Darien should have been pleased to hear that Leidolf was her pack leader and wanted her returned at once. So why the hell did Darien want to dismiss it as a case of mistaken identity?
“Did Deputy Peter Jorgenson tell you anything about what’s going on here with Larissa?”
Smith bowed his head once. “I understand one of her own people, or one of yours, might have shot the woman. The assistant mayor of Green Valley, Chester McKinley, was here at the time of the shootings and being that he is also a licensed P.I. and concerned for the lady’s welfare, he asked I keep this Just between you and me. By the way, the name the leader gave for her was Lelandi.”
Darien’s stomach clenched into knots, and he looked at the floor as the feelings of desolation swamped him again. “He doesn’t know she’s dead.”
“Apparently not. But I didn’t find a similar request for a girl who looked identical to her. Probably misplaced.”
“Where’s he from?”
“Portland. Oregon.”
In astonishment, Darien raised his brows. Why in the world had the two women come all the way to Colorado?
“Surprised me. too. I got the impression she was a local girl. I was trying to find out where she was from and started mentioning some of the wildflowers native to Colorado. She offered me the names of others she’d seen. I asked if she was from down South, but she said, ‘No, Denver.’ So when I got the notice some guy in Oregon is claiming she’s missing from his pack, I was pretty darned surprised. What do you want me to do?”
“Sit on it. I need to find out what’s going on before she goes home.” Darien couldn’t believe he said it. But something didn’t ring true about this Leidolf character. And Darien wasn’t letting her out of his sight until he found the shooter. “If you hear anything more, let me know.”
“Sure will,” The deputy gave him a sly smile. I wouldn’t let her go either, if I were in your shoes.”
Darien let the comment slide, figuring the deputy didn’t know the situation well enough to understand. As soon as Smith left, Darien called Peter in. “I know how difficult it is to locate packs or anything about them as secretive as we need to be, but I’ve got a lead. See if you can find a Leidolf out of Portland, Oregon. I want to know everything about him and his pack.”
“Yes, sir, will do.”
Intent on learning what Doc needed to speak to him about, Darien headed to the lounge where three of his cousins were talking to the doctor. As soon as his cousins spied him, everyone stopped speaking.
“Every time I walk into a room it gets awfully damned quiet. Someone planning a hostile takeover?” Darien only half-Joked. If enough of his members got fed up with his leadership, one of the bolder males might just feel the need to end his role.
Before anyone could respond, a petite blonde wearing a black business skirt and jacket leaned over the check- in counter and raised her voice. “Listen, Angelina, I’ve given you my résumé and I just want to talk to the doctor about a job.”
Angelina gave a snort. “Doc’s not the one you have to convince. Darien Silver’s the most important one on the hospital board, and he’s calling the shots.”
Now what? Darien sure as hell didn’t need to deal with this right now.
“Come into my office, Darien. You might want to sit down when I tell you the latest,” Doc said.
“Wait!” The blonde ran after Darien and Doc and stopped in front of them.
Holding out her hand, she gave them a broad smile. Totally faked. Human, pretty, with the biggest and clearest blue eyes Darien had ever seen.
“Hi. You might not know me, but Doctor Oliver set my broken leg when I was ten after a whitewater rafting accident and after that, I always wanted to be a nurse. I earned a nursing degree in Denver, and here I am.”
Hoping to nip this in the bud from the outset, Darien didn’t shake her hand. She quickly dropped hers to her side, her smile fading. “I’m not new at this. I trained well before I returned home.” Her voice had taken on a tinge of annoyance. “My parents still live here. Dad’s a carpenter. Mom has a home business and sells pottery crafts. I’ve never wanted to work anywhere else, but the lady at the front desk won’t give my résumé to the doctor.” The blonde shoved her résumé at Darien. “I’m Carol Wood, by the way.”
Darien didn’t take the résumé. “Check with the school. They can use a nurse. Just tell them I sent you.”
The perky woman’s face fell to the floor. “But...”
“The staff’s full here. We don’t need anyone else.”
She folded her arms. “I’ve heard there’s been a lot of trouble. Gunshot victims. More people moving in. You’ll need more staff. At least, try me.”
“Apply at the school. If someone quits here…” Darien shrugged. “You might get lucky.”
She glanced at Doc, but he confirmed Darien’s decision. “Mr. Silver is right. We don’t need any more nurses for the time being.” He motioned for Darien to follow him.
“See the school principal, Miss Wood.” Darien headed with the doctor down the hall.
The woman’s blood pulsed at a quickened pace, and she wasn’t happy with his decision. He highly suspected that wasn’t the last he’d hear of it either.
Doc led Darien into his office and shut the door.
The lingering aroma of chocolate donuts filled the air and a paper plate with remnants of chocolate glaze sat in the middle of his otherwise neat oak desk, everything in its place as usual, the heavyweight brass caduceus sitting on a stack of medical notes he’d transcribe later.
“Carol Wood sent me letters before she finished nursing school. I didn’t mention it to you before because so many of the students drop out before they finish their programs. She’s persistent, if nothing else.”
“We can’t have a human working in the hospital. Not when our people heal so fast.”
Doc sat down at his desk. “What about assigning her to human cases only?”
“Too much of a nightmare to keep up with. What if she checked on a Iupus garou patient like Larissa because the rest of the staff was busy? Can you imagine what she’d think if she saw the injuries, then Larissa leaves the hospital so soon after? If Larissa had been human, she would have died from the massive injuries she’d sustained.” Darien shook his head and looked out the window at the majestic mountains. “Having one of their kind on the hospital staff isn’t feasible.” He took a deep breath and switched topics. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Because of her injuries, I ran tests to see if she was pregnant. She wasn’t. Then I examined her to see if she was a virgin.”
Knowing damn well why he was checking, Darien scowled at him. He wasn’t mating with the red.
“She is a virgin. Which means she doesn’t have a mate.” Although he fought feeling anything about the situation one way or another, Darien felt relieved. He told himself it was because he didn’t want to have to deal with her irate mate if he came looking for her.
Doc leaned back in his leather chair. “The other news is someone tried to strangle Larissa after she’d been shot.”
Darien felt he’d been kick-dropped off a cliff. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me this before?”
“She needs rest more than anything—not a lot of questioning. I’ve already asked her if she saw who did it. But she was probably unconscious or nearly so and didn’t remember anything. She said a snake strangled her, then slithered away when she heard voices. Yours and Jake’s.”
“A snake? We don’t have anacondas or boa constrictors here.”
“Her barely conscious imagination. He left bruises on her throat. Since she was wearing a turtleneck, you wouldn’t have seen the marks. She was so battered from her fall, you might not have noticed now that she’s wearing a hospital gown. Either he thought he had finished her or he heard you and Jake approaching and vanished.”