SavageLust (3 page)

“It is,” Craig agreed. He turned to look at one of the
screens behind him, where Ric had put up a graphic of Kendall, Gillespie and
Blanco counties. The ranch straddled the line between Kendall and Gillespie,
but they knew the reason Craig had purchased this particular acreage was
because it was so inaccessible and geographically unfriendly. It certainly
discouraged visitors.

Dante watched as Ric fiddled with one of the keyboards and
in a moment, a red dot appeared in Blanco County, then another that denoted the
location of the ranch.

“I’m sure every one of you is as disturbed as I am,” Craig
told them, “to realize one of these creatures is now so close to us.”

Ric swiped the keyboard surface again and a series of photos
popped up on three more blank screens.

“For those unfamiliar with it, let me give you an idea of
the geography of the place. Wolf Mountain Trail is one of the most popular
trails for hikers in Texas, especially around here.” He pressed the remote he
was holding and a picture of dense forest expanded on the screen. “There’s a
lot of scrubland, some dense cedar woods plus a lot of elm and other trees that
provide thick forestation, lots of beautiful valley vistas. Some bluffs with
fairly steep walls plus a well-known waterfall. And then there’s Jones Spring.”

The picture changed again.

“This is apparently where the hikers stopped for lunch. Just
below this little drop-off is the spring, and as you can see, the area behind
it is heavily wooded.”

“Ric, did you say hikers?” Sophia asked. “As in plural?”

He nodded. “And that’s the other wrinkle here.”

Logan asked. “What kind of so-called wrinkle are we talking
about?”

“Actually, more than one,” Craig answered.

“Let me back up a little.” Ric enlarged the picture of Jones
Spring. “Like I said, this is a popular trail with hikers. A couple—Lisa McKay
and Reed Fortune—were out camping for the weekend to celebrate their
engagement. They’re big hikers, apparently. They were due back Sunday night.
When they didn’t check in with anyone, Reed’s sister tried calling both of
their cellphones, without any luck. So she called the park ranger and asked him
to look for them.”

“So he found the bodies?” Mark asked.

“Some other unfortunate hikers had found it the day before.
A bunch of college kids out hiking for the day.”

“Needless to say,” Craig put in, “they were badly
traumatized by the discovery. We all know what a nightmare that sight can be.”

“When the park ranger got the call from Regan Fortune,” Ric
continued, “he asked her for a physical description of her brother and it
matched the body. Or what was left of it.”

“What about the fiancée?” This from Mark again, tension
underlining his words.

Ric shook his head. “That’s major problem number one—she’s
disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” The sharp cry echoed in the room.

Everyone turned to look at Chloe Guitron sitting rigid in
her chair, her face bleached white, her knuckles pressed to her mouth.

Every single person was acutely aware of the fact that Chloe’s
closest friend, Melinda, had disappeared in Zapata County in South Texas right
after a Chupacabra kill. She still hadn’t been found. Her disappearance,
combined with another killing by the devil beast, was what had led to the
conclusion that someone was breeding them in a most horrific way.

Combining DNA not from just a variety of animals, but
possibly also from humans.

Mark slid his chair closer to his wife’s and pulled her into
his arms.

“If they’re keeping a lid on it,” Jonah said, “how did this
leak out?”

“One of the hikers who found the body has a brother who’s a
reporter,” Craig answered. “Need I say more?” He shoved his hands into his
pockets, worry and frustration written on his face. “I called the Ranger
headquarters in Austin and offered our services.”

“Let me guess,” Logan snorted. “They turned us down and said
our theory is just so much crap. Just like every other agency when we first
approach them.”

“Not in those exact words but yes. They shut the door on
us.”

Sophia slammed her hand on the table. “Why do we always have
to go through this? The cops always give us a hard time and at least one more
person has to die before they let us do our thing. What’s the matter with
everyone?”

