Torment (Primal Progeny Book 1) (18 page)

Unlocking the door he swung it open, suddenly realising he had not re-zipped his fly and fumbling with it as he walked back into the lab room.

Dr Amberly scowled at him, no doubt thinking this was some kind of exhibitionism on his part. She moved towards him and took the two samples from his outstretched hand, turning and moving to the far side of the room where she bustled about labelling them. This gave Hunter the opportunity to switch the samples in his pocket with the ones she had previously taken from him. He did so quickly and smoothly, moving to the centre of the room and leaning against the table just as she began to turn around.

Se crossed the room and picked up the pots he had just put down, scowling to herself as she noticed the labels were unfilled.

‘I’m sure I wrote your details on these a moment ago…? She muttered questioningly to herself.

Hunter shrugged, hoping she would put this down to slackness on her part. For a moment she looked blankly at them before grabbing a pen and scribbling on the labels. Inwardly the werewolf male breathed a sigh of relief, they had done it!

Amberly placed the specimens all together on the counter top and turned back to Hunter, drawing her pen back out of her pocket where she had placed it jut moments before and handing it to him. Grabbing a sheet of paper from a notepad, which she also pulled out of her pocket, she handed it to him and instructed him to write a few sentences onto it.

‘What should I write?’ He asked.

‘Just a couple of lines’ she replied curtly, obviously eager to be rid of him. ‘I’d like you to write down your name and age, and a couple of random statements about yourself, please include numbers not just written words. I’d also like you to write out the words Sir suture, blood, stitching and pain.’

Hunter did as he was told, scribbling away on the paper in his characteristic scrawl; even doctors had more legible writing. He was anything but worried about his note matching Varulv’s.

Amberly hung over his shoulder as he wrote, her perfume getting to his sensitive nose and drawing a sneeze from him.  She stepped back abruptly as he rubbed at his nose, just as Truman came back through the door with two steaming mugs of tea in his hands.

‘We’re about done here Inspector.’ Amberly informed him, moving across the room to collect her drink. ‘I think you can safely take him back to his cell, we have everything we need.’

Truman nodded and placed his own mug down upon the countertop by the door. ‘I’ll return him to his cell and then I’ll be back.’ With that turned and walked back to the door, opening it wide and beckoning to Hunter to get moving with the wave of an arm.

Hunter obeyed without complaint at the other mans rudeness. He knew there was no point in making things more difficult for himself no matter how much Truman grated on him.

He was led back to his cell without any attempt at conversation. In fact besides the constant prodding of him to keep him moving, the other man seemed to be barely aware of his presence. When they reached his cell his cuffs were removed and the door was slammed in his face.

As he listened to the inspector retreat back down the corridor towards the exam room he sighed, there was nothing he could do now but wait. Slumping onto the cot he stretched out on his back and absent-mindedly crunched at the fragments of plastic in his pocket through the fabric. He hoped Audra would make an appearance soon…  It would be useful to know how long he could expect to be detained for.

Chapter 18

Audra had hoped to remain about the station whilst Hunter was undergoing his tests, but had quickly realised that this was not a viable option. She had sat in the reception room for a while and ruffled through some of her papers but soon became aware of the receptionist glaring at her suspiciously. Only then did it strike her that perhaps this looked unprofessional, and so she returned her things to her briefcase and strutted up to the desk with authority.

Addressing the woman behind the counter she used her most authoritarian tone, which made her Italian accent all the more noticeable. ‘I would like to know when I can expect to return, and how long your officers are planning on detaining my client. Bearing in mind they have no solid evidence against him which is not purely circumstantial.’

The woman behind the counter nodded vacuously as she was spoken to, obviously ignoring the vast majority of what she was hearing and only hearing the key words she felt were important. ‘Of course, I shall find out for you right away Miss…?’

For a moment Audra inwardly raged that she was referred to as a miss when she had been playing her character imagining her as a married woman, and then she realised she had no ring on her finger… ‘Accorsi. My name is Accorsi, I take it you are aware of whom my client is?’

The receptionist nodded ‘of course, you’d have to be living under a rock not to have noticed the media furore created when he was bought in last night.’ She almost giggled at the idea the woman thought she did not know of Mr. Johanson; and then noticed the stern face staring down at her and quickly realised how unprofessional she was being.  Standing abruptly she quickly left the room before she could be called up on this, as from the look she was getting she fully expected the woman to tear into her at any moment.

