Chapter 5 - In Sheep's Clothing

Julian walked into the police station flanked by Sergeant Carol Murphy and Officer Harold Sullivan. The rotund officer gave Julian an inscrutable look as they entered, and Murphy directed him over towards her desk, where he had sat with Nora the day before.

"What's all this about then?" Julian asked curiously. "Has to be important if you're dragging me down here."

Murphy nodded at Sullivan, who nodded back at the police sergeant and walked away over to his own desk. Murphy leaned forwards, joining her hands together as she sized him up, her eyes intent.

"How did you know?" Murphy finally asked.

"Know what?" Julian frowned.

"Since the beginning, it's felt like you know more than you're letting on about all of this. Nora, too." Murphy said, studying him. "She was so convinced it was a kidnapping, and then you show up with as much conviction, if not more. What did you two know that we didn't?"

"I dunno, I guess I just believe people when they tell me things." Julian shrugged. "Why would I doubt Nora?"

"No, that's not it. And with Ruth Martin, too... you knew to be there. Fully unrelated, or at least on the surface." Murphy shook her head, still staring at Julian. If looks could kill, he'd be a dead man.

"You found a connection?" Julian asked, eyebrows raising.

"We did. The wounds on Mrs. Martin's body were consistent with the slash we found in Jenny Miller's curtains." Murphy shook her head. "I thought it was so strange that you and Nora, who were hunting a kidnapper and her missing son, would turn up at an animal attack involving an old woman. And Nora, she was checking the woods behind the house for something. How did you know?"

Julian decided playing dumb might be his best course of action here. "I don't know, I was just following you guys. You never know what could be a clue."

"You're lying." Murphy said decisively. "If you and Nora had been together there, maybe. But you came to the perimeter and stood right in the front. You knew that if it had been the other way around, if it was just Nora, I'd be suspicious of where you were. But with you right at the front... gave Nora clear access to go look for whatever she was looking for. So tell me, Detective Anderson, what is it that she was looking for? I have men searching the woods behind Nora Thomas' house and Jenny Miller's house. What are they going to find?"

Other than maybe a homicidal bald freak who moved like Tarzan? "I have no idea." Julian said truthfully. Him and Nora had been following scent trails, he didn't know what human investigators would turn up, if anything.

"OK then." Murphy nodded slowly. "Well, we're going to hold you for 24 hours."

"What?" Julian exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "For what? You already said yourself that you didn't think I had done it."

"That was earlier. Now I have my suspicions. The window lock was broken on Jenny Miller's bedroom last night too, you know anything about that?" Murphy demanded.

"Someone picked the lock?" Julian asked, doing his best to look mystified.

"Not picked." the sergeant shook her head. "Ripped apart. It was in two pieces."

"I hit the gym a few times a week, but you think I could rip open a lock?" Julian asked incredulously.

Officer Sullivan approached, standing behind Julian to the left, like he was waiting for a signal.

"Sergeant, come on." Julian insisted. "You know that I did not do this."

"Do I?" Murphy asked, shaking her head. "I don't know what I know. Kids being taken by something that can rip apart an old woman? You running around like you're Jack Reacher or something... put him in the holding cell, Officer Sullivan."

The sergeant pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. Officer Sullivan approached, looking stern, but Julian didn't make a fuss.

"You're making a mistake." Julian called to Murphy as he allowed Sullivan to lead him away. "You hear me? This is wrong!"

Julian was led to a little processing room, where he handed over his phone, his keys, his gun, and everything else in his pockets. Sullivan did a quick pat down, and then put all his personal effects into a plastic baggie, other than the gun, which he stored separately. From there, Julian was led down a narrow hallway leading to the back corner of the building, where a lonely little holding cell sat forgotten.

The holding cell was small, no surprise there. There was a bench installed in the far wall, and Julian laid down across it on his back, staring up at the ceiling with his hands tucked behind his head. His entire body thrummed with the burning need to move, to do something, but he was doing his best to force down his animal instincts. Sullivan locked the door, walking away with no idea of what he had in his holding cell right now. Werewolves hated captivity, they were generally quite claustrophobic, at least when it came to tight spaces they couldn't get out of. A car didn't bother Julian, he could open the door and hop out at any time, but a holding cell... it made him feel like a cornered animal, working up fight or flight instincts he did his best to squash.

