Bad Situation (Wolf Investigations and Securities Inc. #6)

Chapter 9

A New Life

Jenna felt stunned. She wasn't sure where to start, even with her information on what to do. She was waiting to be challenged by the old pack bitch, but at the end of the day, she had disappeared and taken anything of value that she had access to with her. Damon intended to set a warden on her and hopefully track her down because they had no idea what she had taken.

Apparently, when she realized she couldn't cheat on the challenge, she decided not to give one. Brenda also realized that she would be expected to work to fulfill her position and receive any pay. At least someone seemed nice and knew what to do because she had been doing most of the work while Brenda had laid around and done nothing. Since Simone also had a job, many things hadn't been done. The schooling for the children was sadly lacking. That was where the work would have to start. Many of the older children did not go to college because they were not allowed to. That was something else that needed to be changed.

Meals were not made available to anyone except George and those that he considered his buddies. There was a great deal of work to do, and it needed to start immediately. At least most of the pack members had jobs and were making adequate money to support themselves. That was because George didn't want to support anyone. The pack house was nice and filled with people, so that wouldn't be an issue either. Their accountant had taken off for the hills, and they would have to hire a new one. It was unlikely that anyone had been stealing, and she still wanted to bring someone in to check that and make sure it was true. The accountant took off like she had just seemed weird.

With all the issues Damon said they didn't have, it seemed like they still had a lot. Maybe Damon didn't know what was happening here, as he thought he did. People in key positions were scattering like bugs when a rock was lifted. It was obvious that something had been going on, or so many wouldn't have left. It was one more mystery to solve, along with many other mysteries. One thing they wanted to find was the body of all the victims that George had taken out. There were rumors that the females disappeared, but the men had been taken apart and fed to the local wildlife.

Out in the woods, there might be bones scattered all over. There was still the question of where the females were, and there was hope that Harry would be able to find them. She had talents in those areas. Jenna wanted to find her mother and grants so they could give them a proper burial and have a marker on their grave. She was sure there would be others and identifying them would probably be an issue. George had been evil to the core. No one seemed to know who the woman who had attacked Grant was. They divided up and continued to check rooms, and she was shocked to find a small child in one of the rooms. He was a full-blooded wolf, or at least she thought he was.

When she carried the baby out into the hallway, the woman started to scream. “You have my child. Give him back now.”

That answered one question, but until she knew for sure this child was hers; he wasn't going anywhere near the crazy lady.

“Harry, why would you suggest we look for bodies inside the house?” Jenna asked.

“In the attic if they're mummified or in the basement if they're buried. That doesn't mean they couldn't be hidden in the walls.” The female started to scream again. “She's completely fruit loops," Harry observed just before she cast a spell on her, which shut her up, and that was a relief. “Where do you want to try first?” Harry turned around and gave her a look.

“Let's try the attic. We'll see if anything is interesting in there."

“Shouldn't be as dank and musty as the basement will be," Harry agreed.

They headed upstairs, and the stairs were decent and wide enough that there was no issue getting up them. The door was large when they got to the top of the stairs. As they entered, it was obvious that someone had started to make the attic into a small apartment. It was halfway through the transformation. Jenna could see how this would be useful for a housekeeper or a cook. All of the possessions had been stacked on the opposite side of the attic.

Harry let out a screech. “I love this!” It was a naked lady lamp. “Can I have it?”

“Sure. Put it by the door, and we will pick it up on the way out.” Jenna agreed.

The side of the attic with position was stacked to the ceiling, telling Jenna it must have been full. “I want the steamer trunk," Jenna said.

“Which one?” Harry asked.

Jenna pointed, and Harry said, “At least it's not the one with the dead body in it.”

“Are you joking?” Jenna asked.

“No, it looks like a child," Harry observed.

“Is this whole house going to be full of bodies?” Jenna asked.

“That's entirely possible.” Harry waved her hand, and a small body appeared by the door. “We'll take it down with us when we go.”

Jenna kept casting glances at the little body, and she shivered. “What about the dresser?”

“Never seen one like that before. Can I have it?” Harry asked.

It didn't look antique or wood. “Take it," Jenna said, and it was gone.

