Free The Frenzy War by Gregory Lamberson

Mostel believes Jason was the Manhattan
    Werewolf?”
    â€œIf he does, he needs to see a shrink.”
    â€œYou said yourself the Manhattan Werewolf wasn’t human.”
    â€œHe wasn’t a teenage werewolf, either.”
    Karol chewed her food. “Hey, whatever happened to that Colombian girl you were seeing?”
    â€œI don’t know. The heat died down.”
    â€œAnd the Dominican woman. What was her name?”
    â€œLucy. She wanted to be too serious.”
    â€œBefore that it was the Korean.”
    â€œYung? You’re forgetting Karen, the white chick.”
    â€œI’m not counting one-night stands.”
    â€œWhy are you trying to spoil our first date?”
    â€œThis isn’t a date. It’s getting a bite to eat while we work a long shift.”
    â€œIt could be a date,” Willy said under his breath.
    â€œD-O-G.”
    â€œSince this isn’t a date, I don’t have to pay for you, right?”

    As Willy entered the squad room for Manhattan Homicide South with Karol, he saw Landry conferring with Sergeant Don Gibbons in Landry’s glass-enclosed office. Landry had shed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves and looked weary. Gibbons, who had already passed his retirement eligibility, stood in a crisp uniform. Landry beckoned to the detectives as they hung their coats on the backs of their chairs. Willy gestured for Karol to go first.
    â€œNo thanks. I’m not falling for that.” She gestured for him to go first.
    Smiling, he complied.
    â€œI’m ready to go home,” Landry said.
    â€œThat makes three of us,” Willy said.
    â€œGive me a rundown on your reports before you write them so one of us can actually get out of here.”
    Willy sat before the desk. “We interviewed the parents of the vic and our missing person and their closest friends.Jason and Rhonda seem like two normal kids, very together, not troublemakers. Rhonda had no previous boyfriends or jealous would-be suitors. Jason never ran with a gang. The ME and Forensics have some pretty fucked-up shit to report, but that’s on them.”
    Landry sat on the edge of the desk. “I just read By-rnes’s report. I’m classifying it. Public Affairs can decide how much to reveal. What have I got to look forward to from Forensics?”
    â€œAggressive blood cells, mutant hair, and magic fingerprints.”
    Landry blew air out of his cheeks.
    â€œBy the way, Gabriel Domini shows real signs of interfering with this investigation.”
    â€œThat’s an exaggeration,” Karol said.
    â€œIt’s my impression—the
correct
impression. Every kid we interviewed said the same things about Jason and Rhonda. The exact same things. They were coached by someone; I feel it. And Gabriel had a real sway over Deidre Wilson. She didn’t care what we had to say, but she hung on his every word.”
    Rising, Landry slipped into his jacket. “Get some sleep as soon as you finish your reports. I want you rested for tomorrow.”
    â€œHow rested?”
    â€œAs rested as you can be without being late.”

    Mace awoke at 12:30. Cheryl was sitting in bed beside him, the glow from her laptop reflected in her reading glasses.
    â€œWhat are you doing?”
    â€œChecking the headlines.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œBoth papers have Rhonda’s face on the cover. The
News
says, ‘Police Seek Sword-Wielding Kidnappers.’ The
Post
says, ‘Ritual Slaying in Occult Bookstore’ and ‘Police Seek Satanic Kidnappers.’”
    Mace rolled away and closed his eyes. “At least there’s nothing about the Manhattan Werewolf.”
    â€œWell, no one else knows about the Blade of Salvation, do they?”
    Mace pretended not to hear her, and then he pretended to be asleep.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    S itting on the sofa in the living room, Tim zipped through the channels on the wide-screen TV while Samuel stood at the window, peeking