Lost Soul (Harbinger P.I. Book 1) by Adam J Wright Page A

fabric. Whatever had happened to Timothy that night, it was painful for him to relive the memory.
    “You’re safe now,” I told him. “Describe to us what you saw behind the woodpile.”
    “It was horrible. A monster. It leaped out at me and sunk its teeth into my side.”
    “Did you get a good look at it?”
    He nodded. “It’s head was like a wolf but not exactly. It looked more … evil. Its eyes glowed like no wolf I’ve ever seen.”
    “Did it move on two legs like a human?” I asked.
    “Yeah, it did. When I fell backward and hit the ground, I fired the shotgun and that woke up the entire neighborhood. People started coming out of their houses and the werewolf got spooked, I guess, and ran away. It ran on two legs like a human being. But it wasn’t human; it was a monster. It disappeared into the trees behind the house. Mr. Ericsson from next door drove me to the hospital. I told him what I saw, but he said it was probably just a big dog that jumped out and surprised me and my mind filled in the rest because I watch too many horror movies.”
    His story sounded genuine enough, but there was only one way to know without a shadow of doubt if he’d been bitten by a werewolf or not. I made a mental calculation about the phases of the moon. It had just passed its first quarter, which meant the next full moon would be six nights from tonight. I consulted my desk calendar. “The next full moon is on Monday. I can take you to a location far away from town and observe you. I’ll have to restrain you for your own safety.”
    Timothy frowned. “Don’t you mean for your safety? If I turn into a werewolf, you’ll be the one in danger.”
    “No,” I said, shaking my head. “If you turn into a werewolf and you aren’t restrained, I’ll have to kill you. If you’re in restraints, we’re good.”
    “But what then? If I’m a werewolf, you’ll have to kill me anyway, won’t you?” He stumbled to his feet. “I need to leave. I thought you’d know how to lift the curse.” He reached for the door handle.
    “Come back here if you want to live,” I told him.
    He paused, his hand slowly retreating from the door. He turned to face me but said nothing.
    “I can’t let you leave here, knowing that you might be a lycanthrope,” I said. “Sit down.”
    His eyes darted from me to Felicity to the chair. Slowly, he came back to it and sat down. “Oh my God, you’re going to kill me,” he said. Tears welled in his eyes.
    “Have you killed anyone while in werewolf form?” I asked him.
    He shook his head. “No, I haven’t changed into werewolf form yet.”
    “So why the hell would I kill you?”
    Timothy shrugged.
    “You can’t escape the curse,” I told him. “But I can help you manage it. Every full moon, my assistant or myself will collect you from your home and take you to a secure location where you’ll be locked away so you can’t hurt anyone. We’ll leave you at the location overnight and return in the morning to take you back home.”
    “That’s it?” he asked. “That’s all I have to do?”
    “There will be a fee involved, of course.”
    He nodded enthusiastically, as if suddenly deciding that being a werewolf wasn’t so bad after all. “That’s not a problem. I have money.”
    “If you go with my assistant to her office, she’ll fill out the necessary paperwork.”
    He got up and shook my hand. His bony grip was weak but I knew that if he wolfed out, he’d have enough strength to rip a man’s heart out.
    “Just one more thing,” I said. “Make sure you’re available on the days of the full moon. If I come to your house and you’re not there, I will have to hunt you down.”
    “I understand,” he said. Felicity took him out of the office.
    I went to the window and looked out over Main Street. My first day in Dearmont had turned out a hell of a lot different from how I had imagined it this morning. I had a faerie kidnapping case, a possible werewolf victim, and I’d been