Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Eighty Five

     "You want to take me there?"

     "Rhett, I sense that something is troubling you. Maybe if I can share with you why I keep going back to this case, I'll be able to reach through and touch your heart somehow." 

     Rhett's bottom lip trembled, threatening to set him into a fit of sobs again. He simply nodded his head and Baker smiled, reaching for his keys. Rhett then followed him out of the station.

     Rhett climbed into the sheriff's cruiser, feeling more incredibly awkward. He glanced in the back in case there might be by chance a handcuffed lunatic sitting there, and Baker chuckled as he ducked into the driver's seat. When he closed the door, Rhett jumped and smacked his head off of the ceiling of the car, crying out and rubbing the top of his head. 

     Baker just glanced at him apologetically before turning the key in the ignition. "I apologize. I'm not used to having a human giraffe in the seat next to me," he said with the hint of sarcasm in his voice, causing Rhett to laugh easier than he normally would have. "Just how tall are you?" 

     Baker's inquiry made Rhett laugh on the inside. He was asked that quite a bit. "Six foot seven." 

     Baker's eyes widened and he nodded his head approvingly as they made their way toward the interstate. 

     "I uh," Rhett started to speak again, clearing his throat. Baker just glanced at him briefly before returning his attention to the road. "I kinda had another question."

     "Lay it on me. I'm a well of answers."

     "Okay," Rhett sighed, interlocking his hands together in his lap while staring down at his shoes. "If your wife had died just this recently, would that mean you haven't been a hunter for long? I got the impression that you had just started hunting after she died," he didn't mean to bring up a sensitive subject, but Baker looked to be cool about it. 

     His soft facial features remained the same, and he licked his lips before preparing himself to give Rhett the best answer he could offer.

     "It's true, I haven't been a hunter for long. After my wife got sick and she told me what happened before she died in my arms, I couldn't help myself. I was searing with grief and anger, and I decided to go to the hospital. I waited until a low key time where there wasn't a ton of traffic in the ER and I struck. Killing him wasn't enough, and on top of feeling grief and anger, I was feeling guilt. I went home and began some intensive research, and what I found really chilled me to the bone," Baker paused to cough, then continued.

     "I have cases upon cases that don't make any sense. People coming up missing without a trail, and never finding their bodies. Murders that were made to look like a wild animal committed it, even though said wild animal isn't local to the lands... things that couldn't be explained with thorough crime scene investigation, you know what I mean? Our forensic team was stumped a time or two again at the lack of physical evidence, and this case I'm taking you to is no exception. It's actually at the top of the list." 

     Rhett blinked several times, letting all of this soak in. A big part of him wanted to cave and lay his trust in Baker completely and tell him that his friend was dying because of a werewolf attack. Even if there was nothing they could do to save him, he wanted Link to at least die comfortably. He shuddered at the thought.

     "What happened?" Rhett asked. He was referring to the incident that Baker was just talking about, and he waited patiently for Baker to continue.

     "It was a crazy stormy night the night that we received an anonymous call. The little girl was in hysterics and we really couldn't understand her at first. Once we were able to get her calmed down enough, we discovered that she was home alone and someone had broken into her house. Naturally we kept her on the phone while we made a dispatch to her house."