Werewolf Upstairs (36 page)

Wendell rose and carried a book with him to the stand. Konrad had thought of him as a father figure. Even though he hadn’t seen the man in years, he still looked spry, not a day over two hundred.

As soon as he was sworn in and sitting on the witness seat, Roz asked him to state his name and occupation.

“Wendell Wolfe. I teach mathematics at the Newton Preparatory School for Boys.”

“And how do you know the defendant?”

“Konrad was our dean at the school.”

“The dean?” Roz looked impressed and aimed her expression toward the jury. “Well, then, there must be pictures of him there.”

“Oh, yes. I brought an old yearbook.”

“May I have it please?”

Wendell handed it to her, and she held it up, walking it down the line of jurors. Right on the cover it said, “Newton Preparatory School for Boys, 1990.”

“Now, let’s see that picture,” she said. Opening the book, she flipped a few pages. Konrad knew she’d find a nice full-page black-and-white photograph of him. He didn’t look much different, except his hair was very short, not more than an inch long.

“Ah, here it is.” She opened the book wide and walked the picture down the line of jurors again. “As you can see, Mr. Wolfensen’s hair is quite short in this picture.” She turned back to Wendell. “And when was this taken?”

“In February of 1990. Here, I have the original with the date stamped on it.” He fished a four-by-six photograph out of his inner jacket pocket.

Roz walked over to the evidence table and picked up the bag with the two long, blond hairs in it. “Interesting. Here we have evidence of Mr. Wolfensen’s DNA, taken from the crime scene, but these hairs are two feet long, as previously stated by a Boston police detective. If he committed this crime on March 18, 1990, his hair would have had to grow an astounding twenty-three inches in one month.”

The courtroom laughed, and murmurs broke out everywhere.

“I’m sure I know what my opponent will ask, so I’ll just ask it now. How do we know this photograph hasn’t been altered?” Roz asked.

“We have a number of ways to prove it. There are the negatives, still catalogued by the photographer, along with the dates. We also had a portrait commissioned the year before, with the date plainly written under the artist’s signature.”

“I see. You didn’t happen to bring that with you, did you?”

“No, but we could go and get it, if you like.”

“Or perhaps you could have someone back at the school take a photograph of it and fax it here?”

“Certainly.” He looked over at Konrad and smiled. “The picture still hangs in its place of honor, reminding us all how much we miss him.”

Roz smiled at Konrad. “
Did you hear that? I told you they weren’t holding any grudges.
”

I heard.
A lump formed in his throat. He didn’t realize how much he’d missed them either, until they had all filed into the courtroom ready to help him out, like in the old days, before Petroski. The next words he heard astounded him so much, he wasn’t sure he’d heard right.

“So if I’d called you as a character witness, it sounds as if you’d have given him a good review.”

“Absolutely. We’d really like to have him back.”

What the—What about Petroski?

“I guess there’s no better compliment than that. Is his position open?” Roz asked.

“It is now. The board of directors decided that his replacement wasn’t the kind of man the school needed. Mr. Wolfensen is.”

Roz let out telepathic sigh. All the courtroom saw, though, was a confident attorney saying, “Your witness.” Only Konrad heard her silently add the word
sucker.

Sounds of people murmuring and milling about the restaurant couldn’t drown out the pack’s conversation, at least not when it came to the Lycans hearing each other. Roz had to lean in to make out some of the softer voices across the large round table.

The pack that surrounded Konrad and Roz seemed festive, almost as happy as he and she were, and Roz didn’t think anyone on the planet could be as happy as she and Konrad were at that moment.

The French waiter brought two bottles of champagne, opened one for Wendell to try, and when he nodded, the garçon filled everyone’s glasses. The group members waited for the server to leave before raising their glasses.

Wendell’s chest swelled with pride. “To Roz!”

The eight weres surrounding the table echoed his sentiments, and glasses clinked all around.

After everyone had taken a sip, Konrad sighed. “I can’t thank you enough. I had no idea you’d help if I was in trouble.”

Barrett sat next to him and clapped him on the back. “Don’t be daft. We always protect our own.”

