Streamfield Shifters: Hide & Seek

Chapter Five

No body was found behind the elementary school.

As wonderful as that news was, we didn't hear it from Detective Merrickson. Actually, we didn't hear from my sister-in-law's brother at all after that night. Any new developments in the case (which were miniscule), were heard on the news or read about in the paper. There was no mention of our involvement in the case, which annoyed me somewhat. It really bothered Rachael, especially when she read the article about how the police dogs miraculously picked up the trail. I didn't blame her, but I understood why it had to be projected that way. We weren't exactly licensed or under contract with the police.

However, a few more days went by and Jimmy Grabowski was still missing.

On the third day after our excursion, my best friend Garnet Ross texted me while I was at work, asking if I wanted to join her for a jaunt in Nettles Park that evening. I was not good at keeping secrets, so it was a testament to my self-control that I hadn't let Garnet in on our involvement. How well I could keep that secret when in person was another matter.

Still, I hadn't seen Garnet in a while and I was desperate for some social interaction away from my family. So I agreed.

Nettles Park was on the southside, right across from the local community college. I pulled into the parking lot, texted Mom to let her know I arrived, and got out, looking for Garnet's beat-up blue Impala. She wasn't here yet, so I locked the car and took my string bag over to the changing station. Nettles Park was set aside mainly for shifter use—it included male and female changing rooms, a set of lockers and a rack for your safety vest.

After slipping out of my jeans, T-shirt and jewelry, I coded a locker to my thumbprint and set my things inside. Garnet popped in while I was hanging my vest up on the rack. She was a few inches taller than me, with a heart-shaped face and a massive, tangled mass of red hair that practically shouted "Scottish heritage". Small black fox prints dotted the backs of both shoulder blades.

We exchanged greetings and I made some adjustments to the rack while she took off her clothes. Apparently the last woman in here had been a bear. My snow leopard form was twice as large as a regular big cat, but there was no way I could slip into my vest with the rods set that high.

Once the final knob was tightened, I shifted. Padding forward, I stuck my head and front paws through their respective openings. Garnet wrapped the Velcro strap around my middle and stepped back to wait her turn. I gave the vest a little shake to settle it and pulled free of the little hooks that held it up.

It took Garnet a few minutes to lower the rack to vixen height. Since it would get rather crowded in the locker room, I went outside to wait. A surprised feminine gasp caused my left ear to swivel in that direction; my head soon followed. A forty-something woman stood next to the water fountain, clutching her hand to her chest in shock. No one can really be prepared to see a giant snow leopard emerge from a building, I suppose.

I nodded to the woman and sat down on the grass, wrapping my long, thick tail around my feet. The breeze was warm and stirred my fur; summer wasn't that far away, which meant I'd have to renew my cold charm at the Rose & Thorn Emporium soon. Summers were not fun when you had a plush fur coat meant for cold mountain climates.

Garnet's muzzle poked the corner of the locker room. Her fox fur was a burnished, ruddy color, with dark black points and a white chin and belly. The funny thing was that while she was taller as a human, as a snow leopard it was I who had the height advantage.

**Ready?** she sent. As we had been best friends since middle school, we were close enough to communicate telepathically.

Rising, I nodded.