Transformed (Incomplete)

The Tell, Part VIII

Mr. Stilinski pulls into the animal clinic parking lot.
"I'm just making a quick stop. Police business. You can come if you want," he tells me, climbing out. I hop out after him and follow him inside. Maybe it's about Laura Hale's murder.
Deaton comes out of the back, talking into his cell phone.
"Hey, Scott, it's me again," he says. I raise my eyebrows in surprise at the mention of my brother's name. "I'm just calling to make sure that everything's okay. You were supposed to be here an hour ago. Maybe you forgot. Whatever it is, just give me a call and let me know that everything's okay. Alright, thanks."
His eyes land on me and Sheriff Stilinski.
"Emerson," he smiles. "I don't suppose you know where your brother is?"
"I actually don't," I huff. "Scott hasn't been answering any of my and Stiles' phone calls or text messages and he wasn't at school today. He's supposed to be at parent/teacher conferences later, though. Maybe he'll show up then?"
"I hope so," Deaton tells me. Then, his eyes travel to Stiles' dad. "Sheriff Stilinski."
"Listen, I hate to bother you," Mr. Stilinski steps into the room. "But, uh, I'm having a bitch of a time getting a consensus on what this is we're dealing with."
Deaton gives Sheriff Stilinski a breathy laugh. "I'm really flattered you've come to me for help, but, like I said before, I'm no expert."
"But you were pretty certain the other day about our attacker being a mountain lion," Mr. Stilinski starts.
"That's right," Deaton says when Stiles' dad looks for confirmation.
"I want to show you something," Mr. Stilinski shuffles in an envelope, pulling something out. "We got a little lucky here. Uh, the video store didn't have any cameras, but a security camera that was watching another parking lot happened to grab a few frames."
I inch closer, trying to be casual about it, and see the pictures the sheriff was holding.
"Take a look at our mountain lion," Stiles' dad hands off a photo to Deaton. I take a sharp breath. So deleting the video from Lydia's phone didn't actually get rid of all of the evidence of the Alpha. I watch Deaton's face carefully, waiting for his reaction. "Here's another."
"It's interesting," Deaton says, his face blank.
"Actually," the Sheriff holds up a third photo. "Uh, this is the interesting one."
I crane my neck and peer over Deaton's shoulder. It's a blurry, black and white photo of the Alpha, walking on two legs. I push my lips together, worried.
"I see what you mean," my boss states indifferently.
"I've never seen a mountain lion do that," Mr. Stilinski shakes his head.
"Can't say I have either," Deaton tells him. The dogs start barking in the back. I can't decide whether I should go check on them or not. "You've got a problem here."
"My first instinct was it was a bear, but bears don't walk on two legs," Stiles' dad looks confused.
"No, they drop to all fours," Deaton informs Mr. Stilinski, talking over the dogs barking. They're getting louder and louder. I should probably go see what they're barking at, but I can't tear myself away from this conversation. "Look, like I said, you really need an expert here."
"Yeah, yeah, but, could this still be a mountain lion?" Mr. Stilinski asks.
"I'm sorry, I've got a sick Doberman that needs my attention," Deaton starts to head towards the back.
"No other ideas?" the sheriff raises his eyebrows.
"I'm sorry," Deaton shrugs. "Really. I wish I could help you. But I've got a sick -"
"Yeah. Dog. I heard you. Can't Emerson get it?" Mr. Stilinski pushes.
I widen my eyes, looking between Deaton and Mr. Stilinski. I would go take care of it, but not if Deaton wanted to use it as an excuse.
"No, I'm afraid this one requires a bit more expertise than Emerson can provide," Deaton shakes his head.
"Thanks for humoring me again," I can tell Mr. Stilinski is suspicious of Deaton by the way he says it. I narrow my eyes and follow Mr. Stilinski out of the animal clinic. Once we're in the car, he looks over at me. "Not a word about this to Stiles."
"Not a word," I promise.