Page 49 of Quest of the Wolf

“Again?” I groaned. Were those same officers back to question me? Or Rue? Maybe they’d gotten their warrant.

“Don’t you feel bolstered knowing the authorities are spending so much time keeping an eye on your complex?”

“If they had succeeded in stopping a single crime, I would.”

Leaving my gear on the table, I stepped outside. Since my apartment didn’t face the parking lot, I had to go around the corner of the building to check on it. I spotted the police car right away, but it was empty.

Groaning again, I headed for the building toward the back of the complex where Rue’s apartment was located. Jasmine trailed after me, the walkways well-lit as twilight descended.

“You don’t need to come,” I told her. “I’m just checking on someone.”

“There might be adventure, excitement, and a chance for me to prove myself worthy of your heartfelt recommendation for my résumé.”

“After all we’ve been through, I’ll give you one.”

“Oh, good. Will it be heartfelt?”

“Aren’t you just going to type my name and number on a list? How could that be heartfelt?”

“I could use a fancy font. Maybe with curlicues.”

“Nothing says you’re a professional like curlicues and hearts on your résumé.”

I thought about mentioning Bolin’s offer to help her network with real-estate moguls, but he could bring that up to her himself.

“It says I have personality. People like that in colleagues and subordinates.”

“You think so, huh?”

I peered around the corner of the back apartment buildingand sighed. The male and female officers stood at Rue’s door. No, they’dopenedRue’s door. Or she had.

Worried for her, I picked up my pace. If she got arrested because she’d been standing next to me when I’d turned wolf to defend the complex…

Damn it, why was everything my fault these days? Or at least happening because of me?

“Can I help you?” I called.

They were already stepping into the apartment. It was dark, and I didn’t sense Rue inside.

“Good evening, Ms. Valens,” Dubois said, no emotion on her face to suggest she’d been caught doing something shifty.

Before she held up a digital copy of a warrant, I knew she had one.

“Do you know where Rue Thepnakorn is? We’ve been issued a warrant allowing us to search her apartment, but we would prefer to let her know we’re doing so before barging in.”

“You’ve already barged in,” I said as her partner turned on the lights.

“Only because she’s not here.”

“What do you expect to find? She’s eccentric and has an eclectic collection of stuff, but nothing is illegal.” I hoped not anyway.

Rue had objected to making potions using ingredients like livers from recently deceased women, so I gathered she had ethical lines she didn’t cross in her field.

“A wolf.” The male officer halted inside and sneezed three times. “Whatisthis place? A mad scientist’s laboratory?” He sneezed again.

Dubois looked upward to twists of herbs and baskets of tubers dangling from the ceiling. The lease forbade making holes in the walls and mentioned sticky hooks that could be removed. I would have to have a chat with Rue about using those.

“She’s into botanicals and chemistry.” I doubted they would believe me if I told them she was an alchemist. “But I’ve never seen her with a wolf, a coyote, or even a mouse. We have a no-wild-animals-for-pets rule here.”

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