📎A/N.  Thank you all so very much for your well wishes... It must have worked ...  the medication appears to be working (cross your fingers) :-)

As promised, here is the next chapter.. let me know what you think ;-)

Don't forget to vote.. it's really easy.. just click the star :-)

Take care, and thanks for your continued support.

  ❤ ℳ  

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"Did you get the feeling she's a little too rehearsed and slippery?" Kaitlyn asked as they exited the shop and headed back in the direction they had parked the Escalade.  Throwing him a sly look she teased, "Or were you otherwise occupied - sweetie?"

During their interview with the Laundromat owner, she'd felt Murphy's scepticism and irritation growing with each moment that passed.  She had to give him credit.  He had managed to contain himself, and not make it too obvious that he was not impressed with Desdemona's overt suggestions, and the constant need to touch the very male F.B.I. Agent.

Not that she could blame the woman.  She had to admit her partner did turn heads.  It had taken all her self-control to not lash out at the shop owner, after she had run her hands over Murphy's suit jacket one too many times,  claiming that she could offer him a 'fantastic discount on his dry-cleaning,' and that, 'she had extensive experience in dealing with high-quality clothing such as his'.

At that point, during the conversation, Kaitlyn had to bite her tongue before the words 'I just bet you do' flew from her mouth.  They needed answers, and their money launderer appeared more than happy to talk to Murphy.  Exclusively.

"What did your Spidey senses tell you?" Kaitlyn asked, referring to the photos they had shown her.

"She knew four of the other vics.  But she was truthful when she said she didn't know why her ex-husband was being targeted.  She is, however, nervous about something.  My guess - Elijah got the wrong Des."

Kaitlyn considered his assessment, which backed up the direction her train of thought had been headed.  "So, we can safely assume that Elijah is after something, or someone, that he believes these people can give him.  The question is; did he get the information and then kill them?  Or did he kill them because they couldn't give him the answers?"

"I suspect with the late Mr Crispin, it's the latter," Murphy answered flatly.

Just as they reached the car, Kaitlyn noticed a card was poking out of Murphy's pocket.  Remembering how it got there, she could not resist teasing him again.  "So, you going to call her?"

The quizzical look thrown at her told Kaitlyn he had no idea what she was talking about.

She pointed to the white business card peeking out from his suit.  "She put her number in your pocket."

Murphy pulled the offending item out, glanced at it - and to her surprise, appeared caught off guard.  "You were enjoying that," he accused.

"You bet ya," she grinned.

Much to Kaitlyn's bewilderment, the drive back to the FBI headquarters was without the heavy mood that had followed them around for the past few days.  She wondered if it had something to do with their previous conversation.  Perhaps I should tell him to pull his head in more often?

A unexpected result was waiting for Kaitlyn not long after they returned to the office and she checked her monitor.  The search she had kicked off earlier had wielded results.

"Good Lord!" Kaitlyn exclaimed, as she skimmed through the information, "it's like the return of the Stepford Wives."

"What?" Murphy asked as he soundlessly stood behind her.

Without looking around, Kaitlyn pointed to the screen. "One of the names from the list of animal bites, came back as a match to the registered owner of a vehicle involved in the freeway pile up.  Based on the police report, our Bitee was not there.  It was his wife driving at the time."  She spun round and smacked straight into his rock hard chest, quickly extricating herself before he noticed her flushed face and erratic pulse that had suddenly erupted.

Clearing her throat nervously she asked, attempting to sound normal, "What's the bet he was there?"

Murphy glanced down at her with his usual unfathomable expression not giving her any indication of what he was thinking.  "Only one way to find out," he eventually said as he walked towards the door.

Quickly jotting down the address, Kaitlyn rushed to catch up with her partner.

"I had an idea," Kaitlyn began hesitantly after they had cleared the city limits and were on the freeway.  "About how to speed up your search."

She took no grunt to mean it was okay to continue.  "The way I see it, you can't keep on going on like this night after night, wandering each city grid to see if you can detect either of them," she said, referring to Elijah and their newly turned Werewolf.

