I didn’t say anything and, after a moment, he touched my back again and guided me up the street. It didn’t take us long to reach his truck, which was parked in the locked lot behind the ranger station, and we were soon on the way to Maldoon and the Marin compound.
“Have you discovered who the man mountain was?” I asked, as we once again approached the small cottage.
“No one in the Marin camp recognized him,” he replied. “But the background check hit pay dirt. His name was Gerry Schmidt, and he arrived at the reservation a year ago. He’s been working at Émigré for the last six months.”
Meaning he’d probably known Marlinda. And while it might have been nothing more than a coincidence that the two had worked at the same place, I very much suspected it wasn’t. “Have you talked to the owner of the club?”
“Maelle Defour,” he said, voice oddly neutral, “has been faultlessly cooperative, and I don’t trust her at all.”
I shifted in my seat so I could study him properly. “You don’t think she’s involved, do you?”
“No. She’s very obviously annoyed by Marlinda’s death.”
But not by Schmidt’s, I gathered, although that was no real surprise if Maelle preferred her donors to be female rather than male. “Do you ask if she was aware of any connection between Marlinda and Gerry?”
“Yes. She said they were often on the same shift, but she couldn’t say if they were friends outside of work.”
“I gather you’ve searched his home?”
“Of course.” He cast an amused glance my way. “Anyone would think you were the ranger here, given all the questions.”
“Sorry.” I gave him a lopsided grin. “But I’ve a long history of sticking my nose where it doesn't belong.”
“In this case, and until the RWA witch comes along, your nose is actually welcome. It’s not like I’ve got a whole lot of knowledge about spirits and magic.” His amusement faded. “We haven’t yet found a connection between him, Aron, and Larissa. We can’t even find anyone who saw him and Teresa together, and her family said she never mentioned him.”
“You wouldn’t expect her to if he was just a one-night stand. And she is human, not wolf, is she not?”
“Yes.”
My gaze was drawn to the side of the road up ahead, and the small cottage that was now ringed by police tape. Gerry’s body was long gone, but the stain of his blood remained. As did, undoubtedly, Teresa’s shade.
Belle, I asked, is there anything you can do for her?
According to my guides, it would depend on just how much of her spirit was consumed before the two of you spooked the soul eater.
So if her shade has some form of awareness, you could move her on?
Possibly. We’ll have to wait until it’s no longer considered a crime scene, though. She paused, and amusement crept into her mental tone as she added, You and Aiden certainly timed your departure well.
Why? What’s happened?
The RWA witch has arrived and, oh boy, is he a piece of work.
In what way?
Picture your grandfather, and then imagine him two times worse.
That’s not possible. If my father was ice, then my grandfather would have been fire. He’d never been afraid to call anyone out on their bullshit, and he’d had a very, very short fuse. But, weirdly enough, he and I had gotten on rather well.
That’s because he saw something of himself in you.
I’m neither fiery nor short-tempered, I retorted.
Except when the right occasion comes along. Her amusement ran through my mind. But I meant more in the lack of power. Like you, your grandfather never had the power to meet his dreams.
That was probably true, although my dreams had never amounted to anything more than wanting to be something other than an utter disappointment to my parents.
Why is he at the café?