didn't get any further because two of the guests descended on us, telling him there was a problem with their room.

"The joys of owning a hotel," he said to me under his breath before leaving with them.

I picked up my unfinished beer and walked back to our table, getting there just in time to see Marsh and Phil helping Ramsey to his feet. He was staggering, obviously quite drunk, and protesting he didn't want to leave. I stepped in; telling him and everyone else it was probably time to call it a night. Most of the hotel guests had already left so it wasn't hard to convince my people to do the same.

Taking over for Phil, I gripped one of Ramsey's arms and between us, Marsh and I got him into the elevator and up to his room. He collapsed on the bed and passed out, so I took off his shoes, covered him with the bedspread, and we left him to sleep it off.

I had just gotten back to my room and closed the door when someone knocked. I wasn't certain I wanted to answer, but I did. Edwin stood there and came in when I stepped aside.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," he said as soon as he closed the door. "I talked with Orville and he's not going to let you and the troupe leave tomorrow morning."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Because you're a smart man?"

"So you keep saying." I smiled wryly. "Right now, though, I'm going to ask that we don't talk about the damned murder."

"I don't intend to," he replied, stepping closer. "It's the last thing on my mind at the moment, now that I've delivered the message."

I wanted to tell him he should go home, meaning to his suite, so I could get some sleep. I didn't—and he didn't.

The Hotel – 33

"Here you are," I heard Edwin say from behind me as he put his hand on my shoulder.

I turned to look up at him. "I'm hardly hiding."

He nodded. "True. Do you have a minute? There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Sure." I got up, telling the others I'd be back.

"Maybe you will," Edwin said when we were out of their earshot. "That was my ploy to get you to myself for a minute."

"Okay. Why?"

"Because I need someone sane to talk to?" he replied.

I laughed. "Then you've come to the wrong man."

"I don't think so." He took me to a small table at the back of the lounge, away from the general hubbub. "I've been watching your people," he said as soon as we were seated.

Sighing, knowing why, I asked, "Have any of them set off your radar, so to speak."

"Ramsey is drinking hard. Much more than the others. Is that normal for him?"

I shook my head. "It's not normal. Not that he's a teetotaler by any means, but he's over-doing it tonight."

"What was his relationship with Tessa?"

"There wasn't one that I know of. I've told you that, I think."

He nodded. "Caitlin seems to be eating up all the attention she's getting. I thought she stepped into the role because, other than Jenn, she'd the only female in your troupe at this point."

"True. As far as I knew she was quite happy making costumes and had no desire to act. Now, I'm beginning to wonder."

"What if, and this is merely supposition, she did want to act but never told you because she knew you needed her costuming skills."

"You're suggesting she killed Tessa to clear the way for her to step into the role? I don't believe that," I said emphatically.

"Think about it, Austin. You're up here, not down in the city, so there's no chance for you to get a replacement for Tessa to come up to the hotel and learn the part on such short notice. Right?"

As must as I hated to admit it, he had a point.

The Hotel - 32

I made my way to the bar, thanking Vern when he handed me a draft beer and told me it was on the house. Then I headed to our table. Caitlin, Phil, and Noah were talking to some of the guests, answering questions about what it was like to be actors. Noah glanced at me, rolling his eyes and I chuckled as I took the one vacant chair next to Ramsey.

He saluted me then muttered under his breath, "If one more person asks about Tessa…"

I frowned. "They have been?"

"Oh, yeah," Marsh, who was seated next to him, replied. "It's a damned good thing they think it was an accident. Even at that, they're asking for details. People, I swear."

"Human nature. You know that," I told them just as a man and woman came over.

She told Ramsey she thought his performance as Van Helsing was better than "that actor in the movie." Then she said, "I'm so sorry you lost one of your cast members."

"Now, dear," the man said, "What did I tell you about mentioning her? I'm sure they've had enough of that already."

"I just wanted them to know…" She didn't get to finish as her husband put his arm around her and steered her away from us.

"You were right," Ramsey muttered to me. "Ghouls, all of them." He finished his drink and flagged down one of the girls to order another one. When she returned she had a tray with drinks for everyone at the table. She pointed to the couple who had been asking about Tessa, saying they had bought them. We all lifted our glasses in thanks.

