“Nice car,” he said, circling the little blue convertible.
“Thanks. It’s new.” New used, but it was stil a major step up from the hulking metal junker I’d driven until it had gotten stolen and stripped while I worked the Coleman case. Of course, since the Blood Moon, sitting inside my old car for an extended period of time probably would have made me retch. The convertible had been designed for the filthy rich or fae and had no iron in its construction. Even used, it hadn’t been cheap, and I was almost surprised it didn’t run on rainbows. Actually, rainbows would probably be a pain-in-the-ass power source. I’d used most of the money I’d made from the Coleman case on the down payment, and I stil owed the bank, but business had been good and as long as that lasted, I wouldn’t have trouble with the monthly payments.
Since Malik wasn’t glamoured, I pul ed the charm I’d made for detecting glamour from the cup holder and snapped it onto my bracelet. Better safe than sorry. I checked that the magic bridle was in easy reach in the top of my purse and then leaned across the seat to grab the plastic grocery bag on the passenger side. “I brought what plastic grocery bag on the passenger side. “I brought what you asked for. Do I want to know why we need raw hamburger meat?”
Malik’s thin lips cracked into a smile ful of smal , yel ow teeth. “We have to get the kelpie’s attention, now, don’t we?”
Great.
I fol owed him down the bank to the edge of the water.
When he held out one long-fingered hand I gave him the grocery bag. He dug inside, pul ing out the three pounds of raw hamburger. Tearing off the plastic, he studied the pink meat.
“Bloodier would have been better,” he said, “but this wil do.”
He sank his fingers into the meat, and after pinching off a clump, hurled it into the rushing water. It vanished into the current, and I waited, shuffling from foot to foot on the uneven bank.
Nothing happened.
“Now what?” I asked, staring at the water.
Malik flicked his fingers, dislodging bits of pink hamburger, but he continued to watch the river. After several minutes, he shook his head. “Let’s try farther upstream.”
The walk couldn’t be described as companionable. Malik hummed to himself, clearly not interested in casual conversation as he waltzed through the thick underbrush crowding the edge of the bank. My progress was considerably less effortless as dry twigs snapped under my steps and vines tugged at my ankles. This was the second time this week I’d tromped through the wilderness, and my boots just weren’t made for it. Then there were the bugs. I seriously should have packed an insect repel ent charm, or at least the spray that norms used. Not that any of this seemed to bother Malik as he led us farther upstream. In between swatting mosquitos on my bare arms and watching for raised roots waiting to trip me, I scanned the watching for raised roots waiting to trip me, I scanned the water, the banks, and the woods beyond, but nothing bigger than a squirrel moved in the wilderness.
We stopped several times, and at each stop Malik tossed more hamburger into the river. But no water horse emerged from the current.
“Do you think the court already captured the kelpie?” I asked once we’d exhausted al three pounds of meat.
Malik shrugged. “She might not be hungry.”
Maybe because she snacked on some human remains? Actual y, that theory didn’t hold with the evidence we had. Tamara had said there were no tool marks—or any other indication of how the feet were severed from the legs
—and I didn’t think she’d miss something like gnaw marks on the bones.
“So how can we draw her out?” I asked as Malik handed me the grocery bag.
“We could offer her something she’d find more appetizing.” Malik smiled, flashing discolored teeth. “She’s not my biggest fan, but I bet she’d find you . . . sweet.”
My stomach, already a little sour after tossing raw meat around, knotted tight. I backed up a step. “What are you suggesting?”
“Calm down. Kelpies are like sharks with hooves—they can smel blood in the water for miles. A few drops should be enough to get her attention.”
Right, a couple of drops of blood so the kelpie could get a taste for me—because that wasn’t creepy. I stared at the rushing water. The hope that the kelpie had information about the location of the crime scene was the only lead I currently had. I’d bled for worse reasons. Final y I nodded.
“So just a couple of drops in the water?”