"If you have any faster way of doing it - I'm all ears," Murphy said, doubt and scepticism dripping with each word.

"That's the thing - I have an idea of how we can. I just don't think you are going to like it," she blurted, biting her bottom lip.  A grimace suddenly appeared on her face.

The manner in which she finished the sentence had Murphy on high alert.  Her change in demeanour and nervousness meant that he most definitely would not approve whatever hair brained scheme she had come up with.

"Your sense of smell is far and away, more superior to humans," she began - and then halted.

"And?" Murphy prompted, not wanting to know where this was headed, but asking anyway.

"As a wolf - it's exponentially increased."

"You do know I don't have a death wish, or have any inclination to be the next wolf that goes viral don't you?" Murphy pointed out.

"With the increased Police and Animal Control presence, I realise it's risky to go wandering around in wolf form," Kaitlyn argued.  She then began to outline her idea.

Murphy could not believe the next words from her mouth.  Had he been a human, he would have questioned whether he had heard her correctly.  However, in addition to his heightened sense of smell, his hearing was impeccable.

Murphy was so floored by her suggestion that he nearly slammed into the vehicle in front of them.  Throwing an accusing glare at her, he was too shocked to form any words in response.

"Look, just think about it," Kaitlyn implored, "It makes sense and you can roam the streets unimpeded.  And if anyone spots you, no one will think anything of it."

"I am not going to dignify that with an answer," he said tautly.

Kaitlyn crossed her arms over her chest.  "You know I am right.  I've even spoken to Parker, and she agrees that this is the quickest and most efficient way to get the job done."

"Oh, she does!  Does she?" he snapped, "Well if that's the case, she can get Daniel to do it.  Because I'm not."

"You know he can't spare the time to come up here.  He's up in Alaska trying to track down Elise."

"No, I won't do it," proclaimed Murphy emphatically, "and I don't want to hear anything more about it."  He was flabbergasted that she would even suggest such a thing.

The remainder of the drive was in silence.  Kaitlyn still determined to make the man see sense let the matter rest - for now.

They pulled up to the address listed on the car's registration.  A long wheelbase van, emblazoned with A1 Plumbing was parked in the driveway.  From the dent in the front bumper, Kaitlyn guessed that this was the vehicle caught up in the freeway disaster.

They were about to ring the doorbell when a shrill voice called out.  Turning to the direction it came, she noticed an elderly neighbour waving at them. "If you're after Mark and Theresa, they're not home."

Kaitlyn began walking towards the neighbour, pulled out her identification and held it up for the old woman to see, "Ma'am, I'm F.B.I Special Agent Quinn, and my partner over there is Special Agent O'Neill.  We are actually here following up on the freeway accident from a few days ago."

Ethel squinted and inspected the card and badge.  "Oh, I heard about that on the news.  My heart goes out to those poor families.  What a dreadful thing to happened," she clicked her tongue and took a step backward, nodding her head in sympathy.

"Do you know when they will be back?" she asked, referring to the woman's absent neighbours.

"I'm not sure," answered the women who had introduced herself as Ethel. "They left in a rush early this morning.  Both were quite upset about something."

"Do you have any idea where they went?"

Ethel shook her head. "No.  But, they were going on about having to evict something.  They were in a complete state.  But then that nice priest turned up, and they seemed to calm down a bit after that."

Kaitlyn froze.  Coming out of her stupor, she snapped her head towards Murphy, who was still inspecting the damage to the van.  Their eyes locked and she could tell he had the same feeling of dread.  Her face drained of all colour and her chest constricted.

Seeing her distress, the old woman patted Kaitlyn's arm, "Are you okay dear?  You don't look so well."

Kaitlyn attempted to keep the panic from showing.  "Ethel, the priest - do you know who he is, or which parish he belongs to?

The elderly neighbour frowned and appeared deep in thought, her lips pursed, twitching - as though that would trigger her memory.  "I think one of those big ones in the city, but I can't be sure."

