"What do you mean?"
"He left a message on my answering machine. Said he had big news concerning you. When I saw him in person, he said it was nothing. What happened?"
I didn't know what to say. Not a new event lately. "I think it has to be Richard's news."
"He said something about it being your choice and he couldn't talk about it. You say it's his business and you can't talk about it. I wish one of you would talk to me."
I opened my mouth, closed it, and sighed. I had questions that I needed answers to, but Louie was Richard's friend before he was mine. Loyalty and all that. But who the hell else could I ask? Irving? He was in enough trouble with Richard.
"I've heard Richard and Rafael talk about controlling their beasts. Does that mean the change?"
He nodded. "Yes." He looked at me, eyes narrowing. "If you've heard Richard talk about his beast, you must have seen him close to changing. What happened last night?"
"If Richard didn't tell you, Louie, I don't think I can."
"The grapevine says you killed Alfred. Is that true?"
"Yes."
He looked at me as if waiting for more, then shrugged. "Raina won't like that."
"Marcus didn't seem too pleased, either."
"But he won't jump you in a dark alley. She will."
"Why didn't Richard tell me that?"
"Richard is one of the best friends I have. He's loyal, honest, caring, sort of the world's furriest boy scout. If he has a flaw, it's that he expects other people to be loyal, honest, and caring."
"Surely after what he's seen from Marcus and Raina, he doesn't still think they're nice people?"
"He knows they aren't nice, but he has trouble seeing them as evil. When all is said and done, Anita, Marcus is his alpha male. Richard respects authority. He's been trying to work out some sort of compromise with Marcus for months. He doesn't want to kill him. Marcus doesn't have the same qualms about Richard."
"Irving told me Richard defeated Marcus, could have killed him, and didn't. Is that true?"
" 'Fraid so."
"Shit."
"Yeah, I told Richard he should have done it, but he's never killed anyone. He believes all life is precious."
"All life is precious," I said.
"Some life is just more precious than others," Louie said.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"Did Richard change for you last night?"
"God, you are relentless."
"You said it was one of my better qualities."
"It is normally." It was like being picked at by Ronnie. She never gave up, either.
"Did he change for you?"
"Sort of," I said.
"And you couldn't handle it." It was a flat statement.
"I'm not sure, Louie. I'm just not sure."
"Better to find out now," he said.
"I guess so."
"Do you love him?"
"None of your damn business."
"I love Richard like a brother. If you're going to slice his heart up and serve it on a platter, I'd like to know now. If you leave, I'll be the one helping him pick up the pieces."
"I don't want to hurt Richard," I said.
"I believe you." He just looked at me. There was a great peacefulness to his expression, as if he could wait all night for me to answer the question. Louie had more patience than I would ever have.
"Yes, I love him. Happy?"
"Do you love him enough to embrace his furry side?" His eyes were staring at me as if they'd burn a hole through my heart.
"I don't know. If he were human... Shit."
"If he were human, you'd marry him maybe?" He was kind enough to make it a question.
"Maybe," I said. But it wasn't a maybe. If Richard had been human, I'd be a very happily engaged woman right now. Of course, there was another male that wasn't human that had been trying to get me to date him for a while. Jean-Claude had said that Richard wasn't any more human than he was. I hadn't believed him. I was beginning to. It looked like I owed Jean-Claude an apology. Not that I would ever admit it to him.
"A writer came to my office yesterday, Elvira Drew. She's doing a book on shapeshifters. It sounds legit and could be good press." I explained the format of the book.
"Sounds good, actually," he said. "Where do I come in?"
"Guess."
"She's missing a wererat interview."
"Bingo."
"I can't afford to be exposed, Anita. You know that."
"It doesn't have to be you. Is there anyone among you that would be willing to meet with her?"
"I'll ask around," he said.
"Thanks, Louie." I stood.
He stood and offered me his hand. His grip was firm but not too strong, just right. I wondered how fast he really was, and how easy it would be for him to crush my hand into pulp. It must have shown on my face, because he said, "You might want to stop dating Richard. Until you get this sorted out."
I nodded. "Yeah, maybe."
We stood there in silence for a moment. There didn't seem to be anything left to say, so I left. I was all out of clever repartee, or even a good joke. It was barely dark, and I was tired. Tired enough to go home and crawl into bed and hide. Instead, I was on my way to the Lunatic Cafe. I was going to try and convince Marcus to let me talk to the police. Eight missing, one dead human. It didn't have to be connected. But if it was a werewolf, then Marcus would know who did the killing, or Raina would know. Would they tell me? Maybe, maybe not, but I had to ask. They'd come closer to telling me the truth than they would to the police. Funny how all the monsters talked to me and not to the police. You had to begin to wonder why the monsters were so damn comfortable around me.
I raised zombies and slew vampires. Who was I to throw stones?