Perfect Reflection (4 page)

When he was little, he knew he was Alpha, that he
would be able to lead his own people. When he shifted for the first
time, he endured that pain alone, locked in a room. His mentor and
father later told him that that was the way of a true Alpha. Then
the beatings came, all in an attempt to force him to control his
shift and wolf. His father would repeatedly yell at him to take the
pain and make it his, use it to control his wolf. Then his father
would force him to shift and beat his wolf until his wolf finally
attacked his father in a rage. Then he would laugh and start it all
over again. Until the Redeemer grew more powerful than any other
wolf, and then he killed his mentor like he was supposed to.

His mentor taught him how to hunt, to kill. When he
was young, they would hunt together, laying the dead animals in the
middle of the street for the humans to find and be terrified of.
They accused several of the young boys in the neighborhood of being
cruel. The police set up a watch, but they only found another pile
of dead animals in the middle of the street. No one thought to look
for a wolf; they were looking for a person. He had a good laugh
about that.

Growing up, he found he was stronger, faster, and
more intelligent than the normal child was. He dreamed of the day
he would find his real family and they would welcome him warmly. It
wasn’t hard to locate them though, and once he did, he had been
shocked.

They kept one son and threw away the other for his
mentor to raise. His mentor, already bearing the pain of his mate
cheating, had to raise his bastard. He heard it enough, now his job
was clear, it had been for a long time. He was the Redeemer, he
cleansed the sluts before they were sent to hell. When he took over
the largest Pack in America, everything would change. His word
would be law, and he would be able to cleanse the souls of the
bitches out in the open, then everyone would know how powerful he
was.

The next stage was simple, one more kill and it
should seal the bastard’s fate. He almost clapped his hands in glee
as he thought of the way it would feel to kill her, the one who
would pull all of this together. He closed his eyes and thought of
the blood flowing over his hands as he cut her, her screams when
she would beg him for mercy, which he would not give. It made him
hard thinking about how he would fuck her into submission as he
stole her life. It would be perfect.

Chapter Three

Captain Doyle listened to another cop chastise him,
stunned that someone was speaking to him like this, no one dared.
He was shocked into silence because he never let anyone speak to
him like that, let alone a female. What the hell was going on? He
just let her talk to him like a little child. Pissing on her scene?
What did she mean by that?

Lex knew about Lt. Jewel Campbell. He knew she was
one of the best and the FBI used her to help on some of their crime
scenes. Lex couldn’t believe she spoke to him like that and he let
her. He needed to find out more about Lt. Campbell. Even though she
just talked to him like a five year-old, she stirred something in
him. He started getting hard listening to her. Now he knew he was
going to do a check on Lt. Jewel Campbell.

Lex called the only person who could get a background
check done fast, that was his Alpha and his best friend, Retten
Wexford. Lex was the only one who could call him Ret. They had been
friends since the fifth grade. Mutt and Jeff were what his mom and
dad called them.

Lex’s dad, Mitchell Doyle, worked for Ret’s dad. He
was head of Andrew Wexford’s security. Ret and Lex played together
and grew up best friends. Ret took over the family business making
billions of dollars, and Lex followed his dream and became a cop.
He worked his way up in the police department. He was now the
Captain over the Criminal Investigation Division. He knew that Ret
could get it done faster than him. He was rich and could pay people
money to get the information legally or illegally, and Lex didn’t
care which one. He needed that information now.

“Did you find out anything?” Ret asked Lex over the
phone.

“Yeah, but I got cussed out by the lieutenant over
the investigation. That’s why I’m calling. I need a background
check done on her?” Lex said, growling into the phone.

“You’re joking, right?” When Lex didn’t say anything,
Ret burst out laughing.

“Wow, the mighty Lex Doyle got cussed out by a woman,
and someone who is a lesser rank than you.” Lex stayed silent on
the phone.

“What is it, Lex, and why the hell did you let her
get away with it?” Ret asked, amused that his friend was not
responding, no one had ever stumped his friend like that.

“Well, I really was pissing on her scene, as she
called it. I should have gone through the proper channels to get
the information,” Lex responded carefully.

