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"Crap," I muttered

"Shit," Grace said reed

"Wait a second" Grace held up one finger "Who said anything about biting?"

"Yeah," I agreed, seeing her point "If the rune&039;s ic, isn&039;t it razzle-dazzle he&039;s a olf?"

"Didn&039;t work that way in Ger was needed And I didn&039;t see any runes back then Not that I hung around to search"

"That doesn&039;t e here"

"True, but then why bother to bite your tourist at all?"

He had a point

Doc held out his hand "May I see that rune?"

I checked one"

"That&039;s evidence," Grace said "I wouldn&039;t have let you keep it if I&039;d known you were going to lose it"

"Really, and here I was thinking you&039;d definitely handed it to me so I could do just that"

Grace scowled at my sarcasm, but I didn&039;t care I couldn&039;t believe I&039;d misplaced evidence I was queen of the idiots Where was that dunce cap?

"I had it" I thought back "At the Gypsy ca burly bouncer Hell

"A few others," I finished

"Did you leave it there?"

"No I&039;m sure of it"

"They steal, you know" We both looked at Doc "Gypsies They can&039;t help it"

I sighed Not hiht have taken the rune at the lake Soht also have taken it at your house"

The way Grace put the emphasis on "someone," I knehat someone she meant, and for an instant et his hands on that rune? He had wanted to keep it when I&039;d shown hih he hadn&039;t seemed desperate to

Then I re

"Did you find it on him at the station?" I asked

Grace&039;s brow creased "No"

I spread my hands

"He could have hidden it before he ca"

"If the rune&039;s still at my house, then he didn&039;t steal it"

She couldn&039;t argue with that

"What I&039;d like to know," I said, "is how Mengelestarted with him"

"Not necessarily"

"You said Hitler ordered him to make a olf ar the army from another olf," Doc said "In fact, Hitler was fascinated olves and olves His name, Adolf, can be translated as &039;Noble Wolf&039;"

"You&039;re saying Hitler was a olf?"

"He had the personality for it Once bitten, humans becoer quite sane"

"Hit that nail on the head," I unshot to the noggin, or so they say But "

"Is that a euphemism for explosion on contact with a silver bullet?" I asked

"Considering his cronies duas on him and the new missus, then torched them before the Russians arrived, it&039;s hard to say"

"Does it really matter if Hitler was a olf and birthed his own army?" Grace asked "That ar up our life now, and we need to do soreed, "because soon, if not already, there&039;ll be more than one or tolves in these ht to call the more of their own If you don&039;t nip this in the bud, the entire town, the entire state, perhaps the country, will be overrun"

I couldn&039;t believe ere talking about this Worse than that, I kind of believed it

"I need to get solanced at ot theun?" I lowered aze to her weapon, then back to her face "So to speak You can&039;t go around blasting wolves with silver bullets They&039;ll put you in a room with bars on the s Wolves, especially around here, have to be endangered"

"It isn&039;t a wolf," she said, herto you, it&039;s a person who&039;s et you in less trouble after you shoot it?"

"If I see a ith people eyes and it&039;s co to wait around to become one, too I don&039;t care if they putto her sometiers "A olf in human form will be burned at the touch of silver"

"That&039;s handy," Grace said

"You&039;re going to go around sticking people with silver just to see if they smoke?" I demanded

"If need be"

"Grace!" I snored , Doc I&039;ll be in touch"

With a nod at Doc Bill, she left

"Uh, thanks," I said, and followed

Dead or not, I didn&039;t want to be in the saht up with Grace halfway across the parking lot "Hey" I grabbed her ar?"

"To talk to our suspect"

"But" I frowned "He isn&039;t a suspect anyh"

"What if Cartwright is the wolf?"

I blinked What if he was?

"I pulled hi That still makes him my pri around the forest?"