Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

Real cocoa needs milk, so I put some in a sauce pan and began heating it up.
    I’d left Samuel and the other werewolves this morning knowing only that Zee was in jail and needed a lawyer. Obviously, someone had filled Samuel in a bit since then. Almost certainly not Uncle Mike.
    Probably not Warren, who would know everything from the lawyer’s meeting—I’d told Kyle to go ahead and tell him what I’d told the lawyer. Warren could keep secrets.
    Ah. Warren wouldn’t keep secrets from his pack Alpha, Adam. Adam would see no reason not to tell Samuel the whole story if he asked.
    See that’s the thing about secrets. All you have to do is tell one person—and suddenly everyone knows. Still, if I disappeared, I’d like to know that the werewolves would come looking for me. Hopefully the fae (in the person of Uncle Mike) understood that, and I wasn’t likely to just disappear: if the Gray Lords would arrange a suicide for Zee, one of their own who was of some value, they certainly wouldn’t hesitate to arrange something to happen to me as well. The pack would make that a little more difficult.
    A cup of liquid doesn’t take long to heat. I poured it into a mug; took the first sip, bittersweet and biting; then rejoined the men. My deliberations in the kitchen led me to the couch, where I sat with a whole cushion between me and Samuel so I wouldn’t be assumed (by Samuel) to be taking a side in the antagonism that was stirring in my living room like the inky surface of Loch Ness just before the monster erupts. I didn’t want any eruptions in my living room, thank you. Eruptions meant repair bills and blood. Growing up with werewolves had left me hyperaware of power struggles and things unspoken.
    With another werewolf, a show of support might put the likelihood of violence down a few notches, because he would feel more confident. Samuel didn’t need more confidence. He needed to know that I felt that Uncle Mike had done the right thing by calling me in, no matter what Samuel’s opinion on the matter was.
    â€œI found a good lawyer for Zee,” I told Uncle Mike.
    â€œShe is a member of the John Lauren Society.” Uncle Mike seemed much more himself than he’d sounded on the phone. That meant that his “cheerful innkeeper” guise was in full swing. I couldn’t tell if he was unhappy with my choice of lawyers or not.
    â€œKyle—” I stopped myself and backed up. “I have a friend who is among the best divorce attorneys in the state. When I called him, he suggested this Jean Ryan from Spokane. He told me she was a barracuda in the courtroom, and says that her membership in a fae hate group will actually help. People will think that she must be absolutely convinced of Zee’s innocence to take this case.”
    â€œIs that true? She believes him innocent?”
    I shrugged. “I don’t know, but both Kyle and she say it won’t matter. I did my best to convince her.” I took a sip of cocoa and told them everything Ms. Ryan had told me, including her warning that I keep my nose out of police business.
    Samuel’s lips quirked at that. “So how long did you wait before going to O’Donnell’s after she told you not to?”
    I gave him an indignant look. “I wouldn’t have done it before dark. Too many people would have been calling Animal Control if they saw a coyote that far into town, collar or not. I can’t do much investigating from the animal shelter, and they’ve already picked me up once this summer.”
    I looked at Uncle Mike and wondered how to get him to tell me all the things I needed to know. “Did you know that O’Donnell was involved with Citizens for a Bright Future?”
    He sat up straighter. “I’d have thought he would be smarter than that. If the BFA had known, he’d have lost his job.”
    He didn’t say that he’d been unaware of it, I noticed.
    â€œHe didn’t seem too worried about anyone finding out,” I told him. “There were Bright Future posters all over the walls of one of his rooms.”
    â€œThe BFA doesn’t exactly make a habit of searching their employees’ houses. Their funding just got cut again and the moneys diverted to that mess in the Middle East.” He didn’t sound too upset about the BFA’s troubles.
    I rubbed my tired face. “The search wasn’t as much help as