Hidden Moon (Nightcreature 7)

I wanted to, but I didn't think I'd win. I also figured a lawsuit would only call more attention to the situation. I said as much to Catfish.

"Most likely, but that don't mean it wouldn't be fun. "

The tenor of the visits remained the same. Citizens expressed mild disapproval, then shrugged the whole incident off and went on to ask my advice or suggest an improvement or complain about the same thing they'd been complaining about since my dad was in office.

I guess after the Lewinsky scandal, a photo of the mayor's lover wasn't enough to make people tar and feather me. I couldn't wait to rub that in Balthazar's face.

Except he wasn't in.

"Rushed out right after the fella in the paper came in and shoved him around," said one of Balthazar's underlings, a slimy little man I'd noticed following me on several occasions.

"What fella in the paper?"

"You know what one. " He leered. I hadn't seen anyone leer in so long that at first I thought he might be having a stroke. "The Gypsy king. " He held up the paper and tapped Malachi's face. "This guy. "

"He was here?"

The man squinted at me. "You know, you don't seem all that bright for a mayor. "

I ground my teeth together and counted to ten. "What happened?"

"The Gypsy came in and told Balthazar he'd better mend his ways or else. Then Balthazar got in his face. "

Uh-oh.

"Gyp shoved him so hard I swear Balthazar flew into the wall. Then he left. "

"Balthazar?"

He rolled his eyes. "The Gypsy"

"And where's your boss now?"

"Not sure. He heard the sheriff was huntin' wolves - "

Who'd blabbed that info?

"So he ran over to the station. Called and said he was going to head out and see what he could see. "

If Balthazar screwed up Grace's hunt, I wouldn't have to worry about him bothering me anymore. We'd be finding parts of him all over the place.

"Tell Balthazar I want to see him. "

"He was within his rights to print that picture. " The man's pencil-thin lips curved into something that might have been a smile - on someone with lips. "Besides, everyone's seen it. Not a thing that can be done anyhow. "

"Whatever," I muttered.

Back at town hall, I skirted the side of the building until I reached the sheriff's department. Grace not only should be back with news about the wolf, or wolves, but she should also have called Atlanta about Josh.

I was right. She sat in her office, talking on the phone. Whispers and snickers rose as I wound through the desks of the others in the department.

"Save it for high school," I said.

"Doesn't look like you saved it," someone called.

Everyone laughed. Oh yeah, this was great.

Grace saw me through the glass and waved me in, motioning to a chair.