"Salving their conscience?" Marsh asked with a dry smile.

I told him to behave, getting chuckles from the others. I wondered what to do with my second draft, since I intended to keep to my usual routine and make my first one last through the evening. Phil apparently picked up on my quandary because he reached for the glass, telling me he'd take care of it. Then he got up, heading to the washroom. When he got back, he set the empty glass on the table, winking at me.

Thankfully, with the exception of Ramsey, everyone was taking things slowly, waving off offers of fresh drinks from some of the guests while politely thanking them. I wanted to tell Ramsey to slow down, but didn't. As I'd told Orville, I'm not their keeper.

Guardian Angels – Ambivalent – 30

Paddy made it halfway through his meal before saying, "You like him, don't you?"

Mike chuckled. "I wondered when you were going to ask. The answer is, I don't know him well enough to say one way or the other. He seems like a nice guy. I think from the way he was acting he's possibly gay, but I'm not going to bet the house on that."

"The way he kept watching you at the shelter, I would. I tried to tell myself it was just his getting to know how you acted and reacted so he'd pick up on it if something was wrong. I'm not sure I was right."

"Well, as I said, since I barely know him how can I say I like him?"

"But you find him interesting."

Mike thought about that and nodded. "In a way I suppose. Does that bother you?"

"A bit I guess. You're…we've become friends. I don't want you to get hurt."

Resting his elbows on the table, cupping his chin is his hands, Mike studied Paddy. "Is that how you see us? As just friends?"

"At this point, yes," Paddy replied. "There was a time when I wished we could be more. That's not…practical and I'm not the kind of man who is willing to take advantage of a situation for a night or two of"—he smiled wryly—"unbridled sex with no strings attached."

"And that's all it would be?"

"Yes. When this is over I'll move on. So"—he reached over to grip Mike's arm—"if you're resisting any feelings you might think you have for Link because…well… Okay, however I put it, it would sound egotistical."

"Because at one point maybe I felt the same way you did? I was betwixt and between you know." Mike laid his hand over Paddy's. "I really was. First I'd tell myself I found you more than interesting. Then I'd decide that was just because of the situation. Or perhaps it wasn't. I couldn't make up my mind and I still can't."

"But you're not willing to find out one way or the other?"

"You said it yourself. When this is over you'll be moving on. I suspect that doesn't mean to another job for Vic that would keep you here in the city."

"No, it doesn't." Paddy smiled ruefully. "I'm not one to stick around in one place for too long. So, probably, if we did have feelings for each other that went beyond just friendship…"

"You'd still leave when the wanderlust hit you again. I understand. Still, it might have been interesting to find out if…if there was more."

Paddy nodded. "It might have been," he said softly.

But that wasn't going to happen. It never really could have. So stop acting like a jealous idiot when Link's around. If they decide to find out if there could be something between them—and for damned sure it's too soon to tell—don't interfere. My job is to keep Mike safe. That's it. End of story. Feelings don't enter into that. They can't. I… I can't let them.

"Paddy," Mike said, squeezing his hand, "are you all right with this?"

"Yeah, I am. Now let's finish eating and then get some sleep. Sooner or later Keefe is going to show his hand and when he does we all have to be alert and ready to stop him, and catch him before some one, namely you, gets hurt."

The Hotel - 31

"A star is born," Ramsey said as soon as the cast had taken their final bows and retired to the hallway behind the ballroom. He hugged Caitlin, kissing her forehead.

"I think I'll stick to making costumes," she replied, but she did look very pleased with herself.

"You can do what Noah does," Phil told her. "Split your time between acting and costuming."

"I make costumes?" Noah said.

"You know what I mean, brat," Phil replied, hugging him.

"Brat?"

Phil grinned. "If the shoe fits…"

"Oh, you are so going to get it, Mister." Noah paused long enough to give Phil a fast kiss. "Maybe when we get back to the city."

"About time," Marsh whispered to me. I agreed. It looked like maybe they were going to stop dancing around each other and take things to the next level.

