“I don’t harm children.” Mrs. Malone’s flames rose higher. “Who would do such a thing?”
“That’s why we’re here,” Asa explained. “We’re hunting their killer.”
Since he didn’t appear to be making much headway, I jumped in while Clay continued playing defense.
“Whatever you’ve done, we’re not here for you.” I included them both in my statement. “Either of you.” I held up my hands. “All we want are answers about this particular case. Give those to us, and we’ll go.”
“All right.” Mrs. Malone extinguished herself, leaving us with a soot-dusted and extremely naked old woman. “Danny, I think we should help them.” She stroked his head. “Change back, please.”
The lynx took a bit longer to shift without his mate in immediate danger. Mr. Malone stood, ready for a fight, and buck naked. A low growl pumped from his chest until his wife swatted at his arm with a laugh.
“He’s so overprotective.” She fluffed her smoking hair. “Stop fussing, and tell them what you know.”
Her husband cleared his throat and singled me out yet again. “There were three sites, weren’t there?”
Clay’s fingers tightened into fists, Asa moved in closer to me, and I locked my knees to hold myself still.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “How did you know?”
“I hunt on the tracts I work. I go late. After everyone’s gone home.” He rolled a bony shoulder. “It wasn’t natural, those deer, so I let them alone.” He tapped his nose. “I smelled the black magic on them.”
Rude as it was of me, I had to ask, “Do you think you could follow the scent for us, see where it leads?”
“I tried then, when it was fresh, and had no luck.” He watched my face and nodded to himself. “I stalked the trail, but it vanished within yards of the bodies each time. I would’ve killed him, if I could’ve sunk my claws in him. I knew Black Hats would come.” He kissed his wife’s cheek. “I knew you would find us.”
One salient point stood out to me. “You’re sure the black magic user was male?”
A second opinion never hurt, especially since I was still finding my balance.
“He marked his territory.” Mr. Malone chuffed. “Guess he thought it would keep wildlife away. As if any animal would go near a place seeped in that much negative energy. The magic alone warns them off it.”
From a shifter, that was as good as a positive ID in my book. “What do you mean by the trail vanished?”
“He doused it with diesel fuel from the site.” He sneezed at the memory. “It clogged my nose something fierce when it was fresh. I went back a few days later, and all I smelled was fuel. He was smart to do it.”
A few days later meant Mr. Malone had been first on scene and last on scene each time. He made a valuable resource.
“Smart unless someone dropped a match.” Clay whistled. “I didn’t see mention of that anywhere.”
“Maybe city folk figure all clear-cutting sites stink like fuel.” Mr. Malone shrugged again. “I can’t speak to that. All I can tell you is what I saw and what I smelled each time.”
“If you come across another scene, do us a favor and call it in, please.” Asa handed him a business card. “That’s my direct number. You can be an anonymous tipster.”
“How exciting.” Mrs. Malone clasped her hands. “It’s just like on TV.”
“We will protect your identities if you cooperate with us,” Asa told her husband. “You have my word.”
The old man flipped the card over his fingers. “And if I don’t cooperate?”
Based on their initial reactions, I got the feeling the warning would hit harder coming from me.
“Then we dig into your wife’s background and take a look at missing persons cases in the area.” I let him see I meant every word. “We don’t go out of our way to make trouble for folks who fly under the radar.” I patted my pocket, where my wand resided. “Black Hat doesn’t have to know about your wife, or you.”
“I want a truth binding,” he growled. “Give me that, and I’ll cooperate.”
Clay opened his mouth, ready to argue, but I didn’t mind bleeding. “Done.”
Behind me, Asa rumbled the faintest growl, but he didn’t say a word. Smart move. He couldn’t stop me.