Audra waited impatiently, tapping one heel against the floor and scowling at the door the young woman had disappeared through. She would have to get back to the pack as soon as possible, to leave her open to return and keep at her plan to have Hunter released sooner rather than later.

The woman was not gone long. She re-appeared after just a few minutes and took her seat again before addressing who she thought was the solicitor before her. ‘I’ve spoken with the inspectors and they have agreed that they would like to wait for the results of his tests to come back before any more questioning commences.’ 

Audra scowled. ‘That can take weeks they cannot detain a man who has not been proven guilty for that long.’

The receptionist shrank away from her a little as she replied. ‘They are having them rushed through, it will be a maximum of 48 hours.’

Audra scowled deeply ‘that’s not good enough. I would like to speak with detective Truman or jaunt please.’

The receptionist looked uneasy. ‘I’m not sure I can arrange that for you at present Miss Accorsi…’

Audra was in no mood to argue, the plan had to go smoothly or she would not get what she wanted out of it. ‘I’m afraid that you will have to, I have places to be and I will not be delayed by your refusal to let me speak with one of the detectives. I’m sure they will have time for a brief conversation about their most high profile arrest in years?’

The receptionist opened her mouth to reply but was cut off and Audra continued, her voice ringing with anger. ‘Now would you like to take me to them or shall I wait for you to bring one of them to me?’

The woman on the far side of the counter battled with this for a moment before quickly rising to her feet and opening the door to the rest of the station for the solicitor to go through. ‘I’ll take you to them, if you’d like to follow me Miss Accorsi?’

Audra nodded and followed her through the doorway in silence, not wanting to waste another breath on the idiot before her. That was how she saw the situation at least.

She was led to a room full of desks and taken to the back where Truman and Jaunt both sat around a tabletop covered in pictures, scribbles and typed notes. As the pair approached they both looked up and their expressions changed from concentration to agitation.

‘I’m afraid we simply don’t have time for this at the moment Miss Accorsi’ Truman flatly stated.

Audra scowled and deliberately pulled out a seat, which she sat in smoothly and elegantly. ‘I’m afraid you simply cannot turn me away Mr. Truman, we have a little to discuss before I can be on my way.’

Truman returned her scowl with an even deeper one. ‘If you’re quick.’

Audra nodded in response. ‘Time is important, I understand that, I shall be as brief as I can.’

Both detectives watched her, waiting for her to continue. ‘I simply require to know how long you expect to detain my client. Your receptionist…’ Here she gestured to the woman who was rapidly retreating across the room back to her post. ‘She informs me that you wish to keep him for 48 hours, you both know as well as I do that you cannot do that without solid evidence of his involvement, which you do not have.’

Jaunt opened her mouth to protest and was cut short; Audra was enjoying the power the act gave her while she had the chance. She continued with no change to her tone of voice, comfortable that her information was correct. ‘Everything you have is circumstantial and that is not nearly good enough to warrant his detaining for any longer than until the end of the day, you both know that.’

Jaunt put down the papers she had been clutching and glanced at Truman before responding. ‘He cannot be released so soon, with all the media attention the public –’

Audra cut her off again. ‘The public have no idea who he is. There were no shots taken of him yesterday and all the information the public have is that a man was arrested. He could be anyone on his departure, nobody has any way of knowing he is the suspect you arrested. There is simply no good reason to keep him in any longer. I’d like him to be released on bail today with a return date next week, which should give you ample time to study the medical tests.’

Jaunt sighed exasperatedly, glowering at Truman as though this was his doing and not the woman before them. ‘We shall call you later today to inform you of what is going on Miss Accorsi, your concerns will be taken into account.’

Audra stood and nodded curtly. ‘They are not concerns inspector Jaunt, I am simply following the law.’

With that she turned and strutted away, feeling thoroughly official and pleased with her little put down. She could smell the inspector’s anger, and knew without turning that the look on her face was a picture. They had no choice but to let him go. Things were coming up roses!

She exited the room feeling triumphant and thanked the receptionist on her way out. Swinging open the entrance door to the station and stepping out into the sunshine with a smile beginning to form on her lips. Things definitely seemed to be going to plan. She crossed the car park and stepped into one of the packs many cars, a smart looking little black convertible number, which suited her character perfectly. Firing up the engine she sped out of the parking lot and shot down the road, donning a pair on sunglasses against the glare of the morning sunshine… It was going to be a beautiful day. Things were looking good for her promotion if everything carried on as it was going; bugger worrying about Varulv… She was on her way to moving up the ranks and she loved that feeling!