It was good to see everyone had unwound, at least a little. The result of an excellent performance tonight, I knew, but I'd take anything I could get. Now all that had to happen was for Orville to figure out who killed Tessa and why—and hope against hope it was an outsider, although I didn't really believe that.

Even Jenn and Kirby seemed to be back to normal. They were whispering to each other, then he said, "Let's get out of costume and then we can hit up the cocktail lounge and sign autographs."

She laughed, telling him, "I doubt that's going to happen but I bet we won't have to buy our own drinks."

Probably not, I figured, which meant I'd better keep an eye on my people to be certain they didn't over-indulge.

* * * *

The cocktail lounge was crowded with hotel guests when I got there, so I wasn't terribly surprised to see Logan behind the bar helping Vern. I noticed that the young women who worked for the hotel were doing duty as waitresses.

Edwin was wandering, talking to people, as were some of the members of my troupe—the ones who weren't sitting at one of the tables in the middle of the room.

"Soaking up the accolades?" I whispered to Kirby with a grin after a woman told him how wonderful he'd been as Dracula.

He grinned back as he took another sip of the drink in his hand. "You bet. I think we all are. I'll try not to let it go to my head."

"I'll make sure it doesn't," Jenn said, smiling at him.

The Hotel – 30

I left the office, going into the lounge where I found Phil, Noah, and Caitlin huddled together on one of the sofas. They looked up guiltily when they saw me.

"We're helping Caitlin with her lines," Noah said. "I mean, we are going to do the show tonight, right?"

"Yes. Let's hope Tessa's murder hasn't made the news or we might be dealing with a lot of ghoulish people coming up just to be at the scene of the crime."

"If they do, I'll take them out to wherever she was found and let them deal with getting back here on their own." Noah grinned, getting a smack on the arm from Caitlin and a light chuckle from Phil.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"Last seen, they're in the small lounge watching some comedy 'To get our minds off the tragedy for a while,' to quote Ramsey."

They were, and I told them we'd be putting on the show as planned. When Kirby asked, I said I didn't know if we were going to cancel the other performances once we got back to the city. I didn't want to, since they were for charity, but we'd make a decision later.

"Because we might be down another actor," he replied.

"I certainly hope not," I said.

Marsh nodded. "But it's a possibility, like it or not."

"It is," I agreed. "All right, I'll see you all at dinner. Enjoy the rest of your movie."

I left, heading to the elevator, only to have Edwin stop me.

"If you're not busy," he said sounding hopeful that I wasn't.

"I was going to change into something a bit less casual," I told him. "We're going ahead with the show tonight, but I already told you that. I might even try to nap for an hour if no one needs me. It's been a long day and it's not close to over, yet."

"If I may make a suggestion, use my suite. No one will bother you there."

"Not even you?"

He smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder to keep me from getting on the elevator. "Only if you want me to."

"That sounds distinctly like a proposition."

"Perhaps it is."

I saw a glimmer of amusement in his eyes, figured what the hell, and said using his suite sounded good to me.

* * * *

It was after six when I left Edwin's suite. I was definitely less tense than I'd been a couple of hours before. Good sex can do that. My only concern was that I was definitely disproving what I'd told him—that I wasn't into casual flings. Right then I didn’t care. I needed what he was offering, and frankly the fact he was a man who was able to become a wolf on command didn't bother me—too much.

I knew it could never be anything more than what it was right now—two men taking advantage of the moment. Barring the sheriff ordering us to stay at the hotel until he discovered who had killed Tessa, we would be leaving in the morning.

Edwin did tell me that the story the sheriff had given out to the news outlets was that Tessa had died in a tragic hiking accident. "There's no sense having every idiot within a fifty mile radius descending on us, hoping to view the crime scene."

I laughed, although it wasn't really a laughing matter, telling him I'd said the same thing to the troupe that afternoon. "Although I called them ghouls."

Dinner was a relatively silent affair. The camaraderie of the late afternoon seemed to have vanished again, with everyone buried in their own thoughts or looking at each other as if wondering if the person they'd known and liked for the past few years could be a murderer. I wasn't surprised that I garnered a few of those looks, too. It was human nature.

Guests who were, I presumed, spending the weekend at the hotel, started coming into the dining room, finding seats at the various empty tables around us. I knew just from watching them that they wanted to ask about Tessa's death. Thankfully, they had enough common sense, or good breeding, not to.

