Clay shook her hand and murmured a greeting, which for him was downright friendly.

Rita waved at the crowd. “Not a hope in hell of getting a firsthand look, although, in your condition, you probably shouldn’t.”

At a high-pitched squeal from the alley, Clay turned sharp, eyes narrowing.

“Is that-?” I began.

“Rats,” he said, lip curling.

Rita nodded. “They’ve got animal control in there now, but it’s a real mess. They must have come out the minute they smelled blood. I heard that the first cops on the scene had to beat the suckers off. Apparently, that’s why the rookie puked. They were feeding-”

She stopped, gaze dipping to my stomach. “Sorry. Anyway, point is you can’t get near the crime scene, and you don’t want to. Come over here, and I’ll fill you in. Unless…”

She looked at Clay, as if checking to be sure that murder details would be okay, considering my “condition.”

“It’s fine.” I patted my belly. “All is quiet-it must be nap time.”

She laughed. “I’ll keep my voice down so I don’t give the little guy nightmares.”

Contact

THE YOUNG PROSTITUTE HAD BEEN TENTATIVELY IDENTIFIED as “Kara,” last name still unknown. Her throat had been slashed, a deep left to right cut that seemed to have been done from behind, and she’d died quickly, a blessing considering what the killer had done next.

She’d been cut open from sternum to pubis. Rita had heard that several organs had been removed, though that wasn’t confirmed. The coroner was still working on the body, and not about to talk to reporters. What didn’t need to be confirmed were the facial mutilations, which had been seen by witnesses before the police arrived…including a few who had snapped pictures with their cell phones. According to Rita, Kara had sustained multiple deep cuts to her face, splitting her nose and severing part of her right ear.

I tried not to jump to conclusions.

“That’s exactly what you’re gonna read on the front page of the Sun, so don’t you dare scoop me,” Rita said.

I struggled to smile. “Wouldn’t know how.”

Jeremy caught my eye. Rita noticed, and her gaze traveled over him.

“Friend of yours?”

I nodded, but wasn’t about to introduce him to a human acquaintance if I could help it.

She kept looking at Jeremy, sizing him up. “Single?”

I was about to say something noncommittal when Jaime saw Rita looking, and shifted closer to Jeremy, her hand moving up behind him so she seemed to be resting her hand against the small of his back.

“Guess not,” Rita murmured.

Clay made a noise between a snort and a laugh. Rita’s photographer waved to her.

“Gotta run,” she said. “About that other lead, the missing man? I’ll follow up on that, and give you a call.”

When we got within ten feet of Jeremy and Jaime, I said, “Better wait here. They’re arguing about something.”

Jaime’s face was taut, her eyes flashing as she spoke. Jeremy leaned back with his arms crossed.

“Doesn’t seem like much of a fight,” Clay said.

I stared at him.

“Yeah,” he said. “For Jeremy, I guess that’s a fight.”

We tried not to eavesdrop, but that’s tough for werewolves.

“I can sense her,” Jaime was saying. “She hasn’t crossed over-”

“Which doesn’t mean you need to speak to her.”

“Doesn’t it? If I can get a firsthand account-”

“From a victim, firsthand accounts are often unreliable. That’s particularly true with the ghost of someone who’s just been murdered. You’ve told me that yourself. You’ve also told me how difficult it is to contact them, and how traumatic-”

Jaime crossed her arms as Jeremy uncrossed his. “I never said traumatic.”

People moved between us, and Jeremy stepped away to avoid being overheard. A few minutes later, Jaime wheeled on him and strode off. Jeremy hesitated, then walked over to us.

“That’s the problem dealing with nonwerewolves,” I said. “They lack that critical ‘you are Alpha, you are right’ gene.”

“Very inconvenient,” he said wryly.

He turned and watched Jaime pace along the far sidewalk and, for a second, I thought I saw something more than friendly concern flicker behind his eyes.

“You know, she’s right,” I said softly. “You can offer your opinion and advice, but it’s her choice.”

Jeremy nodded, but he didn’t make a move in her direction. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was-wondering whether Jaime thought it would help or she was just desperate to make the effort, to show us that she could be useful.

“If she’s going to do it anyway, at least we can be grateful,” I said.

Jeremy exhaled, brushed back his hair, then nodded.

“I’ll go tell her she’s allowed to do it,” he said.

As he turned to go, I touched his arm. “Jeremy?”

“Hmmm?”

“ ‘Allowed’ is probably not the best word choice. The whole ‘not a werewolf’ thing?”

A small smile, then he headed over to her. They spoke for a minute, then Jaime headed for the alley. When Jeremy started to follow, she hesitated, glancing back at him. He caught up and, without a word exchanged, they headed into the alley.