Part 24 (1/2)

Black-and-White sniffed. There are many human smells here of people who looked for data about the man and the one who killed him.

And it has been long since, the smallest cat added.

Sift everything with all your special senses, especially anything that might pertain to the murder. Each of you who comes to me with an individual report will be given a treat.

Mouths smacked. Drool spilled from one of the dogsa muzzles.

That is the first request, said the fox. What else?

I want to track each of the racc.o.o.ns who lived here, learn their whereabouts, and speak with them. Garrett gestured to the raw opened earth where the den had been. I believe there was an adult male, female, and two kits. They are smart, like you, potential Fam animals.

Artemisia jerked awake beside him. Garrett examined his band for clues that one of them knew something more.

A dog with gray around his nose yipped. I heard the male ac.o.o.n likes beach more than forest. I heard one kit was hurt by the bad one who killed the man, heard a racc.o.o.n male said so.

Fam murder! someone yelled. We are looking for Fam murderer!

Shudders rippled through the Fams, some of the youngest bolted. Garrett treasured each and every informant, never knew which qualities he might need for a job. He hoped they returned, if not now, then later.

Cats hunched down, ears flattened, gazes darting, hissing. Dogs and foxes hopped to their feet. Fear.

Should he use Flair to reach and sweep and hold many Fam minds?

Twenty-nine.

No. He watched young ones dash away.

An instant, clear memory flashed of Artemisia sending love to a . . . to a Fam in TQas HouseHeart? He let his shoulders fall from the high line of tension and gathered concern . . . affection . . . for these colleagues.

He took Artemisiaas handa”it was unexpectedly coola”and on a long puff of exhalation, he imagined a silver stream from himself to the feral Fams. Artemisia eased beside him and bolstered his sending with affection and power. They worked together, a good sign.

Purring rumbled from the cats. All the foxes sat straight and the muscles of their muzzles pulled back, showing their tongues as if they were smiling. The dogs trotted close to Garrett, then flopped in front of him and rolled over so he could rub their belliesa”their tongues had been lolling, too.

Garrett grinned himself as he sent more affection out, enjoyed the rough hair under his fingers as he petted the dogs and the dampness of their tongues on his hand as they wriggled to lick him. Surprise and pleasure filled him when a wave of love came back to him from the group.

Black-and-White leaned against his knee, even Sleek Black purred loud enough that Garrett could hear him. With a last stroke on each of the dogs, he addressed his friends. Are we calmer about the murder now?

aYesss,a vocalized Black-and-White.

aGood,a Garrett answered aloud. aBecause Iam not done.a What else? asked the head fox.

Garrett took the simple square cross head picked up at the guardhouse from his belt pocket and unsheathed it, revealing the knife. He didnat like the way it felt in his hands, poorly balanced and not a good weapon. Of course, it wasnat supposed to be a weapon. Even as he frowned down on it, he knew it wasnat a tool head have felt comfortable using in a ritual.

That, too, surprised him. He didnat consider himself a spiritual man . . . and knew more about the Dark G.o.ddess who claimed those ready to transition to another life than the more benevolent Lady and Lord. He shrugged the idea aside as the ferals crowded around him to examine the object.

Odd knife. One of the foxes shook his head. Then he sneezed. Smells of smoke stuff, but not blood or hurt ac.o.o.n.

aThatas right,a Garrett said. aThe weapon that killed the man and hurt the racc.o.o.n looked like this.a He angled the blade so sunlight gleamed off the edges. aThe knife was found, but not the sheath.a Opening his hand, he showed the sheath to his informers. aIt would look something like this.a Again there was some s.h.i.+fting, mental images flying between those animals of the same species so quickly Garrett caught only flickers of the speech.

Black-and-White mewed, then broadcasted, We have not seen this knife.

None of us foxes have noticed such a thing in our travels, said the leader.

The dogs shook their heads. No, no, no. Nothing like that, no.

Garrett nodded. aVery well, you will all look for the sheath?a He got various types of a.s.sents, then the cat yowled. It is now time for Our feast food.

Garrett went back to telepathy for the whole group. Yes, raw and cooked meat will be dispersed in the troughs of the courtyard behind my building.

Sleek Black shot from Apollopa Park and down the street, a black blur. The dogs followed fast, the foxes were a bit more dignified, but it wasnat more than a minute before Garrett was alone with Artemisia in the greenery.

