Fair Game

‘The Marrok’s bogeyman?’ asked Isaac with a snort. ‘No.’ He paused a moment. ‘Especially if they’ve ever seen him fight. Hally told me that he wouldn’t be able to see that fae – just know when he was around. But Charles fought like he could, like he knew exactly where it was. And I’ve never seen anyone – not werewolf, not vampire, not anyone – move that fast.’

‘His gift,’ A

‘So where are we going?’ A diner would be perfect – just a little worn down, with cracked Naugahyde seats and scuffed-up, bad-imitation wood-grain Formica tables, where coffee was served to everyone in white cups and all of the meals were cooked in unhealthy grease: a cop’s hangout, the clich? of every cop film or novel.

‘When Goldstein called me, I offered to host the party at The Irish Wolfhound,’ Isaac told her. ‘The pub owned by our pack. There’s a big room for parties.’

A

Isaac laughed.‘The food’s better at the Wolfhound, and we’re less likely to have uninvited guests.’ Amusement died from his face, and the smile he gave A

‘It seems like a lot of celebrating, when we didn’t catch the killers,’ A

Isaac nodded.‘It’s like when I was in high school. My junior year our football team just had this

synergy. The year before, the year after, they were good. But that year, they not only had the players; they had theteam. No one even scored against them until the last game of the season. The other team scored a field goal in the fourth quarter– and the stands erupted. You’d have thought they won the game instead of losing by thirty-odd points. What theyhad done was what no one else had managed to do.’

‘I see,’ A

Isaac’s white teeth flashed. ‘We didn’t win this one,’ he said. ‘But we didn’t lose, either.’

‘You weren’t on that football team, were you?’ There had been something in his voice and the way he referred to his high school team as ‘they.’

‘Nope. I was the little geek the football team halfback liked to shove into gym lockers for fun when the team captain wasn’t around to keep him in line. Sometimes, when I’m feeling particularly mean, I’d love to meet Jody Weaver again and have him try to shove me in a locker now.’

A

paused, because she didn’t know football, but she had a father and brother who were football fanatics. ‘I know that name. Jody Weaver. He’s a big deal, right?’

Isaac nodded.‘Went on to get rich and famous – and he’s still a bastard. Proving once and for all that life is not fair.’

‘Speaking of not fair,’ A

Isaac shook his head.‘You know more than I do. I left a message on Beauclaire’s phone and invited him over tonight. I suspect he won’t be leaving the hospital.’

‘Were there any clues to be had on the island?’ A

Isaac shook his head.‘No. It was like they knew the island would be searched by werewolves – the whole prison area had been doused with ammonia. They found a few personal effects, enough to determine that Jacob, Otten, and a couple of the other victims had been kept there.’

‘If they had known we were coming, they’d have moved Lizzie,’ A

Isaac nodded.‘Right. I suppose it was in preparation for a worst-case scenario. They’ve been killing werewolves. They don’t wantus to figure out who they are.’

Isaac’s explanation made sense. He was probably right. And if he wasn’t, they’d figure it out when the bastards were caught.

The rain was pouring down when they reached the pub. Irish pubs in Boston, A

Just inside the door lurked a life-sized, wooden Irish wolfhound. It was, A

Isaac waved one hand at the hostess and, with his other hand at the small of A

Through the door was a big room with four trestle tables with chairs and benches mixed in, filled with people, most of whom A

A waitress came in through a door in the back of the room. She put her fingers to her mouth and whistled. A

Quiet descended.

‘All right, gents and ladies all. There’s beer and water on the table and we’ll keep the pitchers full until nine p.m. If you want something different to drink, our Isaac says he’ll cover it, too—’ She broke off, interrupted by cheers. Isaac bowed, and nodded for the waitress to continue. ‘Again until nine, after that your food and drink comes out of your pocket. We’ll be coming around for orders for food. Our specialty is bangers and mash, but we have a great stew tonight and the fish and chips are to die for. Enjoy!’

She retreated through the door at her back to another smattering of applause, and two young men and a middle-aged woman came in through the same door and started to take orders.

A

If everyone had brought a date, the numbers made more sense. She caught sight of one of the two Cantrip agents, the one who was not Heuter. His name had started with aP. Patrick

Patrick Morris. He was talking to Goldstein. So it wasn’t just police officers here. She decided to avoid him if possible, just in case he shared Heuter’s views on werewolves.

Leslie looked up, saw A

‘All the wolves are answering questions,’ Leslie replied. ‘But you’re easier to talk to – women aren’t as threatening as men.’ She thought about it. ‘Most women, anyway – I know a few that would scare any person with a modicum of sense. But you’re approachable. And you are goingaway soon. So if they offend you, they don’t have to live with the consequences.’