The Weretiger {Isaac Lahey} #2

S2: Raving

Winter POV

I hook one leg over the other, staring at my salad in the police station.

Uncle N bites into his burger then stops, looking up at Stiles.

"Oh, what the hell is this?"

"Veggie burger." Stiles explains, smiling.

"Stiles, I asked for a hamburger."

"Well, veggie is healthier. We're being healthy."

I pick at the lettuce, grumbling.

Uncle N opens another carton of celery and something else.

"Oh, hell, why are you trying to ruin my life?" He grumbles.

"We're trying to extend your life, okay? Could you just eat it, please?" Stiles asks. "And tell us what you found."

"No, I'm not sharing confidential police work with teenagers."

"Is that it on the board behind you?"

I follow Stiles' gaze, scanning the pictures, fingerprints, and papers.

"Don't look at that," Uncle N orders.

"A'ght." Stiles says, squirming in his seat to see the board.

"Avert your eyes."

"Okay." More craning to see while I watch, sipping my water.

"Hey," Uncle N warns.

"Just- It's just- I see arrows pointing to pictures."

"Okay, okay, stop. Fine. I found something."

I grin at Stiles' victory.

"Mechanic and the couple who were murdered. They all had something in common."

"All three?" I ask.

"Yeah." Uncle N glances at me. "You know what I always say. One's an incident. Two's a coincidence-"

"Three's a pattern," Stiles finishes.

"The mechanic, the husband, the wife. All the same age. All twenty-four."

"What about Mr. Lahey? I mean, Isaac's dad wasn't anywhere near twenty-four."

"Which made me think either, A, Lahey's murder wasn't connected or, B, the ages were a coincidence, until I found this." Uncle N hands Stiles a book. "Which would be C."

I scoot my chair over to look over Stiles' shoulder.

"Did you know that Isaac Lahey had an older brother named Cameron?" Uncle N asks.

"'Died in combat,'" Stiles reads.

"But if he were alive today, take one guess as to how old he'd be."

We look at him.

"Twenty-four."

○●○

"Now what if same age means same class. I mean, did you think of that?" Stiles asks.

I tilt my head, studying the board from my perch on the desk.

"Yeah, yeah." Uncle N mumbles. "Well, I would've. I mean, I- Look, I just got Lahey's file two hours ago."

"Two hours?" Stiles asks, turning to him. "Dad, people could be dying."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. Thank you."

"Same class..." Stiles muses.

They look at eachother and then at me.

I sigh and slide off the desk, letting them have room.