Neither of those options would help his current situation, though the wolf part of him speculated that he could take out the entire police department here and make it out without much of an issue. He shoved that thought away as soon as it started forming. He wasn't about to massacre the police department, even if they were being colossally stupid right now. Though maybe Murphy wasn't totally stupid, as she hadn't arrested him, she was just holding him. No pesky Miranda Rights, no one phone call, nothing like that, though they did have to release him after 24 hours. Not that there was anyone to enforce that, as out here in the woods, Sergeant Carol Murphy was the law.

From what he'd heard of the mayor of this town, he didn't do a whole lot, so there wasn't really anyone to keep Murphy in check if she did get a little power mad. She didn't seem like the type, but she did seem angry right now. Two missing kids, a dead senior citizen, and not a damn lead in sight. Little did she know, she locked up the only person who might be able to help her, and Julian couldn't just tell her why that was the case. It wasn't like he had a lot of plans that he was missing out on because of this, but he did need to be out of here by sundown, he had a meeting with that witch, and hopefully she'd have an answer for him.

Julian was accustomed to doing most of the work alone back in LA, or at worst, hiring a contractor witch or warlock, there were no free favors happening in the City of Angels. The town witch here, whose name he hadn't caught, helping for free had been a surprise, but everything in Crescent Hill was very, very different from the life Julian knew. Julian turned his head to look out of the bars, but there wasn't even anything to look at, just a boring beige wall. The worst kind of wall, in Julian's opinion. They just had to sequester the holding cell away from everything, didn't they?

Julian swung his legs off the bench around to the floor, turning up into a sitting position before standing up. The cell was small, with limited pacing room, but he paced regardless. It couldn't have been even half an hour he'd been locked up here, and already, he was deeply restless. Gritting his teeth, Julian sat back down. He tapped his foot impatiently, wondering how the hell he was going to survive 24 hours in this stupid little cell.

So, with nothing better to do, Julian leaned his head back against the wall, closed his eyes, and let his enhanced hearing take over. He stretched his hearing to its' limit, giving him just enough range to hear a little bit of what was happening in the bullpen. He heard some police officers discussing the kidnappings, and they too wondered if there'd be another disappearance today. Julian hoped not. But what he was really listening for was... there she was.

"I don't know if this is the right play." Carol Murphy's voice said faintly. It was muffled somewhat by the distance, but enhanced hearing was called enhanced for a reason.

"I thought you suspected him." Officer Sullivan's voice came as a reply, followed up by a heavy cough.

"I don't know what I suspect." Murphy sighed. "I just wanted to be able to do something. All I've done since this mess started is look around at crime scenes. We've solved nothing, all we've done is fail to find any missing kids."

"So do you want to let him go?" Sullivan wondered, and there was silence. Maybe Murphy had nodded or shook her head.

"What I want is to make whatever sick bastard is kidnapping children pay." Murphy said with a huff. Suddenly, Julian heard a much louder noise, a crash of some kind that sounded incredibly loud to his enhanced ears. He turned swiftly, standing up on the bench to peer out of the small window at the top of the wall. It had bars across it, but they didn't obstruct his vision. He had a limited little view, but he could see out to the parking lot, and as he peered through the window, he watched a police officer walking away from their car. Most likely, they had just slammed their door shut and the noise had been too loud to Julian's enhanced hearing. That was the downside of it, especially in Los Angeles. Quiet noises sounded louder, and loud noises were deafening.

As he swept his gaze across the parking lot one more time, his gaze caught on a little flurry of movement slinking past a parked car. Trotting casually across the parking lot was a beat up cat, gray and dirty-looking. It was missing a tail, had a chunk missing from the ear, and was heading nonchalantly back towards town. Likely a stray, Julian thought as he climbed down off the bench and took his seat again. Hopefully it didn't wind up as a snack for the monster in the trees.

