Hidden Moon (Nightcreature 7)

How the hell was I going to explain silver bullets and exploding wolves to. . . everyone?

"Isn't there a way to cure him?" I asked.

"Not that I'm aware of. " Doc fixed both Grace and me with a somber gaze. "I don't think you're seeing the entire picture. "

"I think we're seeing it fine," Grace said. "Our missing tourist is a werewolf. "

"He might be. " Doc pressed his lips together as if he didn't want to impart any more bad news, but why stop now? "He probably is. But there's one question you haven't asked yet. "

Grace lifted her brows. "What's that?"

"Who bit him?"

Chapter 29

"Crap," I muttered.

"Shit," Grace said more succinctly.

"Exactly," the doctor agreed.

"Wait a second. " Grace held up one finger. "Who said anything about biting?"

"Yeah," I agreed, seeing her point. "If the rune's magic, isn't it razzle-dazzle he's a werewolf?"

"Didn't work that way in Germany. Biting was needed. And I didn't see any runes back then. Not that I hung around to search. "

"That doesn't mean the rune can't be the cause of the change here. "

"True, but then why bother to bite your tourist at all?"

He had a point.

Doc held out his hand. "May I see that rune?"

I checked my right pocket, then my left. My eyes widened. "It's gone. "

"That's evidence," Grace said. "I wouldn't have let you keep it if I'd known you were going to lose it. "

"Really, and here I was thinking you'd definitely handed it to me so I could do just that. "

Grace scowled at my sarcasm, but I didn't care. I couldn't believe I'd misplaced evidence. I was queen of the idiots. Where was that dunce cap?

"I had it. . . " I thought back. "At the Gypsy camp. I showed it to the ticket taker and. . . "

Malachi. The big burly bouncer. Hell.

"A few others," I finished.

"Did you leave it there?"

"No. I'm sure of it. "

"They steal, you know. " We both looked at Doc. "Gypsies. They can't help it. "

I sighed. Not him, too.

Grace's lips tightened. "Someone might have taken the rune at the lake. Someone might also have taken it at your house. "