“Bullshit. It’s my construction site. I told James to
call you. Who does she think she is?” Ret bellowed.

“Look, Ret. It is her investigation. Cops don’t like
it when other people try to get information from witnesses. It’s
just how we are. That is how information is leaked to the press.
You know we are trying to keep a lid on this. It won’t take them
long to put it together with the places the murders are occurring
at and that you know the victims. Plus it won’t take her long to
figure out that you own NY Pack Industries, too.” Lex sighed as he
instructed Ret on Cop 101.

“Look, I need a background check done on her. I need
it like tomorrow. I need to know who I’m going to be working with,”
Lex said.

“Okay, but don’t take any shit off the rednecks,” Ret
said.

Lex laughed because that was exactly what Jewel
Campbell said to him over the phone. “Just get it to me quick. I’ll
see you tonight at Marley’s for poker.” Lex hung up the phone. He
clicked on his computer and googled Lt. Jewel Campbell.

***

Jewel sat at her desk thinking about the murders. She
used her laptop putting the new victim’s information into her
files. She went through the other victims’ information trying to
find the connections. The only connection was money. Their looks
were similar, but there had to be another connection between them.
She looked up at Vander, who was chewing on his pencil looking at
his computer screen. He was trying to find as much information as
he could online about the victims and who owned NY Pack Industries.
He noticed she was looking at him. “I know I take your breath
away,” Vander smiled as he said it.

“Wow, now I know why you are still single.” Jewel
laughed as she shook her head at Vander. “Okay, what do we know now
about the victims? What is their connection to each other?” Jewel
asked.

“Nothing, except they are all beautiful females who
don’t have to work for a living because their daddies pay for them
to play.” Vander snorted as he looked back at the computer.

“Well they do have something else in common,” Jewel
said.

“What?” Vander asked, but he continued surfing the
computer.

“The venue. The victims were killed at a new
construction site that belonged to Retten Wexford of Wexford
Industries.” Vander looked at Jewel confused.

“Damn, Jewels, he is a billionaire. Do you think he
had something to do with the murders?” Vander asked.

“We need to go back to the families and ask about
Wexford, see if the victims had any ties to Mr. Wexford. I just bet
my paycheck that he did.” Jewel never looked up after telling
Vander that and about talking to the families of the victims.

“I don’t know, but he has an office here in Atlanta
and in New York. We need to at least put him on the list until he
can be marked off. There is a reason the murders are happening at
his sites. Somebody is sending him a message or the rich fuck is
bat shit crazy and likes to kill women,” Vander said as he put his
head in his hands, thinking.

“Well you know what Sams said at the construction
site. He said that Captain Doyle was best friends with Wexford. I
mean, why would he get Doyle to call the site, unless he wanted to
know what we knew. Plus Sams said that Wexford owned this last
sight, too, but the information that I’m getting is that NY Pack
Industries is separate from Wexford Industries,” Vander said as if
a light bulb went off in his head.

“I thought of that, too, but there are murders in New
York also. Something is wrong, but I can’t put my finger on it,”
Jewel said and glared at her screen like it had done something
wrong. She was getting a bad feeling about this case.

“Before we tell anyone that he is a suspect, we
really need to be sure, Jewels. I don’t want to be sued by his
high-price lawyers that have nothing better to do than pull us
through the mud for slandering their client’s name.” Vander laughed
and looked at his partner. “Just fucking with you, I love a good
scandal, you know.”

Jewel sat back in her chair, putting her feet on her
desk. “Well, you know the old saying. ‘Keep your friends close but
keep your enemies closer.’ So we check him out when we are in New
York. I mean, if Doyle is his best friend then maybe we can get
some information about him without him understanding why we need
the information. Make him out to be a victim in this, too. If he is
the killer then he will make a mistake and we will be right on
him.”

Jewel and Vander continued to gather information
about the victims and their families. They needed to go back and
ask the victims’ families if the victims knew Wexford. Jewel put
her feet back down and started gathering evidence on Retten
Wexford.

She knew someone who could help her collect
information on Mr. Wexford. He was an old cop that had retired ten
years ago. He was a friend of her parents, the bonus was he was a
shifter, too. Benny was an Elder in her Pack, and when her parents
were killed, he was there for her. Made sure she had somewhere to
call home, watching over her, and protecting her until she was old
enough to take care of herself.