“What about the jewelry box?” Harry wondered.

It looked like a small child's jewelry box. The top featured a ballet dancer, and underneath, there were three drawers.

“Take it.” Jenna agreed, and it, too, was gone.

“What of the doll?” It was the ugliest doll Jenna had ever seen.

“Take it. But I want the other doll.” Jenna offered.

Harry's doll disappeared, and she was glad it was gone. It did not look like a nice doll, and she didn't want it where she might have to look at it.

“This is going well. What about the bed?”

“You can have the small one, but I need the king-size bed for this apartment.”

“Cool, I'll have everything I need to furnish my small spare bedroom," Harry explained.

If she put a child in it, Jenna feared for the child with all that scary stuff in it. They continued around the attic, Harry claiming a few items, but at least they found no more bodies. It looked like she would have enough to furnish the attic for a housekeeper or a cook.

“Everyone's a winner," Harry announced.

“Probably not once we hit the basement.”

“Do we have to?”

“We need to find the bodies, and they have to be somewhere. People can go through the woods and may or may not find something, but down here, you're the star,” Jenna announced.

“I like being the star, but I don't like creepy basements with bodies in it.”

“We don't have a choice. You're a witch warden, Harry, so you'll have to go look. At least I'll be with you.” Not that Jenna felt like going with her because she felt the basement would be the creepiest room in the house.

Sorted out a few more things so that Harry got a load of stuff, and she flashed anything she wanted away immediately, and it was gone. Now that Harry was done, they had put off going to the basement as long as possible. They headed down the stairs, and there would be four sets of stairs. By the time they got to the basement door, they were tired. That didn't matter because the work had to be done.

It looked like one of those old-fashioned heavy wood doors with exes across the top and bottom. Jenna had seen some like that in barns. The door was made to lock, but it was open, inviting them in—not that Jenna felt good about the invitation. She turned on the light switch and then opened the door. The scent was musty, but she couldn't smell dead bodies. That didn't mean they weren't there.

“You can lead the way, girlfriend.” Harry encouraged.

“Thanks a lot. These are some terrible steps, and they don't match the rest of the house.”

“I have a bad feeling that we're going to find something we're not going to like.”

“Since your bad feelings are usually correct, I already don't like it," Jenna admitted.

They slowly went down the stairs because they were not good ones. They creaked and moved as they headed down. These stairs needed to be fixed as soon as possible. Harry was holding back, which surprised Jenna.

“Hurry up. I don't want to get down there and be alone.” Jenna admitted.

“There is something bad hanging around down here. Maybe not bad, so much as unhappy. I think it may be a residual spirit that can't seem to leave but wants to.”

“Are you telling me ghosts are real, too?”

“They are. Don't you believe we have souls?” Harry asked.

“So that's what ghosts are?”

“Partly. I'm not good with ghosts, but I am getting better. What we are doing now may make me even better. I can sense several bodies or skeletons on the floors. That George was a busy beaver. My guess is that he left the floor dirt, and as he killed people, he turned sections into concrete. There are at least 12 bodies down here. What do you want to do with them?” Harry asked.

“If you can remove them, we must put them in the yard. I'm sure one of them is my mother, and one is Grant's mother. This was how he got rid of his old girlfriends. The guy was violent and evil.”

“All right, the bodies are in the yard, but you'll have some issues with the floor down here. You just can't remove things from underneath the concrete floor and not have it get unsettled. I'm not sure what you'll have to do, but maybe George has a construction company, and they can figure it out.”

“We'll worry about that next. Right now, you have a lot of other things to do. We'll need some wardens to check out the bodies and identify these ladies. We also need to figure out what to do with the live one we have upstairs and the little child. That's not to forget the small body that we found in the attic. So far, the things we've had to worry about are not what I expected. Maybe we should take a break and get something to eat. I'm sure it's lunchtime. You'll have to smell everything and ensure nothing is poisoned," Jenna explained.

“I don't mind as long as I get to eat. Flashing all those items has made me very hungry. I hope the food's good here.”

“I hope so, too, because I'm hungry. I bet everyone else is, too. Do you know where the others went?”

“I haven't a clue," Harry admitted.

“Let's go to the kitchen. Maybe they'll find us there.”

