Chapter 3: Reunion

After he made the call, it took about 30 minutes until cop cars and the local Forest Service Officer rolled up on the scene. Officers wearing the uniform of the Portland Police department started flooding the area, taping off areas with cautionary tape so that nothing but cops could get into the crime scene. There was even a hiker who was walking on the trail being escorted out due to the trail being blocked off.

Zane on the other hand was being questioned by an Asian cop by the name of Sergeant Wu. He looked at Zane with a deadpan expression as he took a look at his driver's license, more specifically the name that was on it.

"So let me get this straight, your name is Zane Burkhardt correct?" he questioned as he emphasized his last name as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Zane was confused as hell as this was the second time the officer in front of him was asking the question.

"Yes, I'm Zane Burkhardt, is there something wrong with my name?" he asked before picking up a scent that made his eyes narrow and flash yellow for a second before turning to their normal dark brown. Fortunately, the officer's eyes were still on his driver's license so he didn't see the odd scene with Zane's eyes.

"By chance, do you kno-"

"Sergeant Wu, the detectives are here!" Before Wu could finish his question, he was interrupted by the Forest Service Officer as he brought two guys who had an air of seriousness to them. One of them was a black male probably in his early thirties and the other one was white male who looked to be around his late 20's. Both of them came up to the police officer while Zane's eyes were focused on the white male, eyes wide to what he was seeing.

"Nick, Hank. Good to see you guys! This case is as strange as the one last month." Wu greeted the two detectives as Hank, the black detective raised an eyebrow.

"You mean the one at Munson Creek Falls, the one that was ruled out as a bobcat attack?" he questioned as Wu nodded.

"That very one, and this is the person who called 911." Wu said as he gestured toward Zane, who was still looking at the white cop strangely. "Do you know him, Nick?" Wu continued as he questioned Nick, who looked at Wu strangely at asking him if he knew a possible witness.

Nick then looked at Zane for a while before realization dawned upon him.

"What did you say his name was Wu?" he hesitantly asked as continued to stare holes into Zane, while he on the other hand flashed a familiar mischievous smirk.

"Come on Nick, I know it's been 10 years but it's kind of cruel to forget the face of your twin brother, isn't it?" he joked as he witnessed the shocked faces of everyone besides the Forest Service Officer who didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Zane…?" he questioned as he received a nod from the Wolfblood. Nick, still surprised at his brother he was seeing only after 10 years, forced down his emotions as he focused on the matter at hand.

"I'll deal with you later, for now, I want to see the body as well as the crime scene." He turned towards the Forest Officer who nodded before he led both detectives to the body. But before Nick left, he turned to Wu and asked something that surprised both Hank and the officer.

"Also Wu, I want you to do a background check on my brother and see where he has been and if he is in any way related to the crime. Also, detain him until I say otherwise" Nick said coldly as he followed the Service Officer to the body.

"Yes sir." Wu nodded before handcuffing Zane, who looked mildly annoyed as he glanced at his brother. Once Nick turned around, his annoyed expression quickly morphed into one of concern as he followed where his brother was going, more specifically, his scent.

"I guess it's too late now, he already has the smell of death on him." he muttered as he was escorted by the police officer into the car where surely he would be questioned once they got back to the precinct.

***

"Hey Nick, is everything good?" Hank asked worriedly as both he and Nick made their way off path and into the woods to where the body was found. Ever since they met his brother, Nick had a constant frown on his face, as if he was upset rather than happy to meet his brother.

Just this morning, they were celebrating Nick finally getting the nerve to propose to his long time girlfriend, and now that happy mood seemed to go down the drain with both this murder and the meeting of his brother.

"I'm fine Hank, just some personal issues I have to deal with." Nick replied off handedly as he trudged through the forest grounds. Hank could tell something was wrong with him, so with one last check to see if he was ok, he made his way down the forest path.

"Look man, if you need to talk about anything, we can go get a couple of beers sometime." he said before he joined Nick to inspect the body, or what was left of it. They both grimaced as they saw a heavy mutilated arm sitting at the base of a tree.

"The rest of her is further ahead." the Service officer gestured towards an area with heavy underbrush and fallen trees after seeing their reaction.

"Her?" Nick questioned before he got up and followed where the Service officer gestured. When he reached the sight he was met by a gruesome sight. Pieces of clothing and blood were splattered everywhere while the body was impossible to distinguish, which begged the question how they assumed 'her' gender.

"How do we know the victim was female, there is nothing here to assume that?" Nick turned towards the Service officer who moved a piece of bush and gestured to something inside it.

"Because of this." The service officer picked up a shoe which Hank immediately recognized looking at it's iconic shape and brand.

"It's a pair of women's Nike's, which definitely confirms it." Hank remarked, but Nick still wanted some concrete evidence.

"I still want an ID of the victim if it's possible, besides that, do you know what animal could have done this?" He asked the Service officer. The Service officer nodded before scratching his neck in confusion.

"Well, normally we could tell by the tracks, bear, cougar, wolf?" he explained but Hank wanted more information.

"Well, which one is it?" he questioned the officer.

"Well, that's where it gets interesting." he said before moving some shrubbery away and revealing a boot print. "This is the only track we found."

