Leopard's Baby

Tammy arrived in the Aspen area four days after she’d left Megan’s apartment. She could’ve driven the twelve hundred miles in less time, but she didn’t cover that much distance on the first and fourth days of her trip. She hadn’t left Megan until mid-afternoon, and wanted to arrive early enough to reconnoiter Jennifer’s place while it was still light. It was just after noon, local time, when she reached her destination.

The fewer people who saw her on her travels the better. She had to stop for gas along the way, always paying in cash, but other than that she avoided being seen. She wore her baseball cap pulled down low to partially obscure her features. On each of the three nights of the trip she found an isolated spot to pull off the road far enough so her car was hidden. She locked her belongings in the trunk, went into the woods, and changed. As she’d done while heading for Chicago, she fed herself by hunting as a leopard. Game was plentiful.

The further west she went, the more common cougars were, so leaving cat-spoor was not a problem. The only close call occurred on her third night. While eating a deer, the leopard heard people approaching. Fortunately there was a thick copse of trees nearby. She darted into it and changed.

Tammy took shallow breaths while recovering from the change. She watched as two hunters found the leopard’s kill. They appeared to argue about whether or not they should pursue the cat who’d made the kill. The argument got heated, but eventually they decided not to. A wise decision on their part, she’d thought. Even if it was a cougar, it would be hard to find at night. If they did find it, they might not like the consequences. The men took the remainder of the deer with them.

Tammy had the address of the place Jennifer had taken Brendan. She went to an internet café, where she had lunch, her first cooked meal in a while, and used Google Earth to view Jennifer’s compound. It was surrounded by a wall. Inside the wall was a large mansion two stories high. Each second floor room contained a balcony. Near the mansion was what looked like a barracks, one story high. Evidently that was where the security detail was housed.

After lunch Tammy drove past the compound. The wall was about ten feet high and had glass shards embedded in concrete on top. In front there was a gate with iron bars. She got a glimpse of dogs patrolling the grounds along with armed men.

Ski season had not yet started, so Tammy was able to get a room in a low-class bed-and-breakfast, paying not much more than double what she figured it was worth. She paid for two weeks using cash. The proprietors, an elderly couple, were so happy about getting the money, they didn’t ask questions and took only a fleeting glance at her “Judy Felson” driver’s license. Now that she’d arrived, Tammy was not overly concerned if Jennifer discovered she’d been in the area after the fact. Once she had her son back, it would be obvious. Still, there was no reason to take any more chances than necessary.

In the late afternoon Tammy called Tyler’s secure burner phone. It would be just after dinner back east.

“You got me just in time,” Tyler said. “I was about to take the squirt out for her first ‘leopard lesson’ away from the house.”

“I thought Mom was going to take care of that. Besides, isn’t it a school night?”

“Mom’s busy. We don’t know how this will play out. She doesn’t want to involve Tiff, but we have to be ready for any contingency. Hence I got drafted. She has to finish her homework before we can go.”

“It’s Tammy isn’t it?” Tammy heard Tiffany yell in the background. “I want to talk to her. Gimme the phone!”

“Let me finish with her first, Tiff,” Tyler said. Tammy could hear the sounds of a scuffle. “Ouch!” Tyler yelled. “That hurt!”

“Tiffany Sandar!” Olivia shouted. Tammy grinned. It seemed almost as if she’d never been away. Her mother continued, saying, “Calm down! She wouldn’t have called Tyler unless it was important. When he’s done, you can talk.”

“Sorry about that,” Tyler said. “You know how she gets when she wants something and can’t have it.”

“Yeah, I do. It’s still nice to hear her voice. Yours too. And Mom’s.”

“You wouldn’t be calling unless you’re ready to make a move and need our help. What’s the story?”

“I need you,” Tammy said and hesitated. She described her location. “I have a plan. For it to work, at least work best, Candi would be useful.”

“Is there a plan B?” Tyler asked. “I know she’d be willing, but she doesn’t have our… capabilities.”

“I could revise plan A,” Tammy offered. She hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.

“Hang on a second,” Tyler said. Tammy heard muffled sounds in the background. Obviously Tyler had placed his hand over the mouthpiece. After almost two minutes Tyler came back on the line. “I’ve been outvoted. Candi is coming. When do you want us there?”

“As soon as possible. Ski season hasn’t started yet, so you should be able to get reservations as tourists. Text me as soon you know when you’ll be here. I’ll explain the plan after you arrive.”

***

Tiffany was so excited she could barely eat her dinner. Her mother had finally agreed to let Tyler take her on a “leopard lesson” jaunt. Originally Olivia had said she wanted to train Tiffany herself, but the situation was moving along at a rapid pace, and she had another task she couldn’t put off.

“Hurry up, Tyler,” Tiffany said. She banged her hand down on the table causing the silverware to jump. “Mom said we could leave as soon as I finished my homework, and I’m done. It’s time to go!”