Ric grunted. “They all say the same thing. No matter how
much evidence we show them, they think our story is too farfetched. Most people
just don’t want to believe it, Sophia. It’s beyond what they can accept. Even
when they see the carcasses of the beasts we kill, they can’t seem to accept
the truth. They insist it’s some other wild animal. Some hybrid. They refuse to
believe what they see because the truth is too horrific for them to grasp.”

“But here in Texas, the legend’s been around a long time,”
she protested.

He nodded. “And that’s exactly what they think it is. A
legend.”

Dante bit down on his frustration. Just as the police in
Illinois had told him he was crazy, so had every other police department since
Night Seekers was formed. He wanted to grab them all and shake some sense into
them. “Ric, since you’re a former Ranger, should we assume you’ll head the
investigation? Maybe try to serve as a liaison?” he asked.

It was Craig who answered. “Actually, Dante, I hate to say
it, but no. There are a lot of politics involved here.”

“Politics?” This from Logan. “You mean, more than usual?”

Craig’s laugh was anything but humorous. “The Texas Rangers
are probably one of the best law enforcement units in the country, but they
have to follow procedure like everyone else. The governor’s tangled up in it
and everyone is concerned about the effect on tourism as well as the safety of
the population. They all want to keep a lid on this thing and I’m pretty sure
they’ll view Ric as coming from the other side, instead of as a fellow Ranger.”

“We had the same problem with the last two situations,” Logan
said. “In Montana, my being a former deputy sheriff didn’t open any doors for
me until we had a second killing. And when Sophia and I were in Maine, they let
us in on the investigation but only because she’s a former detective and
you
used your muscle.”

“I’m going to try pulling some strings here too,” Craig
added. “Let’s see if I have the kind of clout I tell myself I do. But again,
the Rangers are a whole different ball game.”

“Question.” Dante looked from Ric to Craig and back again.
“Let’s say they sell the story that some rabid animal is responsible for this
and people should just be very careful. How do they explain the disappearance
of the woman?”

“The prevailing theory,” Craig told him, “is that she was
frightened by the animal and ran off.”

“And she’s still hiding? Or lost?” Mark was incredulous.
“Are they fucking stupid? Wait, they are. Or afraid to examine the
alternatives.”

“Just like always,” Rebecca said. “It’s a battle to get them
to listen.”

“To be fair,” Ric told her, “if you weren’t as involved in
this as you are, would you believe a Chupacabra story if someone walked in off
the street and laid it on you?”

“I know, I know,” she grumbled. “It wasn’t any different in
Maine or Montana.”

“Or further south in Texas,” Jonah pointed out.

“But even if they’re right, and even if she got lost, they’ve
had three days to find her. I’d think a trained Search and Rescue team would
have located her by this time,” Dante argued.

“You’d think.” Ric thinned his lips. “I’m proud that I was a
Ranger, and I’ll always feel that connection. But all of us have had personal
experiences with the devil beast, have lost someone to it, and with the cases
we’ve worked? We know all about the wall of resistance out there, even in Texas
where the legend has been rampant for ages.”

“What’s the other difference with this case?” Mark Guitron
asked.

Ric looked at Craig before putting a map of the park up on
the screen.

“Usually the beast attacks in isolated areas. Even when the
location isn’t so remote, if it touches a populated area, the kill always takes
place at the very edge. And there are trees or something to shield it.” He hit
a key and a picture of hikers on the trail appeared. “This is a popular spot.
There are always people around. Especially during the day.”

“I talked to a couple of my guys back at the lab,” Craig
added. “They’ve been thinking whoever breeds these abominations is programming
them with advanced artificial intelligence. And that they may be testing out
their ability to operate in a populated area. Get in, kill, get away, all
without being detected.”

“And it scares the shit out of me what that might mean for
the future,” Ric added.

Dante was shocked at Craig’s words. Glancing around, he saw
stunned expressions on every other face too.

“That definitely ups the risk factor,” he pointed out.

