“You drew our song.”
The girl tucked her hands into her armpits, as if needing to protect them. “Did I do wrong?”
“No.” He picked up the drawing and saw her eyes fill with regret. “I’d like to show this to the Wolfgard elders. I’ll bring it back.”
“Could I . . .” She wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Could I put it on the wall?”
“Yes.”
Now she looked at him. Just a puppy frightened of being punished for following her instincts. Which meant the humans in the compound had punished her for drawing pictures. Why?
He needed to say something. “Grass is not the same color green as leaves, and water can be different shades of blue. I can go down to the trading post today and see if they have more pencils . . . if having more colors wouldn’t be upsetting to you.”
“I like colors.”
He turned to go.
“They were going to cut off my fingers. In that place. They were going to cut off my fingers because I needed to draw pictures and they wanted me to need the cuts instead.”
He walked out of the room and gently closed the door.
Grace looked at him, her smile fading as she studied his face. “What’s wrong?” She sniffed the air.
He turned the drawing around so she could see it.
“How did she know?” Grace asked, staring at the drawing.
“That’s something I’ll ask Meg, the Trailblazer. Right now, I want to show this to our elders. Then I need to make a trip to the Intuit trading post.”
“You should buy a frame for the sweet blood’s picture.”
“Come with me to pick it out?”
Grace was a white Wolf who had come down from the High Northwest as a juvenile and eventually found her way to Sweetwater. She could pass for human, but her hair remained white with strands of light gray. Combined with a youthful face, she looked distinctive and drew attention that made her uneasy.
“There were strangers at the trading post when I went there last week,” she said. “I didn’t like their scent. I don’t think the Intuits liked it either.”
He stepped closer. “You should have told me.”
“I told the elders. I think the Crows are keeping watch on the village, and the Hawks and Eagles are paying attention to the road and the vehicles coming our way.” She ruffled her hair. “I’ll go with you. I don’t think any of us should visit the trading post alone. Not for a while.”
He wanted to be her mate, and she was thinking of accepting him. He’d hoped she would go with him to spend time with him, but he didn’t want her to go because she thought a lone Wolf would be in danger. If there was trouble at the Intuit village, she would be in danger too.
But the Intuits had said nothing about strangers in their village when he’d responded to their plea for help with the scarred girl. That was something else to think about.
Jackson carefully rolled up the drawing and left with Grace. He stopped long enough to assign another Wolf to stay in the cabin so that the sweet blood wouldn’t be alone. Then he and Grace went to see the elders before taking one of the settlement’s two vehicles and driving down to the trading post.
When he returned, he would send a message to Simon Wolfgard, asking if the sweet blood could reveal visions and prophecies in other ways besides cutting their skin.
CHAPTER 37
Moonsday, Maius 14
Monty moved quickly when he heard the raised voice coming from Captain Burke’s office.
“I just spent seven hours on a train, stuck in a car with a freaking vampire. I expect some cooperation, Burke.”
“Cooperation I can give you. As for the rest, I can’t give you what I don’t have,” Burke replied as he glanced toward the doorway. “Lieutenant, come in and meet Captain Felix Scaffoldon of Toland’s Crime Investigation Unit. Captain, this is Lieutenant Crispin James Montgomery.”
Monty stepped into Burke’s office. “Do you have some news about what happened to Elayne?”
Scaffoldon gave Monty a cold once-over. “Just strolling in now, Lieutenant? I guess getting cozy with the Wolves here has its perks if you don’t have to report to work on time. We’ll talk further.” He turned away from Monty—a sharp, dismissive gesture—and looked at Burke. “Right now, I want to see the girl.”
Monty stepped forward, forcing Scaffoldon to include him. “You came all the way to Lakeside to interview Lizzy? Weren’t you sent a copy of the interview that was already conducted?”
“He was,” Burke replied before Scaffoldon could. “But the captain is really more interested in retrieving the physical evidence, which I have already offered to hand over to him for his investigation.”
“Yes, I need to bring that bear back to Toland,” Scaffoldon snapped. “Having it sit here doesn’t help us find a killer.” When he said “killer,” he didn’t look at Monty, and he did it in a way that made it clear he believed Monty was the killer, despite the physical impossibility of being able to travel to and from Toland in the time frame. “But the child’s family wants her returned to Toland, so I’ll take her back with me.”
“My daughter is staying with me,” Monty said with quiet heat.
“Alleged daughter. Ms. Borden’s mother is questioning if you are, in fact, the child’s father.”
Monty pulled a document from his inner suit coat pocket and handed it to Scaffoldon. “Here. You can pass this on to Celia Borden.”
“What is it?” Scaffoldon didn’t bother to look.
“When the legal documents for child support were written, Elayne expressed no doubt that I was Lizzy’s father. She had no doubts when Lizzy was born and the birth certificate was filled out. She had no doubts, and neither did Celia Borden, during the years when Elayne, Lizzy, and I lived together in Toland. I know I’m Lizzy’s father, regardless of what Celia Borden is saying now. I’m Lizzy’s closest relative, and I can support her. So my daughter is staying with me. What I gave you was a photocopy of the custody papers that were signed and witnessed this morning.”
The relief he’d felt when he’d signed those papers had staggered him. Celia Borden had never shown any real interest in Lizzy, and Monty didn’t think her wanting custody now was sparked by feelings of affection for the girl. Celia just wanted the girl within easy reach for some reason, and whatever the reason, he was sure it wasn’t for Lizzy’s benefit.
Scaffoldon’s face was suffused with anger. He looked like he wanted to rip up the papers and throw them on the floor.
“I want to see the girl,” Scaffoldon said.
Burke’s fierce-friendly smile turned icy. “She’s at a safe house. Since you insist on seeing her, I’ve arranged for you to interview her there. I’ll have the bear brought up from the evidence lockup. You can take it with you so you won’t have to stop back here after the interview.” He made a show of looking at his watch. “She’ll be available in an hour.”
“I’ll interview her here.”
“No, you won’t.”
Scaffoldon stared at Monty and Burke. “By all the gods, where did you stash her?”
The icy glint in Burke’s blue eyes matched his smile. “In the Lakeside Courtyard.”
CHAPTER 38
Moonsday, Maius 14
They met in the government building on Great Island, in the conference room Steve Ferryman had reserved for this meeting.
Simon studied the woman sitting across from him, but he didn’t know the proper way to describe Pam Ireland. Plump? Solid? Compact?
Those were human terms. Since he wasn’t considering whether she’d have enough meat to feed a pack, he thought of other words that were relevant.
Sincere. Yes, that was a good word for what he was sensing. And . . .
“You smell like dog,” he said.