Читать книгу A New Beginning - Joycee Clark - Страница 14

Chapter Nine

Lucca and Garret discussed the situation after they got Mariah settled and locked in. Took another tour around the property to insure she was alone and headed to the Lodge. While they were checking the property Garret got a text from Dean, the Alpha calling a meeting at the Lodge as soon as everyone could get there. Garret and Lucca weren’t the first to arrive, but ahead of most. The look of serious concern on their Alpha’s face let them know this was going to be an intense meeting. When everyone was there they all sat quietly, the couple that couldn’t make it would receive a text with the information, while on patrol.

Dean called the meeting to order and stood at the front with Linc Morris, the Cedar Creek Sheriff. Dean told Linc to begin. Linc began, “tonight the body of Sherry McCalister was discovered two miles south of Cedar Creek in the woods. Naked, severely abused and raped. She did not have an easy death. The mutilation was not animal. In fact she was still warm when Karl and Kane found her when they had gone for their run after work. As Forest Rangers, they knew long before they reached the body from the scent, but whomever it was poured vinegar over everything to ruin his scent, no other traces were found. I need everyone of you to be on the lookout for a stranger, possibly more than one.

Bob and Beth, at the diner are devasted because they called nothing in when Sherry didn’t show up for work at the diner, thinking it was just another youth escapade. Sherry had worked for them for a couple years, and may have met the perpetrators at the diner. Sherry’s family, will of course, cooperate any way they can, but we need to give them time to grieve and I will update them with any new information throughout the investigation.

Lucca and Garret both raised a hand. “Eh, don’t know if this is related, but it certainly might. Someone left flowers on the table on the front porch of Mariah’s cabin, when she was there. She didn’t hear or see anything or anyone and thought we had left them. Then after we took her to town to eat at the diner, when we got back, right before we came to this meeting, there was a dead rabbit on the front steps. Lucca removed it before Mariah could see it. but he also couldn’t catch any new or strange scents. We may need help watching over her if we get called out on a job, but this guy seriously needs caught and removed from this world. Garret finished.

“By the way,” Lucca added, “Mariah Marten is our new tenant and our mate! Both Lucca and Garret grinning. They all congratulated them and it gave them just a bit of hope that they too had a chance of finding a mate. “Hey Garret have you told her yet? They all laughed. “Oh, of course not Sawyer, we just met her yesterday! Garret replied. They all laughed again. Dean entered the conversation, “This means Mariah is now part of pack, whether she knows it or not, so she is entitled to the protection of the entire pack.” They all nodded then back to business.

They discussed a strategy for patrols and protection not only for Cedar Creek, but also for Mariah and her area. This is the first murder on their mountain and they were all going to see to it that there wasn’t another.

Dean also announced weather forecasts for their mountain, and it looked like a blizzard was headed their way. Any of those that had plans to leave the mountain just had their plans changed, everyone had to be available for emergencies.