Moon Sworn (Riley Jenson Guardian 9)

I nodded. "They're revenge crimes, just like this one. Which suggests there's a fairly big organization behind it. There has to be, given they've hit people in four places now."

He raised his eyebrows. "Four?"

"I Googled the murders last night. None of them matched the information my - admittedly faulty - memory is providing."

"Then how would you even know about it if you didn't read about it, either online or in the newspapers?"

"I don't know." I finished the rest of the toast, then wiped the crumbs off my hands. "Have you sent an information request to the Directorate? This would be their sort of gig."

"Marcus Landsbury was human, and he was killed by someone wearing a devil mask. That isn't Directorate territory."

"It is when the person wearing the mask isn't human."

The last hint of friendliness dropped from his gaze. "What makes you say that? There was no scent other than Landsbury's at the crime scene."

"And you didn't find that odd? You're a wolf. You should have been able to smell the killer given how fresh the kill was."

He didn't say anything to that, so I continued. "Besides, Landsbury said his killer was small but he moved him easily. That in itself signals nonhuman involvement, because most humans simply couldn't have lifted a man his size with any sort of ease."

"But neither of those is the reason you think there's nonhuman involvement, is it?"

"No." I hesitated. "I really do have no idea where half this stuff is coming from, but I didn't kill Landsbury."

"If I was accusing you of anything, we'd be down at the police station, not sitting here drinking coffee."

Which didn't mean he thought I was innocent. "Look, I keep getting this feeling that I was involved in investigating a similar case. Whether that was as someone who has a talent for talking to souls, or in a more official capacity, I can't say."

"If this other crime exists, then there'd at least be a record of it somewhere in the system - "

"Not if it's a Directorate case."

"True. But if it was a Directorate case, my sending in an official query about a possible copycat would have prompted a response. So far, it hasn't."

"The query would be red-flagged. How fast they get back to you depends on what other cases they have ongoing." I hesitated. "It also might depend on which Directorate office picks it up."

"It'll go direct to Perth. That's our closest main office."

"Meaning if an Australia-wide alert hasn't yet gone out, then it'll be classed as low priority. You may not hear anything back for a few days."

Curiosity stirred through his expression. "You seem to know a lot about the Directorate for someone who works as a pack border guard."

"That's the thing," I said, crossing my arms and leaning against the countertop. "I really don't think I'm a border guard."

"Meaning your brother is lying?"

"No." I blew out a breath. "Maybe. I don't know."

"If Evin is lying, that means your pack leader is, also. And that's one pretty big fabrication." His gaze slid down my body then rose to meet mine again. I had absolutely no idea what was going on behind those blue eyes. "I'd have to ask, why would they bother?"

His words stung, though I don't think he meant them to. "That's what I need to find out. If this is all part of a fabrication, then why me, and why here?"

"Well, Dunedan is the middle of nowhere. If you wanted to get someone away from everything and everyone, then this is a pretty good start."

I took another sip of coffee and briefly wondered if they sold other brands in the local store. This one, whatever it was, sucked. Although Harris didn't seem to mind it.

"Dunedan is also wolf owned. For some reason, that strikes me as odd. If my memory loss is due to the machinations of others rather than an accident, then why not erase the memory of being a wolf?"

"Because you may erase the memory, but you can never erase the fact. A wolf - regardless of whether they remember what they are or not - will be affected on the onset of the full moon and will still change shape on the actual night."