Bear of Interest Read online

  Evernight Publishing ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2015 Vanessa Devereaux

  ISBN: 978-1-77233-537-8

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: JS Cook

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  For Freddie

  BEAR OF INTEREST

  Kalispell Shifters, 11

  Vanessa Devereaux

  Copyright © 2015

  Chapter One

  Cole paced up and down. He looked at his cell phone and then back at the woods he’d just exited. Had he done the right thing by calling 911 to report the crime? Maybe he should have called Trent Burgress before hitting those three digits. However, that might have looked strange. Strange wasn’t how a shifter ever wanted to be perceived. He chewed his lip. Nothing about being non-human in a human world was easy or straightforward.

  Sirens began to wail in the not so far off distance. Too late to have second thoughts now. He’d made the call and the police were on their way. The dispatcher had told him to stay put. If he left they’d probably track him down and then things would look worse. The situation would become more complicated. Complicated was the last thing the shifters needed.

  He thought about the young woman back there in the woods. Yeah, he’d done the right thing by reporting finding her. She was someone’s daughter, maybe a sister, wife, and possibly even a mother. He was a doctor and had seen dead people more times than he cared to remember, but still the image of her had made him feel nauseous. Maybe it was because she hadn’t died a natural death but instead violently at the hands of someone else. Such a horrible way to exit the world.

  Cole looked up to see a police car heading into the ravine. He waved to the driver to let him know this was close to where he found the body. Some of the loose gravel flew up making a tinging sound until the car stopped. Two uniformed police officers got out.

  “Are you the man who called 911?” asked the taller of the two. He took off his dark glasses and looked at Cole.

  “I am.”

  “Can I have your name, sir?”

  “Yes, it’s Cole MacDonald.”

  “A detective from homicide is being dispatched and I know they’ll want to talk to you. In the meantime do you want to fill us in on what exactly you saw?”

  “I was jogging.”

  Well he was sort of jogging so it wasn’t really a lie.

  “I was heading back here to my car, and at first I thought it was a rotting tree trunk, but the closer I got well, I realized it was a woman’s body.”

  “And you knew she was dead?” asked the second police officer.

  Cole nodded. “I’m a doctor, but I didn’t need to feel for a pulse. Her face has been partly smashed and I knew a person couldn’t survive that sort of attack.”

  Just as Cole finished talking, another car arrived, followed by a van that Cole guessed was the forensic team.

  “And you didn’t touch or disturb anything?” continued the police officer.

  “No, came straight back here and dialed 911.”

  Cole watched the second car with interest. He was guessing this was the homicide detectives arriving. The driver’s door flung open and out got a woman. He knew he should be concentrating on being a witness here, but all he could focus on was her. Even from this distance he could tell she was gorgeous. Shoulder length dark hair, blue dress pants and a white blouse. Full-figured. His favorite. Bears loved their curvy ladies. As she got closer, he could see a police badge hanging around her neck. He wouldn’t mind her handcuffing and patting him down. His mind came back to the present when he heard one of the police officers talking.

  “This is Detective Samantha Hardy. Detective, this is Cole MacDonald, the man who found the body and called 911.”

  “Actually it’s Dr. Cole MacDonald,” said Cole, offering her his hand.

  She looked him straight in the eye and also had one hell of a firm handshake. Maybe she did it to intimate people. Or maybe she wanted to make a first impression on him. She’d certainly done that. She had green eyes with little slivers of blue in them. So damn pretty and those long eyelashes that were now being batted at him.

  “I assume you’ve told these officers exactly what happened, but maybe you could just give me a brief rundown so I can get caught up to speed before I view the body.” He watched the way her lips moved as she spoke. They were full and gorgeous too. He loved to know what they felt like on his own.

  “Dr. MacDonald.”

  “What?”

  He hadn’t realized he’d been daydreaming until she said his name.

  “If you could fill me in briefly on how you found the victim,” said Detective Hardy.

  “Yes, yes, of course, sorry, it’s just the shock of everything.”

  Cole MacDonald you are such a bullshitter when it comes to a pretty face and a curvy body.

  “I was out jogging and on my way back to my car. I saw the body so when I got back to my vehicle, I grabbed my phone and called you. Not you personally, but I mean I dialed 911.”

  Usually the master of words and never a stutterer, Cole was suddenly falling over everything that dribbled out of his mouth.

  She nodded. “So you don’t jog with your cellphone on you?”

  Nowhere to put it on my bear suit.

  “Nope, I like to jog without any disturbances.”

  “And you said Dr. MacDonald. Are you an MD?”

  Cole nodded.

  “You jog here often?”

  All the shifters jogged here. It was their favorite place near to Flathead Lake. In fact, if you jogged all the way to the top of the ravine you got one of the best views in town.

  “Yes, I’d say a couple of times a week.”

