Thunder Moon (Nightcreature 8)

“You will? No way.”

Since I wanted to ask about Ian’s disappearing wife, I didn’t have a problem calling the wise and furry doctor, but I wasn’t going to tell Claire that. I didn’t want her sympathy about another doomed affair, especially one she hadn’t even known I was having.

“I’m a professional.” I lifted my chin. “If she knows anything worth knowing, I’ll get back to you later.”

Claire didn’t argue further but she did stare at me suspiciously. I got out of there before she pulled out the thumbscrews.

Since I hadn’t been to the office all day, I stopped before I went home. Both Jordan’s and Cal’s shift had ended hours ago. Cal had left a note on my desk—or at least I thought he had. When I picked it up, I saw it was merely another Chuck Norris chuckle.

When Chuck Norris crosses the street, the cars better look both ways.

I set the sheet aside to give to Jordan tomorrow.

Several other messages lay beneath Cal’s, people who had called during the day but not been urgent enough to contact me about. I shuffled through them. All were from citizens, wanting to know why I was ordering autopsies and digging up corpses. I wasn’t going to tell them. I’d already met with the next of kin and shared what I could.

I tossed the messages into the trash. I was certain people would accost me on the street if given a chance, so I’d do my best not to give them one.

I snuck out the back door and slid into my brand-new squad car. At home I changed out of my uniform into jeans, a red tank top, and sandals. Then I headed upstairs to the third-floor office to call Elise.

Like Ian, I was drawn to that room. The view of the mountains from the window soothed me. I sat at the desk facing them as I dialed the super-secret phone number of the Jäger-Suchers.

“What now?” Elise asked without benefit of “hello.” The longer I knew her, the more like her grandfather she became.

Edward Mandenauer had founded the Jäger-Suchers over sixty years ago. From what

I’d seen of him in the short time he’d been in town, he wasn’t much on “hello” and “good-bye,” either. Edward liked to shoot first, ask if you were human later. It saved time.

“Caller ID is wrecking polite conversation as we know it,” I said.

“If I know who’s calling, why waste time making nicey-nice?”

See what I mean? Edward junior.

Well, two could play at this, and I didn’t want to chitchat with wolf girl any more than she wanted to chitchat with me.

“We’ve got a new kid in town, and I was wondering if you had any info on him in your handy-dandy ‘Big Brother is watching you pee’ database.”

“You’ll be glad we’ve got that database if he’s in there.”

I didn’t argue.

“Name?”

“Ian Walker.”

“What do you think he is?”

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be calling you.”

“Nothing here,” she said, and started to hang up.

“Wait!” I shouted. “I was actually more interested in his wife.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because she disappeared without a trace, which sounds suspiciously like your work.”

“Doesn’t it though? Except it wasn’t.”