“Something else to keep in mind,” Craig told them. “Based on
what happened in Maverick and Zapata counties here in Texas, and the fact that
the beast just up and disappeared when it ran out of Ben Crater’s barn, there’s
a good chance that these things can shift. Change into other creatures. Go
through some kind of metamorphosis.”

Ben had left Montana to join the team at Craig’s invitation.
A former Marine, he was also a shifter. They were more than glad to have him
and his special skills. Accompanying him was Randi Turner, a graphic sketch
artist formerly with the Montana police. Craig had believed she could be of
some use to the team and it seemed Ben and she had become attached at the hip.

“Son of a bitch.” Dante ground his teeth. It suddenly
occurred to him that when he’d found Felicia’s body, in addition to the faint
odor of turpentine that lingered around every Chupacabra kill, a large feral
cat had streaked through the trees behind their vacation cabin. He’d seen it
running away after he’d raced to the back upon hearing Felicia’s horrific
scream.

Now he wished he’d taken out his gun and shot the fucking
thing.

“When I was down in Zapata County,” Mark said, “we had
reports that the old man who was killed had picked up a stray dog on his way
home.”

“And the old woman who was attacked had hired a stranger to
help her with the farm,” Jonah added.

They all stared at each other for a long moment, silence
cloaking the room as they absorbed all the latest information.

“So which one of us gets to sit on the hot seat this time?”
Rebecca asked at last.

Dante watched as Craig’s gaze skimmed over the room, pausing
for a moment on each person—until it settled on him.

“Dante, I believe it’s your turn up at bat.”

Adrenaline coursed through the former cop. He’d been waiting
for this, preparing for this. But still—was this one right for him? He was a
city guy still learning his way in the country. He said as much.

Ric chuckled. “Nothing like baptism by fire. But not to
worry. We’ll give you all the direction and support you need. I’ll personally
take you to the park and along the trail so you can familiarize yourself with
it.”

“But the rest of it?” Craig added. “Same skills you’d need
in a city. Talking to people. Asking questions. Checking the area. We now know
this beast tries to kill in a series of three. That means scoping out the
entire area for the next logical spots. You up for it?”

“I am.” And he definitely was, city boy or not. “So let’s
get started.”

“Okay.” Ric motioned him forward. “Research first, then a
field trip. I’m personally hoping this encroachment into a populated area is a
one-and-done. At least for now.” He traced a line from the site of the killing
to the ranch. “My best guesstimate is it will move into Gillespie County and
down toward Kendall. More wide open, unpopulated area. Lots of very large
ranches. It will avoid the towns but otherwise there’s plenty of space for it
to hunt.”

“Ric’s right,” Craig agreed. “So. Logan and Rebecca? You
earned some time off. The rest of you? I’ll have assignments shortly. Dante,
you hang back here.”

Dante took a swallow of his coffee, now cold and bitter.

Just like my life.

After Craig took a moment to have a word or two with
everyone, he and Ric pulled chairs around to the other side of the table so
they were facing Dante.

“I know you’ve been waiting for your shot,” Craig began,
“and this may be a little out of your hunting ground—”

“Stop.” Dante held up a hand. “Every one of these scenes has
been out of my hunting ground. That doesn’t mean I can’t learn. Or that I don’t
have firsthand experience with what this creature does. So I’m in. Give me
whatever orientation I need for the area and let’s get to it.”

Craig nodded. “Okay then. Ric will still run things from
here, as he’s done with the others. Let’s take a look at everything we’ve got
and make some plans.”

Ric and Dante arrived at the park shortly after sunrise the
next morning, hoping to miss the influx of day trippers. The off-road vehicle
Craig arranged for was waiting and the man standing beside it handed over the
key and a thick folder.

“Maps of the park,” he explained.

Ric took the folder, though he’d already downloaded the
various maps of the park to the tablets he and Dante carried.

