The Seventh Sons (Sycamore Moon Series Book 1) by Domino Finn Page A

other's actions. Because of this, they can be difficult to crack." Her eyes shifted to the marshal's as she spoke. "But in truth, your department is very similar."
    The marshal smiled away her comparison. "We're the ones with the badges, Ms. Rao."
    "Regardless," she said, turning back to Maxim, "you desire to punish the wolves for attacking an officer. You feel you must correct the embarrassment of allowing them to escape."
    Those two things were true, Maxim couldn't deny that, but after his encounter with Diego, the crime became a pretense. Now his priority was the dangling thread of his missing wife. Since Lola was a motive the detective couldn't admit to, playing along with the case would get him close enough.
    Nithya reached for a folder on the marshal's desk. "It may surprise you to think of me as an officer of the law, but this is my district, and I must enforce HIDE. To not hold the club accountable would be to invite further discrepancies like Officer Kent and Mr. Varela."
    The image of Esteban Varela lying in the dirt flooded Maxim's mind. His death had been the catalyst of all the dark revelations that followed. He was a wolf, though, and ultimately, Maxim's interests lay with other victims.
    "After the full moon," said Nithya, "you sent BOLOs out for two Seventh Sons."
    Maxim nodded. "According to Deborah Holton, the club president, the other two bikers weren't members."
    The CDC agent chuckled. "I am well acquainted with Ms. Holton."
    Nithya leafed through the contents of the folder and handed Maxim a black and white photograph of a man lying face down in what looked to be a hotel room. "Yesterday evening, my team tracked and killed this man hiding on the Yavapai reservation." The poor image quality did not reveal many details, but the man did appear to be Native American. The local tribe was located an hour south of Flagstaff.
    Maxim caught on. "You know the identities of the two escaped wolves."
    "That is correct," she answered adeptly. "This is your man, Carlos Doka. We executed an Order To Kill for his part in the death of Steve Varela. In truth, it was a long time coming. He has had long ties to the criminal underworld."
    "Like the Seventh Sons?"
    The CDC agent paused and angled her head. "Unknown. It is likely that they were at least passingly familiar with each other just on the basis of their mutual notoriety."
    She placed two printouts of IDs on the desk in front of him. The Indian man had two Arizona driver's licenses—two different names, but the same face on each card.
    Maxim remembered the man lying in the clinic bed just three days before. He looked closer at the photo of the dead body and was convinced it was the same person. Except...
    "His leg isn't broken."
    "It very well may have been at one point," she said, "but not after he turned." When the wolves had escaped, Maxim recalled seeing their casts on the floor of the destroyed clinic room. Nithya explained further. "The wolf skin is rejuvenating for lycanthropes. They can heal most injuries during the transformation. Even back in their human form, they are as good as new. It is a vital part of their long-term health."
    "So if that night hadn't been a full moon, those two would still be hurt and in custody?"
    "You are looking at this the wrong way," she said with a wry expression. "It was unlucky for them to be arrested at such a sensitive time. And as for you, without the moon phase, you would still be ignorant of the truth."
    It was true. It was dumb luck that everything had worked out so perfectly. Maxim had only reacted to Diego taking action, although it was possible the man had acted on the full moon intentionally.
    The detective looked at the photo of the dead man again. "So Doka was executed without being interrogated?"
    "He tried to escape, and we couldn't risk him getting away again," she said defensively. "At any rate, he gave us what we needed. In the standoff, he confessed to the murder of Steve Varela and implicated the other