Ronnie was staring into a jewelry case at Krigle's, and I was staring at her eyes. They were grey. The same color that Gabriel's eyes had been last night, but there was something different. Her eyes were human. Even in human form Gabriel's eyes weren't human.
"What's wrong?"
I shook my head. "Thinking about last night."
"How do you feel about loverboy after last night?" The jewelry store was three deep in people. We'd forced our way to the case, but I knew I wasn't buying anything here, so I sort of stood beside Ronnie, scanning the crowd. All the faces looked hostile, but it was nothing personal. They were Christmas shopping with two weeks to the big day. Ho, ho, ho.
The store was a mass of shoving, jostling people. I was getting claustrophobic. "Are you going to buy something?"
Ronnie looked up at me. "You never answered my question."
"Get me out of this mess and maybe I will."
She stood up and motioned me forward. I cleared us a path to the open mall. I'm small and was dressed too pretty to be intimidating, but people cleared a path. Maybe they saw the gun. When we were in the main open space, I took a deep breath. It was crowded but nothing like the stores. At least here, people weren't actually brushing against me. If they did it out here, I could yell at them.
"You want to sit down?" There were miraculously two seats open on a bench. Ronnie had made the offer because I was dressed for work, which meant heels. In her comfy jogging shoes she didn't need to sit. My feet didn't hurt yet. Maybe I was getting used to wearing heels. Eeek.
I shook my head. "Let's hit the Nature Company. Maybe I'll find Josh something there."
"How old is he now, thirteen?" Ronnie asked.
"Fifteen," I said. "My baby brother was my height last year. He'll be gigantic this year. Judith says he's outgrowing his jeans faster than she can buy them."
"A hint to buy him jeans?" Ronnie said.
"If it is, I'm ignoring it. I'm buying Josh something fun, not clothes."
"A lot of teenagers would rather have clothes," Ronnie said.
"Not Josh, not yet anyway. He seems to have taken after me."
"What are you going to do about Richard?" she asked me.
"You're not going to let it go, are you?"
"Not a chance."
"I don't know what I'm going do. After what I saw last night. After what Jean-Claude told me. I just don't know."
"You know that Jean-Claude did it deliberately," she said. "To try and drive a wedge between you."
"I know, and it worked. I feel like I don't know Richard. Like I've been kissing a stranger."
"Don't let fang-face break you up."
I smiled at that. Jean-Claude would love being referred to as fang-face. "I won't."
She punched my shoulder softly. "I don't believe you."
"It won't be Jean-Claude that breaks us up, Ronnie. If Richard's been lying to me for months. ." I didn't finish the sentence. I didn't have to.
We were outside the Nature Company. It was crawling with people like a jar of lightning bugs abuzz with activity, but not half as bright.
"What exactly has Richard lied about?"
"He didn't tell me about this battle he's got going with Marcus."
"And you tell him everything," she said.
"Well, no."
"He hasn't lied to you, Anita. He just didn't tell you. Let him explain. Maybe he's got a good reason."
I turned and looked full at her. Her face was all soft with concern. It made me look away. "He's been in danger for months, and didn't tell me. I needed to know."
"Maybe he couldn't tell you. You won't know until you ask him."
"I saw lycanthropes last night, Ronnie." I shook my head. "What I saw last night wasn't human. It wasn't even close."
"So he's not human. No one's perfect."
I looked at her then. She was smiling at me. I had to smile back. "I'll talk to him."
"Call him before we leave the mall and set up a dinner for today."
"You are so pushy," I said.
She shrugged. "I've learned from the best."
"Thanks," I said. "What have you learned from George Smitz?"
"Nothing new to add to the folder you showed me. Except he doesn't seem to know that his wife is one of eight missing shapeshifters. He thinks she's the only one. I got a picture of her. You need pictures of the others. First thing you need in a missing-person case is a picture. Without a picture you could pass them on the street and not know it."
"I'll ask Kaspar about pictures."
"Not Richard?"
"I'm sort of mad at him. I don't want to ask him for help."
"You're being petty."
"It's one of my best traits."
"I'll check out the usual channels for a missing person, but if they're all lycanthropes, I bet it isn't a missing person."
"You think they're dead?"
"Don't you?"
"Yeah."
"But what could take out eight shapeshifters without a trace?" she asked.
"That's got me worried, too." I touched her arm. "You wear your gun from now on."
She smiled. "I promise, Mommy."
I shook my head. "Shall we brave one more store? If I can get Josh's gift, I'll be halfway done."
"You'll have to buy Richard a present, you know."
"What?"
"You have to buy your steady a gift. It's traditional."
"Shit." I was halfway mad at him, but she was right. Fighting or not, I had to buy him something. What if he bought me something, and I didn't? I'd feel guilty. If I bought something and he didn't, then I could feel superior. Or angry. I was almost hoping he wouldn't buy me anything.
Was I looking for an excuse to dump Richard? Maybe. Of course, maybe after we talked he'd give me a good excuse on a silver, excuse me, golden platter. I was ready for a knock-down, drag-out fight. It did not bode well.
15
My one o'clock appointment was with Elvira Drew. She sipped her coffee, elegant fingernails curled around the mug. Her nail polish was clear, making her fingertips glint like abalone shell; colorless until the light hit it. The rest of her was just as tasteful. Her dress was that interesting color that looked blue one minute and green the next. Blue-green they called it, but it wasn't accurate. The dress was almost green. For cloth to have that shimmer, almost a life of its own like fur, it had to be expensive. The dress was probably worth more than my entire wardrobe.
Her long yellow hair spilled down her back in an elegant line. It was the only thing that didn't match. That dress, the manicure, the dyed-to-match shoes, the nearly invisible makeup should have gone with a tasteful but complicated hairdo. I liked her better for the hair being free and nearly untouched.
When she raised her eyes to meet mine, I knew why she'd spent so much on the dress. Her eyes were the same startling blue-green. The combination was breathtaking.
I sat across from her, sipping my coffee, happy I'd dressed up. Most days she'd have made me feel like a country cousin. Today I could hold my own.
"What can I do for you today, Ms. Drew?"