“I haven’t had dessert yet,” Tyler said. He grinned and ducked when Tiffany threw a wadded up napkin at him. Then everyone froze as a buzzing sound came from Tyler’s pocket. He took out a burner phone and started to talk. It was immediately clear he was speaking with Tammy.

Tiffany tried to take the phone from her brother and was admonished by her mother. She bounced up and down on her toes waiting for her him to finish. She got impatient when there was an argument about whether or not Candi should go with Tyler, but had enough restraint to keep from intervening. Finally Tyler handed her the phone.

“Tammy!” Tiffany exclaimed. “Oh my God, it’s really you! I changed for the first time about two weeks ago. Of course you know that. For the first week Mom only let me change once a day, but for the last few days I’ve been doing it three or four times a day. I was scared at first, but now it’s fun. Tyler’s taking me out tonight to do it in the woods.”

Tiffany babbled on for several minutes, speaking rapidly, and not letting Tammy get a word in edgewise. At last she ran out of steam. She and Tammy conversed for about another five minutes before, somewhat reluctantly, she gave up the phone to her mother. Then she grabbed her brother by the hand and led him out of the house.

As they drove to a state park about an hour away, Tyler lectured Tiffany about cats. “All cats are quick and stealthy. Besides that, it’s important to remember each type has their own additional strengths and weaknesses. For cheetahs it’s speed. Lions use brute strength and the fact they hunt in groups. Leopards are pound for pound just about the strongest members of the cat family and the best climbers. But they’re not that fast. Our preternatural were-leopard strength makes us stronger than ordinary leopards.”

“I know all that stuff,” Tiffany claimed and rolled her eyes. “I want to be ready to help Tammy, not kill deer or whatever. If I get into a fight it’ll be against people, and I’m stronger than they are now. As a leopard I’ll be even stronger.”

“To take full advantage of your leopard capabilities you have to learn to be a leopard,” Tyler countered. “In leopard form your instincts will be different from when you’re human. You have to understand the difference. You won’t have the same mental acuity.”

They argued until they arrived at a camp site. It was dark and most people were leaving, although they saw a few cars still in the parking area. They hiked about five miles into the forest. Tiffany was instructed to find, kill, and eat a prey animal. They stored their clothes and changed. The two leopards walked carefully, staying undercover. The female saw a deer and attempted to sneak up on it. It bolted. Frustrated, she changed, as did the male.

“I was being stealthy,” Tiffany said after she got her breath back. “Why did it run?”

“You were upwind from it,” Tyler said. “It smelled you. You’re not taking advantage of one of your best assets. I mentioned it to you before. No cat can climb a tree as well as a leopard. Get downwind, climb a tree and wait for it to come to you. Let’s take some time for you to recover and we’ll try again.”

Tiffany’s second attempt was more successful, but not perfect. She was able to land on a deer, but after a brief struggle it got away from her. Tyler’s leopard finished it off and both leopards ate. Then they changed.

“I thought eating raw meat would be gross,” Tiffany said as she wiped the blood off her face. “My leopard really liked it though. I did what you said. I’m stronger than it was. How did it get away?”

“It was desperate,” Tyler explained. “It was fighting for its life and you weren’t. Also, we probably made a mistake eating dinner first. You weren’t really hungry. You were trying to use your teeth and claws on any part of its body you could get to. Plan to grasp it by the throat. If you can do that, it won’t last long. Let’s call it a night.”

Tiffany argued briefly, more for form’s sake than because she wanted to continue. She had to admit to herself she was tired. They walked back to where they’d left their clothes.

“You still have school tomorrow,” Tyler pointed out. “Mom will take you out again this weekend. In the wild, female leopards teach their young how to hunt. It takes a while. You haven’t really learned yet. You’ll get there.”

***

The tavern was simply called Pete’s. Olivia and Jenny Fong entered and waited for their eyes to adjust to the dim light. Fong was a diminutive Asian woman. She was also a witch. As unlikely as it seemed for someone so small, Fong had been a Secret Service agent, where she worked with Olivia. Like Olivia, she’d retired from the service and had moved on to another job. While with the service, Fong’s primary task had been to detect witches, vampires, or any other “specials” who might be a threat to the President. Among her witch talents was the capability to cast spells which could put her target into a near trance and, to some extent, lower his or her inhibitions.

The two women advanced to the bar and took seats on either side of Cal Ricci. Ricci was one of the two men FBI agent Craig Sanders had named as expert forgers used by Manny Sebaro. I hope he’s the one, Olivia thought. The other didn’t pan out.

“Hi Cal,” Olivia said. “Nice to see you again.”

Ricci turned to her with his brow furrowed and his eyebrows raised. “Do I know you? You don’t look familiar. Where’ve we met before?”

With Ricci concentrating on Olivia, Fong made motions with her hands in a pattern difficult for an observer to follow, while at the same time muttering softly in a strange dialect. Ricci slumped in his seat. He would’ve fallen off his barstool had Olivia not put her arm around him.