They headed to the kitchen and were the first to make it. Harry began to go through the food in the refrigerator and smell it. Jenna was sure they would think it was weird if somebody else entered the room. Or maybe they would know what was happening and think it was smart. Once Harry checked a few things out, Jenna began making sandwiches because that was the easiest thing to fix. There was lunch meat, but she also fixed a bunch of cans of tuna. Apparently, George or someone in the household liked tuna.

Jenna fixed a tray of sandwiches and chips and dug out some dessert. Harry got a large amount of it for herself because she needed it. After everyone joined them, the bodies in the yard were like a white elephant in the room. She didn't know if anyone knew they were out there, and she didn't feel like mentioning them until they were through eating. The small body in the attic was the same. As soon as they were through eating, she knew she would have to mention it. Part of the reason that they were here was to give justice to the dead. There's no doubt in her mind that her mother was one of the bodies and Grant’s mother was another one. The desire to give them a proper burial is strong.

“Now that we're done with eating, has anyone found anything we're looking for?” Damon asked.

Jenna looked over at Harry, who shook her head. Maybe that was because she was still eating. “There was a small body in the attic. I have no idea who it was. We went into the basement, and there were about a dozen bodies hidden under the concrete. Harry removed them, and they are now in the yard. We'll need to get them identified," Jenna explained.

“That's what we were looking for, and it's good that we found them. We talked to some of the others, and they said that the male bodies would be spread out in the woods. That will take longer, but at least now we know for sure that George was killing people and hiding the bodies.” Damon admitted.

“We'll have to get some volunteers to go through the woods looking for bones. If he used a woodchipper, those bones would be small ones," Tyne mentioned. “If someone paid Harry, she'd do the work?”

Everyone looked at Harry now, wondering if she would volunteer to do that. The job would be done with a good meal, a quick spell, and some hard cash.

“I think you guys are getting spoiled. You want to magic everything instead of doing some of the leg work," Harry giggled.

“It would save days of work, and you'd make some money. If something in the house interests you, you'd also get a great meal and maybe a few items," Damon cajoled.

“Did you guys see something I would like?”

“We saw birdcages and several animal cages, and I thought that if you removed the doors, they'd make a wonderful bed for Chaos. You don't need them all, but one in a backup would probably be a really good idea," Marissa pointed out.

“Is it a pretty cage?”

“The cage that looks like it was used for a bird has some kind of jewels on it. I think it is just up your alley. You'd have to look at it to be sure. There are other pet-related items in the room that you might be interested in.”

Jenna had heard that Harry's familiar, Chaos, hadn't felt well. Whenever Harry traveled, she left her pet with Ariel. Maybe Harry would take a few of the cages off her hands. That room was said to smell bad and be entirely packed with pet items. It was odd since she hadn't seen a sign of a pet. This whole situation was weird, and she would be glad when things were settled, and she could get down to a new normal.

“What do you say, Harry? Can we go outside and gather bones?” Damon asked.

“I'll do it, but I get my pick in the pet room, and I'll need to eat right after we do this because this is a big spell. You'll get all the bones, and some of them will be animal bones," Harry observed.

They headed outside, walking past the bodies, and it was a grizzly sight. Everything they had suspected about George had been true. He had not just been a cruel alpha, but he had been a killer alpha who killed anyone who stood in his way, and she suspected he killed anyone he felt for no reason at all. All of them were outside, standing near Harry because she would likely need some of their power. She took Jenna's hand and began to chant. When Jenna felt a little weak, she pulled her hand away, and someone else came and gave their hand to Harry. By the time Harry was through, most of them had loaned her some energy.

When the chanting stopped, the bones began to pile up. It seemed he had preferred killing males to females.

“Some of the bones will not pile because they were reduced to chips," Harry admitted.

“He probably ran them through the woodchipper. He was a truly evil guy and should have been taken out long ago. The problem was that it would have been impossible even a few years ago because he was being protected by some of the councilmen. At least we finally got him," Damon said with satisfaction.

Hopefully, his victims would rest better now, knowing that justice had been dealt to him. It was the best they could do because there was no way to bring the fallen back to life. By the time this investigation was done, there was no telling how many victims they would find. The power continued to grow, even though some were small, and it was hard to tell that they were bones unless you took a closer look.

