Blood's Shadow: The Lycanthropy Files, Book 3 Read Online Free Page B

Laura’s voice startled me from the memory.
    “Right,” I said. “I didn’t call her.”
    “She said she couldn’t wait, and she expects to be seen immediately or she will fire me and every other staff member you depend on so that your lazy ass will have to learn to do things for itself.”
    A headache started in my right temple, and I massaged it, hoping it wouldn’t flare up into a full-blown migraine. Although modern science had given a name to my “sick headaches,” the medicines didn’t work for me. Losing my staff wouldn’t help it, so I said, “Send her in.”
    Morena glided in without picking her feet very far off the floor. She wore her customary navy blue pantsuit and flats. She’d adapted well to this new era in which women could dress like men. When she and I had worked together in the fifties, the skirts and heels of the time had always looked like they enjoyed being worn by her as much as she enjoyed wearing them. Her yellow eyes took in the details of the office, specifically the message slip in the fireplace, but she didn’t say anything about it.
    I bowed. “What a pleasant surprise, Chairwoman.”
    As always, she got directly to the point. It was one of the few things I liked about her. “I understand there’s been some unpleasantness at the Institute.”
    I gestured for her to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk. She sat with spine straight. I could count the number of times I’d seen her relax on one hand.
    “So you’ve spoken with Garou,” I said and sat in the other one. My office wasn’t as cozy as Lonna’s but still held a fair number of volumes, and my eyes strayed to one shelf of books from the original Wolfsbane Manor. They were all I managed to rescue before the fire found the library, and I had dreamed of presenting them to Joanie when I returned for her. Alas, by the time I had made it through all the bureaucratic nonsense of the Council, she had been claimed by another.
    “He filled me in on the obvious details. I want to know what you think he missed.”
    “What did he find in the pull-off where the getaway car was?”
    “What makes you think I’m going to tell you?” She leaned forward. This was our game.
    “Because I’m the Council Investigator,” I said, “and even if you don’t tell me, I’ll get the report from Garou later. Might as well save me some time.”
    “Insolent pup,” she growled. “I should have voted against making you Investigator. You were too young.”
    I arched an eyebrow. “As I recall, you did, and yet here we are. The question is whether you’re going to help me do my job.”
    “You never did respect your elders like you should,” she told me. “And no, the question is whether you’re going to be able to do your job. Remember, you’re not a full Council member yet. You can be replaced.”
    “I see no reason why I shouldn’t do my job, and yes, I do recall my position. You remind me of it every chance you get.”
    She stood and walked behind the desk to where I had the files laid out. “Yet perhaps I do see potential areas of conflict for you, even beyond your friendship with the directors. What do you know of the dead man?”
    I moved to close the open file, that of Selene. “He was a full human and a geneticist.” I grabbed for his file, but she held it away from me.
    “And what else?”
    “He’d gotten a batch of applications from Iain MacPherson, the CLS specialist and the other geneticist.”
    “Do you know about a wife? Family? Even his nationality?”
    “No, no, and I suspect American. As you know, I only just arrived when you barged in. What are you getting at?”
    She flipped Selene’s file at me. “Only that you might be letting your small head overrule your big one.”
    I winced. No matter how modern we got, I couldn’t get used to women speaking crudely. “I just received the files.”
    “And see which one you opened first.” She slammed both fists down on the desk, which toppled an