Allyn and Ransom – 45

 

"Who are you and what are you doing in my yard?" an aggressive voice asked from the back porch of the house next to the murder site.

 

"Police," Ransom replied, showing the man his badge. "We're investigating the murder of a family over there," he pointed, "and are trying to determine which way the killer went when he left."

 

"Shit. That nice lady and her kids? Who the hell would want to kill them?"

 

Ransom smiled dryly. "That's what we're trying to find out. Did anyone come this way in the last couple of hours?"

 

"Nope. Not that I saw anyway. Did hear a couple of screams though. But that's kind of normal with all the kids in the neighborhood, so I thought nothing of it." He leaned against the porch railing, glancing at Allyn. "What's he looking for? Footprints?"

 

Allyn joined Ransom at that point, asking the man, "Do you own a dog?"

 

"Sure don't. But the lady your partner says got killed did. Got it maybe five, six months ago, right soon after her husband died. I figured it was for protection. It wasn't there? Why you asking?" The man looked at Allyn.

 

"Because there's some paw prints in your yard, heading around the side of your house toward the street."

 

"Maybe was her dog's and he ran instead of defending her?" The man snorted. "Some watchdog, if that's the case."

 

Ransom nodded. "Thanks for your time."

 

"No problem."

 

Ransom and Allyn walked back through the gate, then quickly around the block to the front of the man's home.

 

"Anything?" Ransom asked, while Allyn studied the ground in front of the house.

 

"It would be easier to track him if I could shift."

 

"And be my loyal police dog?" Ransom said, chuckling. "It's almost dark enough. Let's get back to the car. You can do that while I find a parking spot here, and we'll go from there."

 

Five minutes later, Ransom had parked and he and Allyn—in his shifted form and wearing a collar and leash—were back where the hybrid shifter had left the yard.

 

::He was scared. Terrified.:: Allyn said. ::Makes me wonder if maybe he was the intended target and managed to escape in time.::

 

::Then why kill the family?::

 

::Because they saw the killer—or killers. That would be my guess anyway, especially if the woman knew she was harboring a shifter.::

 

As they spoke, Allyn, nose to the ground, followed the faint trail of the shifter. He paused at one point, shook his head and crossed the street, muttering, ::Roads are as bad as streams when it comes to losing a scent.:: He moved right, then left, along the sidewalk, finally stopping in front of a cut-through between two houses. ::He went that-a-way, pardner.::

 

Ransom chuckled. ::That was bad.::

 

They moved down the cut-through to the next street. From there, they spent an hour tracking the shifter through yards and alleys. He appeared to be moving east, in a zigzag pattern, toward Bayou Chaperon.

 

::We'll lose him for sure in there,:: Ransom said.

 

::Maybe, maybe not.:: Allyn continued tracking until they got to the canal separating the sparsely populated residential area from the bayou. ::He crossed here, via the bridge," he said. ::Once we're in the bayou, you can shift too. It'll make things easier and I can get out of this damned collar.::

 

By then it was almost full night, with a three-quarter moon the only illumination. Following the shifter's trail became marginally easier, as he didn't seem to be trying to cover his tracks once he got into the bayou. They led, eventually, to a wide canal and seemed to end there. Beyond it, they could see the shore of Lake Borgne. Allyn teleported across the canal, then, once he picked up the trail again, waved for Ransom to join him.

 

::Damned good thing we can teleport back to the car when the time comes,:: Ransom said when he landed beside Allyn. ::I feel like we've been walking for hours.::

 

::Maybe because we have?:: Allyn replied, now at the edge of the lake. ::The problem is, where did he go? The trail ends right here.::

 

::You tell me,:: Ransom replied in frustration as he stared out over the dark waters.

 

::Maybe…there?:: Allyn nodded to what he thought could be an island.

 

::Hmm. Possible. If I don't miss my guess that's Tower Dupre. Martello Castle is its other name—or what's left of it.::

 

::It would make a secure hideout.::

 

::Then let's see if it's where our shifter ended up,:: Ransom said.