Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 14: Hunting

Cody

'I should've taken the damn stairs.' Cody thought annoyed. There he was standing in the small metal box that held him and his new colleague at work. It was more cramped than it already was.

"You just had to say 'yes' didn't you?" Cody asked as he turned his head to face the thorn in his side.

A big smile was on Adrian's face as he tilted his head like some puppy. Cody just wanted to wipe that damn smile off the killer's face. "How could I take up the chance to work with my old colleagues?" Adrian asked, trying to seem cute. "From what I could see, they don't seem to care." Cody snapped. "You mean Aaric? Oh, he and I have always been at each other's throats. I caught the killers more than he did." Adrian sneered.

Slapping his hand over his face, Cody let out an unpleasant groan. "If you even try to get on his nerves, I won't stop him from shooting you." he said from behind his fingers. "I would congratulate him for doing it." he added in a mumble.

The elevator let's out a ding as the doors open. Quickly, Cody shot out of the elevator and practically ran to his apartment. "Why do you have to be so mean?" Adrian called after him. "Because you're psycho!" Cody yelled over his shoulder.

He slips the key into the lock to unlock, but when he grabs the doorknob, the door opened on its own. It was already unlocked.

"Adrian?" Cody asked, knowing that the killer was behind him. "Yes?" responded Adrian nonchalantly. "Did you forget to lock the door after I left?" Cody questioned suspiciously, slowly beginning to reach for his gun. "I'm sure I did." replied the killer.

The door swung open before the two could do anything to reveal Michaela. She had a slice of pizza in her hand as she was currently biting into it. "I let myself in." she stated between chews. "We need to talk."

Both men stare blankly at the girl as she continues eating. "When did I give you a key to my apartment?" Cody asked. "You didn't. I took one of your spare keys." Michaela replied before walking back into the apartment. "Of course! 'Cause no one cares about my personal space!" Cody said sarcastically as he and Adrian entered.

"At least I didn't order pizza." Adrian mentioned as he is greeted by Marcella. "Bite me." Cody growled at the man. "Maybe later." Adrian said with a wink. Sadly for Cody, it caused a rather pleasant shock to run down his body. 'Cursed hormones.' he thought in annoyance as he shuts the door behind him.

"So what do we need to talk about that is so important that it needed you to come to my apartment without calling?" Cody asked rather harshly as he looked around his living room. He hadn't finished unpacking so there wasn't much to look at. The coffee table, coffee, and chair was the only furniture there. Marcella was laying on her back with her paws up in the air, a pizza box that was half empty sat on the coffee table, and the television was on, apparently set up while Cody was gone. 'She's always been good with technology than I ever could.' Cody thought.

Sitting herself down onto the couch, Michaela sets down her pizza and crosses her arms and legs. "This may be my gut just telling me this, but I feel like I know who killed that man that was found this morning." Michaela said seriously.

Cody and Adrian were both quiet as their minds settled on what she had said. "What makes you think that?" Adrian questioned as he gets down on his knees and began to pet Marcella. "Did you hear about that failed robbery that happened a couple of days ago?" Michaela asked. "The one where the robber got his neck stabbed?" Adrian commented as he rubs his neck. "My roommate worked at that shop and was there when it happened. She let the . . . 'brave customer' stay with us. I didn't think of anything at first until I heard the person's story.

"She came to New York for a fresh start after apparently fleeing from her abusive father. I saw the same look of anger on her face that Adrian makes before someone ends up dead." Michaela revealed.

There was some doubt forming inside of Cody. "Michaela, I still don't see how she could be a killer. All I hear is that she's come from a bad background." Cody said frankly. "Even I agree. And I'm a damn killer for god sakes." Adrian added, earning a heated scowl from Cody.

"Just hear me out!" Michaela nearly yelled. "You know when I took up on some precautions after the whole Michael incident?" she asked. The two men nodded. "I set up security cameras both outside and inside the house. I only get an alert when the motion sensor is triggered outside." she explained as she takes out her phone. "I record suspicious activity . . . or funny ones." she added before handing the phone over the Cody.

Peering over Cody's shoulder, Adrian pressed play for Cody. 'No personal space.' Cody thought in annoyance as he silently watches the video.

The camera revealed the front yard along with the front porch and windows. Everything looked perfectly normal for the first few seconds of the video. Until the window closest to the door slid open. It wasn't opened all the way, just enough to let someone escape.

A young woman with short black hair slips out of the house. She lands flat on her feet before she stands up. Turning back to the window, she slowly pushes it shut. Then she walked off with a fast pace, finally escaping the view of the camera.

"Well that's not suspicious at all." Adrian commented sarcastically. "Shh!" Cody snapped in the killer's ear that was very close to his face.

"If you can see on the time stamp, she left at twelve-thirty. She doesn't return until two-thirty." Michaela pointed out without even needing to look at the video. "Did your CSIs get the time of death?" she asked. "You know I can't tell you that." Cody denied. "They said about midnight to two in the morning." Adrian answered without even hesitating. "Adrian!" Cody said angrily. "What? She asked!"

The playfulness in Adrian's eyes made Cody stop himself from shooting the man on the spot. (Though there might be other reasons why) "Besides, she might be harboring a killer without even knowing." Adrian added. "And if so, I have another kill to add to my board."

"No!" Cody yelled defiantly. "This is my damn case! If you're gonna help as some 'anatomy expert', you are working under the damn law! If this girl is indeed the killer and you try to kill her, I will certainly arrest you!" he snarled. That wipes the smile off of Adrian's face as he glared at Cody. "I will not have some woman scour in my hunting grounds." Adrian growled vehemently. "Doesn't matter. The killer will be put to justice!" Cody growled back.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Michaela suddenly spoke up. "He's a medical examiner?" she asked, pointing at Adrian when she caught their attention.