Page 14 of Shadow Seeking

“I’m willing if she is. I’ve taken a month off to deal with this, so it’s not like my calendar’s full.” Angela escorted us upstairs. “Give me a call to set up something.”

As we exited the house, Murdoch let out a loud mew, almost as though he was saying goodbye. I glanced at the massive gray cat. “I’m sorry, dude. Your person is gone, and you’re not sure what’s going on. But I promise you, if you and Jangles get along, I’ll take good care of you.”

As I slid the carrier into the back seat and locked the seatbelt through the handle, I could have sworn I heard a distinct ‘thank you.’ As I looked in to make sure he was okay, he stared directly at me. He let out a ‘purp’ and curled up, and right then, it felt like he was letting go of something. A gentle mist floated out of the carrier, then dissipated in the wind that swept by. Murdoch began to purr, and I had the weirdest feeling he had just said goodbye to Letty for the last time.

CHAPTER FIVE

Danteand I decided to stop by a Starbucks on the way back to the office. It was nearly 12:30 and I asked him to text Sophia that we’d be back for lunch by 1:00, so leave us some food.

“What are you going to do about the cat?” Dante asked, as we approached the office.

“I’m going to see if he can get along with Jangles,” I said. I glanced in the review mirror. Murdoch was resting quietly in his carrier. He seemed perfectly content.

“I mean, are you going to take him back to the office until the end of the day?” Dante sucked on his straw. He liked caffeine almost as much as I did.

“Yeah, I guess. It’s half an hour to my house and then half an hour back. We can put him in the supply room and put his litter box in there with him. Angela gave me some spare litter and food, so he’ll be all right until it’s time to leave for the day.

“What do you think about the mandrake root? You think somebody stole it?”

I thought for a moment. “I think so, but we can’t take anything for granted. Maybe…” I told him about the letters I found. “Do you think Angela might have found out and decidedto pay her sister back for betraying her? Does she seem capable of murder?”

Dante slipped out of the car and pulled out the litter box, litter, and food. “I’ll come back for everything else.” As I took hold of Murdoch’s carrier and we headed into the building, he added, “I’m not sure. Angela seems to have everything under control, including her emotions, but I feel that she’s more devastated than she acts. Some people put on a big show of losing a loved one when they’re the ones behind it, but…I don’t know. That rigid control feels ready to slip, and I truly think when it does, she’s going to break down. I don’t think she’s lying.”

We came off the elevator and I opened the door to the office, holding it for Dante, then followed him in. Sophia looked up, saw the carrier, and snorted.

“Client or guest?” she asked.

“Apparently, he’s going to be my houseguest. We’ll see if it becomes permanent. Can you set up the litter box and some food and water in the supply room until the end of the day? And make certain nobody opens the door and lets him out.” I handed her the carrier.

“Sure. What’s his name?”

“Murdoch.”

She turned to Dante. “Follow me. I assume those are his supplies?”

“That they are,” Dante said, following her down the hall.

Orik passed them, blinking as he saw the carrier. The cat let out a mew and he stopped to peek in. “Hey there. My wife would tell me to say hi to you,” he said, then when he saw me, he hurried toward me, holding out a file. “Here,” he said. “I found Benny some work.

I glanced at the file. “The Albertson case? What on earth can Benny do for you on that?”

Careena Albertson, a local bear shifter, was trying to find out who was stealing her chickens. We suspected her neighbor’s rottweiler, but she was convinced it had to be another neighbor who was a kitsune—a fox shifter. She was a human with a big grudge against shifters, but apparently she wasn’t too proud to hire a half-demon to investigate the case for her.

“I’m paying him to stake out the fox the next couple nights. Which means he’ll most likely be sitting outside in the cold without anything to do, but I’m paying him a hundred-fifty a night, and he was more than willing to agree. I have to give the little perv this much: when he agrees to do a job, he does it. I’ve never met a goblin with a better work ethic.” He snorted, then shrugged. “I figured you’d be okay with the idea.”

“You’re right. It’s a perfect job for him. And it will keep him in food for a while. Say, while I have you here…” I fluttered my eyelashes.

“What do you want?” he asked, giving me a look that said he was onto me.

I winked. “What makes you think I want anything? But…yeah. What are you doing Saturday?”

“Saturday? I was going shopping at the farmer’s market over in Redmond, and then I think I was supposed to spend the afternoon at Home Depot. I’m going to renovate the bathroom.” He sounded as thrilled over the idea as I would have been.”

“You want to play hooky?”

“Sure, what do you have in mind?” He sounded eager to get out of the shopping expedition.

“Penn is moving into my house, and we could use muscle to help with the boxes and furniture. But if you’re busy?—”

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