Konrad hung his head. “But last I knew—”

Lois held up one hand. “Last you knew we were taken in by a con man, and all of us made a terrible mistake.”

The table grew quiet, and Konrad smiled, sadly. “Everyone makes mistakes. At least it’s over now. Let’s not dwell on it. We’re here to celebrate.” He raised his glass again, and everyone followed his lead. “To renewed friendships.”

Everyone clicked their glasses as before and took another sip.

“Those jurors took no time at all deliberating, did they?” Wendell asked Roz. “Did you know it would go as quickly as that?”

Roz laughed. “I knew we were in good shape when they frowned at the DA during his closing argument. Every one of them looked like they were thinking, “What do you take us for, morons?”

Konrad squeezed her hand under the table. “I was worried there for a bit, but I knew you could do it.”

Roz blushed and looked at her lap. “I’m afraid I wasn’t so confident. Until your pack came to the rescue, it really could have gone either way.”

Barrett looked at her askance. “Even with the guards standing by their descriptions?”

She glanced around the table. “That’s all we had, before you guys testified. As you heard, the DA tried to say the guards were under so much stress that they could have misestimated his height and build, or that he was involved in another way, like the getaway driver.”

“We wouldn’t have let them win,” Lois said.

Roz raised her eyebrows. “Meaning what?”

Barrette quickly interjected, “Don’t worry, we wouldn’t have devoured a whole courtroom full of people.” The others laughed.

Roz had to smile too. It would take some time before she understood her mate’s people. She supposed it was the same for any young woman just getting to know her lover’s family. Er, almost.

“Did you have more evidence up your sleeves?” Konrad asked as he glanced around the table.

Lois chuckled. “Just that I’d give you an alibi, if you needed one.”

“How?” he asked.

“I’d say we spent the night together.”

Konrad’s eyes popped. “But that would have been a lie.” He glanced at Roz.

She didn’t react, just waited for Lois to explain.

“I know. What I’m saying is that I was prepared to commit perjury on your behalf, and the rest of the staff was willing to back me up.”

Roz leaned back. “But what if you got caught in that lie, and they came after you?”

Lois grinned, showing her elongated canines. “I’d tell them to bite me.”

The whole table laughed.

When the group quieted, Konrad stared at Wendell. “Did you mean what you said about offering me my job back?”

“Absolutely. The board discussed it as soon as we knew we could find you. You did a good job of disappearing.”

Konrad nodded. “I didn’t know if there would be more retribution, so I went completely off the radar. You knew where Nick was, though.”

“And your brother is one hundred percent loyal to you. He refused to give us any information. I mean, not one word. We didn’t know if you were dead or alive.”

Konrad nodded, slowly. “I swore him to secrecy. We had our own business, so I paid myself in cash and used my brother’s name on our business account. We purposely didn’t live close to each other.” He gave Roz a long, soft stare. “Now I’m glad I moved where I did, or I wouldn’t have met Roz, at least under the right circumstances.” He winked, and she grinned back at him.

Lois leaned toward her. “I was thinking of going to law school at some point. The school could use some free legal consultation from time to time. Tell us what it’s like to be a defense lawyer, Roz.”

She groaned. “To tell you the truth, I hate it. I’ve spent the last several months trying to think of something else I could do for a living.”

“Really? That’s too bad. What have you come up with?”

She and Konrad exchanged glances and chuckled.

“Oh, let’s see. We tried ballroom dancing. It turns out I’m a klutz with no timing, and I sprained my ankle. Then when I got better, we tried bartending. Same thing, only some guy was being a jerk to me, and Konrad got into a fist fight with him. We narrowly escaped being arrested by paying for the damage to the bar.”

The group laughed.

“Then there was skydiving,” Konrad added.

Roz heard a few gasps around the table. “It turns out you can’t jump before your instructor is ready. I kind of landed in the trees.”

Now the others were guffawing; some laughed until they had tears in their eyes.

“The icing on the cake, so to speak,” Roz said, “was when we took a cooking class, and I set my hair on fire.”