He stretched out his hearing again, but he couldn't pick up on the police sergeant anymore. Either she'd moved out of his range, or she'd stopped talking. Disappointed, Julian lowered his hearing back down to normal human levels. He let out a sigh, getting back to his feet and pacing around the small cell again.

———

Three hours passed painfully slowly before Julian heard footsteps. He bounded to his feet at once as two familiar women rounded the corner. One was Nora, still wearing her work clothes, and the other was Murphy.

"See?" Murphy sighed. "He's fine."

"He doesn't look fine!" Nora exclaimed, wheeling on Murphy. "What the hell, Carol? I called him here to help me find Andy and you throw him in jail?!"

"She needed something." Julian shrugged. "Better to say they're holding someone than they have no idea what to do."

Murphy's eyes narrowed at him, and she scowled. "It's purely precautionary."

"Uh huh." Julian said disbelievingly. "You know, I tried to play nice when I got here. Not my jurisdiction, I get that, but you throwing me in jail? A detective? You're barking up the wrong fucking tree."

"I know the two of you were snooping around Ruth Martin's house, an active crime scene. That alone is enough to warrant both of you a little stay here." Murphy snapped.

"But you didn't grab Nora, because you know her, and you don't know me." Julian surmised.

The police sergeant gave a half shrug. "We don't trust outsiders in Crescent Hill. The people of this town, they're good people. And it's people like you coming to town that causes problems. City folk who think that just because it's a small little town out in the woods, the rules don't matter here."

"That is not what I've been doing, and you know it." Julian protested.

"Carol, please. Let him out." Nora said pleadingly. "What is this going to do?"

Murphy looked back and forth between Nora and Julian. "Not until I get some answers. I want to know how the two of you know what you know."

Nora looked puzzled. "What is it we know?"

"She thinks we're hiding things about this case from her." Julian filled in sourly.

"Quiet." Murphy said with a firm look back at Julian. "Ms. Thomas, what were you doing in the woods behind Ruth Martin's house?"

Nora looked to Julian, but Murphy snapped her fingers. "No! Don't look at him, look at me. What were you looking for? Did you find something in the woods behind your house? Behind the Millers' house?"

"There was... we didn't find anything. I thought I had found some sign of a person behind my house, but it didn't lead anywhere. So I thought maybe the same thing would be behind Ruth Martin's house." Nora shook her head. "There wasn't anything."

"What was the clue you found behind your house?" Murphy asked, scowling.

"Just some disturbed snow." Nora lied. "I thought it was footprints, but it wasn't. That's when I called Julian, I knew not having Andy around was driving me crazy."

"So you found what you thought were footprints, realized they weren't footprints, and then went looking for more non-footprints?" Murphy repeated skeptically.

"Uh... yes." Nora nodded. "I just wanted to see if maybe I hadn't been crazy and they actually were footprints."

Murphy sighed, then she reached for her belt and pulled off the keys. She stepped towards Julian's cell door, and she reached out to unlock it.

"Any chance of an apology?" Julian asked dryly as she opened the door.

"I wouldn't hold your breath." Murphy replied just as dryly. "And don't go snooping around my crime scenes again, either of you."

"We won't." Nora promised, grabbing Julian's arm as he stepped out of the cell.

Sergeant Murphy nodded, looking pointedly between the two of them. "I trust you can find the way out."

"We'll manage." Julian replied tersely. Murphy nodded, and walked off down the hall.

"Are you alright?" Nora asked, her hand sliding down his arm to grasp his hand.

"I'm fine. I just hate enclosed spaces." Julian shook his head.

"Tell me about it." Nora shuddered. "I'm sorry it took me so long, I'm out on my lunch break right now."

"You're spending your lunch break getting me out of here?" Julian asked, surprised, and Nora nodded.

"I saw your car was still parked down the street, so I tried calling you, but you didn't answer. Then I realized I hadn't heard from you since you were taken to the police station, so I called, and sure enough, they had you." Nora explained with a huff.

"Well, hey, I appreciate it." Julian smiled. "You're my hero, Murphy wanted me in there for 24 hours."

