Fires Of Solstice Part 7

Chapter Four.

Frowning first at the body on one table and then the photographs in his hand, Jon Bowers glanced up at his partner. "What do you think?"

Kim probed the jagged gash on the corpse's throat. "He definitely died from the wound in his throat."

Lifting a magnifying gla.s.s, Jon held it over a photograph. "Judging from all the footprints, it was a f.e.c.kin' big dog. These prints have close to a five-inch width and five-and-a-half-inch length. Heavy too. I can see marks from the cracks and lines on the pads."

Kim glanced over his shoulder. "Any way to find out what kind of dog it was?"

Jon shrugged. "Maybe. I have a friend who trains all kinds of dogs for movies. He might be able to tell me."

Kim started to gather his notes. "The lab should be able to give us more information once they a.n.a.lyze those hairs we found stuck to the guy's hands. What's the priority on the case, anyway?"

"Unless we get another dead guy with his throat ripped out, not as high as it should be. The double homicide from two nights ago still has main priority. State representative 's grandson is more important than a pimp. This guy has no family here except the cousin he was pimping for. Before she was taken to the hospital, she told the officers at the scene she didn't care what happened to the body."

Gathering up the photographs, Jon shoved them into a manila envelope then looked at his wrist.w.a.tch. "Look, it's after eleven now. Let's break for lunch. My buddy Frank is at Columbia University for some kind of show or lecture or something so I'll head over there and show him the photographs. If he doesn't know what kind of dog belongs to this paw print, there might be somebody else there who does. I'll see you when I get back."

"I'll walk out with you," Kim said as he wheeled the body back to refrigeration then shrugged out of his lab coat. "I'm meeting my wife for lunch."

They were barely out the door into the abnormally warm November sunshine when Kim spied Meredythe hurrying up the sidewalk. "Oh s.h.i.t." Grabbing Jon's arms, he pulled him into a crowd of people.

Meredythe saw Kim try to duck out of sight. Waving her arm, she called, "Kim. Kim, wait a minute."

"How does she get around so fast?" he muttered. "Watch yourself with her, Jon. She could get blood out of a stone."

Jon's head was swinging back and forth. "Who?"

Before Kim could answer, Meredythe was before them. Not giving her a chance to speak, he said, "Meredythe, this is my partner, Jon Bowers. Jon, Meredythe Welsh, a very stubborn reporter."

She stuck her tongue out at Kim as she held out her hand to Jon. "Pleased to meet you." Since most of her attention was fixed on Kim, she didn't see the slow smile that spread across Jon's face.

Kim did. Meredythe was a beautiful woman, and his fertile imagination sprouted the seeds of an idea. She and Jon would make the perfect couple. And it would get her off his back.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Ms. Welsh," Jon said as he shook her hand.

"Likewise," she answered absentmindedly. Her attention was on the shorter man. "Kim, I have a couple of questions I want-"

Hands on his hips, her friend scowled. "Come on, Meredythe. Give me a break. I'm meeting Terri for lunch. Can't you come back later?"

"Maybe I can help you, Ms. Welsh," Jon interjected hopefully.

Meredythe hadn't really paid much attention to Kim's partner when he was introduced. When she turned her full attention to him, her gaze traveled from his head to his feet. Not bad. Not bad at all. Much nicer to pump a good-looking man for information than a homely one.

Jon Bowers was over six feet tall, blond-haired and blue-eyed with two of the most adorable dimples she'd ever seen, and the wire-rimmed gla.s.ses he pushed back up his nose added to his appeal. He looked scholarly s.e.xy. She really didn't have the time or inclination to get involved with any man, but that didn't mean she didn't like looking. And Jon Bowers was very nice to look at.

She smiled broadly and said, "Call me Meredythe."

Kim grinned at the rapt expression on his partner's face. "Better be careful, Jon. She' ll drain every drop of blood from your body if she thinks it will get her a story. You two can duke it out. I'm going to lunch." Then he disappeared into a waiting cab.

Jon shifted the manila envelope he carried under his arm and hailed another cab. "What can I help you with?"

Meredythe paused. Kim she knew she could trust, but this guy? So what if he was good-looking? "Maybe I should wait until Kim's not so busy."

He smiled. "So which forensics' reports from unsolved crimes do you want to see?"

Her eyes narrowing, Meredythe simply stared at him. Good looks and brains. She'd have to be careful with this one. "Who says I want to see any reports?"