The Hotel – 29

Noah returned, looking shaken, and told Kirby it was his turn, and so it went. It was early afternoon before Orville got to me. I was the last one.

"First," Orville said when we were in Edwin's office, "I want to know if you have any suspicions about who might have murdered Ms. Baker."

"No," I replied succinctly.

He cocked his head, looking at me. "I'm aware you just found out about us. Has Edwin said anything to you since then about our abilities?"

I sighed and nodded. "It's not that I think either of them were involved, but Jenn had no love for Tessa, and Kirby… Well I don't know how he felt about her, but Tessa was trying her best to take him away from Jenn. That bit of information I only found out a couple of nights ago when I overheard Jenn and Tessa arguing."

He was taking notes as I talked. Now he looked up at me, saying, "See, don't you feel better telling me the truth?"

I snorted. "Not really. They're my friends. Implicating them in this? Well, I'd rather not have to, to be honest."

"You're not the only one who mentioned the argument, so you were only confirming what I already knew."

"Ramsey," I replied and he nodded.

"Is there anyone else you'd I rather I didn't know about?" he asked.

"No. And that is the truth. I can't think of anyone who had a reason to kill her."

"What about Ramsey and Marshall? Could one of them have come on to her and then gotten upset when she rejected them?"

"That happens to everyone at one time or another and you know it. If someone rejected me it's for damned sure I wouldn't murder them. I might be pissed. Probably would be if I'd thought I had a chance. But that would be it."

"All right. Next question. Do you know where everyone was when Ms. Baker left the hotel?"

"Not really. Presuming it was late, which I guess it was, then as far as I know everyone had already gone to bed. The last I saw of most of them was in the cocktail lounge. With the exception of Jenn and Kirby, that is. Tessa wasn't with the group. She was at the bar, flirting with Vern. He said, later, that he took her to his suite for a nightcap, but she left before anything happened between them."

"Yes, I know that," Orville replied. "You don't know if she returned to her room?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not the troupe's houseparent. They'll all adults and I treat them like they are."

I wanted to ask him if anyone had lied to him, but didn't. One, it was none of my business. Two, I didn't think he'd tell me, anyway.

"One more question. Are you putting on the show tonight as planned?"

"Unless someone in the troupe protests vehemently, I am. As I told Edwin, we'll do it as an homage, or I guess a memorial to Tessa."

"You and he are becoming quite good friends," Orville said. I thought I detected a slight smirk before his expression returned to neutral.

"I guess so," I replied, damned glad he couldn't read my mind as I immediately flashed on the previous night when I ended up in Edwin's bed.

"He's a good man, Austin. You could have a worse friend." With that he stood, telling me that was it for the moment. "I have to get back to town so the doc can do an autopsy on Ms. Baker."

That was a chilling thought, though I knew it had to happen.

The Hotel - 28

Noah and Phil were peering out the window at us while Logan and Orville put Tessa's body into the van. A second later, the rest of the troupe was watching as well, looking none too happy about what was happening. Not that I blame them. I wasn't exactly cheerful myself, and I had more to worry about than her murder. How was I going to deal with the fact that a man I considered a friend, and maybe more, was able to turn into a wolf in the blink of an eye?

Something I would worry about later, since Orville announced, before he walked to the side door of the hotel, that he wanted to talk with everyone.

When we got inside, we found the troupe waiting for us in the large lounge. Jenn and Kirby were sitting on one of the sofas, although not close to each other. Noah was walking back and forth while Phil watched him from an armchair. Caitlin was seated stiffly on the edge of another armchair, and Marsh and Ramsey were nervously pacing the room.

"Guys," I said when everyone turned to look at us. "This is Sheriff… I'm afraid I don't know his last name."

"Just call me Orville. Everyone does," Orville said, leaning an elbow on the fireplace mantel. "As you're aware by now, Tessa Baker's body was found earlier this morning. I'm sorry to tell you she was murdered."

Although I'm certain they were expecting his words, everyone seemed shocked.

"You're sure?" Phil asked. "I mean, really sure."

