Were in the City Ch. 04

It was definitely not their finest hour. Liam and Jacob made it back home, limping and wincing as they left a bloody trail through the kitchen to the downstairs bathroom. They were both very capable field medics and had a well-stocked medical kit, so they got to work patching each other up. Bites and tears were simple things to treat; the deep bullet gouges across Jacob's ribs and his ass (damn!) slightly more work; the through-and-through bullet wound in Liam's upper leg more challenging but not something they hadn't handled a number of times before. Changing between forms also helped clean wounds close, so they did that a couple of times each to prevent infection and speed up healing.

Jacob shook his head in disgust as he looked in the mirror at them both. "Two battle-hardened rogues against one stupid dog and an idiot with a gun and we look like this? We've survived wars in better shape. Don't you dare ever tell anyone what we look like right now ... not ever!"

Liam had to come to their defence. "When that idiot started shooting all I cared about was where Jessie was. When she screamed I lost all focus on what was happening with us. I almost threw myself at him and tore his throat out before I remembered where we were -- that would have been a clear sign for others to follow. I put myself between the gun and her, so that dog got his claws in me a few more times before it was over."

Jacob looked grim. "It was the same for me. I still might tear the idiot's throat out - Jessie got hit! I didn't want to leave her. I would have stood there and chewed on anything that approached her. Only her begging us to go managed to get me focused on our own situation."

Liam agreed. "And we've got to stay focused on cleaning up right now. I don't know if they are going to try to track two dangerous coyotes but we've left a scent trail all the way to the back door so get out the bleach and start scrubbing things down in here. I'll shower first and then go mess up our trail outside."

They got lucky. A day that had started out bright and sunny changed by mid-afternoon to dark and stormy. Just as Liam was ready to go back outside the rain started to wash away the blood and scent of their path -- nothing would track them home this time.

They checked the TV and Internet news. The "coyote attack" was a local headline especially as it involved "the discharging an illegal firearm in a residential area by someone known to police". Jessie wasn't named but the news reports said that a bystander, a woman, had been injured. Jacob phoned Helen to ask her to watch how this continued to play out just in case, to find out how Jessie was doing, and to find out all she could about the idiot with the gun.

It wasn't until after dinner when Liam said "Jacob, you realize Jessie talked directly to us right? Like she knew we'd understand?"

Jacob nodded. "You heard what she was telling her Mom didn't you? She's afraid of us, but she has accepted what we are. I'm surprised that she didn't want us shot if she's so afraid."

"I hate that she's afraid of us. If she can keep our secret, can we reassure her? I have an idea I'd like to try". Liam looked at his brother hoping he wouldn't object.

"It doesn't involve revealing who you are as a human does it? We can't do that. It's too dangerous, for us and for her."

"I won't go anywhere near her" Liam promised.

"Well, let's just see what she says to the police and the media about this situation. If she can manage to keep what we are out of it, go ahead and reassure her. Just be careful, please!"

Helen called about 11pm to say Jessie had been discharged from hospital as her through-and-through wound had been easy to treat, and that her statement to the police had been very short, simple facts, nothing more -- nothing to worry about.

They got Helen's report on Darren Barron, the idiot with the gun, the next day. "He's a gang member, involved in the drug trade. He's been arrested numerous times, done some time in jail over the years, loves flashy toys like a neon Hummer. Not the least bit cautious it seems to me, considering that rival gangs like to chew each other up every so often. Seems to think he's invincible or something. He'll get out on bail within a week, with a notice to appear at a later date. He has an expensive house on the west side, only visits his parent's place occasionally, but that's right next door to Jessie's home."

Jacob asked "Any reason we should be concerned about how he'll treat Jessie when he gets out on bail?"

Helen reassured him. "No, his statement to the police is all about his dog being attacked and his right to defend it. I don't think he sees Jessie as anything but a blameless bystander. Her statement didn't make any digs at his character or his dog's, she kept it real simple, so she should be fine."

Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. "She's smart. She either knows or suspects what he is. Thanks Helen, great work as always."

A few days later, they were both in the truck headed home from work when Jacob's phone rang. "Hi Helen."

"Hi Jacob, is Liam there? Put me on speaker."

Liam pulled over and parked, turning the engine off. "Ok ... we are both listening. What's up?"

Helen started to talk, excitement in her voice. "I was doing my weekly database checks for my clients when something came up that's relevant for you. I do a name search in the national police database every week because they are constantly adding newly digitized and indexed materials from older files. I put in Jessie's name and the names of her parents and got what I thought was just the same one entry for her mother's death. I almost missed it, but it seemed the file size for the entry was bigger than it used to be, so I looked at it in detail. The investigating officer's research notes have been added to the online file -- and they are ... well I'm not sure what word to use ... intriguing?"

"It seems the officer thought Cecile Taylor might have been sexually assaulted before she was hit by the car. She was found naked at the side of the road and they never found her clothes or her purse. The coroner didn't find any evidence of assault or trauma other than what was consistent with a hit-and-run but the officer couldn't explain the missing clothes. I have no idea why this information was not transferred to the case summary I've seen in both the local and national police databases except to say the officer was either persuaded not to include that information or someone deliberately removed it. It should have been in the summary."

Liam and Jacob looked at each other, the possible implications of this dawning on them. "Helen, what if she was some kind of Were and out running in her non-human form. She's on the road at the wrong time and is hit. The driver doesn't think to stop or report it as he or she has just hit an animal of some kind. It's raining and dark and they don't want to deal with a wounded or dead dog, coyote, or whatever. Cecile changes back to human form hoping to attract help but dies before help arrives. If anyone else knew what she was, they might work to cover up details that could reveal what she was."

Helen agreed. "Yes, given what you've told me about your connection to Jessie, that's where my mind went to on this as well. The cover up wouldn't just be for Cecile, but for her husband and daughter. I do database searches for similar circumstances such as this all the time, and every so often detect a Were this way. Someone made sure no one looking would find them. I've removed the associated keywords from the database index now so that it continues to stay hidden from a general search, but if anyone focuses on Jessie's family they'll still find it all. I can't risk making too many unauthorized changes in that data."

Helen's voice softened. "Cecile might have changed back to human form because she knew she wasn't going to live. She wanted her family to know what happened to her. If she'd stayed in her other form, a dead animal may never have been reported -- she would just have been missing forever. Some of my clients are trying to find missing family members so I know this situation well -- our kind suffer far too much from this. "

Liam thought for a moment and asked "Helen, does this help at all in figuring out where Cecile Taylor came from? You've traced Jessie's father's family but Cecile's a mystery. Any hope you can find out more?"

Helen sighed. "No, I'm afraid I'm still stuck. Her maiden name Durand doesn't match anyone on record earlier than her marriage even when I use a very wide age range. She appears out of nowhere to marry Jessie's father. I'll keep trying but don't hold your breath. If she was Were, it does make sense why I can't find her but doesn't help me find out who she is. We change our identities a lot, who knows how many times Cecile had become someone new before her marriage."

Jacob had to ask the million-dollar question .... "If Cecile was Were, what does that make Jessie?" There was only silence from Liam and Helen. There were still too many unknowns to be able to answer that with any certainty.