"Bennett Detective Agency," Ru read from the bronze plaque by the hand-carved front door. "Business must be good."
Pressing the doorbell sounded eight muffled tones inside, an impressive door chime to go with the impressive house. After three tries with the doorbell, Atticus walked around the house, peering into the windows. The decor matched the outward appearance of the house—cherry-wood desks, silk drapes, chestnut burl paneling, granite countertops in the kitchen with stainless steel appliances, and a security system keeping all of the above safe.
"You've got to be kidding me," Atticus growled when he rejoined the other two. "This is a fucking mansion."
"I'm just getting an answering machine." Ru paused to wait for a tone and said, "Yes, this is Hikaru Takahashi; can you give me a call?"
Kyle sat on the porch step, Web surfing on his PDA. "Max Bennett's driver's license lists this address too. It says he's thirty-eight to Ukiah's twenty-one. Maybe he's Ukiah's father?"
Father or not, they'd last seen Ukiah with the Pack. There was no reason to think he wasn't still with them.
As Ru left his number on the answering machine, Atticus reached into that empty place he'd been avoiding. No whisper of his brother pressed against his senses.
He closed his eyes and focused. He should be able to feel the Dog Warriors protecting Ukiah.
"Atty?"
Atticus lifted his hand and pointed in the direction of a faint something."Let's head that direction."
***
Going in a straight line proved to be impossible. There were rivers, gorges, hills, valleys, and one-way streets to contend with. They climbed an impossibly steep hill with a street pretending to be two lanes, but it was actually just one lane with haphazard parking. Downtown Pittsburgh lay across the river and far below, providing a view that was stunning but, judging by the dogged appearance of the houses around them, too common to raise property values. The Jaguar drew stares; it was out of place in this blue-collar neighborhood.
The Pack presence led him to a house on the overlook, seemingly abandoned and boarded up. He followed local custom and parked by mostly blocking the right side of the street. The boards on the front door had been pried up and then pulled back into place, to give the appearance that the house was still unoccupied. The house had been built with its back to the street to take advantage of the view, so the front door actually opened to the kitchen. Someone had been renovating recently, and plaster dust scented the air and covered the floor. The vinyl flooring matched that of his adopted parents' playroom, a pattern of random terra-cotta-colored squares. The street-side windows were boarded shut, the kitchen and the hall were night dark, the living room off the hallway was a distant rectangle of light. No one came to greet him, so he stood in the darkness, reexperiencing the night of his adopted parents' death.
He'd never gotten completely over that loss. He braced himself and walked into the darkness.
The living room been remodeled and painted before the house had been closed up. The wall overlooking the city was mostly glass, drenching the room with sunlight. The floor had been swept clean, and a gypsy camp of futons, quilts, and bright-colored pillows had been set up. By the floor-to-ceiling window, wrapped in blankets and propped in a battered leather chaise lounge, Ukiah slept.
Relief punched through Atticus, making him breathe out a surprised laugh, which he instantly regretted. He didn't want to wake Ukiah. Quietly, he crouched beside the chaise to watch his brother sleep, hoarding this last perfect moment.
What juxtaposition: the mansion and this abandoned house. Atticus wasn't sure what he would have thought if he'd seen only this ruin without the manicured luxury of the mansion, but witnessing both, he realized that from the moment Kyle pulled up the FBI database on the Dog Warriors, he'd assumed the worst for his brother. He'd let suspicion poison every word between them. He recalled all that he'd said—what he now wished he could take back. Ukiah opened his eyes to peer at him in mild confusion. "Atticus?"
What should he say? Could he even breach the gap he'd created between them?
" Don't be stupid." Ukiah reached out to pull him into a hug. The sense of "this is right, this is good" resounded through his soul. " Between us, we don't need words."
Praise for Wen Spencer's Ukiah Oregon novels
Bitter Waters
"An engrossing, thrill-filled adventure, full of fascinating alien—and human—weirdness."
— Locus
"The series is worth the price."
— VOYA
"Wen Spencer's Ukiah Oregon stories owe more to the Detective genre than to Science Fiction, which is what makes them so compelling. Oh, sure, Ukiah is half alien, a hundred or so years old, once lived as an Indian, ran with wolves, and can't be killed short of incineration, but every PI has baggage. . . . The SF aspects of it are fun. . . . But take away the alien parts and you've still got a great action/detective story, which is why you should pick up Wen Spencer's trail wherever her literary muse takes her next."
— SF Revu
"The rocketing pace . . . had me glued to the pages."
—SF Site
"An exciting science fiction thriller that stars a vulnerable and powerful hero who is impossible not to cherish . . . a must read."
—BookBrowser
"[Spencer] has blended private investigation, science fiction, and fantasy into a rip-roaring tale. . . . More books like this would probably expand the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre's readership. . . . A book that keeps going from strength to strength, the action just won't stop, and it will appeal to fans of a wide spectrum of fiction."
—The Alien Online
"The continual character development adds another dimension to the story. . . . The tension builds nicely. . . . An exciting chapter to the continuing adventures of Ukiah Oregon."
—Rambles
"Ms. Spencer has a mighty fine imagination."
—Science Fiction Romance
Tainted Trail
"Spencer continues to amaze, cranking up both suspense and wonder."
—Julie E. Czerneda
"A fun read, definitely worth checking out."
— Locus
"Spencer's skillful characterizations, vividly drawn settings, and comic exploitation of Ukiah's deceptively youthful, highly buff looks make the romp high light entertainment."
— Booklist