Colton looked up from Adelaide's side and he grimaced. He quickly crossed the room and kissed her on the cheek. "I am so sorry, my love, but Adelaide is like a second mother to me ..." he started.
Rheia went up on tip toe and kissed him. "It's okay, I understand. I got to meet Marius and see Byron again."
Colton shook Byron's hand and nodded to Marius. Byron turned to Aiden. "What happened out there son?"
The room quieted and all eyes turned to Aiden. He turned to his father. "The ferals attacked Adam to set a trap. They made sure the injury was severe enough that he couldn't be moved, but wouldn't kill him right away, so Rheia would have to go to the clinic. When we got there, the leader gave the order to attack and to find the slides." Aiden turned to Rheia. "Do you know what slides he was talking about? Because whatever they are, they were willing to fight and die, down to the last man."
Rheia stared, then remembered the small travel microscope case that lay forgotten at the bottom of her coat pocket. "Oh my gosh, yes. I have the slides I got from Adam the second day I was here, they're of the Mystery Man."
Colton shook his head. "Why would they attack now? Adam's had those slides for weeks, they could have taken them at any time from the clinic. The body, too, for that matter."
"What changed?" Meryn asked.
Rheia snorted. "The body went from being normal to a pile a goo."
"Then what?" Beth asked.
Rheia thought about it. "Then I collected a sample from the goo form, we opened the windows to air out the room, then Aiden and Adam called the council while we came back here."
Beth turned to Byron. "Did anyone else outside the council know that we had the body?"
Byron shook his head, then paled, realizing what that could possibly mean. "It's not possible. I refuse to believe that any council member would betray our people," he said, adamantly.
Meryn pursed her lips. "That may not be the case Dad. Adam's office phone could have been tapped."
Darian crossed his arms. "It makes sense. All of this started after Aiden and Adam made that phone call."
Meryn pulled out a legal pad and began to make notes. "So, chronologically. Elena and Brian are killed, Penny goes to live with Rheia, a year later ferals attack Rheia's house. Why?"
Rheia was about to answer then looked over to where her daughter sat. "Pumpkin Dumpling, why don't you go color on Uncle Aiden's wall for a bit, okay?" She knew they were about to discuss some pretty horrific things; her four year old daughter did not need to listen in.
Penny nodded and hopped off of Jaxon's lap, she grabbed her backpack and headed towards Aiden's office. When Rheia heard the door shut she turned back to the rest of the room. "Marco believes the reason why the ferals attacked was because of a news article written the week before. In it, the reporter links the murders of Penny's parents to more recent murders in the area and lists Penny as a survivor and possible witness. It also mentioned that Penny was adopted by a local surgeon."
"Bastard," Colton grumbled.
Rheia grinned at him. "I'm pretty sure my brothers paid him a visit."
Meryn took notes. "So after a year the ferals get intel that Penny survived and what? Could ID them? That doesn't sound right. Even if she could identify them, so what?"
"We're missing something," Gavriel said, leaning against the wall.
Meryn twisted the pen in her hand. "Let's keep moving. So, Penny and Rheia move here and then the clinic is ransacked and the gooey body is taken. After that, the ferals try to get to Rheia at the clinic but are subdued by Colton and Gamma. After that, ferals attack the Carmichael home, but according to Gerard and Mina, everyone was a target, not just Penny. Finally, Adam is attacked at the clinic as a trap to get to Rheia, because they believe she has these all important slides."
Beth reached up and took Gavriel's hand. "It's not over, is it? Even though you killed all the ferals at the clinic, it's not over yet?"
"This is pissing me off! I feel like I'm missing pieces to the puzzle." Meryn scribbled back and forth on her notes.
"I know how you feel. I told Radek the same thing earlier. It's like the pieces aren't fitting together right." Rheia crossed her arms frowning.
Adelaide sipped her tea then set the cup down on the saucer. "I may not know about reports or surgery, but I have raised four boys." Everyone turned to look at her. "I remember this once Adam and Aiden were assembling an intricate battle scene puzzle, but they couldn't make anything fit. They argued for hours; it was nerve wracking."
Aiden blushed. "That's a nice story, Mother; what was your point?"
Adelaide looked at Aiden then over to Adam and sighed. "I really thought I taught you better than that. Do you remember why you had such a hard time putting the puzzle together?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Adam glared at Ben. "It was because Ben dumped his puzzle in with ours in a rush to go out and play."
Meryn gasped. "Adelaide you're a genius."
Rheia chuckled. "Good one, Lady McKenzie."
The men all stared at each other with blank expressions.
Adelaide smiled at Rheia. "Please dear, call me Adelaide, I practically helped raise Colton, he's family."
Aiden leaned down next to Meryn. "What?" he whispered.
Meryn rolled her eyes. "We've all been assuming that everything is connected. That the that the ferals who went after Rheia and the ones who stole the body are connected, what if they aren't? What if the puzzle pieces aren't fitting together because there are two separate puzzles?"