Cat Scratch Fever; Blue-Collar Werewolves V (3 page)

His mother Diana Ridley’s, now Weis,
marriage and adoption of several orphans never really bothered
Matthew. But when his younger sister married one of the sons,
Matthew wondered how you introduced that convoluted relationship at
a corporate party. Not that he ever actually imagined he’d be able
to socialize with his estranged relatives in a public setting. His
mom and sister had gotten a far better deal replacing the Ridley
men.

Dark haired and lanky as the picture on
Matthew’s dresser, Grumpy returned his once-over with keen
intensity. His brother-in-law, Brandon Weis, practically stepped
out of the photo wearing the same black long sleeved t-shirt with
the sleeves shoved up the forearms, jeans worn almost white, and a
broken-in pair of Converse.

Unnerved by the man’s silent stare, Matthew
broke the stand-off first. “Not to be rude.” He glanced around the
room once more, just in case he’d missed his dad the first time.
His gaze returned to the almost-stranger. “But don’t you understand
the word,
no?”.

“My wife wants her brother home for our
mother’s birthday.” Brandon Weis shrugged, walking to the wall to
look at one of Matthew’s early pieces of wall sculpture. Vines and
leaves twisted into a shape of the sun. It was interesting, even if
the detail wasn’t as clear as his later pieces. “When it comes to
my wife or mother, you don’t get a vote.”

“Stop talking like that. It’s creepy,”
Matthew muttered. “Look, Weis. I’m kind of busy right now.” He
walked past, trying not to let the prickle of the fine hairs on the
back of his neck bother him too much. “You let yourself in. Let
yourself out. Don’t forget to lock up.”
Geesh, this place was as
secure as a revolving door.
Matthew grabbed his keys and walked
out the front door, his brother in law on his heels.

The cat had vacated his spot from under the
fern. Bad naturedly, he wished Ramses had taken a chunk out of Weis
before taking off. Fickle cat. Still, he couldn’t see getting a dog
and risk upsetting his pet.

There was no other car in sight, surprising
him when Weis slid in the passenger seat of the eco-friendly
hybrid. Matthew turned to glare at the intruder. “What is it with
you? I told you over the phone. I’m not going to your big
bar-b-que.”

“Family picnic,” Weis corrected. “You have
to go. You are Diana’s family.” A faint buzzing interrupted the
rest of his sentence. Weis frowned, reached into his pocket, and
held up his other hand for Matthew to be quiet.

With a tired sigh, Matthew cranked the car
and backed out of his driveway. He nearly winced in sympathy at the
frantic voice that he heard after his brother-in-law’s brief hello.
Weis took the phone away from his ear and gave the device a
moment’s consideration. Matthew wouldn’t blame him for hanging up.
Finally, he put the phone back to his ear.

“No, Seth. I’m not going to get involved.
You’re, what? Twenty-five? If you don’t want to share a room, then
get a job and move out.” He stopped a moment to listen. The lean
planes of his jaw tightened. “I’m only going to say this once? Now
listen, little brother.” He took a breath. “One, Raymond may be the
new guy, but he has as much right to be there as the others. Two,
if you ask to stay with me, I’ll rip out your intestines through
your nose. Three, if you even think of asking Karen to stay with
us, then I’ll not only rip out your intestines, I’ll make Christmas
tinsel out of it and nail your gonads to the doorframe.”

He closed the phone and dropped it into his
shirt pocket. Meeting Matthew’s glance, he shrugged. “I live in a
three bedroom mousetrap. I’ve got three kids and my wife just
dropped another set of twins that can’t tell the difference between
day and night. I can’t afford to be nice.”

“I can’t believe you actually said
dropped?
” Matthew shook head incredulous at the callous
description. Weis had obviously been through the process before,
but Matthew couldn’t help but feel a little offended his
brother-in-law’s attitude on behalf the new babies.

Weis lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug,
his tone as if they were talking about the weather. “I think we
need a specialist to look at them and Karen thinks I wig out if the
teeniest little thing is out of the ordinary.” He frowned, his show
of indifference slipping. Dark, intense eyes pinned Matthew.
Someone else might have squirmed under the scrutiny; he was used to
being sized up. “Which is why you’re coming to the party,” Weis
said.

