Page 42 of Werewolves Don't Howl
I shot him a scowl that was probably adorable. “Henrick’s terrible.”
“Yes. Oh, you think he’s bad to you. No, that’s him being warm and caring. I’d send Manny with you, but you make him nervous.”
“He’s afraid of werewolves?”
His eyes widened. “Certainly not. Gnomes. Apparently, they’re dangerously adorable.”
I rolled my eyes and hurried to get dressed, but Cross grabbed my wrist and swung me around so I came up against him, wet, bare-skinned, horribly aware of his strength and beauty and my own weakness.
“I haven’t hugged you today,” he said before he pulled me against him, wrapping his arms around me and squeezing me tight.
I growled and bit his shoulder, and although it wasn’t hard enough to draw blood, it should have made him at least whimper.
He ignored me.
“Cross, I hate you. I hate you touching me.” At least I hated that I didn’t hate him touching me, which was even worse. I craved his hugs, like I really had been going mad without any physical contact for the last fifteen years.
He said in a put-out voice. “I’m aware, but it’s my duty for the sake of your sanity. I’d have one of the others hug you, but Manny is out, which is a pity because he’s the most naturally snuggly of all my assistants. Henrick is a goblin, which means that he’d probably stab me in my sleep if I suggested something so shocking. Sadly, I’m the only one with the stomach for doing whatever needs to be done.”
Like torturing me. I bit him again and drew blood that time. Cross finally stopped hugging me, looking down his long nose at me before he turned and walked gracefully back towards the house, leaving me with my heart beating too fast, hating him more than I’d ever hated anyone, but at the same time, the wolf rumbled in the back of my brain how sweet and delicious he was. Hugging me was torture for him, and no one else was allowed to torture him. In fact, no one else was allowed to touch him ever again. Stupid wolf.
Henrick drove me to the old Union Station, but he didn’t say anything, just looked smug. Of course he did. His drugging skills were stellar. He should be very proud of himself. Hateful monster. Maybe I would hug him, just so he’d stab Cross. My wolf growled, making him glance back at me for a moment. No, my wolf was only going to torture one person with hugs. The thing about him forcing me to accept his hug therapy was that my beast could easily break his hold and bite off his head if I really hated it all that much. Which he knew. Hateful monster. All of them.
When we got to the Union Station, the street in front was blocked off, and a group of officers were holding back the curious crowd.
I got through easily, smiling at the police officers I regularly fed cookies.
“Delphi, this is Detective Saito. She’ll walk you to the body. We haven’t gotten through the spells yet. We’re waiting for the specialist,” Lieutenant Joss said, giving me a professional nod before gesturing at the small woman with a confident smile and purple streaks in her dark hair. She smelled like sushi and trouble.
“Thank you, Lieutenant.” I turned to give a shy smile to the young woman. She seemed very young to be a detective, but Singsong police officers didn’t tend to last long. “Hi, detective Saito. Can you tell me how you found the body? It was behind the cement?”
She nodded at another blonde guy wearing a custodial gray uniform. “He was assigned to patch the crack on the wall under the stairs, but as he was putting on the mortar, the wall collapsed, and he saw the gap beneath the stairs, and then the body. You can interview him while we wait for the spells guy.”
“Thanks.” I gave her another smile and was distracted by the scent of sushi while we walked over to the custodian. I was so hungry. I should have eaten more than cookies for lunch. If gnomes needed hugs, they required pastries as well as cookies.
I smiled at the custodian. “Hi. I’m Delphi. I’m covering the story for the paper. Have you worked here long?”
He looked between us and nodded, smiling easily. “Five years come August. Never found a dead body before, though. I wonder how old it is. It could be centuries.” He wiggled his brows for some reason, maybe because finding a really old dead body was more cool than a recent one.
“I guess it could. Did you notice how long the cracks in the plaster were there?”
“There are always cracks. That’s life.” He sighed heavily and then grinned at me and Detective Saito, feeling like this was a flirtation opportunity instead of a life or death investigation.
I gave him a return smile, but kept mine sad and serious. It wasn’t hard. Someone’s body was sealed in a bag only a few feet away. “So true. Do you remember who noticed that the cracks needed patching? Was there a constellation drawn on the wall near the cracks?”
He shrugged. “A guest reported the cracks. I don’t know about a constellation. It was something, but I don’t really do stars. I’m more into barbecue. Do you like to grill? You look like you’d bring an appetite, not like some of these girls who don’t know how to enjoy their lives, to really dig into pleasure with relish.” He wiggled his brows at me. Apparently, he liked my gnomish curves and wasn’t afraid to show it.
I stared at him. Cleared my throat. I really disliked the way he was looking at my body, like one might look at a grilled steak. There’s a fine line between appreciation and objectification. This guy crossed it without hesitation.
Henrick stepped in front of me and smiled at the custodian, showing many of his sharp teeth. “She barbecues with her boyfriend, the senator. Miss Era, the magic specialist has arrived. If you and the detective are finished questioning this person…” He made ‘person,’ sound like the worst insult.
Okay then. That wasn’t awkward at all. Weren’t goblins supposed to be close-mouthed in the extreme? No wonder he got thrown out.
I smiled at the custodian. “Thanks for your help,” then hurried back over to the black-wrapped body where a woman in a yellow protective suit was working over it with a wand that puffed out sparkling dust.
“Magical, right? I think she does it like that just to drive actual magic users crazy, but who knows?” Detective Saito said, frowning at the specialist.
I nodded, watching the woman do her work. I could feel the bindings on the wrapped body tighten until it released with a snap. She reached down and opened the black bag with a gesture and a loud unzipping sound. The plastic parted, and there was Loren’s slack face and dead eyes. So dead. So very, very dead.
