Vision in Silver(26)

            “I’ll set up an appointment with the property agent, and Eve and I will see you tomorrow.”

            Monty wondered if Simon was waiting for Pete to leave before telling them about the other thing that had brought a Wolf to a police station. There were aspects of the Courtyard the Others didn’t share lightly. On the other hand, if Pete was going to do some house hunting for them, he was bound to meet the Courtyard’s carefully guarded and special employee.

            Simon studied Pete for a moment, then turned to Burke. “Have the police been told to search for girls left on the side of the road?”

            “Any particular kind of girl?” Burke asked quietly.

            “Girls with silver razors. Girls who are gestating.” Simon growled. “Roadkill.”

            Burke’s eyes looked like blue ice. “Here in Lakeside?”

            Simon shook his head. “Beyond Lakeside and Great Island.”

            “How . . . accurate . . . is your information?”

            “We sent out a warning to all the terra indigene in Thaisia because of what we were told. They’re already searching. You’re the last pack to hear the warning.”

            “We’ll get the word out. Lieutenant?”

            Monty looked at Simon and motioned toward the door. “I’ll walk you out.”

            “My scent here is fresh. I can find the door to outside.” Simon cocked his head. “This walking. It’s like a female in a story saying she’s going to powder her nose when she’s really going to pee?”

            Pete choked.

            “Something like that,” Monty said in a strangled voice. He walked out of Burke’s office. Simon followed him.

            Monty waited until they were outside. “Is Ms. Corbyn all right? That’s how you know the information is accurate, because she made a cut?”

            “Meg is fine—but she doesn’t know about the girls yet.” Simon shifted his weight from one foot to the other, a small sign of anxiety in someone who was usually bold and direct. “Humans paid a lot of money for prophecies. That makes the cassandra sangue valuable to the humans who run the compounds. Why would they leave girls on the side of the road?”

            “The girls could have left on their own. Meg did.”

            “Meg escaped. These girls can tell police, can tell us they want to leave. They didn’t have to run away and be alone.” Simon’s eyes were full of sadness and acceptance in equal parts. “We won’t find some of them until they’re dead.”

            “The police will be out there searching too, and we’ll save as many as we can.” Monty waited a beat. “Anything else?”

            “Nothing that can’t wait.” Simon walked away.

            While Monty watched Simon and Blair drive off, Louis Gresh, commander of the bomb squad, approached.

            “You look like you’ve just found a ticking briefcase,” Louis said.

            “Close enough. But thank the gods, the bomb isn’t in Lakeside this time.”

            “Anything I can do to help?”

            “Plenty.” Together, they went back inside to help Burke send the warning to police stations throughout Thaisia.





CHAPTER 7




Thaisday, Maius 10


He looks sad, Meg thought as Simon walked into the sorting room and stopped when he realized Merri Lee and Ruth were with her. He looks angry and sad.

            She rushed toward him. “What happened?” When he didn’t answer, she looked at her friends, then back at him. “Simon? What happened?”