"You're a reporter and Kim's in forensics," he continued. "Why else would you need him? Solved crimes are public record. You're looking for something else."

Meredythe pursed her lips, then smiled. "Did anybody ever tell you you're too smart for your own good?"

His smile became a grin. "Only my mother."

She grinned back. "How about joining me for lunch? We can talk."

He smiled ruefully and shook his head. "Wish I could, but I have to see a man about a dog."

Her pulse quickened. "It's about that murder in the park this morning, right? You're going to find out what kind of dog killed that guy."

Startled, he stared at her. "Kim's right about you, isn't he?"

With a chuckle she nodded. "Don't you ever forget it. Mind if I tag along? I'll still buy you lunch."

As she talked with Kim's partner, Meredythe shifted her body slightly and combed her fingers through her hair. The movement of her arms pulled her blazer away from her braless chest. Widening her eyes slightly, she gave her upper lip a quick lick, once again mentally congratulating herself for taking that cla.s.s on body language and then schooling herself to have the courage to follow through on what she learned. As she had intended, Jon Bowers didn't have a chance.

She smiled mentally as he dragged his eyes away from her mouth. He swallowed. "Umm. Sure, why not," he answered with a shrug and opened the door of the waiting cab. "If you know about the prints, it won't hurt if you know what kind of dog it was. I' m headed out to Columbia University. I have a friend there who might be able to help me."

She slid into the cab and waited until he joined her and gave the cabdriver the address, then asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

He tightened his hold on the manila envelope. "All we know for sure is that it's a large dog."

"How large?" she asked, eyeing the envelope he held. She'd love to see what was inside.

"Judging by how deep the paw prints are, I'd say he weighed well over a hundred pounds."

Meredythe's eyebrow rose. "He?"

He grinned at her. "With mammals, the male of the species is usually larger and more aggressive than the female. While it's possible that this dog could be female, it probably isn't."

She looked out the window to hide her momentary distress. "I guess it doesn't really matter. Either way, the man's dead."

He admired her profile. "What did you want to find out from Kim?"

Her glare had him raising his hands, palms forward. "Hey, you want information from me. It's only fair that you share."

Biting her lower lip, she stared at her companion. Could she trust him? What did she know about this guy anyway? Sure, he worked with Kim, but then she worked with Harry and he was a sc.u.mball. Oh well, what the h.e.l.l. She wouldn't tell him everything. "You know the dead man was a pimp?" After his nod, she continued. "Well, one of his girls, the one involved, saw the dog. She said it was big, black and had a lot of fur, like a sled dog."

Bowers smiled and nodded. "That narrows it down. Sled dogs are strong. One could easily kill a man. We found some black hairs stuck to his hands too."

She'd love to get her hands on one of those hairs. "Do you think it was some kind of weird accident? What about the dog being scared and thinking it was defending itself? Or is someone training a dog to kill?"

Grimacing, he shifted on the seat and shrugged. "I don't know, but there aren't too many options. A dog will protect its master, but that wasn't the case here. Nor have there been any reports of rabies or dogs running wild in the park. I checked."

Fixing her gaze on the back of the driver's head, Meredythe pondered everything she'd learned so far. Why would a dog protect someone, kill for someone it didn't know, then disappear? It just didn't make sense. "This is really weird," she mumbled.

"What?"

Meredythe gathered her scattered thoughts and turned her attention back to her companion. "Nothing. How long have you known Kim?"

"We started working together last year. What about you?"

"About six years now. His wife was my roommate until she met Kim. Left me high and dry without a roommate our junior year."

"And you've been making him pay for it ever since, haven't you?"

Meredythe grinned. "Don't you forget it."

Jon held the back door open for Meredythe. "My friend will be back here somewhere. There's some big shot giving a lecture and Frank was supposed to bring a couple of his dogs for props."

Meredythe's eyebrows rose. "Props? What is it, a dog and pony show?"

Before he could answer, a security guard challenged their presence. Meredythe pulled her press ID from her purse and held it up. "We're here to cover the lecture."

After a cursory glance, the guard shrugged and stepped out of the way. "Just don't get too close to those cages. Some of those animals are mean."

Meredythe threw an inquiring glance at Jon, but he just shrugged and led her deeper into the building. Soon another man crossed their path.

Jon stepped past Meredythe and called, "Frank, hey, Frank."