"I'm afraid so," Orville replied. "I would like to talk with each of you individually. Edwin has offered me the use of his office." He looked at each person one by one then gestured to Marsh. "If you don't mind being the first, Mr. …?"

"Just Marsh," he said with a brief smile as he followed Orville out of the room.

He was back several minutes later, telling Noah he was next. Then Marsh took me aside, saying, "He asked me not to say what we talked about. I think he doesn't want to cue anyone in on what questions he'll be asking."

"That makes sense to me." I chuckled sourly. "I hope he realizes almost everyone is an actor, so they can answer questions with a straight face, as it were, while lying through their teeth."

"True, that," Marsh replied before rejoining the others.

I sensed someone behind me and turned to find Edwin standing there. "That's not quite the truth," he said quietly, after checking to be certain no one was close to us. "Orville's old enough he can sense a lie. He may not be able to find out what the truth behind the lie is, but he will know if someone is lying."

"So he can't read their minds?"

"No. He's not a vampire." He smiled wickedly. "Or old enough and an Alpha."

"What about you?" I asked, not certain I wanted to know.

"I'm an Alpha, but a young one, so no, I can't."

I hoped he was telling the truth. The last thing I wanted was him, or any one of them, knowing what I was thinking.

Guardian Angels – Ambivalent - 29

"Paddy's right, he is my bodyguard," Mike said. "But right now the idea of driving, not walking, sounds good. I keep expecting Mr. Keefe to pop out and grab me or shove me in front of a moving car or what have you."

Link slung one arm across Mike's shoulders. "That's why I'm here, to keep that from happening. And before you pull away, it's going to be easier for me to hang around you if anyone who might be watching thinks we have something going on between us."

"Like Mr. Keefe," Mike muttered.

"Exactly."

Paddy glared at Link. "Since I'm the one staying with Mike, wouldn't Keefe think that about me?" 

Link arched one dark eyebrow. "You're old enough to be Mike's… Okay, I'll be nice and say older brother."

"Póg mo thóin," Paddy spat out indignantly.

"No sure what you said but I have a feeling I'd rather not know."

Paddy smirked. "Something you probably do with every man you've been with." 

"Damn it you two, will you stop." Mike quit walking, pulling away from Link. "I am not up for grabs, by either of you. If you want to fight, have at it. I'm going home." With that said he walked away, not looking back to see if they were following.

Paddy and Link quickly came up beside Mike, bracketing him between them.

"Sorry," Link said. "I'm behaving like an ass."

"As am I," Paddy said in agreement. "Your safety is what's important. Not our posturing like two…"

"Roosters?" Mike smiled slightly. "I suppose I should feel flattered but quite honestly at this point all I can think about is getting inside where I'm safe. And before you say anything, Link, my apartment has full security installed by an expert."

"Good. Then when we get there I'll leave you two at the front door, go home and get some sleep. That's my car." They were at the lot and he led them to it.

Link did exactly what he'd said, other than the fact that he actually went up in the elevator with them to make sure Mr. Keefe wasn't lurking in the hallway. "After all," he explained, "I suspect I'm the only one of the three of us who is armed."

"I have a knife, but yes, technically you are," Paddy told him.

* * * *

Once he and Paddy were in the apartment, with the door locked and the security box rearmed, Mike said "You have a knife? Where?"

"Nowhere," Paddy admitted. "I was just…"

"Trying to one-up him, sort of." Mike shook his head, heading to the kitchen. "We can have burgers again or I can make us sandwiches," he called out after checking the refrigerator. "I've got pastrami and corned beef."

"And rye bread?" Paddy asked, coming in to join him.

"Of course. Plus Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing." He grinned. "I hit up the deli a few days ago so we can go all out and have Rubens."

"Sounds good to me. I'll help."

Ten minutes later the sandwiches were made and they were settled at the table with them and coffee.

The Hotel – 27

Before I could ask anything more, Orville said, "Shall we get down to business while Austin tries to come to terms with what he's learned?"

He went over to the heap of fallen aspen, circling until he came to where they had found Tessa. He knelt, out of my view, while the other men watched from behind him.

