“Britta.” Aidan’s voice was flat. “I have a key, as do Mark, Krys, Hannah, and Britta. Cage got one tonight. That’s it.” He jumped off the spool and started pacing. “My instincts about people are usually good, and I would’ve sworn she was with us.”
“She’s history.” Mirren pushed off the wall. “And don’t defend her, A. There’s no one else it could be.”
“Yeah, there is.” Nik had returned from communing with the spirits, but the man looked like the spirits had beaten the hell out of him. His nose was even bleeding.
“I’m gonna call Krys—I don’t like the looks of that.” Aidan dug out his cell phone.
“She’s not the only doctor in town.” Robin looked at Cage. “Don’t psychiatrists have to go to medical school?”
Cage was already getting to his feet. “It’s been a right long while, but we’ve already treated the nosebleed once today. I’d suggest you not use those skills of yours for a bit.”
“Tell me about it.” Nik held the hem of his sweater up to his nose with one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose with the other.
“What could you tell?” Mirren returned to his spot against the wall, hoping like hell Zorba had learned something helpful and not more confusing.
“I couldn’t get anything from the flyer—sorry.” He tossed it back on the mat with the other copies. “Just Glory, pulling it down. A few faces looking at it with enough agony for me to know they didn’t put the damned thing up.”
“So what did you mean about Britta not being the only one who could’ve done it?”
Nik sat on one of the mats and lay on his back, his voice muffled and strained through the pinched nose and sweater. “Just that unless you’ve looked at all the access points—doors, windows, attic—there’s no way to be sure someone came in with a key. Also, we have two unaccounted-for shifters in Penton.”
Aidan had been pacing while Nik talked, but he stopped so fast his own momentum almost toppled him over. “Two? Not just the jaguar?”
“Robin can tell you.”
Cage had found a first-aid kit in the corner and handed Nik a portable bag of dry ice, which Nik applied to his nose while Robin talked. Mirren had to admit, the Ranger and the shifter—this shifter, anyway—were proving useful. They’d be more useful if Robin weren’t a pain in the ass—but then, from what Mirren knew of eagles, they weren’t exactly possessed of warm, fuzzy personalities, either.
“So we have a coyote shifter who walks right into the house where Hannah’s hanging out with Barnabas, sets a fire, and nobody sees him.” Mirren shook his head. “How is that possible? How can two shifters be here without us knowing?”
“Easy.” Robin sat on the mat next to Nik, pulled the ice pack from his nose, and leaned over to look. “It’s stopped bleeding and you’re getting frostbite. What I mean is, these woods around here are full of animals, so how hard would it be for this guy to shift, fill a bottle with accelerant, then slip in as a coyote? He shifts back, sets the fire, then shifts again to leave. He’d use up a lot of energy and be weak afterward from shifting that many times, but it’s doable.”
“Or.” Cage took Aidan’s former seat atop the wooden spool. “They’re both among our remaining humans. I think we need to isolate and question all of them.”
“Then even more of them will leave.” Aidan resumed his pacing. “But we keep watch on them, all of them. And this doesn’t let Britta off the hook. I want to go through the comm-house and find out if there’s any sign of forced entry. Nik, you up to helping with that?”
Zorba had sat up and climbed to his feet. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“Okay, we’re going back to the house.” Mark stood up and tried to stretch his back. “Britta’s supposed to drop by before midnight to feed. What’s the plan with her?”
Mirren would like to plan her death, and if they found out she’d planted those drugs, nothing Aidan could say would change his mind. “Don’t mention the drugs. See if she asks any questions. Call me when she leaves. I want to know every word she says.”
“She’ll know he hasn’t taken any from feeding.” Melissa followed Mark toward the door. “It’s how I knew he was clean.”
Mirren exchanged a raised eyebrow with Aidan as the door closed behind them. Guess they were back together. Another sliver of good news among the bad. True love will win out, and all that shit.
“Nik and Robin—find a schedule you can live with, especially for the next week.” Aidan filled them in on the Tribunal’s upcoming vote as he gathered his own stuff to leave. “When I take Meg’s seat, I’ll be in a position to really pull together allies without sneaking around behind Frank Greisser’s back. But in the meantime, I need you on day duty and also available part of the evening to meet with us. Mark tries to sleep about midnight until sunrise, and I suggest you make yourself get in that habit.”