it.
These two are my bosses
, I reminded myself. I didn’t really have a choice here, and protesting would just make me look whiny and unprofessional.
Olivia wouldn’t have liked that
, I thought sourly. I looked over at Will. “Who is it?” I felt a fleeting hope that he had nominated Caroline.
But Will and Caroline both glanced over to Eli. Oh, no.
Shit, shit, shit
. My one-night stand—well, okay, three-night stand—could not be my apprentice. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” I said carefully, without looking at Eli. Nobody needed to know that we’d slept together. I was not about to turn this into a supernatural telenovela.
“Is there a problem with Eli that we should know about?” Will asked pleasantly.
“No—”
“Then I think he’s the perfect candidate. Obviously his schedule can be flexible.” Since, you know, Will is his boss.
“But will he be all right around dead bodies?” I asked, trying not to sound desperate. “He’ll be working by himself eventually, and I’m told the smell can be very distracting.”
“Eli used to be a paramedic,” Will replied easily. This was news to me, though I’d never really considered Eli’s life before he changed. “He says he’ll be fine.”
Was this Eli’s suggestion? Did Will already know about Eli and me? Maybe. Will didn’t miss much. But he might have just not cared, or maybe he was playing a deeper game here, trying to get me to actively participate in the search for nulls. Crafty Will. He looks like a church deacon, but I’ve long suspected he could be ruthless if he needed to. I was definitely going to have to get to the bottom of who had put Eli’s hat in the ring, but that could wait. For now I just had to suck it up.
“Sounds good,” I managed, and the mood in the courtyard relaxed just a little.
The meeting broke up, and everybody started to leave. I was about to head back to the van and Cruz, who I’d almost forgotten about, but I had an idea. I pulled Will aside—not that it mattered, because everyone on the property who was ten feet away could hear like a bat, with the exception of Cruz and me—and asked him if he had any pictures of the wolves in human form.
“Pictures?” he asked blankly, tilting his head to one side. “Maybe we do. Why do you ask?”
I told him about the bodies, the wolf in the clearing, and the cop. I didn’t mention that he was out in my van at the moment, because Will might feel obligated to inform Dashiell. “I never saw the guy properly, but I think Cruz did. If I could show him some pictures, we could figure out who it was, see if he saw or smelled anything there.”
I could see Will’s metaphorical hackles going up. “Are you suggesting that one of my wolves may be responsible for this?”
I shook my head. “No. Definitely not. Or at least, not this wolf. If one of the wolves did kill those people, he’d have no reason to leave and then come back to the scene. I honestly think that this wolf was just running in the park, smelled the bodies, and came to see what it was. I just want to ask if there’s anything else he noticed.”
“But you’re also pretty much asking to out this wolf to a police officer,” Will objected. “And me along with him.”
“Will, you didn’t see what happened. It was...It was awful. And a lot of things depend on finding out who did it.”
He sighed, relenting. “I think I have some pictures at the bar from the Fourth of July picnic. You can bring your cop by to look at them.”
“Can we do it tonight? Now?”
Will checked his watch and gave me a weary, indulgent smile. “Fine. I’ll meet you over there.”
I thanked him and tried to head out, but just as I closed the front door behind me, it opened again and Eli stepped out. It felt strange to have people keep popping in and out of my radius, but I’d grown used to it.
“What happened to you?” he asked bluntly. I knew what he meant.
I hugged my arms around me. The September heat
These two are my bosses
, I reminded myself. I didn’t really have a choice here, and protesting would just make me look whiny and unprofessional.
Olivia wouldn’t have liked that
, I thought sourly. I looked over at Will. “Who is it?” I felt a fleeting hope that he had nominated Caroline.
But Will and Caroline both glanced over to Eli. Oh, no.
Shit, shit, shit
. My one-night stand—well, okay, three-night stand—could not be my apprentice. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” I said carefully, without looking at Eli. Nobody needed to know that we’d slept together. I was not about to turn this into a supernatural telenovela.
“Is there a problem with Eli that we should know about?” Will asked pleasantly.
“No—”
“Then I think he’s the perfect candidate. Obviously his schedule can be flexible.” Since, you know, Will is his boss.
“But will he be all right around dead bodies?” I asked, trying not to sound desperate. “He’ll be working by himself eventually, and I’m told the smell can be very distracting.”
“Eli used to be a paramedic,” Will replied easily. This was news to me, though I’d never really considered Eli’s life before he changed. “He says he’ll be fine.”
Was this Eli’s suggestion? Did Will already know about Eli and me? Maybe. Will didn’t miss much. But he might have just not cared, or maybe he was playing a deeper game here, trying to get me to actively participate in the search for nulls. Crafty Will. He looks like a church deacon, but I’ve long suspected he could be ruthless if he needed to. I was definitely going to have to get to the bottom of who had put Eli’s hat in the ring, but that could wait. For now I just had to suck it up.
“Sounds good,” I managed, and the mood in the courtyard relaxed just a little.
The meeting broke up, and everybody started to leave. I was about to head back to the van and Cruz, who I’d almost forgotten about, but I had an idea. I pulled Will aside—not that it mattered, because everyone on the property who was ten feet away could hear like a bat, with the exception of Cruz and me—and asked him if he had any pictures of the wolves in human form.
“Pictures?” he asked blankly, tilting his head to one side. “Maybe we do. Why do you ask?”
I told him about the bodies, the wolf in the clearing, and the cop. I didn’t mention that he was out in my van at the moment, because Will might feel obligated to inform Dashiell. “I never saw the guy properly, but I think Cruz did. If I could show him some pictures, we could figure out who it was, see if he saw or smelled anything there.”
I could see Will’s metaphorical hackles going up. “Are you suggesting that one of my wolves may be responsible for this?”
I shook my head. “No. Definitely not. Or at least, not this wolf. If one of the wolves did kill those people, he’d have no reason to leave and then come back to the scene. I honestly think that this wolf was just running in the park, smelled the bodies, and came to see what it was. I just want to ask if there’s anything else he noticed.”
“But you’re also pretty much asking to out this wolf to a police officer,” Will objected. “And me along with him.”
“Will, you didn’t see what happened. It was...It was awful. And a lot of things depend on finding out who did it.”
He sighed, relenting. “I think I have some pictures at the bar from the Fourth of July picnic. You can bring your cop by to look at them.”
“Can we do it tonight? Now?”
Will checked his watch and gave me a weary, indulgent smile. “Fine. I’ll meet you over there.”
I thanked him and tried to head out, but just as I closed the front door behind me, it opened again and Eli stepped out. It felt strange to have people keep popping in and out of my radius, but I’d grown used to it.
“What happened to you?” he asked bluntly. I knew what he meant.
I hugged my arms around me. The September heat
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