"Unbelievable." Nora shook her head, sighing hard. "Look, why don't you head back to the house? I get off at 3, so I'll come back, shower, change, and then we can go to see Ethel."

"That's the witch, right?" Julian checked. "I didn't get her name."

"Yes, that's the witch." Nora nodded. "And hopefully, she'll have an answer for us."

"Hopefully." Julian murmured.

———

As darkness began to settle upon the town of Crescent Hill, Julian drove the Cutlass down towards Main Street, with Nora in his passenger seat. The gorgeous werewolf girl had gotten home from work about an hour ago, and spent most of that hour showering and getting ready. Now, Nora wore a clingy purple sweatshirt beneath a black winter jacket and a pair of dark blue jeans. Her long brown hair fell freely down her shoulders, and it was still damp from her shower.

Nora was fidgety the whole drive over, and eventually Julian reached out to put his hand over hers on the bench seat. She looked towards him, her blue eyes worried but a small grateful smile on her face.

"It's going to be alright." Julian murmured to Nora, who nodded.

"You're right." Nora cleared her throat. "Of course you're right. Ethel's going to figure out what we're dealing with, and then we'll figure out how to stop it."

"Gotta have some positivity." Julian agreed. "This is the closest we've ever been to finding Andy. I know that this much time away from him is worrying, to say the least, but we're on the right track, Nora. We're coming for him."

She turned her hand around so she could grasp his, lacing her fingers through his as she took a deep, shaky breath. "Julian..."

"If you're going to thank me for coming again, save your breath." Julian smiled.

Nora smiled ruefully. "I don't think I can ever say it enough."

Julian pulled the Cutlass into a parking spot in front of the apothecary, and as he turned the car off, he realized Nora was staring at him. Wordlessly, she leaned across the bench seat to kiss Julian, her arms coming up to encircle his neck as she pressed herself up against him, practically climbing into his lap.

They kissed for a long while, Julian drinking in the taste and the feel of Nora's lips while his hands moved to cradle her toned ass in those jeans. Nora was halfway sprawled across him, holding herself to him while he held her by her curvaceous hips and her excellent ass. Her mouth on his was insistent, her kiss hot and passionate as they embraced. Too quickly, Nora drew back, but the kiss had not been quick at all. Nora's cheeks were flushed, her breathing irregular as she smiled at Julian.

"That's my thank you." Nora said with a slight smile, adjusting her glasses in the same quick, cute way she always did.

"I guess you can keep thanking me then." Julian replied, making Nora laugh.

"We should probably go in..." Nora hesitated, and Julian nodded his agreement, though he couldn't resist planting one last kiss on Nora's lips as she drew back. She smiled at him, and then they were climbing out of the Cutlass. Julian looked up and down the street, but it was fairly empty. Headlights illuminated the road as a handful of cars rumbled up and down Main Street, but compared to how it had been in the daylight, it was a much emptier place.

Julian led the way towards the apothecary door, and he held it for Nora as she walked up. She gave him a quick smile as she passed him, and with one more glance up and down the street, Julian followed her inside, the door shutting behind him. The apothecary's lights were on, and the witch, Ethel, was sat behind the counter, poring over a thick old tome.

"Nora!" Ethel exclaimed upon seeing her, and she gave the werewolf a sad smile. "I'm very glad you came. I've been worried about you. How are you doing?"

"I'm holding in there." Nora said with a sigh, sticking her hands into the pockets of her winter coat. "Please tell me you have good news."

"Well... I have news." Ethel said grimly. "Whether it is good or not... I'm not sure."

Julian put a hand on Nora's back, and he nodded at Ethel. "What do you have?"

Ethel nodded. "Well, I did some examination of those hairs that you brought me. That took a little while, especially because I was unfamiliar with a creature like this. But I found it, eventually. I've been looking into the creature the past couple hours and it's... not a friendly one."

Nora's hand found Julian's, and she squeezed it so hard it hurt a little, but Julian ignored the pain. "What is it? What's in the woods?"

"It's called an aswang." Ethel said in a somber voice. "It's a monster natively from the Philippines, but you know as well as I how much supernatural species have spread out from their homes."