"Definitely not an accident," Orville said, his disembodied voice coming from somewhere behind the pile. I saw a flash of light, then several more, and thought he might be using his phone to take photos of her body. I was right. He came back into view, snapping more pictures of the pile and the surrounding area. Then he said, "All right, let's get her out."

With Henry's assistance, he and Orville retrieved her body, laying it gently on the ground where the sun shone through the trees.

"This," Orville said, "was not inflicted by her running into something like a tree branch."

I got up my nerve to go join them. He was kneeling, touching the side of Tessa's head. Even I could tell someone must have hit her with something hard since her temple was stove in. Probably a rock, I thought. There were enough of them around.

"If she'd hit her head that hard, she'd have died where she fell," Orville continued. "There's no way she could have crawled in there." He gestured toward the space where she'd been found when Henry had moved some of the smaller trees. "Besides which, she was in feet-first."

"So Henry and I noticed," Edwin said. "Because of the way she was laying we didn't see the wound, although we could smell her blood."

I shuddered at that idea, earning me a compassionate smile from Edwin.

"We should get her out of here, now," Orville said. "It would help if we could rig up a stretcher of some sort."

"We can," Logan replied. "As long as a couple of us are willing to sacrifice our jackets to the cause."

Henry and Edwin immediately removed theirs while Logan got two long branches. It turned out to be easy enough to make what they needed. Inverting the sleeves inside the buttoned jackets, Logan inserted the branches through them. Then he and Orville carefully put Tessa's body on the jerry rigged stretcher, picked up the ends, and we made our way back to the parking lot at the side of the hotel where Orville had left his van, and he and Logan moved the body into it. He handed the keys to Henry, asking him to take her back to town. "Tell the doc to put her on ice until I get back."

I could picture her being stashed in the freezer of the local grocery store and hoped that wasn't what he meant.

Had I accepted all this, that they were shifters, too easily? Maybe, but then I'm a pragmatist. I couldn't deny that what I'd seen had happened, so why fight the reason behind it. If nothing else, it gave me something to take my mind off Tessa's murder—at least until we got back inside the hotel.

The Hotel – 26

I think I must have passed out from terror and shock because the next thing I knew Edwin was kneeling beside me as I lay on the snowy ground. "I told you that you should have stayed at the hotel," he said softly.

"That didn't happen. It couldn't have," I managed to say.

He nodded. "I can understand why you feel that way, but it did. Henry's a shifter." He paused, looking at the others. "We all are."

"Like hell! This is…is some sort of bad nightmare. I'll wake up back in bed, wondering what I ate to…" My words petered out when the wolf that had come with Orville suddenly transformed into Logan.

"It's not a nightmare," Logan said. "We truly are shifters. Sort of like in the movies—" he chuckled, "—only better."

"Edwin," I whimpered. "Tell me I'm seeing things."

"I wish I could," he replied, putting one arm around me to help me sit up. Standing was not an option quite yet. I was too shaken.

"There's no such thing as shifters," I whispered. "Next thing you know, you'll be telling me there really was a Dracula."

"Some people believe Vlad the Impaler was him—or the vampire who was basis for the story at least," Orville replied.

I took a deep breath, trying to believe—everything. "You, too?" I asked Edwin.

He nodded. "I was the wolf you and your friends saw the first evening you were here."

"What about…?" I hesitated. "Is Vern one? And Logan's wife and daughter?" I looked at Logan.

"Yes," Logan replied. He chuckled. "It runs in the family, so to speak, so Brenda definitely is a shifter."

"Oh…hell."

"You probably don't want to know this," Orville said, smiling wryly. "The town? It's all shifters. A safe haven for us, so to speak."

Something occurred to me just then. "That's why you were able to find Tessa even though she was well hidden," I said to Henry. "You sniffed her out."

"Yes. It took me longer than it should have, because of the snow, but I did."

"Then you should be able to scent whoever put her there."

Edwin shook his head. "Any traces of them are gone, no thanks to the weather."

"So you have no idea who killed her." I couldn't believe I was asking a group of… "Are you a pack?"

"Those of us connected to the hotel are," Edwin replied. "Orville and some of the townspeople form another pack. The rest of them are, excuse the rather trite expression, lone wolves who came to us seeking a safe haven."