Alpha Squad: Boot Camp

Chapter Six

Chapter SixWith Alpha Squad still snooping around the shifter camp, Felicity had no choice but to return home early. She couldn't risk getting caught, at least not while they thought she was a suspect.

The one hope she clung onto was that these newcomers seemed to be investigating the deaths on their own without getting much in the way of support from the local police. Assuming Adam was able to convince them of her innocence, she would have nothing to worry about.

Their encounter in the woods had been a very strange experience. Felicity wasn't sure what to make of it all. She'd hidden in the woods as soon as she saw the Army Land Rover pull into the camp, and he'd followed her immediately after.

She should have run, but unlike the previous night in the Deer Park, something told her to stick around. Now she was glad she had. There was something about him which made her want to trust his intentions.

But she couldn’t put her finger on what it was exactly.

The look in his eyes? Those beautifully deep brown eyes…

Or was it something else? The strange magnetism she'd felt the moment she saw him approach? At that point, she couldn't have run even if she wanted to.

He was a peculiar man.

And something deep within herself made her want to be near him.

Now, in the safety of her car, she couldn't help but run through the short encounter again and again in her head.

Finally, she forced herself out of her daydream and turned the key. She would check in with her mom to see how she was holding up after last night's incident. Felicity still couldn't believe that someone would just throw a brick through their window. This town was going downhill fast. Tensions were rising.

Upon pulling into the quiet cul-de-sac upon which her childhood home stood, she was greeted by the flashing lights of police cars. Felicity's heart sank. Had the vandals taken a step further now? Were her parents all right?

The tires of her car screeched as she stopped abruptly along the curb near their house and raced up the lengthy driveway toward the door. She hadn't even bothered to take the keys out of the ignition or lock the car.

She burst through the door and into the house, still panting in panic.

"What's happened? Mom, are you all right? Where's Dad?" Felicity called out.

She froze when she saw two men in suits sitting in the couch, cups of tea in hand, with her mom leaning across to offer them biscuits from a serving tray.

"Darling! These gentlemen were just asking about you!" Her mom straightened herself and smiled briefly. Still, Felicity could tell that something was wrong. "And your father is at work, where he should be."

Felicity tried to get her breathing under control and think about what to do. The hint of tension in her mother's expression told her to run. But that would just attract undue attention. Perhaps it was best to talk to the police and see what they were actually here for. They couldn't arrest her unless they actually had something on her, right?

"Hello, I'm Felicity Weir," she introduced herself.

The nearest of the two men, a gray-haired man, about six feet tall, stood up and shook her hand. "Detective Nye. This is my partner, Detective McMillan."

"Nice to meet you," Felicity mumbled. She nodded at the other, younger man who remained seated on the couch. Taller than his partner, and broader as well, even while seated, Detective McMillan was an imposing house guest.

There was something off about him. It was rare to see a human man of his stature and fitness level, except for gym nuts who rarely stopped working out. And yet, his scent was unmistakable. Human.

"Well, it's a happy coincidence we find you here, Ms. Weir. We tried visiting your home, but you seemed to be out?"

Felicity nodded. "I had some work."

Detective Nye nodded slowly. "Well, perhaps you wouldn't mind answering some questions now."

"My daughter has a lot on her plate lately. She's a volunteer at the shifter camp, you know! Perhaps you could set a day and time for a more proper meeting?" Felicity's mom suggested.

Detective McMillan, who had remained silent throughout, took a sip of tea and glanced in Felicity's direction over the rim of his cup. For a moment, Felicity thought she could see a faint glow in his eyes. That wasn't possible, was it? She was under a lot of stress; perhaps she'd imagined it.

Meanwhile, Detective Nye kept staring at Felicity; he was still waiting for her answer, undeterred by what her mother had said.

"Fine. I can answer some questions. What would you like to know?"

"Why don't you take a seat, Ms. Weir." Detective Nye gestured at the empty arm chair opposite the couch. Her dad's TV chair.

Felicity held her breath as she sat down. So they had been looking for her and turned up to question her mother about her whereabouts. That wasn't a good sign. Had Alpha Squad shared their intel about her and sent the local cops after her? If, or rather, when she ran into Adam again, she would make sure to ask him.

"Well, first of all, we are the lead detectives investigating the recent string of violent crimes that had swept across Sevenoaks."

"The murders," Felicity said.

"Right. Well, livestock mutilations and indeed, the murders. We believe all of these incidents to be related."

"What would you like to know?"

"Where were you on these nights," Detective Nye asked, while handing her a sheet of paper with a list of all the dates on which the attacks had supposedly taken place. The items on the list came as no surprise to Felicity. Her anonymous tipster had called her about each of these, starting with the third or fourth animal death. This was around that time that anti-shifter sentiments had started to develop among the local population, inspiring her to start digging as well.

