Caged // Isaac Lahey

16: Puppets

***

My mind was a muddled mess.
I was still dazed from what happened at the library and to make matters worse my head hurt like hell.

Surprisingly when Stiles and I returned home our father was already there.

I greet the Sheriff with a small hug before retreating into the kitchen to make myself a sandwich; I was a bit of a picky eater and preferred to know exactly what was in my food, so I made it myself, reducing the risk of germs and other unknown substances entering it.

Stiles' idea of a friendly dinner conversation that night was to bring up the Kanima murders.
This perked my interest, maybe we'd finally find a pattern.

"This is classified police information, so don't go repeating this stuff." The man warns, going into business mode.
Stiles and I nod obediently, our cheeks stuffed with food.

"Three of the victims were 24 years old." He begins. "I wasn't positive that this was the pattern at first until I found out that Mr. Lahey had a son who died in battle. If that son was still alive today guess how old he would be?"

Our mouths drop open in suprise, particles of food falling onto Stiles' plate, but in that moment I didn't care. We had a lead.

"He would be 24."

*

I shoved the last of my sandwich into my mouth and tugged on my shoes clumsily, grabbing Stiles' jacket on my way out the door.
We didn't bother locking it as we rushed to the car, brainstorming on our way to the station.

"Same age could mean same class in school." I hypothesize, frowning in concentration.
Stiles and my father hum in agreement, sifting through the various files and yearbooks on the sheriff's desk. We were getting closer and closer to the correct answer but for some reason I felt it wasn't right. Why would the murderer even bother killing Mr. Lahey if Camden was already dead...it didn't make sense.

"Here!" Stiles exclaims, pointing his finger at a page in one of the many yearbooks. "They all shared a class with Mr. Harris."

"I knew that man was evil!" I huff, crossing my arms in frustration. But I still couldn't understand it, Mr. Lahey didn't fit in at all.

Something wasn't right.

*

"Why are we at the animal clinic?" I question Scott, hopping cheerfully off the handlebars of his dinky little bike.
He rolls his eyes, a glint of amusement in his expression.

"To find out how to stop Jackson." He explains slowly, as if talking to a child.
I pout, giving him a light punch in the shoulder.

"I'm not a child." I huff, crossing my arms for the six hundredth time that day.

"You act like one."

I spin around angrily to face the one and only Derek Hale, raising my eyebrows at his smug expression.

"I hope you're not allergic to nuts, because I'm gonna kick yours so far up your ass you'll be able to taste them." I glare at the alpha, and hearing a snicker from beside him I turn my glare to see Isaac grinning down at me.

"Oh shut up Lahey." I mutter darkly, sauntering into the clinic with Scott at my heels.

"Katelyn, nice to see you again." Deaton greets, a welcoming smile on his face. "How may I help?"

I shove Scott ahead of me so he can speak as I hang back, leaning leisurely against the wall.

"We need help stopping Jackson." Scott states with an alarming amount of authority.

"Hey if I didn't know any better, I would have thought Scott was the alpha, not Mr. Grumps over there." I whisper to Isaac, receiving a death glare from sourwolf in return. The tall boy let's out a chuckle, leaning beside me. I can feel his breath tickling my head and it puts my slightly on edge.

"Are you planning on killing him, or saving him?" Deaton questions, looking at Derek pointedly.

"Kill him."
"Save him."
They reply simultaneously, making me wish my twin was here.

"We're going to save him." Scott nods, sending Derek a look of annoyance.
I snort and stroll through the gate no problem, unknowingly leaving the three werewolves stuck in the waiting room.

"Let's get cracka' lackin' Deaton my pal, show us how to stop Dino boy from killing more innocent civilians." I grin, clapping once before sliding theatrically onto the metal vet table as the werewolves enter the room with an amused Deaton.
The vet nods, transforming into serious business mode. He motions for me to get off the table and I comply, watching curiously as he pulls out something similar to a spice rack.

"So what are you? Some kind of witch?" Isaac asks, completely befuddled.
I, too, would have asked that question, but kept my mouth shut in hopes to stay on the man's good side.
Deaton looked at him in full seriousness, no sign of a joke in his expression.

"No. I'm a veterinarian."

The teenage werewolf nodded slowly, sucking in his cheeks a bit as he did so, which show cased more of his wonderful cheekbones and jaw.
Can I just say... damn.

"I don't have anything here that could defend against that powerful of a paralytic toxin, what about offense?" Deaton questions; his deep, calming voice could put anyone at ease.

"Argent emptied a whole clip into the thing and it didn't waver." Derek grumbles in his usual, brooding way, forcing an eye roll out of yours truly.

"Has it shown any weaknesses?" The vet inquires, concern expressing through his usually calm exterior.
I hesitantly raise my hand, getting a few odd looks in return.

"Yes, Katelyn?" Deaton responds, raising a brow.

"Water." I mumble awkwardly, dropping my hand. One of my hands collides with Isaac's warm ones, sending a weird fuzzy feeling through me. I instantly jerk away, glaring at the metal surface of the table as the boys continue to talk.

"What about Jackson?" Deaton asks, pointing the question more towards Scott than anybody else.

"He's the captain of the swim team." The beta replies, furrowing his brow.

"So it's his master that's scared of the water." I hum, connecting the dots like the Sheriff's daughter I am.

"Essentially, we're trying to catch two people." The vet explains, pulling out a pendant and placing it on the table. "The puppet, and the puppeteer. One killed the husband but the other one had to kill the wife."
I hum in agreement, mentally jotting it down to tell Stiles later.

"I don't think Jackson could do it." Scott replies grimly. "His mother died while pregnant and I don't think he could do the same thing to somebody else."
Smart.

"How do you know it's not part of the rules?" Isaac speaks up. "The Kanima kills murderers. If Jackson kills the wife, then the baby dies too."
Also smart.

"What if the fear of water is coming from the Kanima's master and not the Kanima. If something that affects the Kanima also affects its master then we can catch them both."