Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

neighbor, and the store closed—but my instincts were clamoring. Something had happened to Phin, something bad.
    I didn’t know him well, but I liked him. And, going by the phone call Tad had received, whatever had happened to him was tied to the book he’d loaned to me. Which made it my fault. Maybe if I hadn’t kept it to read this past month, he’d still be safe in his store.
    I smiled back at her, a polite smile. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll stop in another time.”
    She snapped her fingers. “Wait just a minute. My grandson told me that he’d loaned a nice young woman a rather valuable book that she should be returning soon.”
    I raised my eyebrows. “Right now I’m interested in a first British edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone .” Not really a lie. It would be interesting, and I didn’t tell her I was trying to buy one. I don’t know if the fae can figure out if someone is lying as well as the werewolves can, but any group that has a prohibition against lying that is as stringent as the fae’s probably has a method to detect when it happens.
    â€œHe didn’t tell me about anything like that,” she said suspiciously, as if he would have normally.
    But she had lost the chance to convince me that she was Phin’s assistant when she allowed my comment that she was a stranger to his store to stand.
    â€œI suspect it’ll take him a while,” I told her. “I just stopped by to check in with him. I’ll come back another time.” I stopped the “thanks” that was on the tip of my tongue and substituted “Bye, now” and a casual wave.
    I felt her eyes on my back until I was hidden behind rows of cars, and I was glad I’d parked the car a long way from the mall. Sam moved his head off my seat without raising any part of his body enough that he might be seen through the windows. He was hiding.
    I looked at him and glanced at the bookstore as I cruised past it on the way out of the parking lot. The woman was back behind the counter going over something that looked like an account book.
    Coincidences happen a lot less often in real life than they do in the movies.
    â€œSam,” I said, “are you staying out of sight of a fae? One that smells like all the elements at once?”
    He raised his chin and dropped it.
    â€œIs she one of the good guys?” I asked.
    He made a gesture that was neither yes nor no.
    â€œTrouble?”
    He snorted affirmative.
    â€œDamn it.”
    I pulled over at a gas station, parked the car, and called Warren, Adam’s third in the pack and my friend.
    â€œHey, Warren,” I said when he answered. “Does Kyle have a safe in that monstrosity he lives in?” I could put the book in Adam’s safe—and if it weren’t fae who were looking for it, I’d feel relatively confident with it hidden and surrounded by werewolves. But Warren’s human boyfriend’s house would be a much less likely spot to leave it and nearly as safe.
    â€œSeveral.” Warren’s voice was dry. “I’m sure he’d be delighted to loan you one. You storin’ blackmail material now, Mercy?” There were noises in the background of his phone, people and the kind of echoing you get in a really big building.
    â€œWouldn’t that be something,” I said. “How much do you suppose Adam would pay to keep an X-rated video of him off the Internet?”
    Warren laughed.
    â€œYeah,” I said sadly, “that’s what I think, too. So no riches in my future, and no blackmail either. Can you or Kyle meet Sam and me at Kyle’s house sometime soon?”
    â€œI’m on guard duty right now, but I bet Kyle is home. He doesn’t always answer the house phone. Do you have his cell number?”
    Warren worked for his boyfriend—I know, it’s an awkward thing, but Warren hadn’t exactly been making rent at the Stop and Rob he’d worked at before. Kyle’d shaken a few trees, bribed a few officials (probably) and maybe blackmailed more, and gotten Warren a private detective’s license. Warren guarded clients and did quiet investigations for Kyle’s law firm.
    â€œI have it,” I told him. “Are you at Wal-Mart?”
    â€œNope, grocery store. Wal-Mart was an hour ago.”
    â€œPoor baby,” I said sympathetically.
    â€œNope,” he said, his voice