She hummed a tune to herself as she drove the country lanes back to her home at the pack’s country estate, something that her father had sung to her when she was small and tucked up in bed. Soon she’d be replacing him, and wouldn’t that be a blissful feeling… Finally having the pack as her own! Not that he had any idea of her intentions she was sure. First she had to aim for beta, then with more power under her belt she could begin to sew the seeds of dissent; and eventually take the helm and finally have her say over the other pack members who had for so many years bullied her. She couldn’t wait to overthrow Eve; she even had a vague idea of a plan forming for how she’d get rid of her… All in good time however… One step at a time to begin with was the way forward, she had to keep reminding herself of that. This little escapade would certainly raise her in her father’s estimations though, which was a fabulous place to start. Her smile broadened as she contemplated a future where she had the power in the pack; but she had to wipe it from her face as she pulled up outside the pack house. She was supposed to look concerned after all.

Practically hopping out of the car she was so pleased with herself, she hurried to the door and let herself in. Making her way straight to the main hall and ringing the old servants bells, which had their chords hung along the wall near the head of the table. For a moment nothing happened and all she could hear was the ringing of the bells; and then in a sudden flurry of noisy footsteps began making their way towards her from all over the enormous country house.

First to enter the room was Eve, who supported Audra’s father with one arm, leading him to his seat and then quickly scurrying back to the door. She stuck her dreadlocked head back out through the doorway and called loudly to the others that they were not needed and could return to what they were doing. Then, closing the door carefully behind her she made her way to Alfred and took her place at his side.

Audra chose to remain standing and only addressed the pair when they had both settled back into their seats and were looking expectantly at her.

With her hands clasped together in front of her hanging loosely against her belly, she took a deep breath and then began. ‘All seems to be going well so far, as we knew would be the case the police have found no evidence of Hunter participating in the young woman’s murder. He has been questioned again this morning and has delivered the story we have chosen for him flawlessly, and then gone on to have medical tests performed. Did we manage to get that sorted out?’

Eve nodded ‘Matthew deposited some samples in the exam room toilet to be collected by him early this morning, we trust he will have noticed them, he couldn’t be careless enough not to.’

Audra’s expression contorted into one of confusion. ‘Matthew?’

Eve nodded again ‘yes, the young man who stumbled across Isabelle half way through a change in the woods a few years back. He helped her set a broken foot she had caught in a snare laid by a poacher, and they have met regularly ever since. You must know of him?’ She snorted the word ‘must’ knowing full well that Audra was so self absorbed that she wouldn’t have the slightest idea what she was talking about. ‘They have expressed a desire to marry to your father recently and he felt that this would be a good way to test his loyalty. Seeing as he works as a cleaner at the station he was the perfect candidate for the job.’

Audra rolled her eyes. ‘Oh yes, the human limpet, I remember now… Please tell me you’re not going to allow a human being to join the pack father…?’

Alfred scowled deeply at his daughter. ‘That is hardly the issue to be discussed at present Audra, your lack of focus astounds me on occasion.’

Audra took her telling off with as much dignity as she could muster, though a slight blush tinted her cheeks, betraying her annoyance. ‘Back to the subject at hand then… He cannot be kept indefinitely, and due to lack of evidence they should be releasing him on bail soon, the conditions are the main thing we have to worry about as if he is stuck in the area and Varulv attempts to escape he will have every opportunity to make a good getaway. We need Hunter to shock him into momentary weakness.’

Alfred and Eve nodded in unison, Alfred speaking for both of them. ‘If it comes to it we will have to send other pack members after him until Hunter is in a position to make chase. I was contemplating that if you did well with this task you might like to go, perhaps with Tobias as to aid you? Though we have had no mention from any other packs of sightings of Varulv, so we are assuming that he is still in the area and enjoying toying with us…’

Audra beamed at being offered another important task to undertake, her face quickly falling at the idea that Varulv could still be in the area. ‘Do you think he knows?’ She asked quietly.

Alfred shook his head. ‘About Hunter? No, I do not think he knows anything more than that he’s causing trouble for other decent members of his kind, and that he loves it.’

Audra did not know how best to respond to that, and so she looked to Eve and with a smirk revealed the information that Hunter had not been able to resist the animal urge to change shape over night. Eve looked disappointed but quickly put Audra in her place with a sharp comment. ‘Well do you think you would have been able to hold in a change after losing your only friend to the same monster who murdered your parents Audra? I had said I hoped he would be able to resist, not that I expected that would be the case.’