Page 58 of The Doctor's Wolf: Part Two
Heath made a hissing, screeching noise from the other end of the phone.
“Darling, please calm down.Should I sing you something?I remember every lullaby you liked, so—”
“No, old bat, no one wants you to sing.This Highgate character…I mean, he has properties he owns and rents.There are holding companies here—he owns shares in a car dealership, an old typewriter company that barely even still exists, and a restaurant chain even though he’s a fucking vampire who subsist on blood alone.Who the fuck is this guy?”
Maxim tilted his head, and a golden strand of hair fell over his shoulder.“Typewriters?”
“Yeah.No one uses those anymore.”
Gordon stopped pulling the suit off.“Wrong.They’re turning into collector’s items, plus going analog is a thing.”
“A wrong thing is what it is,” Heath grumbled.“Look, I don’t fucking know.He booked suites in three hotels, three!”
“When’s his last lecture supposed to be?”Maxim asked.
“Hmm, two days from today.”
Adlerfelthis mate tense.Gordon opened and closed his mouth before he spoke.
“That’s too long.If the college kid has nothing to do with this, but if he—if he…why would this vampire professor even take him?”
Maxim looked at the both of them with a neutral expression sitting on his face like a mask.“There is darkness in imagination, and when imagination comes to reality’s light, it stains like ash mixed with water and rubbed into the skin.Heath, dear, like Gordon said, two days is too long.”
“Telling me that is going to slim down my list for sure, you know.Tell me bad things happen, and I’ll suddenly see what isn’t there to see.A fool-proof tactic that never didn’t work.”
“The sarcasm is strong in him,” Corinne said.“Uhm, I’m taking the bodies home?”She pointed at the van.
Gordon smiled at her and nodded.“Home they go.Take good care of them.”
“Right.”She twisted so she could look past Gordon at Adler.“You take good care of my boss.I need my cookie supplier.”
Gordon beamed.“Corinne, you make me proud.”
Adler couldn’t help himself.He was proud as well, proud of his mate who cared about his own people and helped them grow.No, he didn’t like that Gordon wouldn’t stay put, but he respected it.If I could give him my mate bite all over again, I’d do it.The wolf wanted to howl out that truth into the world.
“I’ll watch over him,” he told Corinne when Gordon rolled up the whitesuit and handed it to her.
“Corinne, do we have a medical kit in the van?”
She nodded.“That’s regulation.Hold on.”
Heath clicked his tongue.“Okay.It’s still a list, but at the top of it, I have properties that are close to our crime scene.Don’t know that’s going to help, but it’s the best I can do with the information we have.”
“Is the typewriter company on there?”Maxim asked.
“Yeah.That’s where you want to start?”
“I think that might be rather a good idea.My turtledoves, if you can move yourselves into the car, please?I think it’s time we went hunting for our killer.”
“The bag, Dr.Morris,” Corinne said and handed Gordon what seemed like the bigger version of a first aid kit to Adler.
“Ready, detective?”
I’m always ready when you ask, sweetheart.“Yeah.”
Chapter 32
“It’sjustashortwalk from here,” Maxim said as he parked his car in a fire lane, illegal for all but emergency services and the Forum’s hunter.
