Shifted

Chapter 7

Jackson and I walked into the sheriff's office together, and I immediately noticed the chaos in the room. People were walking and talking fast, phones were ringing, and there was an energetic hum of noise in the air.  An officer at a desk waved to Jackson, and Jackson lead me towards the man's desk.  The guy looked really young to be a police officer.  He was probably in his early twenties.  He had a muscular build and a sharp jawline.  His hair and eyes were both dark, and the longer I looked the more I realized that the officer looked a lot like Jackson. 

"Hey cuz," the officer said, giving Jackson a fist bump.  "Thanks for coming down.  We're pretty busy here today.  Not very often that we get a murder vic 'round these parts."

I snorted and thought in my head, "But we're in the middle of nowhere!  I thought serial killers loved dropping bodies in remote places like this."

When I noticed the look both Jackson and the officer were giving me, my hand shot to cover my mouth.  "Did I just say that out loud?"

Jackson nodded, and the officer burst out laughing.  "I like this kid already!  My names Officer Alastair, but you can call me Glen.  I'm Jackson's cousin."

I shook his hand, and he pulled out a notebook and a pen.  "Let's get this over with so you guys can be on your way."

"So why were you guys in the woods last night?"

Somehow I knew that I shouldn't tell this officer what Jackson and I had actually been doing, even if the guy was Jackson's cousin.  "After the game I was feeling a little homesick, so I went for a walk in the woods behind the school."

I could feel Jackson's eyes on me as he spoke.  "I saw him walking away from the field and knew that he was new in town and might get lost, so I followed him."

"I didn't realize anyone was following me, and when Jackson tapped my shoulder he scared me and I ran for my life.  That's when I tripped over...  Her.  And I fainted."

"I ran after him and found him, and when I saw the girl I called you guys right away."

Glen looked back and forth between us, then looked at me with an intense stare.  All the laughter from only moments before had vanished from his face.  "Now I've been doing this job a long time.  I've got a pretty good sense of when I'm being lied to.  So why don't you tell me what it is you don't want me to know?"

My mouth dropped and I stammered for a moment, unsure how the man had seen through our lie.  Luckily Jackson covered quickly, saying, "Damn it, Glen.  We went back there to get high.  Can you cut us some slack?  We found a friggin dead body, I could really go without spending the night behind bars over a single joint."

I glared at Jackson, about to protest that I was most certainly not getting high with him, but he kicked my leg.  I shut my mouth and turned back to the officer, who was looking between the two of us.

"Is this true, Casper?" He said, and I nodded yes.

"Fine.  I'll cover your ass this time cuz, but don't think I won't be telling your parents about this."

Jackson nodded, and Glen pointed us out the door.  As soon as I was out the door, Jackson lightly cuffed me in the back of the head.  "You're an awful liar."

"Excuse me for not being a skilled enough delinquent!" I retorted.

"You dipshit.  Glen is a wolf too.  We have super hearing.  I can hear your heartbeat and tell when it spikes.  Your heart was racing the second you started talking.  It's like talking to a lie detector."

"You could have warned me!" I yelled at him.  "Why did he believe you then?"

"I've grown up around wolves.  Ive had plenty of practice learning to control my heart rate."