“And a few articles that explain some of the areas
in-depth,” the man added. He looked from one to the other. “I don’t suppose I’ll
get an answer, but does this have anything to do with the body the rangers
found here?”

Dante shrugged. “Let’s just say we’re out to check the trail
for our friends. Thanks for delivering this here.”

“You can only go so far on wheels,” the man cautioned.

“We know.”

Ric reached into their SUV and took out a Browning Mark II
safari rifle, the latest addition to their arsenal. They’d chosen it because
its stopping power could take down an elephant.

The man frowned at them. “We don’t allow arms like that in
the park.”

“Check with your boss,” Dante told him. “We’ve got
permission.”

“If you say so. You don’t mind if I
do
double-check,
though. Right?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Thanks.”

Ric and Dante shook hands with the man then climbed into the
off-road vehicle.

“You weren’t kidding when you said this was a rocky jeep
trail,” Dante commented after they’d bumped along for a couple of miles.

Ric laughed. “The better to toughen you up, city boy.”

“Not so much city anymore.”

They drove as far as they could, careful of the hikers on
the road who stepped to the side to let them pass. Finally Ric pulled off the
road and parked beneath some trees. He handed the key to Dante. “You get to
drive us out of here.”

His slid the strap of the Browning over his head and
adjusted the rifle so it pointed upward. Using the maps on their tablets, they
continued on foot, carefully checking the area as they passed the waypoints Bee
Creek and Mescal Creek. From there, they began hiking in earnest, referring to
the maps constantly and checking for likely hiding places for the creature.

“See there to the left?” Ric pointed. “And straight ahead?
These are rocky bluffs you can see from the trail. Good hiding places for our
beast. Plus there’s all this dense forestation where the trees and undergrowth
often create cave-like situations. So be sure to look sharp.”

“Know what really scares me?” Dante took another look
around. “Remember yesterday when we discussed that most other attacks were on
solitary figures in isolated locations? Let’s assume our latest theory has some
merit—that there’s someone actually behind all this, breeding these beasts
deliberately. Now he’s branching out the testing grounds, pushing the envelope,
so to speak, to see if the beast can operate in a populated area without
detection, even by the prey it chooses.”

“Yeah, and…?”

“How the hell did it get in here? Every other kill zone has
been out-of-the-way and populated with wildlife, in the type of landscapes
friendly to creatures of all kinds. But this is so public. How did whoever’s
pulling the strings set this up? He would have had to drop the creature off.
Where and how could he do that without drawing attention? And how would he
select a target? Just randomly, whoever happens to be isolated and available?”

“Like Craig said last night,” Ric answered, “his scientists
are more convinced than ever that someone is programming artificial
intelligence into these animals. That could include a way to teach it how to
select certain prey while avoiding others. As for a drop-off?” He touched his
screen and brought up a topographical map. “Here.” He pointed. “And here. And
here. All spots where an animal might get past the park perimeter to enter the
area. And way over here it’s pretty isolated. No one to pay attention to
anything going on.”

“But it still had to be transported to the general area,
even if the headquarters is close by. You can’t exactly walk something like
this down the street on a leash. And how did it get away?” Dante was desperate
to learn how these creatures kept disappearing almost into thin air. Every time
he thought of Felicia, his lust to destroy surged through him like a bitter
riptide.

“That’s something we’re going to try to find out.”

“What about our theory that it can shift into different
shapes?” Dante asked. “Maybe it arrives in one shape, morphs into its normal
form, then shifts to something else to leave.”

“A very scary possibility,” Ric said. “That means it could
possibly go anywhere, at any time. There’s no way to guard against it. I’d
rather think its abilities are a little more limited. That maybe this was an
experiment to see if the beast could get in and out of a populated area without
detection.” He took one last glance at his tablet. “Okay. Not much farther to
Jones Spring, where our victims apparently stopped for a picnic lunch. Let’s
start marking possible hiding areas as we move along.”

