Or it feels like killers who got sloppy,Raymond replied grimly.Maybe they didn’t expect Gregory to fight back.Maybe they left more traces than intended.
The scent evidence bothers me most,Anders admitted, his analytical mind working through the forensic details.It’s extensive but degraded.Old enough to have lost specificity but fresh enough to maintain identifiable characteristics.That’s a very narrow window.
What are you suggesting?Malcolm asked.
I’m suggesting that someone with sophisticated knowledge of shifter forensics would know exactly how to plant scent evidence to make it appear legitimate while obscuring any details that might reveal manipulation.
Una’s expression hardened.Or someone with access to the twins’ personal items could have created false scent trails using authentic biological markers.
That would require someone very close to us,Sarah said, her voice carrying growing alarm.Someone with intimate access to our living spaces, our belongings.
Someone like a pack member with guardian access,Raymond observed darkly.
If the evidence had been planted, it suggested a level of infiltration and betrayal that went far beyond the twins’ potential guilt.
This is getting us nowhere,Larissa said, cutting through the increasingly heated debate.We’re speculating about possibilities instead of focusing on facts.
The facts suggest the Stewart twins killed Gregory Torrance,Una said firmly.
The facts suggest someone wants us to believe that,Nick said with equal conviction.
Stephanie looked between the warring factions with obvious concern.What the facts suggest,she said slowly,is that we have a serious problem.Whether it’s guilt or conspiracy, betrayal or manipulation, someone in the pack isn’t who they appear to be.
In the silence that followed, the twins themselves remained unmoving, their identical features revealing nothing of their internal reactions.
But through her developing bond with Conall, Nadine felt his anxiety like a live wire.
The mate bond whispered that Nadine should trust him, that Conall was incapable of the kind of betrayal the evidence suggested.But she’d learned not to trust biology over evidence, not to let emotional connections override logical analysis.
There’s enough here to warrant further investigation,Malcolm decided finally.But nothing that proves guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The question,Larissa said,is how we proceed.If there’s a traitor in the pack, we need to identify them.But we can’t tear ourselves apart based on circumstantial evidence.
I have a proposal,Anders said, setting down his tablet.Continue the investigation with Nadine as primary analyst.She has the expertise to interpret the evidence objectively.But pair her with someone who understands pack dynamics, who can provide context for the intelligence.
You’re suggesting I work with one of the people I’m investigating?Nadine asked.
I’m suggesting you work with Conall,Anders replied.If he’s innocent, his cooperation will help clear his name.If he’s guilty, working closely with him might reveal additional evidence.
The proposal hit Nadine like cold water.Spend extended time with Conall, fighting the mate bond’s insistence that he was innocent while gathering evidence that might damn him?
Every instinct screamed that it was a trap—for either her objectivity or her safety.
But it was also the fastest way to determine the truth.
Are you willing?Malcolm asked, his gaze moving between Nadine and Conall.
She studied Conall’s face, searching for tells that might reveal guilt or innocence.His dark eyes met hers steadily, carrying emotions she couldn’t quite interpret through their developing connection.
Fear, certainly.But fear of discovery or fear of false conviction?
I’m willing to find the truth,she said finally.Whatever that truth might be.
Malcolm nodded approvingly.Then you’ll begin working together tomorrow morning.Full access to pack resources, complete investigative authority.Find out what really happened to Gregory Torrance.
As the meeting dispersed, council members filing out with expressions ranging from anger to concern to satisfaction, Nadine remained seated.The evidence boxes surrounded her like accusations, each piece another weight pressing down on her chest.
Conall lingered as well, his presence both comforting and terrifying.Through their bond, she felt his complex emotions—gratitude for her willingness to investigate rather than simply condemn, fear of what that investigation might reveal, and something deeper that might have been—what?Tenderness?Affection?
