I swallowed heavily and said, "And the second?"
"My mom was dying and had no one to look after her."
"What about your dad?"
"He died several years before. Heart attack."
Which was damn unusual for a wolf. He couldn't have been very fit.
He made a sharp sweeping movement with his hand. "Did you find anything else here?"
Meaning, obviously, that that line of questioning was over. "No."
"And I'm gathering you've left no fingerprints behind?" He didn't wait for my answer, simply added, "We've been ordered to preserve the scene, not investigate. The murder boys are due in tomorrow."
If his expression was anything to go by, he was hoping Landsbury's partner would make his appearance sooner rather than later. Which meant he'd been watching the house, even if I hadn't seen him.
"They're going to be less than happy about the print dust everywhere."
And it was odd that Homicide was taking over. Usually they worked with the local detectives, not above them. But maybe it was simply a case of the local boys being seen as not having the expertise - despite Harris's time in Sydney.
"That happened before we were ordered away." He shrugged, but there was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. Harris wasn't about to give up his case for anyone, and that was something I could totally understand. And respect.
"What about the coroner's report? Was there anything interesting in the toxicology report?"
"Yeah. A drug known as DH208. Apparently it's a military-only drug that's designed to almost instantly freeze the central nervous system of humans and nonhumans alike." His gaze met mine again. "You were right."
"Which doesn't mean I applied the stuff."
He smiled. "I wasn't actually thinking that."
"So you no longer think I murdered him?"
"I never did. But it's a cop's job to be suspicious of everyone and everything. Especially when coincidences keep pointing a particular way."
"Which just goes to prove you can't trust coincidences."
"I don't. But here you are, the biggest of them all." He tilted his head a little, studying me through slightly narrowed eyes. "Why is that, do you think?"
"What? Why am I here, or why are these murders happening while I'm here?"
"Both."
"I think the murder thing is simply bad timing, but I guess whoever is behind the mess surrounding me wasn't to know that I was investigating the very same crime or that it would actually happen here. As to the other ... to be honest, I don't know. Evin said we'd only be here for a week. After that, he wasn't sure."
"If he was a part of the scheme, wouldn't he be aware of whatever plans there are?"
"Only if he's a willing participant. I have a feeling he's not." I hesitated. "Which reminds me - I have another favor to ask."
He simply raised his eyebrows, so I continued.
"As you've already mentioned, Evin goes to the pub to make a phone call every night. I caught part of the number last night - the first four digits are 0356. Is there any chance of getting a printout of the calls made on that phone and tracking down the full number?"
"You don't want a lot, do you?" He frowned and rubbed a hand across his stubbly chin. "I know someone who might be able to do it on the sly."
I frowned. "Why not request it officially?"
"What reason would I give? If there is a bigger plot behind your memory loss and sudden appearance here, don't you think they'd have set up checks? A request for information on that particular phone might just send an alert to the very people you're trying to uncover."