The Werewolf Whisperer (The Werewolf Whisperer Series Book 1) Read online

  "I know, right?" Leticia smiled.

  How can they crack jokes?...Maybe it's either that or start crying.

  "Do me a favor and show this young woman to the waiting room," Leticia said. "She came in with an officer."

  "No problem." Star smiled at Xochitl. "Come with me, dear." Xochitl followed Star who headed for the door through which she had come.

  "Oh, and tell Julia," Nurse Leticia called after Star, "we're expecting more. They're diverting to us from the Staples Center."

  "Will do," Star replied without looking back.

  "What happened at the Staples Center?" Xochitl asked as they approached the door.

  "Not sure." Star pushed a large flat button on the wall, and the door began to slowly open. "Something about a rabid dog let loose during the Lakers game."

  "¡Híjole!" Xochitl whispered.

  "You're telling me." Star and Xochitl walked through the door and into the main ER waiting room. "But you know how Lakers fans get."

  Sounds of the sick and injured filled Xochitl's ears.

  "You can wait for your friend here." Star leaned over and set her box on the admitting desk.

  "She's not my friend," Xochitl said, staring in disbelief at the overcrowded waiting room.

  "I have to go." Star placed a hand on Xochitl's back. "Are you okay, dear?"

  "Yeah." Xochitl barely registered Star's question as a baby wailed in the background.

  "Okay, then." Star walked away, and Xochitl heard her say, "Julia, better start setting up overflow triage out here. We're gonna have more."

  Xochitl scanned the room, searching for an unclaimed seat, but there was none to be had. Those who were not fortunate enough to have a chair were resigned to sitting on the floor or leaning against the wall. Xochitl spotted a small patch of empty space in the far corner.

  "Floor it is." Xochitl sighed, and began weaving her way through the maze of people marred by bloody gashes on their arms, legs and faces.

  She plopped down on the dingy grey carpet and leaned her head against the wall, feeling exhausted. Xochi just wanted to get home to Miguel. She'd texted him at least twenty times on the ride over, but he'd not responded. Her worry was kicking into high gear.

  What if Memo got to him first? Stop it, Xochitl. He's probably playing Call of Duty with Felix. Shit, Felix! Why didn't I think of that before?

  Xochi pulled her cell out of her pocket and began texting Miguel's tagger friend Felix.

  Felix? Miguel w/u?

  No. Left 2 hours ago.

  Where?

  Home?

  K. Text me if u c him.

  K.

  "Pinche teenage boys," Xochitl hissed. She scrolled through her contacts but the only person she could think to call was Gyssell, Anita's alcoholic younger sister. Anita and Gyssell were cut from the same cloth — drunk and bitter all the time.

  At least Gyssell gives a shit about her kids.

  Xochi pressed the call button on her phone. It rang for what seemed like five minutes before Gyssell answered.

  "Hellooo?" Gyssell slurred.

  "Gyssell, it's me." Xochitl didn't want to waste time with the clearly drunk woman. "Where's Miguel?"

  "Umm..." There was a long pause before Gyssell answered. "He's with you."

  "¡Híjole!" Xochitl realized she'd shouted and put her hand up in apology to the patients giving her annoyed stares. "Gyssell," she continued, gritting her teeth. "Miguel's not with me. ¿Lo has visto?"

  "Ohhhh," Gyssell giggled. "No...Where's my sister?"

  "She's fine," Xochitl said. "La chota's got her sleeping it off."

  Gyssell howled with delight.

  "Gyssell?" Xochitl tried to get her step-aunt's attention. "Gyssell!" Again she put up a hand in apology. "Where's Tommy, Senior?"

  "Out." Gyssell started to cry. "We had a fight. He's screwing that gringa, Cherise...the puta!"

  "¡Híjole!" Xochitl shook her head. "Just have Miguel call me if he comes to your place." She hung up.

  Should have known that'd be a waste of time.

  Xochitl glanced at the clock on her phone.

  I've been here almost forty minutes. Pinche dog cop.

  A blaring siren brought Xochitl's attention to the main ER entrance. Two more ambulances were rolling up. Curious, she stood to get a better view when Lowell's commanding officer, Captain Burch strode through the doors. He surveyed the waiting area, and Xochitl averted her eyes so as not to make contact with his. But it was too late. He'd spotted her, and he didn't look happy about it. Burch beelined toward Xochitl as the waiting patients hastily cleared his path.

