The Wolf Gift (The Wolf Gift Chronicles 1)

"Interesting," said Reuben. "Well, how does anyone know that this man is what he says he is?"

"Family resemblance, Reuben, positively uncanny. Arthur knew Felix Nideck, and he says this man is so like him that there can be no doubt."

"Interesting."

"Now, Reuben, I,ve met this man myself, met him this afternoon with Arthur, and he is quite a remarkable man, quite the raconteur, really. I,d say he was a southern gentleman if I didn,t know otherwise. He was born and educated in England but he doesn,t have the British accent, no, not at all, I was never able to place his accent, he does have one, but he is a striking individual, and a very gracious individual, too. And he assures me, Reuben, that he is not mounting any claim on Ms. Nideck,s estate, but that he only wants this meeting - to discuss his father,s effects."

"And Arthur Hammermill didn,t know this man existed?" asked Reuben.

"Arthur Hammermill is flabbergasted," said Simon. "You know how Baker, Hammermill has searched for Felix Nideck and for anyone who might have been connected with him in any way."

"How old is this man?"

"Oh, forty, forty-five. Let me see. Forty-five, born in 1966, London. Looks a good deal younger, actually. He has dual citizenship, apparently, British and American, lived all over the world."

"Forty-five. Hmmmm."

"Well, Reuben, I don,t see why that matters. What matters here, Reuben, is that there is no will acknowledging his existence, but of course if he were to take a DNA test and establish affinity, well, he might tie up the estate at considerable expense, but it is not at all certain he would be successful - ."

"He says he wants his father,s personal effects?"

"Some of them, Reuben, some of them. He hasn,t been too forthcoming. He wants a meeting with you. He seems quite well informed about the whole situation. He was in Paris when Marchent,s unfortunate death made the news."

"I see."

"Of course, he,s in a hurry. Everybody today is in a hurry. He,s at the Clift Hotel here and he is asking to meet with you as soon as you can come down. Seems he hasn,t very much time. He has to be somewhere. Well, I said I would do what I could."

Which means what, Reuben thought, that he means to lure me away from this house at a specific time, and for a specific time, so that he can enter it and clear out everything that belonged to Felix - and he was more than likely Felix. Oh, he was most certainly Felix, wasn,t he? Why doesn,t he just come here and make himself known?

"All right," Reuben said, "I,ll meet with him. I can meet with him tomorrow at one p.m. You know it,s a four-hour drive from here, Simon. I can call you to confirm before I get on the road."

"Oh, that,s no problem, he,s already indicated he,ll be available all day tomorrow. He,ll be pleased. He has to leave tomorrow night, it seems."

"But I insist on this, Simon. This is entirely confidential. I don,t want Phil or Grace to know about this meeting. You know Mom. If I don,t stop at the house while I,m down there - ."

"Reuben, I don,t discuss your intimate financial affairs with your mother unless you have given me your express permission to do so," said Simon.

This was not true at all.

"Reuben, your mother,s very concerned about you, you know, your moving up to Mendocino and all, and not answering your e-mails or your phone."

"Okay, one o,clock, your office," said Reuben.

"Well, not so fast. Not so fast. If I could see you for about an hour before - ."

"What for, Simon? You have me now on the phone."

"Well, Reuben, I have to warn you. For a potential heir to show up in a situation like this and not want some sort of monetary consideration, well, that is just not likely at all. During this meeting, I want you to rely upon me for guidance as to what you say and what you don,t say, and I strongly advise you not to answer any questions as to the value of the house, or the appraisals of the house, or about the furniture, or the value of the furniture, or the value of Felix Nideck,s possessions - ."

"I see. I understand all that, Simon. I,ll listen to the man and see what he has to say."

"That,s it exactly, Reuben. You listen. Don,t commit. Let him download, as the kids say today. Just listen. He has his mind set on not discussing the particulars with anyone but you, but you do not have to respond to anything that he says during this meeting."

"Got it. Tomorrow. One p.m."

"I think he,s putting on the charm with Arthur Hammermill. They,ve been spending their evenings together. They went to the opera last night to see Don Giovanni. Arthur says he,s the spitting image of his father. But I,ll tell you, in this day and age, until the man agrees to a DNA test, no paternity claim has a chance. And the man must know that. Of course he could change his mind at any minute."

But he won,t change his mind. He can,t.

"I,ll see you tomorrow, Simon. I,m sorry I was so late in returning your call."

"Oh, and by the way," said Simon. "That piece of yours on the Man Wolf that ran this morning in the Observer? That was quite good. Everybody here thought so. Quite good. And this young Mr. Nideck was quite impressed with it, too."

Oh, was he? Reuben said good-bye again and hung up the phone. He was powerfully excited. This was Felix. Felix had surfaced! Felix was here.

Laura was sitting on the rug in front of the fire. She had one of those books on werewolf literature, and she,d been making notes in a small journal.

He sat down beside her, cross-legged, and laid it all out before her.

"It,s Felix, of course." He stared up at the distinguished gentlemen of the picture over the fireplace. He couldn,t contain his excitement. Felix alive. Felix most certainly living and breathing, Felix with the keys to the mysteries surrounding him like smoke so thick he sometimes felt he couldn,t breathe. Felix who might want to destroy him, and Laura as well.

"Yes, I have the distinct feeling that you,re right. Listen to this." She picked up the journal she,d been keeping. "These are the names of the distinguished gentlemen," she said. That,s what they had begun to call them routinely. "Vandover, Wagner, Gorlagon, Thibault. Well, every single one of these names is connected with some werewolf story."

He was speechless.

"Let,s start with Frank Vandover. Well, there,s a very famous werewolf novel called Vandover and the Brute by a Frank Norris, published in 1914."

So it was true! He was too overwhelmed to respond.

She went on. "Take the next name, Reynolds Wagner. Well, there is an extremely famous story called ,Wagner, the Wehr-wolf,, by an author named G. W. M. Reynolds, first published in 1846."