I had a feeling that everyone who was included in the we Ilya Sanguinati referred to had fangs at the very least. Which meant we didn’t include Grimshaw and me.

“It’s a human investigation,” Grimshaw said, turning in his seat to look directly at Ilya.

“It’s a human investigation because Victoria called the police instead of calling us,” Ilya replied.

Oh golly. Had I stepped on some terra indigene toes by reporting the body to humans instead of calling Silence Lodge? Of course, I hadn’t known about The Jumble being a terra indigene settlement or even the species of my neighbors across the lake, so I hoped the Sanguinati took that into account.

“Franklin Cartwright was staying at the boardinghouse, and he allegedly worked for Yorick,” I said, trying to smooth any ruffled feathers—or fangs. “Even if I hadn’t called the police when Aggie tried to warm up the eyeball in the wave-cooker, someone would have noticed that he disappeared.” I liked saying allegedly. It was such a cop-and-crime word.

“Humans disappear in the wild country all the time.”

Grimshaw looked grim. I didn’t blame him. We were being reminded that survival not only depended on fellow humans playing nice and sharing the sandbox but also depended on not bringing yourself to the attention of all the large, intelligent predators that prowled just beyond the boundary of the sandbox—and sometimes went hunting inside the sandbox when they had a reason to focus on particular prey.

“You should ask the Xaviers,” I said, breaking the tense silence that followed Ilya’s words. “Detective Swinn, his team, and the dead man had stayed at the boardinghouse. If any of them had one of those tie clips, Ineke might have seen it.” I pointed to the tie clip in the evidence bag. “You could show her that one or even take a photo of it to show around.”

It was the way Grimshaw didn’t look at me that told me someone— or several someones—had already asked Ineke about the tie clip.

“The Xaviers are not the only individuals who could assist in finding out who wears that symbol,” Ilya said, focusing a predator stare on Grimshaw. “We can assist with locating other humans who belong to this group. You can supply a photo.”

Vampire and cop locked eyes.

“Belonging to an organization isn’t proof of guilt or collusion,” Grimshaw said.

“But obtaining a sample of who might belong to a particular group may assist in determining the group’s agenda,” Ilya countered. After a weighty silence, he added, “Our interest is in understanding why Franklin Cartwright came to The Jumble and what he was supposed to achieve. Victoria is the owner of the buildings and caretaker of the land that makes up The Jumble. Someone thinks otherwise and is causing trouble. We will pursue this until we know why. We are willing to work with the police in this matter, or we will work on our own.”

In other words, someone can go to jail if he or she has been naughty or that person can be eaten. Given those choices, I’m pretty sure I would choose jail. Then again, Ilya Sanguinati did look yummy, and dying from orgasms and blood loss might not be a bad way to go.

“Cooperation is always appreciated.” Grimshaw didn’t sound like he appreciated being backed into a corner, but he said the words that should at least delay more people getting killed.

But I was going to pay close attention to the shelves in the general store in case there was a sudden run on the ketchup and hot sauce.

CHAPTER 23

Aggie

Thaisday, Juin 15

Following Ilya Sanguinati’s orders, Aggie gathered her Crowgard kin and flew to the woodland side of Silence Lodge, where they wouldn’t be seen by any humans fishing on the lake. Many of the Crows chose to perch on the branches of nearby trees, but most settled on the ground since it was easier to shift to a human form when you didn’t have to balance on a branch that might not hold that shape.

A dozen Sanguinati followed Miss Vicki’s attorney out of the lodge. Several Crows fluffed and fluttered. Other Crows preened their feathers to show they weren’t concerned by the number of vampires who were also attending this meeting. Normally the Crowgard had no reason to fear the Sanguinati. Being another form of terra indigene, they were not prey. But powerful predators should never be taken lightly.

“We would like your assistance in solving a puzzle,” Ilya Sanguinati said.

Aggie stopped preening. Puzzles were fun, especially the ones that required figuring out how to claim a shiny.

Ilya Sanguinati held out a photograph of the shiny clip thing she had traded for the pretty bracelet. “We need to find out how many humans have a tie clip exactly like this one. Once we know who they are, we’ll be able to find out why they are interested in The Jumble.”

<Miss Vicki is taking care of The Jumble now,> Eddie Crowgard said. <She is the Reader. We don’t need another human there.>

“We think the humans who wear this clip are trying to force Miss Vicki to leave.”

<Peck them!>

<Tell Cougar to claw them!>

<Tell the Bear to swat them!>

“Not yet.”

All the Crows settled down. “Not yet” wasn’t quite a promise that soon there would be eyeballs for lunch, but it was close.

“You cannot take these shinies,” Ilya Sanguinati said. “They have to stay with the humans who own them.”

Aggie stared at Ilya. No shinies? What kind of puzzle game was that?

“Find something else to bring back that will tell me who the humans are and where they live,” Ilya said. “Something they won’t miss, like mail humans toss in the recycle box as soon as it arrives or an envelope that has been thrown out. We need something with the human’s name and address.”

<What happens then?> Aggie asked. She wasn’t sure how many of the Crows would play this puzzle game if they couldn’t bring back any shinies.

Ilya smiled, showing his fangs. “Then we’ll be able to identify the human enemies hiding among the rest.”

CHAPTER 24

Grimshaw

Thaisday, Juin 15

Ineke Xavier walked into the boardinghouse’s parlor wearing a one-piece bathing suit and an open robe. “You wanted to see me?”

When Grimshaw didn’t answer, she looked amused. He understood her amusement—and felt grateful that she was amused because he couldn’t stop looking at her thighs. Or more precisely, the two tattoos on her thighs.

On her left thigh was a revolver. The smoke coming out of the barrel rose toward her nether region. On her right thigh was a big-eyed caricature of Ineke with her multicolored hair piled on top of her head and a miniature of the boardinghouse tucked in the hair like an ornament. Around the caricature’s neck was a necklace made of tombstones, and beneath them were the words “I Bury Trouble.”

Gods, Grimshaw thought. I’m renting a room from this woman.

Ineke closed the robe, releasing Grimshaw from his involuntary fixation with the tattoos.

“Will this take long?” Ineke asked. “I’m going to The Jumble to talk to Vicki about our arrangements to offer guests a guided trail ride to the lake. I think she needs some girl time, and I could use a swim while we review the details.”

Grimshaw wanted to shake his head to clear it, or at least splash some cold water on his face, but that would tell her too much about his reaction. Was there something mesmerizing about those tattoos, something hypnotic? Or was it just that he’d been caught unprepared?

He needed to close this case and get out of Sproing.

He held out the photo of the tie clip. “Have you seen this?”

“Have I seen a tie clip? I imagine every man has one, so I’ve seen plenty of them over the years. I think I even have a couple of them in the secondary jewelry box.”

He hoped she had bought them for herself and he didn’t have to look for bodies in the compost bin. “I’m looking for tie clips exactly like this one.”

“I’ve covered this ground before.” But she took the photo and studied the image. “Unless someone’s behavior gives me a reason to look, I don’t rummage through my guests’ possessions. That doesn’t mean I don’t pay attention to anything that’s left out in plain sight. Being tidy men, I can’t say if you or Officer Osgood have a tie clip like this. Franklin Cartwright had rented one of the en suite rooms, but he didn’t leave out so much as a tube of toothpaste, and despite planning to be here for a few days, he didn’t remove anything from his luggage but a couple of shirts and a second pair of trousers that he hung in the closet. And his luggage was always locked when he left his room.”