“Steve Ferryman might have someone who can provide you with some insights,” Vlad said.
<Ferryman?> Simon asked, using the terra indigene form of communication.
<A female showed up at Ferryman’s Landing, driving a car that was loaded with all her possessions, including a dog. She’s worked at several houses that took care of troubled girls. After being fired, again, because she isn’t afraid to share her opinions with anyone, she packed up and started driving. She told Ferryman she had a feeling this was the place she’d been looking for, the place where she could really help.>
<A feeling? She’s an Intuit?>
<He thinks she is, but he’s not sure she knows what she is. He still wants to take her over to the island and see how she responds to the girls. He wants your approval. So does Ming.>
A few weeks ago, a man named Phineas Jones had tried to reach Great Island to find girls who might be cassandra sangue. He had been an enemy. The Controller was dead, and so was Phineas Jones, but other men running compounds could have sent other humans to find the girls.
<She doesn’t stay on the island, and she’s never alone with the girls,> Simon said.
<Ferryman said the same thing.>
Simon realized the humans had been watching this silent exchange, knowing something was being discussed. “If the woman who came to Ferryman’s Landing is acceptable to us, then you can talk to her.”
He didn’t think Lorenzo liked having decisions made for him, but an Intuit who hadn’t lived in one of their communities might understand outside better than individuals who had been accepted for their abilities their whole lives. And that was the person Lorenzo should see.
The lattice door between A Little Bite and Howling Good Reads opened. Tess gave no sign of noticing the cloth Simon had used to cover the lattice. Her wildly curling hair had streaks of brown, green, red, and black, as if she didn’t quite know how she felt.
Since he suspected her hair had been the death color an hour ago, Simon took all the other colors as a good sign that the rest of the Courtyard most likely would survive.
“When you’re done talking with each other, there’s something I want the four of you to see,” Tess said, looking at Vlad, Montgomery, Burke, and finally Simon. Then she retreated into the coffee shop.
“I’ll go over to the Liaison’s Office now, if that’s all right with you,” Lorenzo said. He looked at Montgomery. “If I finish up there before your daughter returns from visiting the ponies, you can find me in the medical office.”
Montgomery nodded.
“That takes care of the doctor,” Simon said. “Now what do you two want?”
Burke turned to Vlad. “We would appreciate a little more information from your kinsmen in Toland.”
“Ah.” Vlad looked at Monty. “We’ve heard nothing more about the death of your former mate.”
“I’m wondering if they’ve heard anything about stolen jewels or jewelry,” Burke said.
“Wouldn’t the Toland police have heard about such things? Why can’t they tell you?”
“The Toland police captain I talked to doesn’t like me, so I doubt he’ll tell me anything,” Burke replied. “Unlike the police captain, I don’t think the Sanguinati have any interest in the jewels that were found in Boo Bear. That makes them an unbiased source of information.”
Simon studied Burke. The police captain thought the Others would be more honest than his own kind? What did the Sanguinati think about the police in Toland?