A shiver ran down Jenna's back like someone had walked across her grave, as the saying was. Everything around here seemed ghoulish, and the bodies lining the sidewalk in front of the porch weren't helping. Harry would be tied up with bone recovery for some time, so Jenna needed to find someone who knew what was happening there. A slightly older lady stood by, watching and looking shocked.

“What's your name?” Jenna asked.

“I'm Dana.”

“What do you do here, Dana?”

“I am, or at least I was, the housekeeper. I won't take credit for several rooms I was not allowed in.”

“You can still be the housekeeper if you want to. Where do you live?” Jenna asked.

“I have a house nearby. No one in their right mind would want to live in the house with George.”

“I have to agree with you on that. We'll need the whole house cleaned from top to bottom, and we will have to go through whatever possessions are in there.”

“Okay, I don't blame you for that. Looking at all those bodies makes me feel dirty for having worked in the house all those years and not knowing they were there. The bone pile doesn't make me feel any better either.” Dana observed

“Do you know who the cook is?”

“Kathy does most of the cooking. Occasionally, someone will cook to gain favor with him. That won't happen anymore, and I think some of them wish they'd never done it to begin with.”

“This is a large house. Can you find a part-time assistant who can help? They may have to be full-time, to begin with, and then part-time after everything is taken in hand," Jenna suggested. “Is there anyone besides the lady who took off for unknown parts that do some of the accounting?”

“She had two assistants. One was Paul, and the other was Cindy. I think she had their phone numbers posted on the wall," Dana explained.

“Did George have a personal assistant?”

“He did, but I don't think you'll find her easy to work with. She'll be mad that he was killed. Jade thought she was in love with him and that he would eventually feel the same way. If I was you, I'd bring in someone else. There is a young lady who does accounting out of her house. She doesn't do the more elaborate stuff, just small businesses and individuals. She might be able to get you started, though. Her name is Betty, and she lives near here.”

There was so much to do, and Jenna wasn't sure where to start. She would contact several people and hope that some of them might show up tomorrow to get started. She made sure that Dana knew how to hire an assistant and that the work would begin the next day. Jenna texted Ariel so she wouldn't disturb her unnecessarily and told her what was going on and what she needed. The white wolf had always been a big help to her, and she was sure she would step in to help now.

Jenna took a deep breath and considered what should happen next. It was a surprise when she saw that Ariel had sent her a text message. She was sending her a personal assistant. Thank the goddess. Thank Ariel. There was so much to do, but she would do it one step at a time, most of which would start tomorrow. An office was needed because Grant would probably claim the large one. The problem was George did not have another office because he had not trusted anyone else to do things for him. His office had a spare desk, but that simply wouldn't work.

Everyone else seemed busy, and she would have felt better had she had a little help. Jenna decided to look in the kitchen and see if there was a small office there, even though the cook would probably use it. There wasn't. She didn't know what the cook used to organize the orders and menus. Now, she began to search the ground floor, looking for either an office or a room that would work well as an office. The first room she looked at was clearly a guest room, but it could work if necessary. Her next stop was the pet room, which might work once cleaned and cleaned. In its present condition, she could hardly stand in it because of the horrible odor.

She continued down the hall and found her room. It could be a bedroom, but it needed something to function as one. Since the furniture was already missing, maybe she could find a desk somewhere so that it would work as an office. The empty room was odd, but she would consider it a gift. Jenna opened the closet and found it packed full of boxes. When Harry finished her bone hunt, maybe she would help her go through the boxes?

Meanwhile, she thought a regular desk had been up in the attic. That was something else she would need help moving because the attic was three stories up, and a desk would be heavy. It seemed that something impeded her progress no matter what she tried to do. Jenna wondered what Grant and the others were doing and hoped they were getting more done than she was. Maybe getting something done today was just not meant to be. Harry had promised she would be there for a little while, maybe a week. A week with Harry could accomplish a great deal.