“That’s where they found the backpacks, right?”

“Uh-huh. And remnants of food that the wild animals hadn’t
devoured.”

“Then let’s get to it.”

“I have to say,” Ric commented, “all that running must keep
you in damn good shape. You’re hardly breaking a sweat and we’ve been walking
for two miles.”

Dante chuckled, glad to have something to laugh at and
lighten the mood. “Don’t judge a book by its history,” he cautioned.

“I guess not.”

As they continued in silence, Dante focused on his own
thoughts. Each time another kill popped up, he relived his personal nightmare
all over again. He knew he would never forget the sight of his wife’s body.

He’d been so desperate, trying to get the cops to look
beyond the norm for clues. For answers. To listen to him and look at what he’d
discovered. But like nearly everyone else he’d run into since the team was
formed, they couldn’t get past the disbelief. The cops had just looked at him
as if he were crazy.

He was glad to finally have a particular focus and to be the
lead on a Night Seekers case. He found satisfaction working with the team, even
if he chose not to socialize.

With the disappearance of first Chloe’s friend and now the
fiancée of the latest victim, Craig firmly believed the lunatic wanted to add
human DNA into the mix. If Dante didn’t already have nightmares, that would
certainly cause them.

“Those must be some heavy thoughts.” Ric’s voice dragged him
back to the present.

He let out a deep breath. “Sorry. Let’s take another look at
the map.”

“No need to,” Ric said. “We’re at Jones Spring.”

Dante glanced over to where Ric pointed and saw the spring,
the water trickling slowly but smoothly until it flowed over the wall of a
small canyon.

“Okay.” Dante pulled his cellphone from his pocket. “Let’s
get some pictures first. And we’d better tread carefully so we don’t trample
the vegetation.”

“I think that ship has sailed. I’m sure the Rangers were
careful, but some things you can’t avoid, like other hikers. So yeah, pictures
first, then into the woods to see if we can pick up any kind of a trace.”

Both men took a number of shots from a variety of angles
before moving into the dense woods. Back at the ranch they would put the pics
up on the big screens and analyze them, see if they could spot any clue that
had been missed.

“I don’t see any kind of evidence that
anything
passed this way recently. Just like with the other kills, there seems to be no
trace at all.” Dante stopped and pulled a bottle of water from his pack,
drinking greedily. “Of course, that’s nothing new. The spawn of Satan never
leaves clues.”

“Let’s go on a little farther,” Ric urged. “Just to make
sure we haven’t missed something. I’m still shocked that the attack was in
broad daylight in such a public place.”

“According to the news items I picked up, at that exact
moment there wasn’t another living soul near them. I’m telling you, Ric, all
the possibilities we’ve come up with scare the shit out of me. As if I weren’t
already frightened enough.”

Going through all the trees was a slow process, but they
scoured both sides of the narrow path to see if somehow, somewhere, there was a
clue of any kind to support their theory. They knew that after Reed Fortune’s
body was discovered, the park was closed for twenty-four hours while teams of
hunters searched for a possible wild animal on a killing rampage. While they
found the carcasses of a few small animals, the search didn’t turn up anything
else.

“Look here.” Ric stopped about a hundred yards ahead of
Dante. With the toe of his boot, he moved aside some of the foliage to show him
what he’d uncovered. “I almost missed it.”

Dante stared down at what remained of a very small animal.

“Squirrel, probably,” Ric told him. “The beast has been
feeding. Nothing different than what the searchers found, but they didn’t
understand the significance.”

Pushing their way through the underbrush, they discovered
two more small remains.

“See the way there’s no evidence of dried blood?” Ric
pointed. “And the decaying entrails? Yet the meat of the body is completely
gone. It’s our devil beast all right.”

A few hundred yards farther along, they found another
carcass in similar shape.

Dante stopped to pull aside the fronds and leaves while Ric
kept moving forward.

