Vlad slipped out of the back room. She heard him pick up the phone and say, “Come to the Liaison’s Office.” Pause. “Fuck waiting for someone to watch the cash register. Get over here now.”
Meg blinked at him when he returned to the back room. “You swore at Merri Lee?”
“How did you know I was talking to Merri Lee?” he asked.
“She told me she was working the checkout counter at HGR this morning, so it had to be her, and you said . . . something bad.”
Vlad rocked back on his heels. “It seemed appropriate. Should I apologize?”
“At any other time, you would have yelled at her for leaving the cash register unattended, so, yes, you should apologize.” Meg wasn’t sure if a human employer would have apologized, but if she’d been yelled at unfairly, she would want an apology.
Vlad sighed.
Merri Lee arrived at a run. So did Tess, whose brown hair had green and red streaks and was starting to curl. The rumbling voice in the front of the office announced Henry’s arrival.
“What’s wrong?” Tess demanded.
“Something to do with flowers,” Simon replied. “But we don’t know why they’re causing trouble.”
Determined to find an answer, Meg headed for the front room with Merri Lee on her heels and the three terra indigene close behind. But she stopped before she reached the Private doorway and wrapped her arms around her herself, wanting to claw and claw until she could reach the buzzing.
Meg backed away from the door. Merri Lee slipped past her and stepped up to the front counter.
“Nathan says it doesn’t smell like anything but flowers and a little bit like the human who carried it in and someone else,” Simon said.
“Probably the deliveryman and the florist.” Merri Lee studied the flowers. “Nice arrangement of seasonal flowers. I don’t see anything here that looks strange or dangerous, although I suppose most flowers could be dangerous if someone tried to eat them.”
“Where’s Skippy?” Meg asked.
Nathan and Simon sighed, but it was a valid question. Skippy was willing to eat anything that looked or smelled vaguely edible—and other things as well.
Merri Lee turned the vase. “There’s no card.”
“That’s unusual?” Tess asked.
Merri Lee nodded.
Meg rubbed her arms, edged close enough to the doorway to see what was happening, and looked at Merri Lee. “The deliveryman said they were for Theral.”
“You both smell afraid,” Simon said. “Why?”
Merri Lee hesitated. “You know why Theral is living in Lakeside with her cousin’s family, and why Officer MacDonald escorts her to work and home again?”
Simon nodded. “Montgomery said she ran away from a mate who hurt her.”
“His name is Jack Fillmore. He could have sent the flowers just to confirm where to find her.”
“The deliveryman called Nathan a dog,” Meg said. “And he was annoyed that the office was busy.”
“What did he look like?” Merri Lee asked, then held up her hand. “Wait. I’ll call Michael and ask him to have a quiet word with Lawrence. Maybe the MacDonalds have a picture of Jack Fillmore. The rest of the family might have tossed out the photos, but I’ll bet Lawrence kept one in case the police need it.”