“Uh, sorry. I don’t follow you.” Matthew
could have laughed. He might wish things were different, but he had
no intention of ruining his mother’s birthday party. The Ridley men
sucked at relationships. Instead, he turned the tables back on his
unwanted guest. “What does that have to do with babies confusing
day and night? And why aren’t you helping my sister with them
anyway?”

Weis made a sound of exasperation, as if he
didn’t like having to explain himself. He bit out his words
accordingly. “The picnic-slash-surprise party is in two weeks. And
whether or not I stay up at night, rocking babies and changing
diapers is none of your business. I plan on everything going
smoothly. If taking a day to make sure you being there makes Karen
happy and not stressed, then I’ll drag you back and keep you in a
cage until the big day.”

“You know, there’s something not right about
you.” Matthew paused after turning over the engine, meeting the
other man’s eyes. He flashed back to going to the zoo as a kid and
trying to outstare the tiger. His mom had been quick to shuffle him
off to the next exhibit, fussing at him for ‘challenging’ them.

“I’ve been told that.” The other man didn’t
look insulted. He kept eye contact, steady, confident—like a
predator.

If memory served Matthew right, he
remembered Brandon as the quiet and shy type. Not an in-your-face
control freak. The other twin Karen dated in high school had been
more like this. But hey, what did he know? All he knew was the
second hand updates gleaned from his sister’s letters and his own
self-absorbed memories as a nineteen-year-old. “No. I’m not going.”
Matthew shook his head, then checked the rear window to pull out of
his driveway. “I have to work.” It wasn’t exactly a life, but he
had plenty to keep him busy.

BioPet was supposed to begin production on a
new ingestible flea and tick product in a couple of months. Joy of
joys, Matthew’s division was going to oversee it. He imagined
Milton Hambly having kittens over the initial overhead on that
project. Which brought him back to his unwanted guest and the
mystery of Brandon Weis’ transportation. “Where do you want me to
drop you off?”

“Where are you going?” the other man rested
an arm on the door frame.

“To work.”

“Okay. That’s fine. I’ll ride along.” Weis’
smug smile made Matthew want to grind his teeth. Instead, he
narrowed his eyes at his passenger.

“You know, some would get the hint that I
was trying to get rid of you.” Matthew snapped.

“.Oh, I got that part.” Brandon crossed his
arms as he settled his head against the headrest. “You’re just not
getting rid of me. So, why are you going
back
to work? I
know you put in banker’s hours before staying up all night in your
shop. The babies sleep more than you.”

“Ha-ha. Have you been checking up on
me?”

“Yeah. I know a PI guy. Said you were as
boring and regular as a senior citizen.” Weis’ smirk deepened. “His
words, not mine. Personally, I figured the state of your colon was
a little too TMI.”

“
You investigated me?”
Matthew pulled
over, pissed. Usually he had a live-and-let-live outlook. Screw
that, he wanted to punch someone, namely Brandon Weis. The asshole
already had his family—Matthew shoved down the bitter jealously and
focused on being pissed at the personal intrusion. “Why?”

Weis didn’t move or appear concerned about
Matthew’s anger. In fact, the guy reminded him of a sleeping lion.
Resting, but ready to strike. He rolled his head to meet Matthew’s
eyes in an unblinking stare. “Sue me. I remember you being a real
asshole. With all the trouble my family’s had lately, I need to
make sure you don’t bring more down on our heads.”

Remorse hit Matthew like a ton of bricks.
Still, he didn’t like it. “Sorry. I heard about the fire and…” How
did you apologize for some serial killer murdering your estranged
brother-in-law’s adopted brother? What was weirder was that
technically, the dead guy and Brandon Weis were Matthew’s adopted
brothers too. The feeling that he’d let down more than just Mom and
Karen wormed into his conscience. Matthew decided to shut up.

“So, why are you going back into the
office?” Brandon became suddenly interested in the passing
nighttime scenery. “Sudden desire to count dog vitamins?”

“No. I have to talk my department accountant
off the ‘cliff’. Gone right off the deep end. He’s developed an
obsession with budgeting and spending itemization. I’m beginning to
wonder if he’s sniffing markers.”

“Makes me happy to be self-employed.”

