"Can't find any missing-person case that has your name associated with it," Dolph said.
"You had Zerbrowski check me out?"
Dolph just looked at me. His eyes had gone all cool and distant-cop eyes.
"Except for Dominga Salvador," Zerbrowski said.
"Anita said she didn't know what happened to Mrs. Salvador," Dolph said. He was still giving me his hard look. It was a hell of a lot better than Officer Kirlin's.
I fought the urge to squirm. Dominga Salvador was dead. I knew that because I'd seen it happen. I'd pulled the trigger, metaphorically speaking. Dolph suspected I had something to do with her disappearance but he couldn't prove it, and she had been a very evil woman. If she'd been convicted of everything she was suspected of doing, it would have been an automatic death penalty. The law doesn't like witches much better than it likes vampires. I'd used a zombie to kill her. It was enough to earn me my own trip to the electric chair.
My beeper sounded. Saved by the bell. I checked the number. I didn't recognize the number, but no need sharing that. "An emergency, I've got to find a phone." I walked off before Dolph could say anything else. Seemed safer that way.
They let me use the phone at the nurses' station. Kind of them. Richard picked up the phone on the first ring. "Anita?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I'm at school. Louie never showed up for his morning classes." He lowered his voice until I had to plug one ear just to hear him. "Tonight is full moon. He wouldn't miss classes. It raises suspicions."
"Why call me?"
He said he was going to meet your writer friend, Elvira something."
"Elvira Drew?" As I said her name, I could picture her face. Her green-blue eyes the color of ocean water. Shit.
"I think so."
"When was he supposed to meet her?"
"This morning."
"Did he make the meeting?"
"I don't know. I'm at work. I haven't been by his place yet."
"You're afraid something happened to him, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"I didn't set up the meeting. I'll call work and find out who did. Will you be at this number?"
"I've got to get back to class. But I'll check back with you as soon as I can."
"Okay. I'll call you as soon as I know anything."
"I've got to go," he said.
"Wait, I think I know what happened to the missing shapeshifters."
"What!"
"This is an ongoing police investigation. I can't talk about it, but if I could tell the police about the missing shapeshifters, we might find Louie and Jason faster."
"Marcus said not to tell?"
"Yeah."
He was quiet for a minute. "Tell them. I'll take the responsibility."
"Great. I'll get back with you." I hung up. It wasn't until I heard the dial tone that I realized I hadn't said, I love you. Oh, well.
I dialed work. Mary answered. I didn't wait for her to get through her greeting. "Put me through to Bert."
"Are you all right?"
"Just do it."
She didn't argue. Good woman. "Anita, this better be important. I've got a client with me."
"Did you speak with someone about finding a wererat today?"
"As a matter of fact, I did."
My stomach hurt. "When and where was the appointment set up?"
"This morning, about six. Mr. Fane wanted to get it in before he had to go to work."
"Where?"
"Her house."
"Give me the address."
"What's wrong?"
"I think Elvira Drew may have set him up to be killed."
"You are kidding me, right?"
"Address, Bert."
He gave it to me.
"I may not be in for work tonight."
"Anita. ."
"Save it, Bert. If he gets killed, we set him up."
"Fine, fine. Do what you have to."
I hung up. It was a first, Bert giving in. If I hadn't known that visions of lawsuits were dancing in his head, I'd have been more impressed.
I went back to our little group. No one was talking to anyone. "There have been seven shapeshifters taken in this area."
"What are you talking about?" Dolph asked.
I shook my head. "Just listen." I told him everything about the disappearances. Ending with, "Two more shifters have gone missing. I think whoever skinned the naga thought he was a lycanthrope. It is possible by magic to take a shifter's skin and use it to shapeshift yourself. You get all of the advantages, greater strength, speed, etc. . and you are not tied to the moon."
"Why didn't it work with the naga?" Zerbrowski asked.
"He's immortal. The shifter has to die at the end of the spell."
"We know why. Now, where the hell are they?" Dolph asked.
"I've got an address," I said.
"How?"
"I'll explain on the way. The spell doesn't work until dark, but we can't take the chance they'll keep them alive. They have to be worried that the naga healed enough to talk."
"After seeing him last night, I wouldn't be," Zerbrowski said.
"You're not a witch," I said.
We left. I would have liked Edward at my back. If we did find renegade witches and a few shapeshifters on the night of the full moon, Edward at my back was not a bad idea. But I couldn't figure out how to manage it. Dolph and Zerbrowski were no slouches, but they were cops. They aren't allowed to shoot people without giving them every opportunity to give up. Elvira Drew had skinned a naga. I wasn't sure I wanted to give her an opportunity. I wasn't sure we'd survive it.
36
Elvira Drew's house was a narrow two-story set off from the road by a thick line of bushes and trees. You couldn't even see the yard before you turned into the driveway. Woods stretched out all around the small yard, as if someone had put the house here and forgotten to tell anybody.
A patrol car followed us down the gravel driveway. Dolph parked behind a vivid green Grand Am. The car matched her eyes.
There was a For Rent sign in the yard. Another lay beside it, waiting to be stuck in the ground. It would probably go out by the road.
Two clothes bags hung inside the car. The backseat was packed with boxes. A quick getaway was in the offing.
"If she's a murderer, why'd she give you her actual address?" Zerbrowski asked.
"We check out clients. They have to have a place of residence or some way of proving who they are. We demand more ID than most banks."
"Why?"
"Because every once in a while we get a crazy. Or a tabloid reporter. We have to know who we're dealing with. I bet she tried to pay cash with no ID and when asked for three forms of it, she wasn't prepared."
Dolph led the way to the door. We followed behind like good soldiers. Officer Kirlin was one of the uniforms. Her partner was an older guy with greying hair and a round little belly. I bet it didn't shake like a bowlful of jelly. He had a sour expression on his face that said he'd seen it all and didn't like any of it.
Dolph knocked on the door. Silence. He knocked harder. The door trembled. Elvira opened the door. She was wearing a brilliant green robe, tied at the waist. Her makeup was still perfect. The polish on her fingernails matched the robe. Her long blond hair was combed straight back, held from her face with a scarf that was just a touch bluer green than the robe. Her eyes blazed with the color.
Dolph muttered, "Eyes like the ocean."