"Do you know how to get hold of them?" Kaitlyn asked, pressing the woman further.

"Sorry," she began apologetically, "Theresa said that they were not going to be contactable while they were away and asked if I could clear their mail."

Kaitlyn thanked the neighbour for her help and handed Ethel her business card, "When they return, can you please let them know that I need to speak to them."  Kaitlyn pointed in the direction of the damaged vehicle.  "If it's okay with you, we'll just take a look at the van and then be on our way."

Ethel looked over to Murphy, who was currently peering into the back windows of the van.  "I don't think I'd mind riding around with him all day," Ethel remarked, then looked back at Kaitlyn with a sly wink, her long distance vision obviously better than her short.  "He's quite easy on the eye, isn't he dear?"

Knowing full well Murphy could hear every word she shrugged her shoulders before replying, "Meh, if you like that sort of thing."

Kaitlyn hid a smile when the object of their conversation appeared to stop all movement.  Clearly having heard the conversation.  She bade Ethel good day, thanked her for her assistance and meandered towards Murphy. "So what do you think?" Kaitlyn asked as she nodded at the van.

"It's him," he said definitively, as he took another look at the Plumbers work vehicle.

"You're sure?"

Murphy nodded, "My guess, he had his first change in the back while they were on the motorway.  His wife was driving, and she was trying to get him to the Boston Medical Centre."

"So the question is, where are they now?" Kaitlyn asked as she glanced around making sure no one was in earshot.  "Because, if the priest thinks he's going to perform an exorcism, I think he's in for a bit of a shock."

They headed back to the car, both grim and deep in thought.

As the vehicle moved off, Kaitlyn chewed her lower lip sifting through all the possible scenarios on how this impending disaster could play out. "We need to find them," she said firmly.

"You don't think I know that?" Murphy echoed from beside her.

Kaitlyn's previous idea pushed its way to the forefront.  Their current situation, now giving it more credence.  In her eyes at least.  Trying to push her luck again, Kaitlyn opened her mouth to plead her case again.

A resounding "No," was emitted from Murphy before any sound could pass her lips.

How the hell did he know what I was going to say?

Ignoring his edict, Kaitlyn again, petitioned her idea.  "You know it's the best one we have."

"I said no.  End of discussion!"

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A few hours later, an edgy Kaitlyn kept vigil out her apartment window onto the street below.

She could not believe she had managed to convince Murphy to agree to her suggestion.  After her initial euphoria of getting her way, she had a 180 degree turn around.

What if this doesn't work?

What if it completely backfires? How the hell will I get us out of it?

In a more prudent light, she was starting to question her sanity on coming up with the plan in the first place.  Kaitlyn was unable to dwell on the matter for too much longer as the key component in her misguided plan was at the door.

A disgruntled Murphy stalked in a few moments later, not at all looking pleased in any sense of the word.  "I have no idea why I agreed to this hair brained scheme," he complained as he threw his gym bag on the couch.

"Because we are up against the clock.  And, it's the best chance we have.  You both know it, or you wouldn't be here," she argued.

Murphy let out his usual grunt that loudly told her he was still not happy. "I'm going to change."

A mischievous grin erupted across Kaitlyn's face as she reached for a large paper bag which she had left sitting on the bench.  "Before you go in, I just need to know which one you prefer. Black or Red?" she asked innocently as she held up two leather straps for inspection.

Glaring at her through a quickly escalating temper. "I don't need a collar!"

"But that's where you're wrong," Kaitlyn began, trying to make him see reason.  "This will only work if you are on a lead, and people think that we are just a typical, but large, dog and its owner out for a late night walk."

Murphy continued glaring at her as though she was speaking in an alien language.  "And," she said reaching into the bag and dragging out the matching lead.

"What the hell is that?" Murphy asked, pointing to the plastic dog bone dangling from the lead.  A look of pure disgust overcoming his features.