"Sure thing. On the third and fourth of October, I was having dinner here."

"Until what time?" Detective Nye asked.

Felicity glanced across at the other detective, who had still not uttered a single word. He had pulled out a little notepad and was waiting, pen in hand, to note Felicity's answers.

"It's been a few weeks. I don't know. I might have left around ten, maybe?"

"Both nights?" Nye asked.

Felicity nodded.

"Yes, she would have been here just until the ten o'clock news. Frank always watches the ten o'clock news right before going to bed," her mother confirmed.

"How about the other dates?" Detective Nye asked, practically ignoring her mother's input.

"Let's see." Felicity checked the list again. "On the tenth and twelfth I was at home."

"Were you alone?" Nye asked, his eyes widening just enough for Felicity to make out.

She nodded. "Yes, I live alone."

She watched helplessly as Detective Nye leaned across to his partner and half-mouthed, half-whispered the words 'no alibi.'

Unbelievable. So now her lack of social life made her a suspect? Life was so unfair.

"And you're a shifter, correct?" Nye asked.

Felicity gave him a blank look. He wouldn't be asking if he didn't already know. "As far as I know, that's not a crime," Felicity blurted out.

"What about yesterday. Where were you yesterday afternoon?"

Felicity started to get riled up. Who did these people think they were, anyway?

"I was at the camp. The supervisor there can confirm this; we got into an argument right around three o'clock. Plenty of people overheard."

The detectives exchanged another look.

"Well, if that's all, I hope you don't mind if I go home now," she added while getting up from her chair. This was just about all the bullshit she was willing to put up with for one day.

"We'd best be on our way as well. We might have some more questions for you later; I hope you don't mind if we get in touch again," Nye said, also getting up.

Although Felicity was reasonably tall—a side effect of her bear shifter genes—the middle aged man still had a couple of inches on her.

"Sure," she mumbled and folded her arms. No way was she shaking his hand.

Detective McMillan also got up from the sofa and Felicity caught herself staring at the man. Six foot six, at least. And a very unusual build for a human. Was he even local? It seemed unusual for a guy like this to go unnoticed in a small town like Sevenoaks. If she'd seen him in passing even once before, she might have remembered.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weir, Ms. Weir. We'll be in touch," Nye said.

Felicity nodded, but didn't say anything further. Meanwhile, her mother approached both the men, shook their hands, and thanked them for their service to the community.

On the inside, Felicity was fuming, but she did her best to keep her emotions in check. She stayed in the living room while her mother saw the two men out, and only followed into the hallway once she heard the front door click back into place.

"What the hell was that, McMillan?" Felicity heard Detective Nye's distinctive voice on the other side of the door.

Her mother was similarly frozen in place, listening.

"I wanted to observe them, focus on their body language," another voice said, probably McMillan's. That feeling that there was more to him than met the eye hit Felicity again. His voice had a certain quality to it that she could not place either. Almost familiar. But from where?

"Whatever you say, McMillan. I expect you to pull your weight going forward. I might as well have gone in there alone."

Two sets of footsteps walked away, and Felicity finally allowed herself to breathe freely.

"Thank goodness your father wasn't here to see this. Police. In our house. Looking for you!" Felicity's mom shook her head as she walked back through the hallway and into the living room.

"I haven't done anything wrong!" Felicity argued.

"What will the neighbors think?"

Felicity sighed. That was the least of her worries.

So now it wasn't just some mysterious government task force who was after her, it was the local police as well. She had to talk to Adam and figure out just what these people thought they had on her, and soon.

"Are you hungry?" her mother called out from the kitchen. "I'll make you something."

Her whole world was falling apart at the seams. How could anyone think of food at a time like this?

"No, Mom… You know what, I think I'd better go home," Felicity said.

"Are you sure? It's no bother."

Felicity shook her head. Her work at the camp had attracted plenty of the wrong kind of attention. Now it had led the police to her parent's house. The urge to withdraw into her shell was too strong. She needed some alone time to regroup and figure out what to do next. And as much as she loved her parents, her mother's presence could be a tad distracting.

"I'm going home. I need some time by myself," she said.

Once she had said those words aloud, she realized with a heavy heart that that wasn't entirely true. There was one person—a stranger she'd only just met—whose company she craved desperately right now. Adam.

What a laugh. She had always been independent. And after just one short encounter with the man, she wanted to use him as a crutch already. It would be funny, if it wasn't so very tragic at the same time.

Alone time would do her good. With a bit of luck, she might gain some clarity by morning.