Jenna went outside to get some fresh air and walked around the house a little. It looked like a nice yard if you ignored the dead bodies lying around. There were some lovely plants, some that she had never seen anywhere before. It surprised her that George would like a nice yard like this. The porch was wrapped around the house, and there were places to sit and a porch swing on one end. It seemed that even an evil person could like some beauty around them.

She stepped around to the backyard and saw them. Two dogs were behind a fence, and they were also collared and chained. They looked like they had been mistreated regularly, and the result had been that they were angry and hated everything and everyone. Something would have to be done, but she didn't know what it might be, and she was smart enough to realize that if she approached them, she'd be taking a risk. Just because they were fenced and chained didn't mean they couldn't break free if they had a good enough reason to do so.

They were clearly underfed, and she might look like a juicy snack to them. There was no softness in their eyes as they looked at her, and they began to growl. Yup, it was time to get out of there and find somebody who knew more about this to deal with them. She slowly backed up until she was out of sight, then turned and ran to the house.

As soon as she found Tyne and Moe, she began to explain. “There are some guard dogs in the back, and they have been severely mistreated. I'm afraid they'll break free and start eating everyone in their way.”

Tyne and Moe immediately headed to the backyard. Jenna hoped they knew what they were dealing with because it was dangerous. It seemed that George was evil. Even the animals weren't safe with him. At least she had dealt with something, even if it was something that wasn't on her current list. Instead of getting smaller, the list just seemed to grow. The more she looked around, the more problems she found.

Harry came running in. “I got to have something to eat.”

Finally, a problem she could deal with. She went into the kitchen and began to clean out the fridge. When Harry was this hungry, getting her back where she needed to be would take a lot. As she fixed the food, she explained her problems to Harry. She slid a plate of food to Harry and then made more. Harry listened politely and occasionally added some information that she had.

“I don't see the problem, Jenna. You need to wait till tomorrow when I and others can help. We've been dealing with enough today; you don't need to do anymore. You might want to deal with your bedroom since you'll be sleeping here tonight," Harry pointed out.

Harry grabbed plates and pulled them closer to her. It was okay because they had a lot of food in the fridge, and Jenna wanted to clear it out and start fresh. She looked in the freezer and found pizza and other appetizers. She turned the oven on and got ready to start supper for whoever happened to be there. Tomorrow would be great. She'd have Harry to help so everything would go smoothly.

All the dead bodies had been removed, which made her feel better, and the bones had been bagged up and also sent on. They would all be identified and put to rest according to what their family and kind did. Jenna had taken the time to contact her grandma and tell her she wanted her and her daughter to come here. The evil would begin leaving the house since George was now dead. In time, she hoped everything hinting at George's evil would be gone. She'd asked Dana to clean out the room and put fresh sheets on the bed.

Dana mentioned there were new sheets that hadn't been used yet, and those were what she wanted. She'd also asked about the old sheets. Jenna told her to take it all because she would order new ones. Jenna wasn't sure what she would do with the old sheets, but she didn't care as long as they were gone. Harry had wiped out two plates, so Jenna returned to fixing more food for Harry.

“I know that you've worked hard, but you'll still have room for supper, won't you? I'll be fixing pizza, cheesy bread, and some appetizers.”

“It seems even bad guys can have good taste in food.” Harry approved. “By the time you prepare the food, I'll be hungry again. Will there be any dessert?”

“There will be coconut cream cake, German chocolate cake, and vanilla cake.”

“Woohoo! I love dessert. Is it the small square cakes that you can buy in the store? I love all of those.”

“That's exactly what it is. I like those too.” Jenna admitted. Harry was so easy to get along with, and you didn't have to wonder what she meant because she was always very clear about it.

They sat and talked about everything. Tomorrow, things would come together, and life would begin to fall into its new normal.

“What did they ever decide to do about the child upstairs and the woman who was a little bit crazy?” Jenna asked.

“Damon took them with him. The woman will be put into custody, and the child will have his blood tested to figure out who he is. If his parents were a member of this pack, then he would be in your custody. If someone is looking for him, he will be brought to them. I doubt that his parents are alive, but a grandparent, aunt, or even an uncle may have been searching for him. It's so sad when families are broken up like that.” Harry admitted.

“You've dealt with this before?”

“More than I've ever cared to. At least we managed to get many children back into their families.”