“What’ll you have ladies?” the bartender asked. Then after Ricci’s near tumble he added, “Everything okay? Want me to call 9-1-1?”

“We’re good,” Olivia said. She pushed the money sitting in front of Ricci toward the bartender. “Our friend isn’t feeling well. He had a few earlier. We’re going to take him home. Here. You keep the change.”

Ricci and Fong got into the backseat of Olivia’s car while she drove to Ricci’s apartment. Fong’s spell was keeping him docile at the moment, but they knew it would wear off soon. They took the elevator to the fourth floor. Using the key she’d taken from his pocket, Olivia opened the door. They led Ricci to a chair in his kitchen and secured him in it. While they waited for him to recover, Fong watched him, and Olivia searched the apartment. Ricci started to come out of the trance just as Olivia returned to the kitchen.

“How you doing Jenny?” Olivia asked. “Can you put him back under your thrall?”

“I think so,” Fong replied. She wiped sweat from her forehead. “He won’t be out as long the second time around, and it won’t be as deep. A third spell is out of the questions. Find anything useful.”

“Oh, yeah,” Olivia said with a fiendish grin. “I need his inhibitions lowered while I ask him questions, but he should be alert.”

Ricci woke with a start and began shouting. “Who the fuck are you? Why do you have me tied up in my own kitchen? I don’t keep much money around. If you’re planning to rob me, you’ve gone to a lot of trouble for not much reward. I have friends who can do serious damage to your bodies. Untie me and get out now, and I won’t tell them about you.”

Olivia took a paring knife out of a kitchen drawer, pulled a chair over, and sat so her arms brushed against Ricci’s. She began cleaning her fingernails with the knife only inches from Ricci’s eyes. He stared at it as if mesmerized.

“We’re not here to rob you, Cal,” Olivia said. She touched the knife to his cheek. He recoiled. “We need information. If you lie my friend will know and you won’t like the consequences. Jenny?”

Once again Fong made hand motions and spoke unintelligible words. Ricci’s breathing slowed. His eyes glazed over and his head turned slowly from one woman to the other.

“Is one of the ‘friends’ you mentioned Manny Sebaro?” Olivia asked.

“How do you know him?” Ricci asked in a dull monotone. He shook his head as if trying to clear it. “Why does my head feel so fuzzy?”

“I know a lot. But I need to know more. I know you do work for Sebaro. What specifically?”

“I, I, c-can’t tell you. If I talk about his business, whatever you plan to do to me, he’ll do much worse.”

“I don’t plan to do anything to you, Cal,” Olivia said. She took out a sheaf of papers she’d found hidden in a drawer of his desk. “You went to a lot of trouble to hide these, Cal. You’ve been making payments to the Grendan School. I’ve heard of it. It’s an exclusive, private girls school, isn’t it? There are several pictures of a young girl. She resembles you a little. Fortunately for her not too much. I’m guessing she’s your daughter. What is she? Thirteen? Fourteen? I have a daughter about that age myself. I know how precious they are to their parents. Do you think Sebaro would like to know about her?”

“NO! NO!” Ricci shouted as he tried to escape from his bounds. “You can’t tell him about her! He doesn’t care about anybody but himself. If I ever did anything to piss him off, he’d have his men do… stuff to her.”

“You mean like rape her, or get her hooked on H, or turn her out?”

“Yes, yes, any of those things. Or all of them.” Ricci started to cry. “She lives with her mother. We split right after she was born. Her stepfather adopted her. She doesn’t even know I exist. She’s happy! Why do you want to ruin her life? What if someone did those things to your kid?”

“I have a few questions for you, Cal,” Olivia said. She held up her phone. “I’m going to record your answers and play them for certain people. Be truthful and Sebaro won’t learn about your daughter. Not from me anyway. Lie, and by the way as I said earlier, Jenny will know if you do, and, well… it might be a different story.”

“I can pay you to just go away. I have money. I swear I won’t welsh on the deal.”

“I don’t want your money Cal. I want answers.”

“Manny will kill me!”

“Only if he finds out you told me. He won’t from me. Or find out about… the other thing.”

“What do you want to know?” Ricci asked as he sagged back in his chair.

Olivia started the recording and said, “About two years ago you forged a prenuptial agreement for Tamara Sandar concerning her impending marriage to Brendan Roberts,” Olivia said, hoping that was the truth. “Give me all the details. Who approached you, how you did it, how much you were paid, whatever. Everything relevant. Lie or leave anything out and Jenny will know. Which means I will also. Got it?”

Ricci began reciting. A few times Olivia prompted him with questions, but mostly that was unnecessary. He kept talking even after Fong’s spell wore off. When he finally finished, Olivia released him from his bounds. She and Fong left, making sure he knew she had taken pictures of the papers about his daughter.

“You know his statement won’t stand up in court,” Fong said as they got into Olivia’s car. “It was obtained under duress. That’s how the courts will see it, anyway.”

“I know,” Olivia said with a sigh. “At least I know how they did it. I’ll work on how to use the information.”