Hot Blooded

this particular account of turning
oneself into a werewolf? Where did this author get his information?"
    They looked at each other blankly.
    "He got it from someone who was into magic. A shaman or sage or village
witch. What he's talking about is magic, not reality. We are scientists. Is the
creature we're looking for something that was created by cat fat and opium? No.
The only things created by that blend were hallucinations. What is our werewolf,
then?"
    She held out her hands, palms up.
    All together, the three students intoned, "A previously undiscovered
species."
    "Precisely. So what can we get out of this?"
    "Not a hell of a lot?" Toby suggested.
    "Not a lot, but some. We can learn that the creature in question dwells in
very deep forests, avoids humans when possible and is somewhat manlike in
appearance. See that's the key. Take the folklore, sift out the impossible and
take a look at what's left. The solid stuff that can lead you to the truth."
    "But, Professor Rose," Carrie asked, "what if the werewolf really was created
by some kind of curse, some kind of magic?"
    "Carrie, you're a science student. There is no such thing as magic. The
sooner you get that through your head, the better you'll do." She shut the
notebook. "Now, I want you to go through these notes, pick out all the fantasy
and magic and compile what's left for me."
    "I'd like copies of those notes as well, Carrie," Dr. Hinkle added. "Before
you do any deleting."
    "What about us?" Mike asked.
    "You and Toby do some more canvassing of the locals. Ask them what they've
heard about the loup-garou. Tape-record their answers so you don't inadvertantly
leave out something I can use," Jenny told him.
    "And what do you plan to spend
your
morning doing, Professor Rose?"
Hinkle asked.
    "I'm going out into the woods to see if I can find any sign of an unknown
species. You're welcome to come along, professor, but you'll need good hiking
shoes and a backpack for supplies. I plan to go deep into the forests, and the
terrain won't be gentle."
    " 'Far from the haunts of man?' " he asked, smirking.
    "Exactly."
    It was, of course, an outright lie. She was going into the woods along the
roadside, where she'd encountered that beast last night. She might be able to
see clues in daylight that she hadn't seen in the darkness. She didn't want or
need Hinkle looking over her shoulder, second-guessing her every move and
constantly looking for something to use against her.
    It would suit him just fine if her proposal of a cryptozoology department at
Dunkirk University—a department she proposed to head up herself—be annihilated
as soon as possible. He hated the idea.
    He hated her.
    "You coming?" she asked, glancing at him.
    "Of course not. You know better. I'll just stay here and read through your
notes."
    She smiled as if that thought didn't make her nervous. It shouldn't. Like Al
Capone's accountant, she kept two sets of books. No one saw her private
thoughts.
    "I'll see you later then," she said, turning to go.
    "Don't forget the feline fat," he called after her, then he chuckled at his
own lame joke, while Toby and Mike laughed obediently.
    Puppies
, Jenny thought. She would have called them were-pups, but
that would imply they were half-man, and she didn't think they qualified.
    She jogged up the stairs to her rooms to change clothes before heading back
to the place where she'd seen—what she'd seen last night.
    Mamma Louisa was in the bedroom, busily making the bed, her head wrapped in a
pure white turban, her blouse and skirt just as white. Spotless, bleached and in
stark contrast to her dark skin.
    Women of her size didn't wear a lot of white up north. Jenny thought it was a
shame. Mamma Louisa looked good. Big and beautiful and proud. She carried
herself like royalty.
    She looked up when Jenny walked in and sent her a smile. "I can come back
later," she said, the bayou thick in her voice.
    "No, no, don't stop. I'm just grabbing a few things and heading back out."
    "All right, then. How is de research goin'?"
    "Fine. Better than fine, actually." Jenny turned to the dresser, tugged open
a drawer and found a T-shirt. Then she peeled her blouse over her head, facing
the mirror.
    "
Osé, osé, osé
," Mamma Louisa whispered urgently, and when Jenny met
her eyes in the mirror, she saw that the other woman's gaze was on her own
bandaged chest. "What happened to you last night,
chère
?"
    Dammit, how