He scanned the gra.s.ses, the flowers, but saw nothing, sensed nothing head missed before.

aThat was very interesting.a Artemisia stood and shook out her tunic, brushed it, then actually smiled at him. aItas obvious you have a bond with those Fams.a Then she glanced away and wet her lips. aIa”a aWhat?a aItas hard to say.a aIave heard a lot of hard things from you. Donat stop now,a Garrett said.

Her gaze flashed to his. Her brows dipped. aYou havenat always been kind, either.a Gray Tabby slunk from the shadow of a big-boled tree. He darted up to Artemisia and sniffed around her feet and legs. Smiling, she bent down to pet him. He followed his nose up the line of her braid. Her eyes were wide, but there was no fear running through her connection with Garrett.

I thought so, the cat said smugly. She smells of the racc.o.o.n family who denned here and specifically of the she-kit the bad one wounded.

aWhat!a Garrett said.

Artemisia straightened, calm and reserved. She crossed her arms. aYes, thatas what I wanted to tell you. I found, or rather, Randa found me when she was wounded yesterday.a aRanda?a aMy new Fam.a Not only had Artemisia kept information from him, she had won the trust of the racc.o.o.ns when he had not. It grated. aI need to speak with her.a Artemisia glanced at her wrist timer. aAnd I need to go to work. Iam late enough that Iall have to teleport.a And he, Garrett, d.a.m.n well needed to send this new irritation away and treat her right. He couldnat afford any more screwups with her. So he sucked in a big breath and shook out his arms and legs. Noted that the cat ran toward the direction of his office.

aIam sorry. My pride was hurt that . . . Randa . . . came to you instead of me.a He gave her a rueful smile. aIave been trying to woo them.a aUnlike me,a she said.

Stup! aDo I need to apologize again?a aNo. But I must go.a aIall see you later.a She shrugged. aYou have the recordsphere of my interviews with the guards regarding the altar knife and how it was found.a She swallowed. aIn Randa. Sheas fine, by the way.a Artemisia teleported away.

FAMMAN! yelled Rusby. I am at Our office. There are A LOT of FAMS here and they all want FOOD.

Gritting his teeth, Garrett teleported to the pad in the corner of his office. The smell of mildew was even stronger. He had no doubt that the other tenants had reported the problem the day before, but the landlord hadnat taken care of it.

Yep, he had to leave this place.

He noted a couple of calls in his scry panel cache, but fed the feral Fams prime soft kibble and some actual furrabeast shreds that he pulled from the no-timea”the last of the batch.

While they ate, he and Rusby went back to the office and Garrett watched the scrys. One was from Laev and was brief and nearly angry. aThe Mugworts donat have anything to do with the murder. Leave them alone.a Garrett stared at the fading image of his friend on the scry panel.

Oddly enough, in the second scry, Winterberry said almost the same thing in a more courteous manner and with a puzzled expression on his face. aI have been informed by several peoplea”including Tinne Holly, the owner of The Green Knight Fencing and Fighting Salon, and Captain Ruis Elder of the stars.h.i.+p Nuadaas Sworda”that the older Mugworts, the once GraceLord and Lady, have unshakeable alibis.a His mouth twisted. aI have not been given proof of that.a He ran his fingers through his cap of white hair, then smiled. aI trust that you will receive proof.a The Captain of the guards s.h.i.+fted his shoulders. aI must admit I am beginning to like the idea that someone else will have to deal with the higher n.o.bles, the FirstFamilies, and the FirstFamilies Council.a His grin spread. aGood luck.a Garrett sat in his comfortchair, leaned back, and contemplated the now dark screen of his scry panel. aHuh.a He let notions flow through his mind, pulled out some coins, and exercised his fingers, rolling the coins across his knuckles. aMust be nice to have high-ranking friends.a That didnat come out as bitterly as it would have a year ago.

Rusby, who was on Garrettas desk, stopped grooming and looked at Garrett with yellow eyes. aYesss,a he said.

aDonat need to think about the Mugworts right now. There are other threads to pull.a Lounging, he scried Winterberry back and spoke at length about Modoc Eryngoas viewing. There were several copies of the viz camera recordings and one arrived in Garrettas office mail cache.

They discussed the Eryngo Family members who had rotated the duty of sitting next to the bodya”his sister and father and nephew and niece. All of them were angry and on the suspects list.

Garrett kept his face straight as Winterberry finally relayed in a dry voice the alibis for the murder for himselfa”at the guardhouse catching up on reportsa”and his wife, Trif Clover Winterberrya”in bed and vouched for by her Fam, Greyku. Garrett had commented that if Famsa words were being taken, especially cat Fams, then the Turquoise Houseas reports should be good.