Shifting Dreams (17 page)

Aaron, despite being a very mature seven years old, perched on her lap. Low sat between Tom and Jena. Cathy sat to her right, her hand resting gently in her youngest grandson’s as she sniffed her own quiet tears for the mother-in-law who had been closer to her than her own mother.
 

Jena barely managed to keep from crying when she stood at the front of the church and read her grandmother’s favorite verse from the book of Isaiah. “‘Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,’” she read to the crowded church. “‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’”

But after the service, after the lunch at the family home where Jena had been raised—the same home where Alma had raised her own children—she hid in the back yard, sitting on a small bench as she cried. Allie and Ted found her there.

“Oh, Jena,” Allie said, sitting next to Jena and pulling her into her arms. “I’m so sorry. I don’t even know how you’re dealing with this.”

“I can’t—” She hiccupped. “I can’t handle this again. First Lowell and now Grandma. The boys…”

Ted murmured, “Jena—”

“They’re devastated all over again. This was supposed to be the safe place. Alma wasn’t supposed to die right now. She wasn’t supposed to die like this!” The sobs took over, days of being stoic finally catching up with her. Part of her wanted to be alone. The other was grateful for Allie’s comforting arms and Ted’s protective stance as she stood over them.

“It’s okay,” Allie murmured, stroking her hair as she calmed. “The boys will get through this. You’ll get through this. Your parents are here. Your friends—”

“I am so angry.”

“Good,” Ted said. “You should be angry. This is fucked up.”

“Ted!” Allie said.

“What?” Her friend looked furious. “It is. Alma Crowe was an elder in this community. Elders are supposed to be sacred. No one should have touched her. She should’ve been safe in her own home, and someone
murdered
her, Allie. Possibly one of my own people, which pisses me off even more.”

Jena sat up straighter. “We’re gonna find out who did this.”

“Damn straight, we are.”

Allie looked worried. “Guys, we’re not police. We can’t just—”

“The police can’t do anything, Allie. Get your head out of your ass!” Ted said.

Allie stood up and snarled in her friend’s face. “You watch yourself, Teodora Vasquez. You can go off like a hothead, but some of us have children to protect. And don’t think your outrage means you miss Alma any more than we do.”

“The children in this town aren’t going to be safe until this animal is dead. If he could do this to an old woman, then no one is safe.”

“Girls,” Jena said in a quiet voice as she stood, “calm down.” She looked between them, the lion and the fox shivering under the surface of their skin. “We’re going to find out who did this.” She looked at Ted. “And we’re going to be quiet.” Then Allie. “And smart. No one else is going to get hurt. But Ted’s right. The police can’t do anything. Caleb’s only working with half a brain because he’s not a shifter, and Jeremy has to work with Caleb, so he can’t investigate the way he wants.”

“He can give us information, though.”

“Yeah, he can. And he will. We’ll get Alex in on this if we have to. He’s Jeremy’s alpha and he’ll tell him anything.”

“I can poke around the cats,” Ted said. “Since I agree with you that it’s one of us. Unfortunately, there are a lot of cats.”

Jena grimaced. It was true. Cats had big families and tended to stay in the Springs. Probably a third of the population was some kind of cat or another.

Allie said, “I don’t know what I can help with. You’re welcome to my nose, I guess. And if you need someone fast…”

“Thanks, Allie.”

“Just give me some notice. Seems like Joe’s gone more than he’s home lately, so I have to make sure someone can watch the kids.”

Ted asked, “Where’s he going all the time?”

Allie shrugged and looked like she wanted to change the subject, so Jena said, “And I’ll watch. I already noticed something that the police can’t do much with. There were fresh scratch marks at the bottom of Alma’s door.”

Ted’s ears perked. “Lion?” There weren’t very many full mountain lions in the springs. Not ones in their natural form, anyway. And on full moons, anything but your natural form was almost impossible to pull off.

She shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. It was a medium cat. Bobcat, I’d guess.”

“Shit.” Ted’s head fell back. “There are a ton of bobcats in this town. Scads of them. They’re like rats on moon nights.”

Allie mused, “But they eat the rats, so that’s kind of nice.”

“Way to look on the bright side, Allie.”

“I try.”

Just then, Jena noticed Caleb pulling up to the trailer in his truck. He’d been at the memorial earlier, but she had no idea where he’d gone after. He looked grim when he got out. And… sad. His usual swagger wasn’t in evidence; his hat was pulled low and Jena saw him lean against his truck, looking down the canyon toward the springs, his body a long black stripe in the setting sun.

Ted and Allie noticed him too.

“I admire his dedication. And he’s really good at his job. I can tell,” Ted said. “But he’s got to stop digging. He’s like a dog with a bone about this, and he’s going to end up learning too much.”

Allie sucked in a breath. “He can’t. If he finds out—”

“Whoever did this doesn’t want an outsider on his trail.” Jena’s heart plummeted. “If Caleb keeps digging, there could be more than one murder victim in Cambio Springs.”

The breeze shifted then, sweeping down the canyon and lifting the dust around the trailer, making it swirl and twist toward them. Jena closed her eyes and held a hand over her nose to keep the grit out, but she heard Allie next to her making a strange noise. “Allie?”

The vixen was leaning forward, her eyes lit up, completely focused on the man near the trailer. A high whine, inaudible to human ears, caused Ted to wince.
 

“What the hell, Allie?”

“He’s different,” she hissed. “His scent has changed.”

Jena frowned. “I thought you said human scent changed all the time?”

“No.” She walked closer, lifting her head in the breeze, inhaling the wind. “He doesn’t smell right. Not like a normal human.”

Ted and Jena exchanged a worried look. “Allie, what are you talking about? What does he smell like?”