Not sure what he was referring to, Kaitlyn looked to where he was indicating.  "Oh, that.  Doggy poop bags.  The law is very clear, and I'm responsible for making sure you don't litter on the clean streets of Boston.  Especially near churches."

The expression of horror was too much for Kaitlyn to take, and she burst out laughing.

"You're enjoying this" he accused.

Kaitlyn attempted to look contrite without success. "Never.  You didn't say which?" she asked changing the subject.

Seeing his blank look, she held up the collars again.

"Black," he muttered before turning and marching into the other room.  It took all her self-control to not fall into hysterics when she heard, "and you couldn't have found ones without stupid studs?" as he passed through the doorway.

Kaitlyn reached for her small backpack and rescanned the map of Boston City Churches while she waited for Murphy's wolf to appear.  They had meticulously planned the optimal route required to cover the majority of places of worship that afternoon.  If they were lucky, Murphy's wolf would be able to detect the presence of the other Werewolf from a distance.

Problem solved.  Disaster averted. Or at least one of them.

She didn't need to wait long before the magnificent creature she had only seen once before entered the room.  His coat, an unusual shade of golden brown, thick and shiny appeared to glimmer as the light from above shone directly onto his powerful body.

Walking towards her, his massive paws making no sound for a creature that large, he came to stand directly in front of her, not once breaking eye contact.

The wolf, whose giant body was at waist height, tilted its head and moved another step closer.  Kaitlyn froze, not sure what she should do next.  It was one thing to come up with the plan.  It was another thing entirely to actually see it through.  And, at that moment in time, she was not so sure she had made the right decision.

The wolf appeared to break out of the trance like state it had been in and was suddenly sniffing Kaitlyn.  Not daring to move, she allowed the creature to circle her and nuzzle her every now and then.

Kaitlyn was censoring herself for not finding out more information from Murphy.  Maybe this is how their wolves become familiar with humans?

After what seemed an eternity, the wolf stood back and sat down on its haunches.  A tongue lolling out of its powerful jaws.

He looked expectantly up at her as if waiting for something. 

Kaitlyn stared at him in confusion until the reason for his inactivity dawned on her.  "Oh your collar," she exclaimed, reaching towards the bench.

The wolf let out a growl as she made her way back towards him, collar in hand.  Glancing at what had upset him, Kaitlyn spun on her heels and threw the red collar she had inadvertently picked up, and reached for the black one instead.

It took four goes for Kaitlyn to get the leather collar on Murphy's Wolf.   Standing up straight she looked at her handy work, "Aw don't you look lovely."

Before Kaitlyn knew what was happening, the Wolf sauntered passed her and bumped his large frame against her.  The unexpected movement toppling her over and sprawling in an undignified manner onto the floor.  Scrambling to get back up, she was convinced the creature was standing in the middle of her lounge laughing at her.

"Very funny," Kaitlyn grumbled as she grabbed the keys, clipped the lead onto the collar, and headed towards the door.

"What?" Kaitlyn said as she felt his resistance, "Dogs are not allowed out in public without their leads.  Don't blame me, it's the law."

Kaitlyn could hear a slight rumbling from deep within his chest. 

He clearly wasn't pleased.

"It's going to be a long night," Kaitlyn muttered as she turned out the lights and led him out into the streets of Boston.

Perhaps this wasn't a good idea after all?

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📎A/N.... I wonder if he looks good in the studded collar ;-) .... bet none of you guessed that was a) going to happen or b) that Murphy would agree to it... I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures ;-)

...  what do you think of Kaitlyn's idea ???  I suppose that's one way of getting the job done :-) 

... I cannot imagine how bad things will get if the new Werewolf actually transforms in front of the priest... things could get a little tricky don't you think??

Don't forget to vote :-)

Next chapter should by up by the end of the week.  Till then, take care and be safe.

M.

This chapter is dedicated to linahanson - author of Cursed Times - What Now?  for her guidance and invaluable encouragement to not loose faith in the daunting work ahead :-)