  "Where's Lowell?" Burch placed his hands on his hips.

  Xochitl craned her neck up toward the officer. "She went up with Officer Torres."

  "God damn it, Lowell!" Burch spat, then he turned and walked away.

  I can relate.

  Xochi felt the entire room staring at her. She shrugged her shoulders at her fellow hospital captives and sat.

  Fifteen minutes later, Officer Lowell stormed across the waiting room and out the main entrance.

  "Huh? Wonder where she thinks she's going?" Xochitl pulled the cruiser keys from her pocket.

  Almost immediately, Lowell walked back in and scanned the waiting room.

  Xochitl stood. "Looking for these?" She waved the keys in front of Lowell.

  *

  "11-54 approaching suspicious vehicle on Cesar Chavez...Pack of large dogs impacting freeway at the 4-level...11-99 officer requests backup Pershing Square...repeat 11-99..." The police scanner began crackling and braying as soon as Lucy started the cruiser. The calls came in with such maddening speed, Lucy wanted to rip the scanner from the dash and hurl it out the window.

  Oh, fuck. I can't believe I just got suspended.

  Lucy looked over at Xochitl.

  She sure likes that little phone.

  "I'll take you home now," Lucy said, feeling guilty and awkward. Xochitl's night had been bad enough without her having to endure a fruitless ride to the hospital.

  "Huh...That's weird," Xochitl mumbled absently.

  "What?" Lucy perked up.

  "I follow this news site, iLA. Really reliable. They say a 911 call went out from USC—"

  "Busy night," Lucy interrupted, gesturing to the scanner.

  "Yeah," Xochitl acknowledged the slew of unpleasantness spewing forth from the police radio. "But this caller talked about creating a monster...that killed some dude named Randolph."

  "A monster like..." Lucy flashed on Gabe.

  "Maybe your partner's not alone." Xochitl considered. "There was a whole lotta craziness goin' on in that ER."

  "Crowd control requested at Alvarado and Clinton," the scanner cut in.

  "That's by my bar!" Xochitl called out.

  Increasing her speed once again, Lucy pointed to the switch on the dash. "Light 'em up!"

  Xochitl hesitated.

  "Might as well have some fun tonight." Lucy didn't need to encourage Xochitl further. She flicked the forbidden switch. The siren screamed out, and the lights flashed furiously as they flew through the empty night toward Xochitl's Cantina.

  Flames licked out from beneath the roof of the bar. Dark smoke billowed above, and staggering heat radiated from the building itself.

  Xochitl's Cantina was on fire.

  "¡Jódame!" Xochitl nearly jumped out of the moving vehicle.

  "Hold on." Lucy held her back with one arm while screeching the cruiser to a stop as close to the blaze as she could without blocking the fire trucks.

  Ladders and pumpers from fire station twenty crowded the street. Firefighters in heavy gear swarmed out of their trucks. Lucy and Xochitl watched helplessly as the windows of the bar burst from the extreme heat. They heard the pop of bottles of liquid exploding on the inside due to the high temperature and pressure. The smoky haze burned in Lucy's nose and throat. The smell of burning plastic and linoleum made her want to gag.

  Hurrying to the other side of the building, Lucy an
d Xochitl saw firefighters connecting hoses to the hydrant on the corner and moving toward the door of the building. Water ran down the street from leaky connections.

  The hook and ladder delivered two firefighters with chainsaws to the roof of the building. The fire itself seemed limited to the cantina, which stood unconnected to the shabby, run-down buildings next door.

  "Memo did this!" Xochitl yelled out. "You let him get away, and he burned down my bar!"

  "You don't know if..." Lucy countered, looking to see if she could assist but the crowd had dispersed. A handful of neighbors watched the flames and studied Xochitl with interest.

  "Don't tell me what I know!" Xochitl shouted, paying no attention to the eyes watching her. "You don't know shit. Damn him. Memo did this. I know. I know!" Xochitl screamed in Lucy's face. Xochitl balled her fists but turned away sharply and stared at the burning building.

  More trucks arrived, brakes squealing and engines huffing to a stop near the side entrance of the cantina.

  Careful not to get in the firefighters' way, Lucy stood by Xochitl on the sidewalk across from the ruins of her bar. The neighbors, mostly ladies in hair curlers and old men in slippers, drew close together and watched in silence.