“Like the water,” she whispered. “He smells like the water.”

Chapter Twelve

The week after Alma Crowe was murdered, Caleb walked into the Blackbird Diner in a foul mood. Despite his wishes, the county coroner had officially ruled Alma’s death an animal attack. Since Caleb had no concrete evidence to the contrary, he was forced to accept the ruling, but he knew he wasn’t getting the whole story. And when even the relatives of the deceased seemed determined to obstruct his investigation, there wasn’t much he could do.

Officially.

He was hungry and tired. Hungry for answers and tired of the endless, vague dreams that had plagued him for over a week. He hardly remembered most of them, but every morning he woke with a vague sense of unease that there was something he had forgotten. The combination of frustration, exhaustion, and nagging worry combined to put him in a foul mood that he knew grated on anyone he came in contact with.

Obviously, he needed to see Jena.

When he walked in, he could see the object of his continuing frustration arguing with her father in the back. It was early for lunch, so the diner was mostly deserted. He was just about to head for the counter when he heard a small voice to his right.

“Hi, Chief Caleb.”

It was Aaron. The boy looked a little pale and droopy sitting in the big booth alone.

“Hey. What are you doing out of school?”

“I wasn’t feeling good.” He didn’t look good either. His face was drawn and pale. The normally exuberant energy nowhere in sight.

“You got a cold or something?”

Aaron only shrugged. Caleb had to wonder whether the sickness was more a reaction to the grief of losing a beloved great-grandmother. He sat down across from him. “Want to join me for lunch? I hate eating alone.” Actually, he preferred it, but since the offer seemed to boost the small boy’s spirits, he was happy he’d made it.

“Yeah, thanks!” A smile crossed his face. “I like the meatloaf sandwich. Have you tried it?”

“Nope. I usually have a burger.”

“You should try the meatloaf.”

“I will.”

Aaron fell silent and sipped at the Sprite in front of him. Caleb could hear Jena and her dad still muttering in the back, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“How are you doing?” Caleb asked.

Aaron shrugged again. “You’re more like us now. Mom can’t tell yet.”

The memory of their first meeting came to his mind. “What do you mean by that?” Was he talking about being more at home in the Springs? For some reason, Caleb didn’t think that was it. “You said that before. The first time we met.”

“I dunno.” Yeah, he did. But the little boy was as good at keeping secrets as the rest of the damn town. “Does it feel like home yet?”

Caleb hesitated, but finally said, “I like it here.”
 

He was surprised by how true it felt. Despite his current frustration, Caleb had an ease about him he hadn’t felt since he’d left his grandmother’s home when he was twelve and moved to the city.

“It’s like when you find the right pair of shoes.”

That brought a smile to Caleb’s face. “Yeah, I think I know what you mean.”

“Grandma’s house was like that. It was always the right place. But Mom says we shouldn’t go back.”

Caleb wondered if he could talk to Jena about that. He hadn’t had a ton of experience with victims, but he knew enough to know that Jena probably had post-traumatic stress from finding Alma the way she had. It was a stress the boys didn’t share, however, and keeping them from their grandmother’s house, with all its good memories, would probably do more harm than good.

“I think you’ll be able to go back someday. Your mom’s just sad right now.”

“Like when we lost Dad. I don’t remember much. Just that she was really sad.”

“Yeah.” His heart actually ached. “Probably something like that.”

In a quick moment, Aaron slipped under the table and crawled up next to Caleb. “I miss my grandma.”

“I do, too.” He tried to relax with the little boy sitting next to him. It was surprisingly easy to do. “She was a great lady.”

Aaron looked up at him seriously. “I don’t know why she had to die.”

Every ounce of frustration drained out of him, and a low burning determination filled its place. He looked into Aaron’s clear, green eyes and said, “I don’t know yet, either. But I promise you, I’ll find out.”

The boy held his gaze for a few more minutes. Caleb heard the bell on the door chime, but he ignored it. Ignored everything except the testing gaze of the seven-year-old boy next to him. His heart swelled and grew, taking in the small child’s trust and holding it like the precious thing it was.

I promise you, Bear. I will find out who killed your grandmother. The county and this town be damned. I will find the answers. For you.

Finally, Aaron nodded and rested his small head on Caleb’s shoulder. “Okay.”

“Okay.”
 

And for the first time in months, Caleb Gilbert felt a hint of peace.

The man and the boy sat quietly for a few more minutes until there was a knock on the window. Caleb looked up; it was Low and an older woman with a familiar smile. They walked through the door and the woman took in Caleb and Aaron sitting together, the boy’s head still resting against his shoulder. Caleb wouldn’t have shrugged him off for the world.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hello. You must be Jena’s mom.”

“Cathy Crowe.” The woman held out her hand and Caleb shook it. “You feeling any better, Bear?”

“Yeah.” Caleb felt him nod. “I do now. Did you get popsicles?”

“Uh-huh. I put them in the freezer at home, then decided Low and I would join you for lunch.”

Low was glaring at Caleb, but he ignored it. The older boy was suspicious and protective of the people he loved. Caleb could respect that, but he wasn’t about to move Aaron if Aaron didn’t want to be moved.

“Chief Caleb is going to try Mom’s meatloaf sandwich.”

Cathy and Low slid into the booth across from them. “That’s a good one. I usually eat the roast beef.” She smiled at Caleb. “Low here’s a burger man.”

Aaron picked up his head. “Just like you, Chief Caleb.”

Caleb had a feeling the association didn’t sit well with the older boy. “I like lots of stuff,” he said sullenly.

“Aaron, do you mind if we join you?” Cathy asked. “Or is this a guy thing?”

“No…” Then Aaron looked up at Caleb. “Is it a guy thing?”