The short man stopped. "Jon? Is that you?" he asked with a wide grin as he stuck his hand out. "What the h.e.l.l are you doing here? Somebody find a dead body somewhere on campus?"

Jon grinned back and shook hands. "Not today, but I do have some questions about a case and decided to come to an expert."

After the handshake, Frank turned his attention to Meredythe. "And who do we have here? h.e.l.lo, lovely lady. Don't tell me you're with this sorry excuse for a man. How could you possibly be interested in a guy who cuts up dead people for a living?"

Meredythe rolled her eyes at his speculative stare. Another flirt. Couldn't men keep their minds out of their pants?

"Meredythe Welsh, Frank Messner. She's here for the same information I am, Frank, so stop flirting," Jon said before she could comment. "Can you tell us what kind of dog made these footprints?"

Meredythe craned her neck to get a look at the photos when Jon handed Frank the pictures.

After a quick glance, Frank started and perused the photos more carefully. Finally he said, "These aren't dog prints, Jon."

Meredythe frowned and bit her lip, mind whirling. "But those have to be dog prints. What else could they be?"

"Wolf or wolf-dog."

Meredythe's mind leaped back to her dream of the night before. Wolf?

Jon's skeptical voice pulled her from her memories. "A wolf? In Central Park? No way."

"Wolf-dog then. Here, look." Frank held the photo up for both of them to see. "Paw prints are too big for a dog. See the spread and the length? Those prints are almost six inches long. This is one h.e.l.l of a big animal. What do you need to know for and what does Central Park have to do with it?"

Jon directed a level stare at his friend. "Whatever made those tracks killed a man in the park last night."

All hints of flirtation were gone from Frank's voice as he said, "The Bronx Zoo has some Mexican gray wolves, but they certainly weren't out for a walk in the park. And wolves won't bother n.o.body if n.o.body bothers them. No, not a wolf." He handed the photos back to Jon. "d.a.m.n b.a.s.t.a.r.ds and their dog fights. It must be a mix. A hybrid isn't afraid of man. f.u.c.k, but there are a.s.sholes out there who think crossbreeding wolves and dogs is a good thing."

Meredythe got her tape recorder out. "Did you say something about dog fights? Aren't they against the law?"

"She's a reporter," Jon said to Frank's questioning stare.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they don't happen. They're becoming a real problem. As long as there are guys who think it's macho to own a dangerous dog that can tear some other guy's dog to pieces, we'll have problems. Now folks are thinking it's cool to own a wolf hybrid."

Meredythe shifted her tape recorder and cursed under her breath when her tape ran out. Grabbing a tablet from her purse, she started writing. "Are there a lot of these hybrids around? Are they dangerous?"

Frank stared at them a moment then said, "Come with me and I'll show you." He led the way down the hall to a closed door. Before unlocking it, he said, "No quick moves. They're all in kennels, but I don't want them upset."

A low, threatening growl greeted them as Frank opened the door. "d.a.m.n," he muttered in a low voice. "I knew I should have left Hammer at home."

Three kennels were placed in different corners of the room. He ignored the low growl from the farthest cage. "These are what you get when you crossbreed wolves and dogs. Sweetie here is half wolf and half Collie and pretty easygoing," he said, indicating a mostly white wolf-dog in the closest kennel. "She was a family pet until she attacked the garbage man. The family's kids were in the yard and she thought he presented a threat."

Jon stopped just inside the door, but Meredythe followed Frank right up to the kennel. She bent closer when the wolf-dog wagged her tail. "But there are dogs that will do that. How can you blame her?"

Frank smiled briefly. "She tore a six-inch gash along the guy's leg. She's lucky she wasn't put down."

Meredythe squatted to get a better look inside the kennel.

Still in the doorway, Jon shifted from one foot to the other. "Meredythe, maybe you shouldn't get too close."

She ignored him. "Why wasn't she put down?"

Frank grinned at Jon then turned his attention back to Meredythe. "The family really pushed to save her. They had home movies of Sweetie playing with the kids. That and the guy she bit owned a couple of German Shepherds, so he sort of understood why she attacked him."

"How did you get her?"

"I have a license to keep and train exotic animals and have picked up a couple of wolf-dogs over the years. Now the police call me if they aren't sure what to do with the animal. I figured I could train them to use in movies."

"So you train them all?" Meredythe asked, leaning closer to the kennel. Sweetie woofed and wagged her tail.

"Sometimes. Sweetie here is a real pleasure to work with. She seems to like you. Would you like to meet her?"