  "Miguel!" Xochitl snapped out of her daze and turned to the crowd. "¿Dónde está Miguel?" The neighbors looked at her with pity in their eyes. Some shook their heads. Xochitl turned to an older lady dressed in a colorful bathrobe and matching fuzzy slippers. "Señora Vargas. ¿Ha visto a Miguel?"

  "No sé, mija." Señora Vargas shrugged her shoulders.

  "My brother could have come here. What if..." Xochi dashed across the street shouting, "My brother could be in there! Upstairs in the apartment!"

  A firefighter holding a flashlight and an axe approached her rapidly. Lucy couldn't hear the words they exchanged until she'd arrived at Xochitl's side.

  "If there's anyone in there, we'll find 'em. But the building seems empty," the man said. Xochitl nodded vigorously.

  "We will make any attempt to affect a rescue of human life, miss." He looked harried. "Until structural collapse is imminent, we will continue searching."

  Without warning, Xochitl sprang toward the cantina door. Lucy grabbed her arm.

  "You'll just get in the way," Lucy said and attempted to lead Xochitl back across the street.

  "Get your paws off me!" Xochitl shook Lucy's hand off violently and faced her. "This is all your damn fault, bruja! I trusted you to help me. I counted on you. They're right, you chota ruin everything. You and your nasty-ass dogs. Drop dead, bitch!" Xochitl stomped away and joined the group of neighbors.

  The 1960s wood-frame building didn't stand a chance. Within thirty minutes Xochitl's Cantina started to collapsed in on itself. Lucy heard the call to "surround and drown." Everyone stood in complete silence and watched as the firefighters sprayed what seemed like endless amounts of water on the pile of char and embers that had been Xochitl's home.

  The pink sunrise cut through the acrid haze.

  Another beautiful day in L.A.

  Lucy couldn't help but feel depressed at the night's terrible outcome. She missed Gabe. He would have gotten through to the devastated woman. Nobody could stay mad at Gabe. He could get anyone to talk to him. Lucy realized in that moment how much she'd relied on her partner, maybe even taken his talents for granted. He'd made her a better cop, but without him she felt adrift.

  Determined to make another effort, Lucy forced herself to walk over to Xochitl. The neighbor ladies closed in a circle around Xochitl and gave Lucy evil looks.

  "The arson unit will want to talk to you." Lucy searched for something else to say. "They'll want to know about insurance. And where you've been tonight. I can walk you over to them and help explain..."

  Xochitl didn't move, didn't turn, didn't speak. Feeling helpless and exposed, Lucy looked to the neighbor ladies for help. The group glowered at her but stayed silent. Señora Vargas spat on the ground at Lucy's feet.

  Lucy didn't react outwardly, but held her temper and turned to the building. She stared at the smoldering shell of Xochitl's Cantina.

  Chapter 5

  Today's Lesson, Kiddies

  I'm here to tell

  Don't believe what they say

  Don't buy what they sell

  Contagion, Plague, Virus, Wereflu?

  The world is ending

  Where are you?

  The Package delivered

  The Message received

  The Virus accepted

  The Lies believed

  The Old has ceased

  The World is new

  Hound, Feral or Beast

  What are you?

  So run little Kiddies

  You've failed the test

  Tell all your friends

  I'll tell all the rest

  And always remember

  Kyon Knows best

  Xochitl leaned back against the red tufted leather booth of the landmark Sunset Hamburger Hamlet. The rush of adrenaline that had coursed through her body while escaping the rabid mob at Greystone was waning. Hunger pangs gnawed at her instead. She watched amused as Lucy fumbled out a text to Hanna.

  "How you doin' there?"

  "Shut up," Lucy said not looking up at Xochitl.

  "Maybe I should text Hanna from now on." Xochitl picked up her iPhone from the table. She waved her new acquisition, the latest model, at Lucy.

  "Um...no." Lucy kept typing away on her Trac phone.

  "I'd be super nice," Xochitl said in her best Southern Bell accent. "Dear Hanna, fuck off and die...Oops. I mean we had to leave Greystone lickety-split. Talk to you soon. Kisses... Bitch."

  "Yes, that would go over really well." Lucy pressed one last button and tossed her phone on the tabletop. "There."

