Crowbones

CHAPTER 27

Ilya

Thaisday, Novembros 1

Ilya crouched beside the body of Clara Crowgard while Grimshaw made a slow circuit around the area, looking for evidence that might have been dropped at the scene.

“It’s a savage kill,” he said as Grimshaw joined him.

“But not like the other Crow,” Grimshaw replied. “My guess is we have two killers, not one. And that’s not good. We need to figure out who’s targeting the Crowgard.”

“Besides the bogeyman?”

“Yeah. Assuming there is an actual bogeyman.”

“You have doubts?”

Grimshaw blew out a breath. “No. I wish I did.” After a pause, he added, “I can ask Detective Kipp to send his team over here to collect whatever evidence they can.”

A sincere offer, but would it be seen as human help or interference? Until he knew if Lake Silence’s residents had been targeted or if this was just another hunting ground, he needed to be careful about how much help he accepted from humans. Grimshaw lived here and was involved in keeping the peace between humans and the terra indigene. Working with him was no different than the Lakeside Courtyard working with select police officers in that city. But Detective Kipp, who was with the Bristol police, might be a step too far.

“I appreciate the offer, but it isn’t necessary.” Ilya watched the Coyote slowly approaching them. “I think he can tell us everything we need to know.”

They moved away from the body, making room for the Coyote to give Clara’s remains a thorough sniff. The male moved in widening circles similar to Grimshaw’s circuit.

When the Coyote shifted to the blended form of Coyotegard and human, Ilya recognized him as the one who had moved the chain from across The Jumble’s access road earlier that morning.

“Well?” Ilya asked.

“The only human scent belongs to the police human,” the Coyote said, giving Grimshaw a nod. “Then there is Sanguinati—and there is Crow.” He hesitated but didn’t say anything more.

Ilya nodded. “Thank you for assisting us.”

“This is investigating? Like in the human stories?”

“Like in the stories,” he agreed.

“Would a particular Crow smell different to you than other Crows?” Grimshaw asked. “To me it looks like a human weapon or tool was used to kill Clara. I’m thinking whoever did this walked here to meet her—or had clothing stashed somewhere nearby, which was why this place was chosen. If that individual doesn’t know how investigations work . . .” He left the sentence hanging.

The Coyote smiled, showing teeth that were as species jumbled as Conan’s and Cougar’s, confirming that the Coyote didn’t have much interaction with humans. “I will follow the trail to the hiding place—if there was a hiding place.”

A reminder that the shifters might not bother with clothing when dealing with one another.

“Be careful,” Ilya warned.

The Coyote looked up when one of the Hawkgard began circling overhead.

“We will,” the Coyote assured them. He hesitated again, then pointed to Clara’s arm, which had partially shifted before she died. “There—only there—is another scent.” He leaned toward Ilya and lowered his voice. “You should be careful too.” Then he shifted to his Coyote form and trotted away.

Ilya crouched again and studied the feathered arm. He pointed. “Three feathers are missing.”

“Feathers of the fallen?” Grimshaw asked. “Collected if Crow kills Crow?”

“Maybe. At least, collected from a Crow that hadn’t betrayed its own kind in some way.” Ilya rose. “We need more information, and I don’t think the Crowgard around Lake Silence can provide it.”

“I’m going to ask Julian for the names of the Intuit villages around the Finger Lakes. I’ll contact the police in those villages and see if they’ve had any murders similar to ours or have heard of anything in neighboring villages. Crowgard bogeyman or vigilante, there will be more bodies. If we find them, we might be able to figure out why Crowbones is here before someone else dies.”

“And I will ask the Sanguinati. Someone might have heard a rumor about Crowgard dying in the wild country.”

“The Coyote.” Grimshaw hesitated. “He was specific about identifying my scent, but he didn’t say the only Sanguinati scent around the body was yours.”

“I noticed that.” And it troubled him.

Grimshaw removed his hat and scrubbed his fingers through his short dark-blond hair. “You going to leave her out here?” He looked past Ilya and sucked in a breath.

Ilya watched the two Sanguinati in smoke form rushing toward them. “My people will take Clara to Silence Lodge and hold her there until the Crowgard can decide what should be done.”

“In that case, we’d better find out what the folks staying in the Mill Creek Cabins have to say for themselves.”