The Lunatic Cafe(40)
"Maybe he couldn't tell you. You won't know until you ask him."
"I saw lycanthropes last night, Ronnie." I shook my head. "What I saw last night wasn't human. It wasn't even close."
"So he's not human. No one's perfect."
I looked at her then. She was smiling at me. I had to smile back. "I'll talk to him."
"Call him before we leave the mall and set up a dinner for today."
"You are so pushy," I said.
She shrugged. "I've learned from the best."
"Thanks," I said. "What have you learned from George Smitz?"
"Nothing new to add to the folder you showed me. Except he doesn't seem to know that his wife is one of eight missing shapeshifters. He thinks she's the only one. I got a picture of her. You need pictures of the others. First thing you need in a missing-person case is a picture. Without a picture you could pass them on the street and not know it."
"I'll ask Kaspar about pictures."
"Not Richard?"
"I'm sort of mad at him. I don't want to ask him for help."
"You're being petty."
"It's one of my best traits."
"I'll check out the usual channels for a missing person, but if they're all lycanthropes, I bet it isn't a missing person."
"You think they're dead?"
"Don't you?"
"Yeah."
"But what could take out eight shapeshifters without a trace?" she asked.
"That's got me worried, too." I touched her arm. "You wear your gun from now on."
She smiled. "I promise, Mommy."
I shook my head. "Shall we brave one more store? If I can get Josh's gift, I'll be halfway done."
"You'll have to buy Richard a present, you know."
"What?"
"You have to buy your steady a gift. It's traditional."
"Shit." I was halfway mad at him, but she was right. Fighting or not, I had to buy him something. What if he bought me something, and I didn't? I'd feel guilty. If I bought something and he didn't, then I could feel superior. Or angry. I was almost hoping he wouldn't buy me anything.
Was I looking for an excuse to dump Richard? Maybe. Of course, maybe after we talked he'd give me a good excuse on a silver, excuse me, golden platter. I was ready for a knock-down, drag-out fight. It did not bode well.
Chapter 15
My one o'clock appointment was with Elvira Drew. She sipped her coffee, elegant fingernails curled around the mug. Her nail polish was clear, making her fingertips glint like abalone shell; colorless until the light hit it. The rest of her was just as tasteful. Her dress was that interesting color that looked blue one minute and green the next. Blue-green they called it, but it wasn't accurate. The dress was almost green. For cloth to have that shimmer, almost a life of its own like fur, it had to be expensive. The dress was probably worth more than my entire wardrobe.
Her long yellow hair spilled down her back in an elegant line. It was the only thing that didn't match. That dress, the manicure, the dyed-to-match shoes, the nearly invisible makeup should have gone with a tasteful but complicated hairdo. I liked her better for the hair being free and nearly untouched.
When she raised her eyes to meet mine, I knew why she'd spent so much on the dress. Her eyes were the same startling blue-green. The combination was breathtaking.
I sat across from her, sipping my coffee, happy I'd dressed up. Most days she'd have made me feel like a country cousin. Today I could hold my own.
"What can I do for you today, Ms. Drew?"
She smiled, and the smile was all it should have been. She smiled like she knew the effect it had on most people. I was almost afraid to see her near a man. If she lit up this much for me, the thought of what she'd do around Jamison or Manny was kind of frightening.
"I'm a writer. I'm working on a book about shapeshifters."
My smile wilted around the edges. "Really. And what brings you to the offices of Animators, Inc.?"
Chapter being a different animal form. I give history, any well-known shapeshifters of that form from history, then a personal profile of a present-day shapeshifter."
My face was beginning to hurt, and I knew my smile was more a baring of teeth than anything else. "Sounds like an interesting book. Now, how can I help you?"
She blinked gorgeous eyes at me and looked puzzled. She was good at looking puzzled. I'd seen the intelligence in her eyes a moment ago. The dumb-blonde routine was an act. Would it have worked if I were a man? I hoped not.
"I'm missing one interview. I need to find a wererat. The interview can be strictly confidential." The dumb blonde was gone as quickly as it had come. She'd seen I wasn't buying it.
The interview can be -- not would -- be confidential. I sighed and gave up on the smile. "What made you think I could find you a wererat?"