"Hey! We got a boot print down here, we're going to need a cast!" Seeing the boot print, Nick immediately called out to his fellow officers, which one of them answered with a yes. Nick then walked away in search of more evidence that could tell what happened to the victim

"DNA will tell us if this is your case or ours." Hank patted the Service Officer on the shoulder before following Nick into the forest clearing.

When Hank caught up to him, Nick discussed what they found at the crime scene and what their next course of action should be.

"Wu was right, this case seems oddly familiar to the bobcat attack at Munson Creek Falls." Nick said as he continued to walk up the trail, his eyes scanning the forest floor for anything that could reveal what happened to the victim.

Hank still remained skeptical as he mimicked Nick and scanned the forest floor for anything that Nick missed.

"But do you really believe that a bobcat could have done that? You saw the body…or what was left of it, it had to be at least the size of a bear to do that kind of damage." He replied before he saw Nick stop in his tracks, seemingly looking for something.

"Do you hear that?" Nick asked as he tried to look for the supposed source of the sound he was hearing.

"Hear what?" his partner replied, he too, trying to listen to what Nick was hearing.

"It sounds like music, follow me." Nick replied before he walked somewhere. Hank followed him to a shrub where he saw him with gloved hands digging through the bush, only to find a pink iPod playing music through the connected earphones.

"We'll submit this for prints, it may have belonged to the victim." Nick said before he put it in a plastic bag marked as 'Evidence'. After that, they continued searching the area for more evidence and after finding nothing but broken branches and scratch marks, they left the scene and headed back to the precinct.

***

In the precinct, Nick and Hank continued to examine the evidence they collected as well any recent missing person's reports. However, before they could collect any real data, they were interrupted by Sergeant Wu, who had a surprised expression on his face.

"You wouldn't believe what I found about your brother Nick, are you sure this guy is your brother?" Wu asked Nick, who now had a confused expression on his face.

"What do you mean, of course he's my brother. Don't tell me he has a record or something?" Nick replied, annoyed at the fact that his brother still continued to create problems even though he was currently waiting in the interrogation room.

"No, it's quite the opposite actually. We managed to find out that Zane Burkhardt is an Interpol agent, and has been for the past 5 years. Look, here are the files." Wu explained before handing a folder that had a stack of paper inside it.

"What?" Nick became even more confused before grabbing the folder, inspecting all the papers it contained. As he kept skimming each paper for information, his face shifted from confused to even more confused. Nick read both his current files and files that appeared to be at least 3 years old. When he finished, he remained dumbfounded as Hank also skimmed the folder, surprise being etched on his face.

"Look Nick, I don't know what beef you have with your brother, but make sure it remains separate from your work life. This can get out of hand real fast if not handled correctly." Wu cautioned, but before he could say more, he was interrupted by another voice, one that commanded authority and respect.

"And damn well it needs to be handled, I don't want Interpol to have a reason to admonish the Portland Police Department."

Behind Wu, a 6'4 white man in a suit came by and warned Nick, emanating an air of seriousness as he approached the sergeant and the two detectives.

"Captain!" All three of them saluted as the Captain of the Portland PD, Sean Renard walked in. He did not have an amused face on as he gazed at Nick with a hard look.

"I don't care what misunderstanding you and your brother have, but if you don't have a valid reason for detaining an Interpol agent, you will have to release him immediately. Is that clear?" Sean commanded as he eyed the three police officers. Both Hank and Wu agreed, but Nick seemed a little skeptical. Sean glared at Nick and repeated his words.

"Burkhardt?"

"Yes sir, I'll just do some questioning before I release him." Nick reluctantly said and Sean eased up on his state.

"Good. I want him out in the hour. Now, I want you to solve this case as soon as possible, I still have some work to do." He finally said before leaving back to his office.

Nick, Hank and Wu just stood there, thinking what their next move would be.

"I'll leave the investigation to you guys, I still need to examine some data taken from the crime scene." Wu excused himself as he left to his own desk on the other side of the room.

Hank looked at Nick and saw the confliction on his face. Intending to offer one last bit of advice, he nudged his shoulder and got his attention.

"Hey man, I don't know what happened between your brother and you, but don't you think it's gone long enough? Ten years right? This is your chance to make amends for what happened, don't waste it arguing and potentially ruining both your relationship and career. You go to the interrogation room while I look at more reports, I would rather not but in on a brotherly talk." Hank advised as Nick looked at him with a mixture of gratitude and amusement.

"Since when were you a therapist?" Nick joked while Hank laughed as he sat back down at his desk.

"Hey, when your first wife was a therapist, you tend to pick up on some things." Hank remarked. Nick laughed, releasing the recent tension he had with all that happened this morning.

"I'll be right back, make sure to inform me if you find anything." Nick said as he made his way to the interrogation room. However, as he made his way towards the room, he glanced at a petty thief some officer caught and watched his face morph into some lizard-like creature. When he rubbed his eyes, his face was back to normal, confusing the hell out of the detective.

'I really need to get my eyes checked, this is the second time today!' he thought as he paid the weird sight no mind as he opened the door to the interrogation room, finally questioning his brother where he had been for the past 10 years.