Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

office.”
    Sergeant Owens was lean and fit, an older, more cynical version of the smiling young man in the wedding photo. He held out his hand and I shook it. He kept mine a moment, examining the traces of grease I could never quite get out from under my nails.
    â€œMercedes Thompson,” he said. “I hear that you had trouble last night. I hope there is no recurrence.”
    I nodded. “I expect they got it out of their systems,” I told him with a faint smile.
    He didn’t smile back. “Tony tells me that you have ties to the werewolf and fae communities and you’ve agreed to help us out.”
    â€œIf I can,” I agreed. “Though I’m probably more qualified to tune up your cars than to give you advice.”
    â€œYou’d better be a very good mechanic,” he said. “My people put their lives on the lines. I don’t need bad advice.”
    â€œShe fixed Sylvia’s car,” Tony said. In addition to being Gabriel’s mother, Sylvia was a police dispatcher. “She’s a very good mechanic, her advice will stand up.”
    In point of fact, Zee had fixed Sylvia’s car, but that was beside the point.
    The Sergeant relaxed. “All right. All right. We’ll see how it goes.”
    We were back in the hall, when I stopped.
    â€œWhat?” Tony asked.
    â€œTake off the pins for the incidents at night. We need the daytime violence,” I told him. His very presence would cause violence. “This thing moves around at night, but I don’t think he can move during the day.”
    â€œAll right,” he said. “It’ll take a while. I’ll get a rookie on it. Do you want to wait?”
    I shook my head. “I can’t afford to. Would you call me?”
    â€œYes.”
    I thought he’d drop me back at the waiting room, but he escorted me all the way out. This time the little entryway was empty of students.
    â€œThank you,” I said as I got in my car.
    He held my door opened and saw what Stefan had done to my dash.
    â€œSomebody hit that,” he said.
    â€œYep. I have that effect on people.”
    â€œMercy,” he said somberly. “Make sure he doesn’t hit you like that.”
    I touched the broken vinyl where Stefan had put his fist. “He won’t,” I told him.
    â€œYou’re sure I can’t help you?”
    I nodded. “I promise that if that changes, I’ll call you right away.”
    Â 
    I stopped at a fast food restaurant and ordered lunch. I ate a couple of cheeseburgers and a double order of fries, though I wasn’t particularly hungry. I hadn’t had any sleep, so staying alert meant fueling up—the large, caffeinated soda would help, too.
    When I was through eating, I got in my car and drove around, thinking myself in circles. I just didn’t have enough information to find the sorcerer, and I needed to find him before dark. Before he killed Samuel and Adam—I refused to believe they might already be dead. He hadn’t had time to play with them yet.
    Why had Marsilia sent me after Littleton knowing I was too stupid to find him?
    I jerked my car over to the side of the road and parked it abruptly, too busy thinking to be safe driving.
    Never trust a vampire . It was the first thing I’d ever learned about vampires.
    Despite her performance at Stefan’s trial, Marsilia claimed she had believed Stefan when he told her there was a vampire who was a sorcerer loose in the Tri-Cities. She could have sent the whole seethe after him—instead she’d sent Stefan and Daniel. No, Stefan had chosen Daniel. She’d expected Stefan to pick Andre. As had Andre, for that matter.
    Even after she believed Stefan dead, she still didn’t send the seethe after Littleton. Instead she sent me with Andre. Me. I was suppose to find Littleton, or so she said. Andre was to keep me alive while I did so—or follow me around so Marsilia knew what I was doing.
    Andre thought that Marsilia meant to see if she could take control of Littleton rather than kill him. Was that what Marsilia wanted him to do? Was that what he’d been supposed to do if he’d gone hunting with Stefan?
    If Marsilia told him not to kill Littleton, he wouldn’t. She was his maker and he couldn’t disobey her—though apparently Stefan could.
    I rubbed my face and tried to clear my thoughts. Knowing what Marsilia was up to might be important in the