Page 50 of A Wolf After My Own Heart
“No way,” the boy insisted. “That wasn’t it. It doesn’t settle anything! We still have questions!”
“Calm down,” Lila advised him. “We’ve got more important things to talk about.”
“We really don’t,” Devoss grumbled, but after a warning glare from Garsea and a raised eyebrow from Macropi, he ducked his head.
“Okay, so,” Oz said with forced breeziness. “Lots to talk about. But after, I gotta run home for clean clothes and toothbrush because myGod, Lila, when the bristles are that raggedy you’re supposed to buy a new one!”
“Don’t you toothbrush-shame me.”
“But on my way back, any of you guys want me to pick up some of your stuff?”
“Macropi already went over.”
The older woman turned to look at her. “And how d’you know that, m’dear?”
“Are you kidding? Look at you. You’re wearing clothes that fit you perfectly but aren’t new, so are Daniels and Devoss. You went back, probably while I was in the shower. You also raided your kitchen, which I deduced when I remembered I didn’t have three dozen eggs and four pounds of bacon when I went to sleep last night.”
“Lucky it was a chilly night,” Macropi said. “Everything in my fridge and freezer was still okay.”
“Glad you were able to stock up. So I’m betting I shouldn’t openmyfreezer, right? Unless I want to risk getting crushed beneath the weight of all the meat you stuffed into it?”
“I’d never tell you what to do in your own house, m’dear, but…that’s right.”
Sally had finished eating first and had wandered into the living room a couple of minutes earlier. Lila had shown her how to work the On Demand and she was watching classicSimpsons, which was why they were all listening to the citizens of Springfield singing about the coming monorail.
Oz took advantage of the little girl’s absence to lower his voice. “Did the firem—the firefighters have any updates this morning?”
“I hear those things are awfully loud.”
“No, just that it started upstairs, and they’re researching the accelerants,” Macropi replied.
“It glides as softly as a cloud!”
“Oh, excellent.” At their stares, Garsea elaborated. “Well, there were all those candles and matches lying around because Dev had to scrub out the cupboards…”
“I didn’t do it!” he yelped. “I’d never,jamais,nunca!”
“Not on purpose. C’mere.” Devoss got up like he was on springs and nearly lunged at Macropi, who hugged him while leveling a death glare at Garsea, who just stared with her mouth open until Lila kicked her under the table.
“Ouch!” Garsea recovered and added, “Dev, I’m sorry. I said that all wrong.”
“I justgothere,” the boy practically shouted. “There, I mean. I’d never burn up a house I wanted to be in!”
“Of course you’d never do anything to hurt us or Mama’s home.” Garsea spread her hands. “I thought that with the house being so old and matches and candles and paper being all over the kitchen, that a spontaneous combustion of sorts may have been the culprit. Not that you were the spontaneous culprit—never you. I expressed myself poorly, and I’m very sorry.”
An elegant and sincere apology. Didn’t know she had it in her.“Hey.” Lila cleared her throat. “Devoss. Nobody who’s spent more than five minutes with you would think that. You’re so smart and sneaky, you could’ve killed everyone in that house ten times over by now. You wouldn’tneedto set a fire.”
There was a muffled sniff and the kid’s head came up. “Really?”
“Oh, definitely. Ten times over…maybe fifteen times over. Macropi, Garsea, Oz… They’d all belongdead if you were bent that way. No question.”
“Okay.”
“Wait.Thatmade you feel better?”
Devoss ignored Oz’s surprised squawk and pulled back from Macropi with the self-conscious air of a child embarrassed to be seen acting like a child. “Um. Sorry. I guess I didn’t sleep very well. And there’s all the stuff with Sally, so.”
“Speaking of Sally,” Lila said briskly, “is anyone wondering if the fire was an attempt to either harm her or shunt the rest of you away from her?”
