“Here we go,” he announced after a moment, and turning the book around to face us, pointed to a single line. “A glamour bracelet and a pain amulet were purchased two days ago by Elena Shoup.”
“Who the hell is that?” I asked while stomping down on the seed of doubt that had begun to bloom in the pit of my stomach.
I’d hoped we’d stumble on the evidence that damned Johnson right away, refusing to entertain the notion that he wasn’t operating alone. For the most part, his assault had seemed to stem from a personal vendetta against weres, but if he was working with someone else it suggested the whole thing was part of something bigger. That complicated things.
Turning to face Holbrook I said, “We’re no closer to figuring this out than we were before.”
“What about the persuasion charm? Where would Shoup have gotten that?” Holbrook asked, ignoring my comment. At least one of us hadn’t given up hope at the first roadblock.
“Not here, that’s for sure. I don’t deal in illegal merchandise, and anything that starts to influence the minds of others is definitely hedging towards black magic. That doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to get your hands on it though, if you know where to look.”
“And where would you look?” I asked.
“Like I said, that’s black magic. I don’t mess with that crap,” Killian replied with a tight smile.
Perhaps sensing my growing frustration, Holbrook interrupted to ask, “And Shoup? Is she a regular?”
“Not really, but I’ve seen her around.” The way Killian said it made me think he didn’t like her much, but he didn’t expound on the matter.
“Was anyone with her?”
“No one came in with her, but there was a guy that stayed in the car out front.”
Pulling out his phone, Holbrook brought up a picture of Johnson in all his beady-eyed, asshat glory. “This the guy?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t get a clear look at him, sorry.”
“Do you have security cameras around here?” Holbrook asked, looking around the shop. I hadn’t noticed any cameras when we came in, but I hadn’t been looking either.
Who knows, maybe we’ll catch a break, I thought.
“No, sorry. Most of our clientele prefer not to be tracked by Big Brother. Despite what the laws say, there’s still a lot of prejudice against non-humans.”
“I’m well aware of the prejudice,” Holbrook said, though I couldn’t understand why his words were tight and clipped. “Do you have any information on Shoup? A phone number? An address?”
“I do,” Killian replied slowly.
“Why didn’t you mention that before? Hand it over,” I demanded, receiving a scowl from Holbrook.
“I can’t do that. Not without a warrant.”
“Why the hell not?” I asked.
“We respect the privacy of our clients, and their desire to protect their personal information.”
I wanted to tell him that I didn’t give a fairy fart about his client’s privacy, but the vitriol laden words hanging on the tip of my tongue withered when his cat jumped down from the counter with a thud and rasping hiss. Trepidation coiled heavy in the pit of my stomach as I watched him adopt a wary crouch, the long fur of his belly brushing the wooden boards. Emitting a rumbling growl, almost too low to hear, he began to inch towards us.
Crap. This isn’t going to be good.
Loki responded in kind, filling the air with a harsh growl of his own. In an instant his tail had puffed up into a pale bottle brush, and a ridge of fur stood up along his spine. Aside from the occasional bird or rabbit that he caught outside, I’d never witnessed Loki interact with any other animals. I hadn’t realized how much my isolation affected my furry companion until that moment, and had to wonder if I was doing him a great disservice by leading such a solitary life. My unease became a living thing, lodged in the back of my throat.
Worried that it would soon come to blows I asked my two-legged companions, “Should we separate them?”
Taking my eyes off the pair, who had begun to circle each other in a slow dance, long enough to look at Holbrook and Killian, I felt a flicker of irritation when Holbrook raised his shoulders in a shrug. Meanwhile, Killian ignored my question and continued to watch the interaction with interest. Following the path of his gaze I was surprised to see that he was studying Loki rather than watching his own cat.
Having moved into the open space between the counter and a table covered in an array of crystals and candles, the two cats faced off like a couple of furry sumo wrestlers trying to decide which one of them was the bigger bad ass. Based on size alone, I was betting on Killian’s monster.