"Aswang." Nora murmured. "What is it?"

"In simple terms? It's a hunter." Ethel said, looking at Nora sadly. "Every aspect of it is designed for finding suitable prey to feed on."

Nora let out a choked noise, and her nails dug into Julian's palm. "Feed on?"

"The aswang lives off of human flesh." Ethel explained. "It tends to strike at the weakest members of a society. The sick, the elderly... the young."

Nora let out a small sob, and Julian wrapped his arm around her tightly as she sagged into his chest. "Is there anything else?"

"Oh yes, there's quite a bit more. They're shape-shifting creatures, you see. There's record of them becoming all sorts of animals, dogs, pigs, cats, as well as them taking human faces." Ethel continued. "Aswangs are nomads, they wander from town to town, striking at the prey they can find for a few weeks before moving on before the members of the town hunt it down. They typically live at the fringes of a town, nearby but hidden away."

"Like in the woods." Julian guessed, and Ethel nodded.

"Yes, this aswang came to town and is using the woods to hide itself away during the nights, then infiltrating the town during the day. They can only shapeshift during the day, you see. Their actual form is averse to sunlight, so they shift into other forms during daytime hours." Ethel explained.

"So if we can find it during the day, it can't transform into the monster we saw?" Julian asked, and Ethel nodded.

"Correct. The sunlight would not kill it, but it would leave it essentially defenseless, so it takes other forms." Ethel said, looking pityingly at Nora, who was crying.

"How do we find it then?" Julian asked, rubbing Nora's back consolingly.

"It says here that animal forms it takes won't have a tail. For the human forms, the aswang won't have the person's memory. So someone acting out of the ordinary, not remembering things that they should... that's the aswang." Ethel said, poring over her book.

A cold dread settled in Julian's stomach. "I saw a cat with no tail today at the police station. It was out in the parking lot, heading towards Main Street."

"The aswang." Ethel said grimly. "If you can find it again, capture the animal and bring it here. I'll be able to verify it's an aswang in disguise, and then we can kill it."

Nora lifted her face from Julian's chest, looking to Ethel. "Does it say how to kill them?"

Her voice was shaky, but it had an iron undercurrent. This aswang had fucked with the wrong werewolf, that's for damn sure.

"Guns don't work against it, they barely scratch the creature." Ethel said darkly. "A knife or similar weapon must be used, specifically a holy one, shoved right into the middle of the aswang's back. Aswangs heal quickly, if that specific spot is not struck, it will get away and heal itself."

"We can find something like that." Julian nodded, looking to Nora. Tears stained her cheeks, but she looked downright murderous, and Julian rubbed her back again.

"I hesitated to say this, because I did not want to give you undue hope, but... it depends what kind of aswang has come to Crescent Hill." Ethel said slowly. "There are some aswangs that are driven solely by their desire to devour, and they will lure prey away and... feed right on the spot. But there are other aswangs that seem to enjoy toying with their food. They will slowly drain their victims over many days, a way to slake their unending hunger. No amount of food will ever satiate an aswang, so some aswang feed slowly, to make their prey last."

"So you're saying..." Nora swallowed, and Ethel nodded.

"It is possible that the aswang here is the latter, in which case Andy is almost certainly still alive." Ethel said. "But if it is the former... I'm afraid there will be nothing left of your son by now."

"So there's a chance." Julian said.

"How big of a chance?" Nora demanded, and Ethel hesitated.

"From the stories I've read... about a third of aswangs are the slow feeding type." Ethel said sadly.

"A third." Nora exhaled, looking thunderstruck.

"Was there anything on how to find the aswang?" Julian asked, and Ethel broke away from looking sorrowfully at Nora, nodding.

"Yes, yes. Where was... ah, here. Aswangs are excellent climbers, and often they will lurk on roofs. Scratching noises heard from the ceiling or the roof are a sign of an aswang nearby. Aswang also usually stalk their prey for several days before striking, they are a cautious kind of hunter. If you can find signs of an aswang, then someone nearby is about to be attacked. The other methods aren't too helpful, but it is said that in the eye of an aswang pretending to be human, all reflections are inverted. They also won't accept holy blessings, they'll always avoid them. Aswangs are unholy, and that kind of thing can weaken or wound them." Ethel read from her book.