“Hey!” Ric was about two hundred yards ahead when he shouted
back. “Come take a look at this.”

When Dante finally broke through to a clearing, he stopped,
stunned.

Ric was standing in the middle of what appeared to be one
gigantic, flat piece of slate.

“Look here.” Ric swept his arm to indicate the size of the
rock then pointed to some of the delicate vegetation around it. Much of it
appeared to have been the victim of high winds.

Dante frowned. “I guess I’m still at least part city boy, so
tell me what I’m missing.”

“This sucker is big enough to land a helicopter. Nature
created a perfect landing spot and I promise you whoever’s behind this scouted
it out ahead of time. And see here, where the smallest vegetation is bent over?
Blowback from the rotors.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’ve seen it before in other situations. When I was still
with the Rangers.” He paced from one side of the rock to the other. “Yep. Big
enough for a small helo to land.”

A thread of excitement twisted through Dante. “You think one
came here to pick up the Chupacabra?”

Ric nodded. “Maybe. But I definitely think it came for Lisa
McKay. How else would they get her out of here?”

“But wouldn’t hikers or campers have heard it?”

“If it was timed properly, the casual observer might think
it was a Parks and Wildlife helo taking care of business. In fact, I think we’ll
have to find a way to get some answers from them. See if they sent one of their
choppers in here for anything. If not, someone could have done a really good
job of faking one.”

“Jesus.” Dante blew out a breath. “So not only are the
beasts possibly changing shapes to get in and out of areas. Now whoever’s
creating them has stepped up their game to a whole new level, using a helo to
retrieve living victims, like Chloe’s friend. Possibly to retrieve the beasts,
as well.”

“Frightening, isn’t it?” Ric rubbed his forehead. “It gives
at least a little more substance to our theory that some madman is running a
lab so secret we aren’t even sure how to find it.” He looked at Dante. “Chloe’s
friend has never been found, and now the fiancée of the dead guy has
disappeared. If it was a rabid animal, as the people handling these cases want
everyone to think, someone probably would have found some remains.”

“Yeah. That’s a good news, bad news kind of thing.”

“Indeed. Good news because the women might still be alive.
Bad news because it could end up confirming our theory about this guy meddling
with human DNA.”

The thought was too goddamn awful to contemplate. Dante had
to swallow hard against the suddenly rising nausea at the very concept.

“All right.” He pulled out his cell again. “Let’s get some
pictures here for the file. Then you can give your magic fingers a workout and
see if there are any reports at all of a helo in this airspace.”

“Yes,” Ric agreed. “Although I’m guessing if someone has
enough money to do what our invisible madman is doing, he knows how to avoid
radar too. But it’s definitely worth a shot.”

“Question.” Dante snapped one last pic. “I’m going to talk
to the victim’s sister. Do I share our knowledge with her or not?”

Ric motioned for them to head back down the trail. “I think
you kind of have to play it by ear. The concept is so far out of left field for
most, she might think we’re crazy. Even report us to someone, although I don’t
know who. Craig has enough money and connections to handle that.”

Dante moved a branch out of the way and ducked his head.
“Would
any
of us have accepted this nightmare if we hadn’t had
experience with it? And subsequently seen more evidence?”

“Like I said, you’ll have to get a read on her and decide
how much she can handle.”

“I’m going to call her when we get back to the ranch.” He
stopped for a moment and took another swig of his water. “I figure if I tell
her I’m a cop from Chicago who’s dealt with something like that before, I can
at least get one foot in the door.”

“We’ll all meet and discuss what we’ve found. Then you’re
on.”

Yes. I am. And I’ll do whatever it takes.

* * * * *

The creature usually avoided sunlight. Any bright light made
its head burn on the inside and shot incredible pain through its body. The
forestation had been so thick where it had found the last prey, however, that
there were huge areas where sunlight couldn’t break through. And finding two
targets at the same time had activated a signal in its brain that said
These
two. Take them.