Free Shadowed by Connie Suttle Page A

Marcie had a bunch of stuff she didn't need." Sali's Aunt Marcella now lived in Pat Roberts' old house. She'd moved to Cloud Chief after leaving her husband and two sons behind in Phoenix.
    "Mom said she'd go by the grocery store on her way home tonight," Ashe said.
    "But this separates that family from the others," Cori pointed out. "They're more than a quarter of a mile away."
    "I get the feeling that the other kids lean on Luanne a lot," Ashe observed. "I overheard that Philip kid saying he wanted to ride with her on the way up and Macy, one of the other girls, had just talked to her on her walkie-talkie before Chump set the house on fire."
    "Even I can't believe he did that," Cori shook her head. "Talk about dumb."
    "Well, they've never been particularly intellectual," Sali grinned.
    "Sal, you just used two five-syllable words back to back," Ashe pounded his friend on the shoulder.
    "Just checking to see if you were listening, dude," Sali said.
    * * *
    "No, I don't have any idea why someone would target the Mayor or my husband," Wanda Hicks wiped tears away as Agents Nick Lawford and Derik North questioned her. She was only now learning that the same person was responsible for both deaths. "They knew each other, but," she tossed out a hand in helpless frustration. "There wasn't any reason for this. None."
    "Ma'am, we don't have a lot of information, other than the same person likely committed both crimes," Derik said as gently as he could. "We're just trying to figure this out."
    "When you do, please let me know," Mrs. Hicks wept. "So I'll know why my children no longer have a father."
    * * *
    "Boss, look at this," Trajan, Trace's older brother and Winkler's Second in the Dallas pack, set a paper copy of a map in front of Winkler the afternoon following the full Moon.
    "What's this?" Winkler lifted the map and studied it.
    "The route they took to deliver those mobile homes," Trajan pointed out. Like Trace, Trajan was nearly seven feet tall with dark hair and dark eyes. With martial arts experience and a sports background, Trajan was a capable Second for the Dallas Pack.
    "So, the Mayor was off the path, but the second victim wasn't? You think there's some connection?" Winkler studied Trajan's face.
    "Well, the two men knew one another. Who knows? I might be reading more into this than there is, but what if there's a leak somewhere? Besides Director Jennings, who else knows where those families were relocated? Even knowledge of a general location for those families could be dangerous. What might happen if the murderer had vague news of their whereabouts and then went looking for information on people moving into the area or anything unusual going on?" Trace settled into the chair beside Winkler's desk.
    "And six mobile homes moving along a two-lane road is definitely unusual."
    "Yep. Not easy to hide that, boss."
    "You think I should contact Bill and ask him to investigate his own department?"
    "Well, it isn't like that sort of thing hasn't happened in the past."
    "It's worth a try," Winkler agreed. "I'll give him a call." Winkler's phone rang before he had a chance to dial Director Jennings' number.
    "Weldon?" Winkler recognized the Grand Master's number on his cell.
    "Winkler, two of those kids from Cloud Chief managed to burn one of the mobile homes to the ground last night." Winkler was on his feet and cursing immediately.
    * * *
    "Ashe, I think we should talk to those people. Maybe show them we're not all prejudiced and nasty," Wynn and Dori stood beside Ashe's locker, surprising Ashe and Sali. Hayes, Larry and Jeff, three other classmates, stood behind the two girls. Hayes and Jeff were werewolves; Larry was a bobcat and Mrs. Campbell's son. Wynn, already very pretty and showing signs of growing into a beautiful woman one day, brushed back long, white hair unconsciously as she pleaded with Ashe to take her and the others to the remaining mobile homes.
    "How do you plan to do that? Chump and Wormy did their best to