  Keep focusing on her questions and not her or you’ll say something suspicious and ruin it for the others.

  “You see anyone else around? Anything suspicious while you were jogging?”

  “Nope, no one, nothing out of the ordinary.”

  That had been true. He’d come out here on his own because no one else had felt like shifting and running at this time of the day.

  “All right, Dr. MacDonald, that will be all for now. Perhaps you could give your contact information to the police officer in case we have more questions for you. And if you wouldn’t mind dropping by the police station at your earliest convenience so you can sign your statement.”

  She took a few steps toward him. Cole got a whiff of her scent and the perfume she was wearing. Sort of flora undertones and her own human odor told him she was just a tad aroused. That made him take notice. Was she having a reaction to him? Very interesting if she was.

  Detective Hardy leaned toward him and put her mouth close to his ear. She’d been chewing gum or eating peppermints. He took a deep breath, definitely aroused, and now he was pretty sure it was for him.

  “Dr. MacDonald, your fly is open,” she whispered.

  He didn’t respond but tried his best to zip up his pants. He too was just a little aroused by her, and it scraped over his dick. Cole bit his lip. That had hurt like hell.

  Damn, he’d been in so much of a hurry to get his clothes back on after he’d shifted, and with the scare of finding the body, he’d forgotten to zip up his pants.

  “Yes, I’d be happy to visit the station and s
ign my statement,” he said.

  And hopefully see you again.

  She nodded and walked toward the wooded area. Cole couldn’t take his eyes off her. She filled out those blue dress pants very nicely. His cock twitched.

  “Dr. MacDonald, sir.”

  “Nice ass.”

  Cole hadn’t realized he’d said that out loud until he saw both police officers glaring at him.

  “I mean she looks in great shape, probably does some jogging herself and…”

  Shit, I’m digging myself into one big hole here.

  “If I could have an address and phone number?” asked the taller of the two officers.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Cole watched Detective Hardy disappear out of sight. He’d like her address and phone number.

  ****

  No matter how many times she’d done this, Sam never got used to seeing a dead body. She pulled on the latex gloves and stood back while the forensic team did their job. Not much left of the woman’s face but what she could see told her whoever the victim was, she’d been fairly young.

  One of the technicians placed plastic bags over the woman’s hands and secured them. Sam thought about Dr. MacDonald. Very handsome, but there was something about him she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Okay, he’d just found a dead body, but something made her just a little suspicious. And yes, she’d seen him checking her out. Likely suspect, person of interest. She’d keep that in mind as she investigated this crime. The medical examiner headed her way.

  “I’d say, and remember this is only my guess until I carry out an autopsy and run more tests, but my hunch is she was killed somewhere else and brought out here and dumped. Maybe whoever did this was even thinking of burying her but lost their nerve or got disturbed. Maybe by the jogger who found her?”

  Sam bit the inside of her mouth, something she always did when she first visited a crime scene. It didn’t do her cheeks much good but it helped her stay focused, and after meeting Dr. MacDonald, that was getting to be somewhat of a challenge.

  “But he claims that he saw no one. Anyone find any footprints around here? I’m thinking there have to be some because it rained non-stop last night. There are still some spots with sitting water and mud,” said Sam.

  “So far all we have are bear prints.”

  “Bear prints?” asked Sam.

  “Yep, and very fresh ones. I’d say a bear came through here less than an hour ago.”

  “So no human footprints but just a single bear strolled through the area?”

  “That’s what it looks like to me. Hey, maybe the bear’s your prime suspect,” said the medical examiner.

  Sam chomped down her inside cheek tissues. If he’d jogged past the body, been close enough to see it, then where were his footprints? Why was he dressed in pants and a shirt? Sure he could have changed out of his running gear while he waited for them to arrive, but why?

  She shook her head. None of what he’d said really made any sense. She was beginning to think maybe her first thought was right. No, not the one about him being handsome, but the one about him maybe being a person of interest. Sometimes detective work was as simple as assuming the person who found the body was the perpetrator.

  “Make sure we get photos of those bear prints and check around on nearby bushes and trees for anything. I mean anything, even if it’s a piece of cotton thread.”

  “What are you thinking, Hardy?” asked the other detective she’d ridden with to the crime scene.

  “That I’d like to speak to Dr. MacDonald again and this time more in depth,” said Sam.

  “He was kinda cute,” said one of the girls on the forensic team.

  So it hadn’t been just her who thought that. No, of course it wouldn’t be. Fact was, he was a good looking man. How many killers were handsome? Great way to lure women to their death. Those big blue eyes of his had held her spellbound when she’d shaken his hand. She’d almost forgotten what she was asking him and the focus of why she’d been called out to the middle of nowhere. And those long eyelashes of his. She’d like some of those herself and maybe she wouldn’t have to keep buying the expensive mascara that claimed to thicken and lengthen but rarely did.

