Meredith took a moment to process the family dynamic, then said, “I’m sorry.”
With a grim smile, Kyle turned back to Silas. “You were saying something about a stakeout?”
“I’m going to stake out Dr. Copper’s office. He said his partner specialized in werewolves, and there was a room off the office that could potentially be a small apartment.” Silas took a deep breath.
“I’ll tell you one thing, Dr. Copper has some secrets,” Meredith said.
Silas peered at her expectantly. “Yeah?”
“Look how he signed my take-home instructions.” She pulled a folded paper from her back pocket and handed it to him.
“Dr. Herald?” Silas squinted at the signature.
“There was only one desk, one examination table, one set of equipment, and one nameplate I could find anywhere. Copper Herald. One name.” Meredith rested her hands on her hips. “I think Dr. Copper started my exam and Dr. Herald finished it.”
“So…”
“He’s both men, a Jekyll and Hyde, and you know what else? After my exam, I barged through that door behind his desk, and you were right.” She gave Silas a knowing grin. “I’m not sure it’s Alex, but someone is living there. Someone with a pair of muddy boots.”
Chapter Four
Silas slipped his key into the lock of his tiny brick bungalow, gaze sweeping up and down the street for lookie-loos before pushing inside. It was a relatively safe neighborhood. Mostly parents with young children and retired folks. But old habits died hard. It was always best to change up your routine, make sure you weren’t being watched coming and going.
He’d barely closed the door behind him when something flew at his knees. He caught the brown-and-white blur by the head. “Now that’s a welcome home,” he said, scratching the mutt behind the ears. “How’s my Maggie girl? You hungry?”
The medium-sized fuzz ball panted up at him, tongue lolling out the corner of her mouth. With one last ear-flapping rub of her head, he moved for the kitchen to fill her bowl. He’d bent over to pull the kibble from the lower cupboard when a rustle outside the window above the sink caught his attention. A streak of black moved past the glass. He finished filling Maggie’s bowl and set it on her placemat, then stayed low, out of sight of the window.
He reached above his head to dig in the silverware drawer, feeling for the large knife he used to carve the Thanksgiving turkey. He’d have much preferred his Glock, but he’d left it locked in his glove compartment when visiting Laina in the hospital. His other gun was in the safe in his bedroom at the back of the house. No time for that one either. Anything that moved as fast as what he’d seen was an immediate threat. He skimmed along the wall, jogging past the breakfast nook, and flattened himself next to a front-facing window.
Knock. Knock. Knock.Maggie woofed once at the door, then ran for her favorite hiding place under the bed.
“Traitor,” Silas whispered. With two fingers, he moved the curtains a fraction of an inch, but there was no one on the front stoop. He frowned. “Fuck!” A column of black smoke filtered under the door. Silas tossed the knife toward the body forming in his foyer, knowing damn well the steel blade would barely damage anything that moved like that. He’d started for his gun when the black mist morphed into his best friend, Logan.
“Well, this is a fine how-do-you-do,” Logan said, staring down at the carving knife protruding from his sternum. He grabbed the hilt and tugged it from his flesh with a grunt. There was a spurt of blood, and then the wound healed itself. It was a good thing Silas’s formerly human friend had become a caretaker last year or his mistake might have been fatal.
“Sorry,” Silas said. “But what the hell are you thinking breaking into my house like that? Alex is still at large. My sister was almost killed today.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here. Polina suggested you’d be at the hospital and I should feed Maggie dinner. I knocked. When you didn’t answer the door, I assumed you weren’t here.”
“Oh. Thanks. I stopped home for dinner and a shower. I’m working tonight. Stakeout. I think I have a lead on Alex.” Silas gestured toward the kitchen where he resumed filling Maggie’s water bowl.
“Did Soleil’s list finally pan out?”
“Maybe. We’ll know tonight.”
“I talked to Polina. Alex’s amulet is blocking her from seeing his future. But she thinks she can do a locator spell if you have something of his. Something he’s touched recently. The more important to him the better.”
“Should be easy enough. Alex lent me his shampoo yesterday, and tonight we’re reading each other’s diaries.”
Tossing the bloody knife in the sink, Logan said, “Cynicism is a sign of an addled mind.”
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate your offer, and believe me, if I come across something of his, you’ll be the first to know. It’s just the guy is a fucking ghost. I’d like to think I’m an above-average detective. I’ve done the footwork. I keep coming up empty-handed. Last night, I had him. He was right in front of me—”
“You saw him? Where?”
“In the country, off of Route 9. He was digging up bones at a crime scene. I shot him, but he dematerialized. I have a lead, though. A healer.”
Logan leaned a shoulder against the kitchen doorframe, his face twisting and his gaze drifting toward the floor. “The list of healers you’re working off of, it came from Soleil and the bordello?”
