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The officers were more interested in my claim that I’d spent the better part of the last hour with Adaht or ht not have killed Charlie

"No one’s seen Ruelle in years Most folks think he died in the swa," I said

The officers - both young and buff, one white, one black - exchanged glances

"What?" I asked

"Soht that host hold your hand? Or fetch a cell phone? I didn’t know, and I didn’t plan on asking these children Although they were probably around thirty, like er

The two skirted the da care not to disturb the evidence as they peered at the ground

"Huh," said the blond, baby-faced officer with a na that read: Cantrel

"Yeah," said the other, ent by the name of Hamilton

I waited, but neither of the with any info

"What?" I asked, a little more loudly than last time

"Only tracks are the victiht to search for tracks Hadn’t thought beyond endered in me

"There aren’t any ani ht wreath of paw prints surrounding Charlie "That wasn’t a dog"

"How you know for sure, ist I’ve seen wolf tracks"

"There aren’t any wolves in Louisiana"

"Is that like the state ht between my eyes "Wait a second" I dropped my hand "No other tracks but mine, Charlie’s, and the - " I waved at the canine impressions

"None"

No wonder they didn’t believe Ruelle had been here The man hadn’t left any tracks

I frowned Then again, he hadn’t been wearing any shoes

By the time the other officers arrived, I’d finished ather evidence and prepare the body for transport Cantrel offered to take ratefully accepted I didn’t want to go alone, even if I had been capable of driving an airboat

A short while later, he deposited me at the dock "We’ll be in touch"

"Do you have any leads in these murders?"

"Murders?" Genuine surprise twisted the word

"I heard another man had his throat torn out in the swamp"

"So?"

"Two men, killed the sa overti?"

"That wasn’t a dog, and you daer intributary, then back at s Even coyotes Virus spreads like wildfire"

I lifted a brow He could be right Except a rabid ani Charlie A rabid animal would have attacked us, too

I knew a little bit about rabies Certainly the infected aniood as dead If there were a rabies epidemic in the Honey Island Swamp, there’d be a lot more bodies Both human and beast

Cantrel cli in the driver’s seat with a confidence that revealed he’d been there : before

"You see" I waved a hand at the vehicle

"I’ve been driving these all my life"

"You’re froht around here"

"Then you knew Charlie"

"Yeah" He sighed "Decent guy"

We both went silent, thinking of Charlie

Cantrel straightened - all business once more "You’ll need to stay out of the swaerous"

"I don’t have much choice I’ve been hired to - "

I broke off I couldn’t say I was looking for a loup-garou Cantrel ht just commit me to the insane asylum Around here, they probably still had one

"Hired to what?" Cantrel pressed

"Research," I said, which covered quite a bit and usually bored people so ht you were a zoologist Shouldn’t you be in a zoo?" He flushed "Ithere"

I didn’t want to explain what I really was So I didn’t

"I’ here"

"It’d be best if you stayed out of the swa across the night sky "At least for a few days"

Before I could question him further, he started the motor and whirled away

Once I was alone, the silence surrounded lint of the h none of the any closer

I patted us protection charm it worked pretty well Nevertheless, I hurried to my car and returned to the city

Bourbon Street was in full swing I glanced at ht Why did it feel so ry, but I hadn’t eaten all day and while my body could definitely stand to lose a few pounds, I knew better than to skip food entirely I enjoyed feinting even less than I enjoyed wearing Lycra

I forcedthe scarred, broken sidewalks, past the bars, the strip joints, the souvenir shops that sported T-shirts with obscene slogans, until I found a restaurant that wasn’t too busy Then, with aand stumbled into a cobblestone courtyard filled with tables

I chose one nearest the street While Iin a crowd, I definitely liked watching theh loud and mostly drunk, the Bourbon Street horde was fun Cheery people visited New Orleans, and those who lived here loved it