28. Wolfram
Chapter 28
Wolfram
D etective Carter nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving my phone. He reached up, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll need to verify this footage, of course. Make sure your cameras haven’t been tampered with.”
“I’ll give you access to the devices and original files whenever you wish.” I kept my voice calm. I itched to track down the person who’d tried to frame Reese. “You’ll find that everything’s authentic.”
Carter tapped the table with a nail, obviously weighing his thoughts. His gaze shifted back to Reese, her face a mask of panic barely kept in check. “This definitely changes things, but I've got to ask you, Reese, who else could it be? Who do you think would want to impersonate you like this?”
Before Reese could respond, Brandon leaned in, his voice as smooth as a blade. “Detective, my client won’t engage in guessing games.”
Carter side-eyed Brandon but didn’t argue. At this point, he had enough sense not to overstep, but he was stuck, looking for direction, wanting an answer.
Reese straightened in her seat. “I don’t have a twin. Not even a sister. I’m an only child, and my mom and aunt are the only living relatives I have left.”
Carter nodded; his lips tight as he tapped the information into his phone. “Do either of them resemble you?”
Reese barked a weak laugh. “There's some vague resemblance, of course. We're related. But they're older and both have lighter hair. I got my deep brown from my father.” The room fell silent before Reese spoke again. “Whoever did this could be wearing a disguise. I’ve heard of glamour, someone using magic or tricks to look like another. I suggest you look into something like that.”
Detective Carter rubbed his temples and shot me a glance. “Glamour, huh? I've got to admit, I’m not used to dealing with monsters, magical folks, or anything like that. My cases don’t involve those who can impersonate innocent people this well. I deal with humans, with very human motives.”
Reese opened her mouth, but I placed a hand on her arm, a signal to let him talk through this. We had to let him come to the correct conclusions in his own way. He clearly wanted to believe her. The evidence against her was flimsy now. But the man was stuck.
Finally, he sighed again, sounding almost sorry. “Alright. We’ll get Wolfram's footage authenticated and look into possible magical leads. But you need to understand the evidence is still strong, even if . . . odd.”
Reese's posture loosened, and she shot me a relieved look.
The detective's words softened. “I’m going to ask you to remain in town, Reese. If we have more questions later, I need you to be available.”
“I want to solve this too,” Reese said, quiet but firm. “Anything to put an end to this nightmare.”
Carter gave a gruff nod before standing, signaling the conversation was over. “You can go now. Again, don’t leave town. I’ll be in touch.”
“Let me see her,” someone shouted out in the hall. “Let me see her. Reese. Reese!”
She turned to me. “Aunt Beverly?”
“Where is my niece?” her aunt thundered.
“Company,” Detective Carter said, frowning at the door.
It burst open and Beverly tumbled into the room, her gaze latching onto Reese. “There you are.”
“Aunt Beverly?” Reese stood; her eyes wide. “What are you doing here?”
Beverly snarled at the detective. “I will not let you hold my niece as if she’s a common criminal. You,” her finger gouged the detective’s chest, “will release her this instant.”
“I was just about to do so,” the detective said with a sigh.
“Excellent.” She rounded the table to tug Reese into her arms. “Are you alright? He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
“I’m only doing my job,” Carter said with a sigh. “I was about to escort her to the front door.”
“Good.” Beverly’s arm went around Reese and with a pert nod to me, she led Reese out into the hall. I followed them with Brandon not far behind. “I hope you didn’t tell him anything.”
“Brandon’s my lawyer, and he and Wolf watched out for me,” Reese said weakly, gaping at her aunt. “You’re here. You’re being nice to me.”
“Of course I am,” Beverly snapped. “You’re my niece. We . . . may have had our issues in the past, but we’re blood. We stick up for each other, especially at a time like this.”
A smile teased across Reese’s mouth, and she shot me a stunned look before turning back to her aunt. “You’re right. We’re family. We stick up for each other.”
We left the building and after giving Reese another hug and telling her she’d stop by the house soon, Beverly got into her car and left.
“That was so strange,” Reese said, watching the vehicle pull out onto the road and speed away. “And wonderful.”
I stroked her spine. “I’m glad she came to the station.”
She smiled up at me. “Me too.”
The three of us moved to the far side of the parking lot where we wouldn't be overheard.
Brandon exhaled, rubbing his jaw as the three of us stood close with the wind whipping around us. “Alright, here's what we do now. Reese, I want you to go about your normal business but remain at home as much as possible. Don’t give them any reason to question you again unless absolutely necessary. If they call or show up? Tell them you can't answer any questions without me present and notify me immediately. I'll come to you right away.”
Biting down on her lower lip, Reese nodded. “I will.”
“I know it feels awful.” His eyes softened before his lawyer side took back over. “But I’m on top of it. We’ve got them questioning their case, which means we’re on the right track. You need to trust the process and not panic. We know you didn’t do it, and we’re proving it already.”
Her shoulders loosened. I gave her hand a soft squeeze, showing her that I wasn’t going anywhere. Not now, not ever.
“What do you think their next move will be?” I asked.
If only I knew where the enemy could come from next. I always needed to know. A hunter had to watch the shadows to determine which might bite.
Brandon shook his head. “Detective Carter’s smart. He’ll verify everything twice. He’ll probably interview you both again, so make sure your stories continue to line up. But that’s standard protocol; it’s just him being thorough.”
I growled low in my throat, angry with the whole situation. “He's seen the footage from her home. It’s conclusive.”
“Exactly.” Brandon scanned the space behind the station. “Now, for the tricky part. Someone’s gone to great lengths to make you look guilty. We’re talking about layered manipulation—footage, magic, evidence placed carefully inside your home. A tip-off, I’m sure, about the theft. None of this is random.”
Reese rubbed her temples. “Do either of you know who has the magical ability to do something like this?”
I turned my gaze to Brandon. “A shifter would’ve been my first guess, but even they don’t have the skill to impersonate another this well. I've only interacted with one witch in the area, and I'm confident no one could pay her enough to do something like this.”
“Magic like this is difficult to pull off but not impossible.” He glanced at Reese. “There must be other witches in the area.”
“Someone's been carefully studying Reese. I would've believed it was her.” I thought back to the footage, and while I hadn’t let it show on my face, the precision of the impersonation had chilled me.
“Why me?” Reese’s voice wavered. “I don't understand why they're targeting me.”
I told Brandon about the prior incidents. “We believe someone's trying to drive Reese from town, though we don't know why.”
“Our best guess right now?” Brandon said. “Is that this person is trying to isolate you, make sure you’re out of the picture or that you feel helpless. Whoever this is, they’re scared of you.”
I gritted my teeth. The idea that someone out there saw Reese as a threat enough to try to derail her life . . . they had no idea the storm they’d invited.
Reese leaned into my side. “I haven’t done anything to anyone. I’ve only been here two months. Sure, a couple of people haven’t been thrilled to see me back in town, but sabotage like this? This takes things to a new level. What do they want?”
“That's what we need to find out,” Brandon said, his gaze locking with mine.
They were playing a dangerous game, and it was only a matter of time before they made their next move.
I had to expose them before that happened and end this for good.
This person would soon find out what happened to someone who threatened a vampire's true mate.