  Damn. She was in the middle of a murder investigation and all she could think about was him. Her panties were even damp. It reminded her the last time she’d been on a date. The blind date someone had set up for her that had ended with her walking home.

  Too fussy, too picky. Married to one thing, and that was her job.

  So why had Dr. MacDonald quickly broken through the brick wall she’d gone to great lengths to erect? Just one look and that’s all it had taken for her knees to turn wobbly like a school girl with a crush on the star football player.

  Danger, and double danger, because if her gut was right, Dr. MacDonald, as well as being drop dead gorgeous, might also be a killer.

  Chapter Two

  Cole tried to forget what had happened earlier that day but it was getting tougher by the minute. Not only was he still focusing on the poor woman whose body he’d stumbled upon, but Detective Hardy hadn’t left his thoughts either.

  Tonight was his first night rotation he’d be working at the shifter’s hospital. He loved the peace and quiet of the setting tucked away in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. He had his old nemesis Brady Walsh to thank for the great facility. He and three other members of the group were the major sponsors that kept this place going and paid their wages. He liked the idea that finally shifters had a place of their own, no more trying to be their own doctors because someone might figure out they weren’t human when they ran blood tests or X-rayed them. He knew lots of them had gotten sick. A few had even died as a result of not seeking medical attention. That would never happen again.

  He’d been hired to not only help out generally, but his specialty was infertility issues. Shifters had a tough time reproducing since arriving here, but the recent baby boom resulting from shifters and humans mating showed new hope.

  Someone tapped on the glass window in his office.

  He looked out.

  “Mia, you’re not supposed to be working. You’re a patient for the next few days,” said Cole.

  “I know but a couple of wolf shifters have just shown up in emergency. They’ve been fighting and it’s not pretty.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  “You want me to assist you?”

  “No, I want you to go back to your room and rest.”

  “Yes, doctor.”

  Tomorrow he’d be giving her the first round of her fertility treatment. He hoped it worked and not only for the gratification of his own ego. He hadn’t told her yet, but he knew from the preliminary tests he’d run, she didn’t have much longer before her mating cycles stopped altogether. Cole knew it must be heartbreaking for her to sometimes assist with delivering all these babies and know she and her husband had never been blessed.

  He heard a commotion down the hallway and guessed if he didn’t get to the ER section of the clinic soon, they’d be mayhem. Wolf shifters always seemed to be magnets for trouble.

  Cole pulled on his lab coat, headed out of his office, down the hallway and then turned the corner. Two guys sat on chairs, blood pouring from their faces and heads.

  “I’m guessing this was a pack dispute,” said Cole.

  “He started it when he tried to mate with my lady,” said the bigger of the two.

  “Okay that’s enough. You want to both follow me and I’ll get you cleaned up.”

  Cole saw them glare at one another before they walked into the examination room. He was on his own here tonight so he hoped he wouldn’t be breaking up any more fights.

  “Both of you sit,” said Cole.

  He pulled down some gauze and cotton pads from the cupboard, and then turned on the spotlight so it shone over the examination table. Now he could see that they looked alike, and were no doubt, brothers from the same pack. Wolves were strange creatures, a hierarchy, and a set order t
hat determined who got the rights to mate, the best mate, and so on. These were a couple of what the group called traditionalists, parts of the anti-human faction that was growing in scary numbers. Cole sensed trouble on the horizon but for now he didn’t want to get into shifter politics with them. He’d piece these two back up and send them on their way. Out of sight and out of mind.

  “Okay, this might sting and burn a bit,” said Cole. He put the alcohol soaked pad on the scalp of the bigger wolf shifter.

  “Jesus Christ,” he said, almost jumping up out of the chair. “You weren’t kidding. That acid you have on that pad or what?”

  “Such a sissy boy,” said the bigger one. “That’s why I should be the one that gets to fuck Sable.”

  They began to shove one another almost sending each other spilling onto the floor.

  “Hey, you quit that or I’ll kick you both out of here with my boot up your asses,” shouted Cole.

  He wiped away the blood, first from the bigger shifter’s face, and then the head of the smaller one. Both these guy’s injuries were borderline cases. Cole tossed up whether they’d be able to heal on their own or if he’d have to give them sutures.

  “Okay, I’m going to put butterfly dressings on both of you and you should be good to go, but no getting into more fights or you’ll open up the abrasions again and I’m sure you don’t want a repeat visit here.”

  Cole walked over to the cabinet and collected everything he needed.

  “You have a female?” one asked him.

  “No, not at the moment.”

  He’d only been back in town three months and dating had actually been the last thing on his mind.

  “You looking?”

  A vision of Detective Hardy jumped into mind. He wasn’t looking, period. And he certainly wasn’t looking for a human so why couldn’t he shake her from his mind?

  “Not really.”