"The Youngs, next door." Nora said numbly, looking to Julian. "They'd been complaining about hearing rats in their attic."

"It was stalking Andy." Julian said, hanging his head. The clue had been right there, he'd heard it his very first morning in Crescent Hill, but it had never occurred to him. Then, a terrible thought did occur to him, and he looked towards Nora.

"Nora... you told Andy not to leave the house for anyone, no matter what, right?" Julian asked grimly.

"Oh my God." Nora exhaled, putting her hands over her mouth. "Can it... how does it become people?"

She looked to Ethel, who looked similarly horrified. "It just needs to see the person."

"It was me." Nora said, and she looked like she might pass out. "The aswang became me to take Andy. He wouldn't have left the house for anyone else."

Nora started crying again, and Julian moved forwards swiftly to wrap his arms around her, and she buried her face into his chest to sob.

"This is what the aswang does best." Ethel spoke bitterly. "It infiltrates a town, learns how to capture its' prey, and exploits every weakness. It is not just a hunter, it is a manipulator."

"So it came for Andy during the day, as Nora. Maybe it knew what Nora was, and didn't want to tangle with her by risking a nighttime kidnapping." Julian surmised. "It didn't care about the Millers' though, so it came at night to take Jenny. But what about the old woman, Ruth Martin?"

"Ruth lived alone. She was defenseless, and from the sounds of it, the aswang came for her at night, and nobody even knew it had struck. They're strong, they're fast, and they're extremely stealthy. A good aswang leaves no clues behind, using what it learns during the days to strike effortlessly at night." Ethel shook her head. "Andy was a deviation from the pattern, likely because of what Nora is, yes."

"It should have known better." Nora said, swallowing hard. She pushed away from Julian, furiously wiping at her cheeks.

"It should have." Julian agreed.

"We're going to find this thing, and we're going to tear it apart." Nora snarled.

"What else does the aswang target? Children, old people, you said the sick?" Julian asked Ethel urgently.

"Yes, all of those. Pregnant women as well, aswang love unborn children." Ethel said with a disgusted wrinkle of her nose.

"They eat unborn children?" Nora asked, horrified.

"Yes, they have a method of feeding on children in the womb. It's disgusting to read about, to be frank, but aswang are historically believed to be the cause of miscarriages." Ethel shook her head. "Not all of them, of course, but aswang do-"

"There was a miscarriage in town." Julian blurted. "I heard a couple talking about it at the diner, a friend of theirs had just had a miscarriage."

"Can't be coincidence." Ethel shuddered.

"Definitely not." Julian scowled.

"We have to stop this thing." Nora exploded. "Before it tears apart any more families. If Andy is still alive, I'm going to get him back, no matter what. But even if he's not, this aswang is dying, I'm going to make damn sure of that."

"We both will." Julian said, and Nora looked at him, holding his gaze with ferocity in her blue eyes, despite the tears still welling up in them.

"I'd start by finding yourself weapons then." Ethel said. "Your werewolf claws will be able to damage the aswang, but they won't be able to kill it. You need a holy weapon."

"We can find something like that." Julian said. "Maybe the antiques shop."

"If not, we can get some hunting knives down at Bark's hunting store." Nora suggested. "Maybe someone at the church can bless them for us."

"Works for me." Julian nodded. Julian was very pleased by this trip to the apothecary. Ethel had done excellent work, she'd not only figured out their target, she'd come up with a plan to kill it. He couldn't ask for any better work.

"Ethel, thank you." Julian said, looking to the witch. "You've done maybe the most important thing so far. Now we know how to kill it and what we're killing."

"All I did was read some books." Ethel waved a hand. "It's you two who have the important job. Killing this bastard and saving this town."

It was a little surprising hearing such vehemence from the kindly old woman, but it made sense. This aswang was preying on the weak, the defenseless. These were people from the town that Ethel had lived in for likely decades, and the aswang was making sport of them.

"We will." Nora said. "We're going to make it pay."