Blood Trail

overgrown lilac hedge blocked the line of sight from the road, Vicki silently handed Peter his shorts.

    "Thanks. What were you doing with old man Biehn?"

    "I came out of the woods on his property." It certainly wasn't going to hurt anything if Peter believed she'd chosen her direction on purpose. "He gave me a ride back."

    "Oh. Good thing Uncle Stuart didn't see him."

    "Your uncle really ran him off?"

    "Oh yeah, and if Aunt Nadine hadn't stopped him, he'd have probably attacked."

    Vicki felt her brows go up and she turned her head to look at Peter directly. She gotten used to the disembodied voices of the people walking beside her but occasionally she just had to see expressions. "He'd have attacked over a difference in religion?"

    "Is that what old man Biehn said?" Peter snorted. "Jennifer and Marie were six, maybe seven, and Aunt Nadine was pregnant with Daniel. Old man Biehn came over - he dropped by pretty often back then, trying to save our souls, and it was driving us all nuts - and he started talking about hell. I don't know what he said 'cause I wasn't there, but he really scared the girls and they started to howl." Peter's brows drew down and his ears went back. "You don't do that to cubs. Anyway, Uncle Stuart showed up and that was that. He's never come back."

    "He was pretty angry about it," Vicki offered.

    "Not as angry as Uncle Stuart."

    "But you must see him occasionally. ..."

    Peter looked confused. "Why?"

    Vicki thought about that for a moment. Why, indeed? She hadn't seen the two young men who lived in the back basement apartment of her building since the day they'd moved in. If in almost three years she hadn't run into them in the hallway, by the only door. ... Well, the odds are good you can miss someone indefinitely out here in all this space. "Never mind."

    He shrugged, the fine spray of red-gold hair on his chest glinting in the sun. "Okay."

    They'd come to the end of lane and Vicki leaned gracefully against the huge tree that anchored it to the lawn. Mopping her dripping brow, she opened her mouth to ask where everyone was when Peter threw back his head and ran his voice wordlessly up and down a double octave.

    "Rose wants to tell you something," he said by way of explanation.

    Rose wanted to tell her about Frederick Kleinbein.

    "I think she's imagining things," Peter volunteered after his sister finished talking. "What do you think, Ms. Nelson?"

    "I think," Vicki told them, "that I'd better go speak to Mr. Kleinbein." She didn't add that she doubted the tree's falling at that time and in such a way had been entirely natural. Off the top of her head, she could think of at least two ways it could be done without leaving a scent for the wer to trace. Had Peter actually left the car, she was pretty certain he'd have returned to find his twin had been shot the same way as Silver and Ebon. Which meant the assassin's pattern wasn't tied to that tree in the woods. Which opened up a whole new can of worms.

    Thank God for Frederick Kleinbein. His arrival had no doubt saved Cloud's life and, simultaneously, removed him from the suspect list.

    All things considered though, she thought she'd better have a talk with him anyway.

    Rose shot a triumphant look at her brother. "He lives just back of the crossroads. I can tell you how to get there if you want to take Henry's car."

    "Henry's car?"

    "Yeah. It's about three and a half miles, maybe a bit more. It's easy enough for four legs but a bit of a hike for two."

    Peter leaned forward, nostrils flared. "What's wrong?"

    Nothing's wrong. But, just as I suspected, I'm piss useless out here. You see, I can't. See that is.
    And I can't drive. How the hell am I supposed to do anything and what the hell can I tell you. ...

    She jumped as Rose reached out and stroked her arm, callused fingers lightly running over sweaty skin. She realized the touch was for comfort, not pity, and stopped herself from jerking the arm away.

    "I don't drive," she told them, her voice hard-edged to keep it from shaking. "I can't see well enough."

    "Oh, is that all." Peter leaned back relieved. "No problem. We'll drive you. I'll just go get the keys." He flashed her a dazzling grin and loped off to the house.

    Oh, is that all? Vicki watched Peter disappear into the kitchen then turned to look at Rose, who smiled, pleased that the problem had been solved. Don't judge them by human standards.
    The phrase was rapidly becoming a litany.

    "... anyway, Uncle Stuart