Chapter 6 Chapter 6: You’re Making Time

Willow

I put the file on the table and sat down. “I think this crime is a mystery. Too many inconsistencies. The part that has me concerned is the flower. Something is bothering me about it, and I want to speak to the suspect about it.”

Olford sits up straighter, “The suspect? Why?”

“Well, first, that is protocol. Second, Alpha Royce’s pack are the only ones that grow this flower. It stands to reason he would have the most knowledge about its properties. Plus, I need to vet him out to see if he is really the suspect.”

Pratt chimed in, “You have doubts?”

“I’m not sure yet. I think it is a high probability that you have the wrong guy though.”

“What makes you say that?” Olford asked.

“It all goes back to the flower, councilman. It’s the most out-of-place thing at the crime scene. It looks like a red herring to me, and I want to investigate further.”

Olford looked like he wanted to say something, but Gimlet was quicker, “Very well. I will have one of the guards escort you to the suspect. Afterward, we want your impressions.”

“Thank you, councilman,” I said, standing up and grabbing the file and my coffee.

I waited for a couple of minutes before an elite warrior showed up to escort me to the prison cells. I followed him, and we walked down the corridor.

Vana is pacing more and more, ‘We are getting close! Why hasn’t he looked for us yet?’

‘We don’t have time for this, Vana. Please keep it together,’ I said, shaking off her anxiety.

We get to the prison entrance, and now Vana is jumping in my head. ‘He must be a guard! I bet he is handsome too!’

I’m trying hard to focus, but my damn wolf is acting like a teenager with raging hormones again. We haven’t been like that since the last asshole, and I am too grown to be so naïve. Once we get inside the prison, I feel Vana pushing me ahead of the guard. I struggle to keep her under control, but when we reach one of the cells, I’m hit by the most amazing smell.

FUCK! My mate is a prisoner.

“I’ll be right outside, Captain,” The guard says. All I can do is nod my head, because if I open my mouth, Vana will acknowledge the mate bond.

The guard leaves, and I take a deep breath and turn around. As soon as I do, Vana jumps forward, “Mate!”

I looked up and saw Alpha Royce Sinclair of Ashcrest. He’s my mate. For fuck’s sake. Why? I don’t have time for this.

‘Oh, you are making time, Will!’ Vana said excitedly. ‘He is hot. My Goddess! Look at those shoulders and thighs. I bet his wolf is hot.’

‘Not now, Vana!’

Alpha Royce is looking at me, and his eyes are wide, and he is shaking his head. He hasn’t acknowledged the mate bond. He looks disgusted with me. Great. Another Alpha being mated to me and that finds me lacking.

I take a deep breath and then steel my nerves. “Alpha Royce Sinclair, I presume. I’m Captain Willow Ashford. I am leading the investigation of the murder of Alpha Dustin Birch.”

He stands there, still in shock. I know I’m not intimidating looking, but that has always been my best weapon. Being seemingly unassuming and weak, when I’m anything but a weakling.

Alpha Royce? I called out.

His back is against the wall, and he is still shaking his head. Vana is in my head, whimpering. I tried to tell her to focus. I didn’t want her getting her hopes up, but she wouldn’t listen.

“Alpha Royce, I would like to talk to you about the case. After all, you are the prime suspect,” I said, trying to gauge a reaction other than him shaking his head and looking at me like I’m not worthy.

He finally snapped out of it and clenched his fists. I saw him trying to steel himself and get his shit together. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting…uh…a captain to handle this investigation.”

“Yeah, well, the council asked me to personally lead the case. I have questions for you,” I said, trying to maintain an even tone. He hasn’t acknowledged the mate bond and is still looking at me with wide eyes and disbelief.

“Of course. I’m innocent. I didn’t kill Alpha Dustin. I may not have liked him, but I didn’t dislike him enough to kill him,” he said.

That’s an honest statement. It’s a start. “Right, well, I wanted to talk to you about the Enabower Flower. I was reviewing the crime scene and wanted to learn more about the properties of the flower.”

“Sure. Anything particular you want to know?” he asked. He is now sitting on the bench inside his cell, and I’m sitting on the bench against the wall, outside of his cell.

“Yes, I understand this flower has the ability to mask scents. Is that correct?”

“Yes. It has approximately six hours from the time the flower is harvested to be used for masking,” he replied.

“I see,” I said and then continued. “The victim was murdered by eleven-thirty in the evening. His body wasn’t found until about one in the morning. So that flower would have been potent until a six-hour lapse was done?”

“One in the morning?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“As with any type of fragrance, scents will wear off the closer to the lapse time. It would be most potent in the first few hours, then would start to wear off. It’s why when we harvest, we send the flowers for immediate processing to stabilize the properties.”

“Surveillance footage of your flower field showed a downtime of forty-five minutes according to your file. Is that accurate?”

“Yes. It also fits into the timeline of the six hours of the flower’s potency,” he said honestly.

“Does the flower have to remain on the person for the scent to be masked, or can it be anywhere?”

“The flower being in the room during its potency period would suffice.”

Okay, so then the flower being on Dustin could have been for show. If that’s the case, we're dealing with a red herring, and we are definitely looking in the wrong direction.

“If we are trying to mask the scent of the attacker or attackers, wouldn’t it make more sense to have the flower remain on the attacker?”

“I guess. What are you thinking, Captain?”

“I’m thinking there is more to this murder. Tell me, did you ever confront Alpha Dustin about him stealing credit for your efforts in helping the less fortunate?”

He sighed, “Yeah. I did, but he would come with documentation showing he had done all of the things that my pack was responsible for achieving. I don’t know how he knew beforehand, but he did, and, in the end, it was always his word against mine.”

“That must have made you upset.”

“Not upset enough to kill him. I started keeping my records private, and in the last six months I was getting the grants needed for my pack again.”

That part wasn’t in his file. If he found resolution, then the motive of revenge or greed crumbles. Even then, the crime scene looked like a crime of passion. I can't be sure yet, though.

"Do you believe me?” he asked.

“I think you are being framed. The job was done meticulously, though,” I said truthfully. “I can’t clear you.”

“Help me get back to my pack then. Let me work on clearing my name. I will provide you with every piece of information I find,” he said, hopeful.

“I’m not sure that is a great idea,” I said.

“Please. I just want to get home to my daughter. She’s a pup. Only four years old. I’ll stay on house arrest.”

He must miss his daughter. He was here overnight. Still, he is the primary suspect, though I don’t think he is guilty at all. There seems to be something missing, and perhaps it would be helpful for him to go through all of his things at Ashcrest.

“I’ll think about it, Alpha Royce.”

“Royce. We are mates. You shouldn’t be formal with me,” he said, completely blindsiding me.