“I have to take responsibility for that,” Konrad said. “I was kissing and tickling her when I was supposed to be pouring oil into the pan. I wound up pouring it right onto the gas burner.”

“But look—” She turned her head and showed them how the stylist cut off the damage in such a clever way. “I got a cute new haircut out of it. I even talked to the stylist about what it would take to become a hairdresser.”

Lois looked directly at Wendell. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I’m right there with you.” Wendell turned toward Roz and said, “I’d have to run it past the board, of course, but how would you like to be our new career counselor? We’ve talked about adding the position, and since you’ve experienced quite a few jobs, and you know what it takes to succeed in them—”

Lois piped up, “Plus we could use your legal expertise once in a while.”

Roz stared at Konrad open-mouthed. “It sounds perfect,” she whispered.

“Yes, it does.”

Wendell fidgeted. “There’s just one more thing, and we, ahem, need to know for sure.”

Konrad nodded as if he understood. “Show them your mark, angel.”

“Oh.” She hadn’t expected this request, but now that they’d asked, it made perfect sense. She’d need to know she was safe.

She removed her suit jacket and hung it over the back of her chair. After unbuttoning the top two buttons of her white blouse, she was able to slide it aside and expose her neck and shoulder. Even her wide bra strap didn’t cover it, so she left it where it was.

Everyone around the table smiled.

“Welcome to the pack,” Wendell said. “We’ll have a formal ceremony at the next full moon.”

“Oh, no. Does she have to endure that?” Konrad asked.

Roz’s eyes flew open. “Endure what?”

“Oh, nothing will happen to you. You’ll just have to put up with a whole bunch of wolves taking their turns sniffing you so they can distinguish your scent in their other form.”

Roz smirked.
As long as they stay away from my crotch, everything will be fine.

Konrad glanced around the table. “
They’d better.
”

***

Their group sailing lessons had finally ended, and Roz and Konrad were taking an O’Day sailboat for their maiden solo voyage. The autumn wind could be strong, but that day it was perfect, ten knots, winds from the southwest. There was a clear blue sky overhead, and Roz had applied plenty of sunscreen.

The instructor who had spent several weeks with them beamed as he watched them stow the canvases covering the sails. Roz knew she and Konrad worked as a team in perfect synchronicity, yet the instructor would never understand why.
It really helps to communicate directions to each other telepathically.

“
Yeah, and no need to shout over the wind.
”

As soon as Konrad had tightened the ropes in the widgets, the instructor asked, “Ready to cast off?”

Konrad saluted the instructor. “Aye, aye, captain.”

The seasoned sailor laughed. “
You’re
the captain now.”

“Co-captain.” He pointed to Roz with his thumb.

Konrad started the motor. Roz waved to the instructor as she used the stick to guide them out of the marina. Navigating the harbor required a little mechanical power before raising the sails.

Eventually they cleared the buoys and most of the islands dotting Boston harbor. Konrad cut the power, and Roz stood, ready to raise the jib. He clamped his big hand around her wrist. “Wait a minute. There’s something I want to ask you.”

“Ask me while I’m at the bow. As you said, there’s no need to shout over the wind.” She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let go.

“Roz, sit down.”

He sounded so serious that her warning bells went off. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said. “Everything’s perfect.” He smiled and patted the seat.

She sat back down, slowly.

He lowered himself to one knee.

Her loud internal gasp may have communicated itself to him, but he didn’t comment on it.

He took her right hand in both of his and rubbed the surface gently with one of his thumbs. “Roz, you mean the world to me. I can’t imagine a future without you, and I don’t want to. I love you, I need you, and I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”

Tears welled up in her eyes. A lump started to form in her throat, but she wanted to answer out loud. Before it grew and made it difficult to talk, she said, “Yes, I’d love to.”

He rose enough to grasp her in his arms and stood, holding her tight. The boat rocked a tiny bit, but not enough to throw them off balance. Nothing was enough to throw them off balance anymore, not the stress of a trial, not the stress of a job search. No more stressors were on the horizon, except moving to Newton…together.