The Shaman Part 4

"Not by a long shot," Greywolf growled.

She glanced up at him sharply and slipped away from him, putting more distance between them. To her

relief, he didn't pursue her. A shiver moved through her at the loss of his heat. "I suppose you consider

that getting even with me?"

He lifted a hand that shook slightly and scrubbed it over his face, then rubbed it against his chest. She looked away as he reached down and adjusted himself. "Let's just say this wasn't quite what I had in mind," he said tightly.

"You did it to scare me off."

He c.o.c.ked his head to one side, studying her. "Did I?"

She wasn't sure whether he was questioning her insight about his motives, or if he was asking if he'd

succeeded. "No," she said finally, lifting her chin.

He seemed to relax fractionally, which surprised her. Instead of pursuing the subject, however, he nodded toward the window. "Mind telling me what this is all about."

Charlie flicked a glance toward the window. "Yes."

His lips tightened. "But you will."

"Why should I?"

He moved toward the wall and leaned against it, folding his arms over his chest and crossing his legs.

"Because I caught you trying to break into the clinic?" he hazarded a guess.

"It's your word against mine."

"And who's word carries more weight around here, do you think?"

Irritation surfaced, but she didn't doubt he was right. There was no point in trying to deny his accusation

either. "I was looking for evidence."

His brows rose. "Against Doc Morris?"

Charlie frowned thoughtfully, but she really had no interest in Dr. Morris' competence, or lack of it. "I

want something to prove conclusively whether that girl that was so brutally butchered was killed by a two legged animal or a four legged one."

"You're not buying the animal attack?"

Her lips tightened. "I'm not going to discuss this case with you."

"But you don't really have a case, do you, unless you can prove it was an animal of the two legged variety?"

She didn't say anything. She didn't have to. "Curiously enough, I was under the impression that you were to meet Doc Morris here in the morning for those samples."

Charlie shifted uncomfortably, but kept her silence.

He pushed away from the wall. "Guess you'd feel more comfortable talking to Chief Brown about this."

Charlie grabbed his arm, tugging. "No! Wait!"

He turned back.

"He thinks I'm calling his competence into question and he doesn't like it. If I believed he'd give me the

samples, I wouldn't be here. But I can't afford to chance it. Three girls are dead already." He nodded and moved to the window, shoving the cas.e.m.e.nt up. After a moment of surprise, Charlie surged forward, reached up and gripped the bottom of the sill. Leaning forward, Greywolf locked his fingers together, forming a step for her. As she placed the toe of her shoe on his hands, he lifted her upward and she thrust her head and shoulders through the opening. Before she could wiggle the rest of the way inside, he placed his hand on her bottom and gave her a push. She jumped, lost her balance and tumbled to the floor inside.

She turned to glare at him as he hoisted himself inside. He grinned, displaying a pair of dimples that made her heart flutter uncomfortably. "Thanks," she said tartly. "My pleasure." Her eyes narrowed and he chuckled. "There's no sense in you risking a burglary charge," she said after a moment.

"There's a better chance of neither of us getting caught if I help."

Charlie shrugged. "As long as you understand that, if we get caught, there's probably not much I could do to help you."

His lips tightened, but he said nothing and finally she shrugged, moved to the door and opened it

cautiously.

"They don't have a security guard," Greywolf said, pushing past her and striding purposefully down the hall.

"You know where the morgue is?"

He stopped at the door at the end of the hall and turned to give her a look before he turned the k.n.o.b and went in. Charlie followed him, peering through the gloom. She jumped when the lights came on

abruptly. Whirling, she saw Greywolf standing by the switch. "Do you think that's such a good idea?"

"Do you think you can work in the dark?" he countered.

Charlie shrugged. Being in the morgue unnerved her more than she'd thought it would. When she was considering breaking in to retrieve the samples herself, she'd focused on getting the samples, not how she might feel about the clandestine nature of it.

Moving to the cold storage, she opened a drawer. It was empty. She shut it and grasped the handle of the second drawer. A jolt went through her as she looked down at the elderly woman. After a moment, she pushed the drawer closed and opened the next one.

It was the girl, her mutilations looking even more grotesque against her death pale skin. Whoever had cleaned up behind Dr. Bob and placed the body in the drawer had discarded the body bag.

Charlie pulled the drawer all the way out. She went to the cabinets along one wall and began searching the drawers for the things she needed, gloves, sterile containers for the samples, tweezers and a magnifying gla.s.s. She found everything except the magnifying gla.s.s. When she'd placed them on a tray she looked up and saw that Greywolf was still standing by the door. "I need you to help me get her onto the table."

She'd hoped she wouldn't have to remove the body from the drawer, but without a magnifying gla.s.s, she wasn't likely to find much. There was a lighted magnifying gla.s.s on an adjustable arm over the examination table.

