Blue looked up. “What did he say?”
Wyatt rolled his chair back a little. “That there are a lot of alphas in your pile.”
I stared at the papers, remembering Ren had mentioned a few alpha wolves. “Who does he recognize?”
Wyatt kept rolling backward. “He knows the young motorcycle guy—Rain. Met him in an Italian diner. And—slow down, you’re talking too fast. They don’t need to hear your life story.” Wyatt changed direction and scooted toward us, still staring up at nothing.
I twisted my hair back. “Ferro mentioned his son was an alpha, so that’s not a surprise. We’re just not sure about his death. He fell off his motorcycle.”
Wyatt spun his chair in a circle. “He says that boy wouldn’t fall off that bike if you turned it upside down. And he also heard about the little alpha who drowned.”
I perked up. “The boy was an alpha?”
“Alphas always know another alpha. Even children.” Blue suddenly lurched forward and opened a file where we’d put a few photographs that were offered to us. Then she held one up. “She’s a redhead. And so is the teenage girl. Do you think—?”
“Do I think what?” I asked. “The men could be alphas? That’s possible. We didn’t exactly ask everyone, and they probably didn’t think it was relevant to mention. But what about the rest?”
“Redheads have a higher probability of producing alphas. Nobody knows why, but maybe it’s something in their DNA. Something that makes them just as vulnerable to a virus as the alphas.”
I tossed the paper clip onto the floor. “We need to make some calls.”
Blue sat back and stroked her feather earring. “We have to play it cool. If we ask that kind of question, it’ll raise a red flag.”
“Everyone’s got a phone these days,” I said, mulling over an idea. “Why not ask them to send us a photo? People are discouraged from collecting pictures, but we know they probably have at least one.”
Claude lifted his legs onto the couch and twisted so he was lying on his side, head propped in his hand. He was so tall that one leg hung over the armrest, the other bent at the knee. “I enjoy watching you females at work. It’s better than a detective novel.”
“Photos are a good idea,” Blue said, ignoring him. “How do we verify if the males are alphas?”
“Compensation,” Christian offered.
We all gave him the same “what planet do you live on?” look.
Striding toward us, he put his hands in his pockets. “If you’re working on behalf of the higher authority, who has Shifters’ best interests in mind, ask them if the victim is an alpha. They’ll answer, to be sure. Alarm will set in, so that’s when you give them assurance that the higher authority will offer compensation for the loss of an alpha for the obvious reasons.”
I collected the loose paper clips. “We can’t lie to these people. Not unless you want to make a ton of enemies.”
“’Tis not a lie if you pay. Lenore and Viktor are quite chummy these days, and I’m certain he can twist her arm. Heaven knows she probably has an obscene amount of money to waste. Use her name if you’re pressed, and we’ll make it work.”
A smile touched my lips. “I like the way you think, Mr. Poe.”
He bowed.
Blue gathered up the papers. “Wyatt, give me your phone.”
He frowned. “Not even a thanks?”
“Your friend did all the work.”
He rolled all the way back to his desk. “See if I dial the dead for you again.”
Chapter 23
As tempting as it was to call everyone right away, we had to take into consideration the late hour. I spoke to a few rogue Shifters, and Blue dialed three or four packs before putting off the rest until morning. The ones we offered compensation to bought the lie. It sounded like a move the higher authority would make to save face. Ren seemed a little skeptical about sending me a picture of his former packmate, but he still gave me what I needed.
Wyatt set up a temporary email address for those who didn’t have photos saved on their phones. Blue and I camped out in his office all day, eagerly waiting for callbacks and emails. It was important that we were thorough, made no assumptions, and heard from everyone.
“Delivery girl!” Gem sang, skating into the room with white paper sacks in her hands. She did a twirl in front of my beanbag chair and handed one bag to me before skating over to the sofa and giving Blue the other.
