Page 20 of Quest of the Wolf

“I suspect so too. Stamp me up.”

“Excellent. I also included a free trial of my delightfully versatile blue-spider acid.” Rue pointed at the bag. “It’s in the small vial. Be careful not to break it. It can eat through almost anything.”

I held the bag at arm’s length.

“I thought it might be useful if you need to destroy steel bars in order to rescue someone from a cell.”

“I actuallyhaveneeded to get through steel bars and doors of late.”

“As I suspected.” Rue nodded and turned back toward her apartment, but a police car rolled into the parking lot.

I had the urge to spring into my truck and peel out. Too bad I was the property manager and responsible for the place. At least there weren’t any mutilated bodies on the pavement this time. I looked for the car with the dented fender that Rue had taken her blood sample from, but its owner had moved it.

“Did you call the authorities?” Rue looked at a dainty silver watch on her wrist, the four quarters of the hour marked by vials, the hands represented by syringes. “It is quite early for visitors.”

“The police have people who work around the clock.”

My muscles tensed as the black-and-white car pulled into the emptystaffspot next to my truck. The male and female officers inside were familiar; it was the duo who’d come to my apartment the night of the incident with Radomir’s brute squad, the night of their deaths to werewolf jaws.Myjaws.

The certainty that this visit had to do with me filled me with anxiety. Stern-faced, the officers stepped out of the car, hands resting on sidearms. Oh, yeah. They’d figured things out. I barely held back a groan. What was I going to say?

My only thought, as the female officer stepped onto the sidewalk, was that I was glad Austin had taken off on his trip so that he wouldn’t see me getting arrested—or being accused of being a werewolf. Her name tag was visible on her uniform today. Dubois.

“Luna Valens,” she said, though she only glanced at me, instead focusing on Rue.

That was odd. When had she seen my alchemist before? The officers had questioned a lot of tenants the night of the deaths, but Rue hadn’t yet lived here then. If anything, I expected Dubois to confront me on where Duncan and I had disappeared to that night. I’d hoped they had been too busy to notice the bad guys’ crashed Tesla slipping away, but I hadn’t been certain.

“That’s right. Can I help you?” I nodded to her and the maleofficer, trying not to let my gaze linger on their hands—their hands resting on their firearms.

“Is this one of your tenants?” Dubois pointed at Rue.

My alchemist folded her arms across her chest, gave her name, mentioned her grandchildren, that she was a widow, and that her cat was a service animal and thus allowed in her apartment. I’d forgotten about that cat—her familiar—when I’d helped her fill out the application, but I wasn’t going to object to its presence now. Judging by the officers’ scowls, thecatwasn’t what had brought them.

“She moved in recently, yes,” was all I said.

“Were you aware that she was in your parking lot with a wolf yesterday?” the male officer asked me.

“Uh.” I blinked slowly as realization swept over me. The woman who’d been taking photos with her phone. She must not have come out in time to see me change, but she’d seen Rue and me together after the fight. Maybe alsoduringthe fight. “We’ve had some trouble with coyotes lately.” I waved toward the woods.

“That wasn’t acoyotein those photos. Ma’am.” Dubois finally addressed Rue directly. “We would like to ask you some questions.”

Rue lifted her chin. “I have nothing to hide.”

“Good.”

“Not even your chicken feet or rabbit spleens?” I murmured when the officers leaned into their car, presumably to grab recording equipment.

“Neither is illegal,” Rue said.

“It’s about a fight that was reported.” Dubois stepped back close to Rue, her eyes narrowing. “And also an incident earlier in the month.”

“Is that wolf still here?” The male officer eyed the parking lot, the grassy lawn, and the woods.

“I haven’t seen any wolves today,” I said.

That was true… since I didn’t usually look at myself after shifting.

“What, it only comes by on Tuesdays and Thursdays?” Dubois asked.

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