Without a word, Greywolf surged forward, slipped the gurney beneath the drawer and moved the girl's body to the table, his face set in grim lines. She glanced at him. "You OK?"

"Are you?"

Charlie took a deep breath and closed her mind to the body, focusing on her search. "Not especially," she admitted.

Pulling the lamp down, she held it, moving it slowly over the body. She found a hair stuck to the coagulated blood on the girl's neck and tugged it free with the tweezers, examining it under the magnifying lens. "Looks like an animal hair," she muttered, then placed it carefully in a sterile envelope, sealed it and, after a brief search for a pen in her purse, wrote a reference on it. Shoving the envelope in her purse, she continued the search, coming up with another animal hair and two pubic hairs. Very likely, they belonged to the girl, but she couldn't determine that so she collected them. When she was certain she covered the entire body, she stepped back, thinking. Finally, she returned to the storage cabinets, searching for a lamp.

She was disappointed but not really surprised when she didn't find one. There might be one in one of the examination rooms, but she didn't dare take the time to look. Instead, she returned to the body, picked up a scalpel and lifted one of the girl's hands. Holding it over a sheet of paper, she carefully sc.r.a.ped beneath each of the girl's nails on both hands. Several dried flakes of blood and tissue dropped onto the paper and, when she'd finished, she very carefully collected it into another envelope and sealed it.

Stepping back, she mopped the beads of sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, trying to steady her nerves for what she needed to do next. The body was just coming out of rigor and still stiff. It took an effort to lift her legs and bend them.

"What're you doing?" Greywolf asked sharply when she picked up a cotton swab.

She glanced at him. "Looking for s.e.m.e.n."

"She was attacked climbing out of, or into her bedroom window. If there's s.e.m.e.n, it's probably her boyfriend's," he pointed out dryly.

"I won't know, though, if I don't get it checked, will I?"

When she'd dabbed several swabs over the area and sealed them, she fished her camera out of her purse and moved to the end of the gurney, leaning in for a close up of the girl's genitals. She photographed both sides of both hands next and finally the girl's face and throat.

She felt more than a little nauseated when she'd finished, but strangely elated, as well.

Tossing the camera back into her purse, she repositioned the body and called Greywolf to help her return it to the storage drawer.

She was shaking all over from reaction when she finally reached the alley again. Greywolf studied her a long moment and finally grasped her arm just below the elbow. "Where are we going?" Charlie asked, trying to wrench free.

"My place."

Chapter Six.

"Your place?" Charlie echoed disbelievingly.

"Unless you'd rather sleep in your car?"

"I'll find a hotel, thank you," she said firmly, peeling his fingers loose from her arm.

"You won't. Not at this time of night."

Charlie studied him a.s.sessingly, her hands on her hips.

A faint smile curled his lips. "I won't jump your bones-tonight." He gave her a smoldering once over.

"No promises beyond that."

Charlie gave him a look. "I'm not sure I trust you that much."

"Me, or yourself?"

She rolled her eyes. "Please! Don't flatter yourself. I'm not one of your ... uh ... worshippers."

He studied her a long moment and finally moved toward her. Charlie inhaled a gasp and took a step

back. A slow, wicked grin dawned. "If you aren't worried about it, why the retreat?" Charlie crossed her arms. "Look, cowboy, I've no interest in becoming another notch on your belt. As long as we're clear on that, then ... thanks. I could use a few hours sleep before I head back to the agency." He walked her back to her car and then climbed into his truck, which he'd parked directly behind her. She waited until he'd pulled out, wondering if it wouldn't have been smarter, and less hazardous, if she'd just decided to make the drive back tonight. It occurred to her, though, that she should probably go through the motions of presenting herself at the morgue in the morning. She'd done her best to leave the morgue just as she'd found it, but she'd had to take containers for the specimens. Dr. Bob might notice they were missing anyway, but he wasn't as likely to, she didn't think, if she didn't arouse his suspicions by taking off in the middle of the night. Besides, now that the adrenaline rush had subsided, she was too tired to attempt a drive back without endangering herself and other motorists.

To her surprise, he led her out of town. They drove for several miles before he turned off onto a long,

narrow unpaved drive between two posts. A sign hung from the cross piece above the drive, but she couldn't read it. Dimly, she could see the outline of a house at the top of a sharp rise. It looked like a big house for one person, and a sense of uneasiness settled over her. Was she about to be confronted by an irate wife? His parents? He parked his truck in front of the house and got out, waiting for her. "Your wife doesn't wait up for you?" she asked, none too subtly, but then she wasn't currently in any condition for subtleties and moreover, she wanted to know what she was up against.

Instead of replying, he merely grunted and strode up the walk, crossed the wide porch and unlocked the door, shoving it open. She stepped across the threshold just as he flicked the light switch. Blinking against the sudden light, Charlie peered around the room cautiously.