“Yeah.” Matthew allowed the uncomfortable
silence to remain as he drove the rest of the way to BioPet.
Parking at the security gate, he waited for the guard to
acknowledge the sticker on his window and wave him through. Instead
of the usual, the uniform motioned for him to roll down his window.
The glass slid down in a smooth glide, even as the hair on the back
of his neck rose. “Is there a problem?” a glance at Brandon Weis,
confirmed his brother-in-law’s intense interest in the guard.

In the bright security lights, the company
rent-a-cop, bent down to peer into the car. The guard was
completely average, slightly overweight, with round features and
brown eyes. “Good evening, Mr. Ridley. You have a guest?”

“Yes.” Matthew tried to remember the guy’s
name and came up blank. The guard was completely forgettable,
though an everyday afternoon acquaintance. He glanced at Weis
again. “Sort of. I was going to let my buddy wait in the lobby
while I ran up to my office.” The Bio-Pet’s lobby was the ultimate
in consumer relations, boasting an interactive tour and public
break room. “It’s never been a problem before.”

“Of course not, Mr. Ridley. It’s
after-hours. I just need to make a notation and you’re free to go.”
The guard’s intense interest and Brandon Weis’ in one another was
mutual. Matthew had the weird feeling that something was up.
Something really bad was about to happen. With a fake smile, the
guard waved them through.

“Well that was odd.” Matthew’s hung in the
quiet car as he parked in the small parking lot designated for
mid-level managers. Then again, his night had been heading full
tilt on odd since he got home. “You okay?”

Brandon nodded, looking wary as he did a
one-eighty of the garage. “You calling me your buddy? Yeah, I’m
freaked.” He said blandly.

Matthew was ready to be done with Hambly and
get back home behind locked doors. He frowned. He didn’t usually
operate off of ‘feelings’. That kind of mentality had made his mom
and sister the focus of his father’s scorn. Matthew preferred proof
and planning. Squaring his shoulders, he led the way to the
ultra-modern glass and steel building.

Inside, Bio-Pet’s main lobby was decorated
in shades of red and blue. Massive blown up pictures of pets,
supposedly leading happy lives because of BioPet’s products, hung
from the ceilings. The interactive tour began on the right and
worked clockwise around the room in stations six feet apart. Guests
were able to wander around, using wireless headphones to hear the
mini-movie clip at each screen. Kids loved the tour.

“I’ll be right back.” Matthew pulled his
badge from his wallet, then shoved it back in his pocket. Brandon
nodded absently, removing his cell phone and fingering the smooth
screen. At the elevator, Matthew inserted his badge into the
reader. This kept the visitors in the lobby where they belonged.
He’d been told that sensors in the elevator would alert security if
they picked up more people boarding the elevator than
authorized.

As expected, the ride to the seventh floor
was smooth and uneventful. Matthew took a moment to study the
faceplate. The floor selections went up twelve floors, gave an
option for ground level, then G One and G Two for the below ground
levels.

The doors glided open. He shook his head and
left the elevator. Obviously, his first stop would be Milton
Hambly’s office.

He looked around the subdued lighting, a
power saving feature that still allowed security and housekeeping
to do their duties by, but gave the company a way to call
themselves environmentally conscious. The effect was creepy, giving
the building a hushed, funeral atmosphere. He’d hate having to work
in an empty, darkened building.

“Hambly?” He pushed the door open, noticing
the blatant disregard for power conservation. That wasn’t like the
accountant at all. Lights blazed, the computer equipment hummed.
Even the full wastebasket paper shredder blinked with a ready green
light. Paper littered the accountant’s desk in front of the door.
Stacks of books piled haphazardly on top of the wall length bay of
filing cabinets to Matthew’s right. Looking back the way he’d come,
he took a second look at the room.

“You know, this would be the perfect time
for a slasher to jump out,” he said out loud. But like that didn’t
happen in real life.
Right.
As if werewolves and vampires
coming out on live television didn’t happen either. Live in his
hometown. Matthew frowned as he wondered again if the werewolves
were anyone he’d gone to school with. Did his sister know any of
them? “Great, now you’re stalling. Move it Ridley.”

Chapter Two

With effort, she opened her eyes. The
memories were easier to call back that than before.
My name is
Naomi Lindi, daughter of Shiar, Lia of the Primus Lion Clan;
the mantra was her lifeline. The drug induced fog that kept her
locked in human form felt lighter. Her instincts demanded for her
to change into the lioness, to shred her enemies with teeth and
claws