Jewel picked up her cell phone, walked into the
restroom, and looked under the stalls to see if anybody was in the
bathroom before she made the call. Nosey bitches didn’t need to
know where she got her information.

Benny Kidore was a private investigator now, and she
had used him several times on other cases when she couldn’t come up
with any information on her suspects. Benny loved Jewel and Josh as
if they were his kids. She knew Benny could be trusted and would
keep everything quiet.

Benny answered on the fourth ring. “Well hello,
honey. How are you?”

“Hey, Benny. I’m fine. How are you doing?” Jewel
asked as she smiled into the phone.

“Fit as a fiddle. So I guess this is a business call
with all the murders here and in New York.” Jewel wasn’t even
surprised that Benny had already put the murders together both
there and in New York.

“Benny…I need your help on this one,” Jewel sighed as
she asked.

“All you have to do is ask, Jewel. Who do you want
information on this time?” Benny asked Jewel.

“Well, does the name Retten Wexford ring a bell to
you?” Jewel asked.

“He is a rich billionaire who owns a shitload of
businesses here in Atlanta and New York. He is also the Alpha of
the New York wolf pack.” Jewel gasped when she heard the last part.
She didn’t know Retten Wexford was a wolf. If he was then most
likely Captain Doyle was, too.

“I know you have contacts everywhere, Benny. I know
you are saying he is a shifter, too…but I need a background on him
and Captain Lex Doyle from the New York Police Department.” Jewel
knew that Benny didn’t like doing backgrounds on shifters. She was
nervous he would turn her down. “Also, I need to know about the
company, NY Pack Industries. I assume it is the Pack’s company and
Wexford runs it, I just need to know how far his reach is.” Benny
didn’t say anything on the phone, which worried Jewel.

Benny sighed, “I will have your answers by tomorrow
at eleven a.m. You know the spot. Love ya.” Jewel said thank you
and hung up, knowing it was strange that Benny didn’t talk longer.
He must be worried about something.

Chapter Four

Benny was sitting at the bench looking at the
elephants. Jewel walked up and sat down beside him. They didn’t
speak for a few minutes. Then Benny looked over at Jewel. “You’re
not getting much sleep, honey. It will make you old before your
time.”

“We are leaving in the morning to go to New York to
meet with Captain Doyle and compare notes. I may be gone for a
couple of weeks so I won’t be there for poker night with the boys,”
Jewel murmured.

“Here is your information. Listen, Wexford is into
some kinky shit. He likes to, you know, spank girls and all that
M&M shit. I couldn’t even finish the background check, one of
my friends did, and they included a picture of Wexford.” Benny
smiled.

“What is M&M shit, Benny?” Jewel asked
innocently, she loved teasing the old wolf. Even though he was the
best information source, he usually just made up terms when he
didn’t want to say something.

“You know that shit where, you know, they spank girls
and each other and get off on it. I never understood why they did
that. Hell, if they grew up like I did, getting a spanking every
time you turned around, they wouldn’t want to get a spanking. Hell,
I ran from them. These crazy fools run
to
them.” Jewel burst
out laughing.

“Lord, Benny, I needed that laugh. I so miss you. I
need to educate you on the new past times of today’s youth. BDSM,”
Jewel said as she giggled.

“Honey. I’m an old fogy. I don’t care what they do as
long as they don’t try to spank me. Then we will have some
problems. Let’s just leave it at M&M, ‘cause that is what I
think of it.” Jewel reached over and hugged Benny as he continued.
“Listen, Jewel, I know Lex, and he is a good fellow. He is a
shifter, too. Just do your job and you will be all right with him.”
Benny leaned forward with his elbows on his legs. “NY Pack
Industries is a company the New York Pack owns and Retten Wexford
is their Alpha. I know you have questions, but, Jewel, you need to
read the information first. I think you will understand then.”
Jewel knew that Benny was uncomfortable talking about shifters. He
didn’t believe in turning in your own kind. Jewel decided to let it
drop for now and read the information packet later.