  "Only took ten minutes." Xochitl teased, and Lucy flicked a balled-up straw wrapper at her, hitting her square in the forehead. "Hey!"

  "Bull's eye." Lucy raised her hands in triumph.

  "It was a nice shot though," Xochi said as she noticed a fortyish waitress, Tami Peters, approaching from the kitchen.

  Xochitl was happy for the Peters family, who had, a little over a year ago, won a civil action suit granting them the Hamburger Hamlet, along with damages in the seven-figure range from the previous owner.

  Lucy and Xochi had been at the restaurant the night the Peters had come in to eat with their Were daughter, Amy — a relatively tame Feral. The then owner had neither known that nor cared. He'd burst into the dining area brandishing a gun, threatening the Were child and shouting "No Weres Allowed!"

  Xochitl had immediately jumped in between the Peters and the owner, triggering Little Amy's fight or flight instinct. She took a vicious swipe at the owner with her claws.

  Not my best idea.

  Fortunately for the owner, Lucy had gotten Amy under control before things had escalated further.

  'Course, some pendejo had to call the cops and the Catchers — made it a whole big thing.

  The Catchers had taken Amy while Xochitl and Lucy had spent the night in jail.

  Hanna sure was pissed she had to post bail. She was even more pissed when Lucy had to testify about Amy.

  The courtroom had been a circus the day Lucy had taken the stand. She testified that Amy was tamable and no danger to society.

  And that changed everything.

  The defense lawyers had tried to paint Lucy as a felon on parole, but the public's paradigm had irrevocably shifted. It had been the Peters' attorney who had coined the phrase "The Werewolf Whisperer." The media had had a field day, and the moniker had stuck ever since — much to Lucy's dismay.

  The Peters' case had been their first unofficial Were-taming job.

  Xochitl sensed Hanna blamed her for Lucy being thrust in the limelight — even though Hanna was the one capitalizing on the fame. But Xochi didn't care. It felt good to help the Peters family, and she knew Lucy felt the same way.

  "Plus we get our own private booth," Xochitl mumbled to herself
.

  "What?" Lucy asked.

  "Food." Xochitl nodded to Tami who balanced a tray of dinner plates on her shoulder.

  "Here we are ladies," Tami Peters said, cheerfully placing the first plate in front of Xochitl. "One bacon and blue burger well done." She set a large skirt steak with fries, loaded potato skins and a giant bowl of steaming chili in front of Lucy. "Here's your salad," Tami joked. "On the house, of course."

  "That's okay, you don't—" Lucy started to say, but Xochitl kicked her under the table before she could finish.

  "Thank you, Tami," Xochitl interrupted. "As usual, it looks delicioso."

  "So, how's Amy doing?" Lucy asked, rubbing her shin.

  "Great! Looking forward to this year's camp," Tami answered. "Enjoy your meal!" She bounced gleefully back to the kitchen.

  "Ow." Lucy shot Xochitl an irritated look, then selected a fork and dug in.

  "Sorry, but there are few perks to this job and free food is one of them. Besides, they want to pay us back. After all, the Peters' wouldn't even own this joint if it weren't for 'The Werewolf Whisperer.'" Xochitl saw Lucy wince at the name. "Oh, stop. It's who you are. Get over it." Then she took a bite out of her burger. "Mmmm..."

  "You know, you should try and get along with Hanna more." Lucy stabbed a piece of meat with her knife. "After all," she said, pointing her steak knife at Xochitl, "you wouldn't have that nice designer leather vest without the cut Hanna gives us." Looking pleased with herself, she stuffed the steak in her mouth.

  "¡Chale, esa!" Xochitl shot back. "Give, my ass. I earned this bad boy doing that run down in Palos Verdes."

  "Oh, right." Lucy grinned. "That was a messy job."

  "Messy for me. I seem to recall your behind staying quite clean." Xochitl scowled at Lucy but couldn't hold it for long, and the two women burst out laughing. "Anyway, why should I care what Hanna thinks of me? In two years of doing this 'job,' I've never met the woman face-to-face." She picked up her burger and took a huge bite.

  Lucy was in mid-bite when they saw her phone vibrate. Undeterred, Xochi continued to finish off her burger while Lucy checked the message.

  "Be careful what you wish for." Lucy closed her phone with a snap.

  "What?" Xochitl asked, mouth full of burger.