“I don’t remember agreeing to be a hub.”
“Yes, you did. Sort of. Well, maybe Simon was the one who agreed, but one of you did. Anyway, Toland publishers don’t want to break cartons of books anymore, and we can’t sell four dozen of the same book at Howling Good Reads. And we have the easiest access to the Intuit and terra indigene publishers in the eastern part of the High North because they can ship books to us across Lake Tahki. But books that will sell here will also sell at the bookstores in Ferryman’s Landing, as well as the libraries on the island and mainland. Then we send more of the books to John Wolfgard in Bennett, as well as to Shelley Bookman and Jesse Walker in Prairie Gold. Meg wasn’t sure if the Intuit village at Sweetwater had a library. We were going to draft a letter for you and Simon to review before sending it to Jackson Wolfgard to see if anyone there would like to participate. In turn, John Wolfgard will order books from publishers in the Midwest or on the West Coast if he can reach them, and send some copies on to us.”
“The books still have to travel by truck from the port on Lake Tahki to us.” Vlad frowned. “Are we making any money from this?”
“From being a hub? No, but we’re not losing any either because the stores will pay for the books and the shipping costs to send them on. And we will make a profit on the books we sell here, just like we do now.”
And it will keep the fluffballs busy, he thought. “I’ll give the list a little more thought and have Simon take a look in case there is anything he would want to add.” Because she looked disappointed, he felt compelled to add, “Your list is excellent, and quite extensive. But there may be one or two titles that we’ve heard of that wouldn’t be available to you.”
Merri Lee seemed sufficiently appeased. Vlad felt relieved until he looked out the store’s front windows and saw Lieutenant Montgomery waiting for a break in traffic in order to dash across the street. That in itself was unusual. Crowfield Avenue had sufficient traffic in the morning to make going up to the light a prudent choice, and Montgomery made an effort to set a good example for the children.
“Find some work to do in the stock room,” he said quietly. Captain Burke was in A Little Bite talking with Agent O’Sullivan, and Tess reported that both men looked grim. Montgomery moved as if his muscles were swollen with anger. “No.” Vlad touched Merri Lee’s arm, stopping her. “Go check on Meg.”
Merri Lee hesitated. “Do you have a question I should ask?”
“Not yet.”
He heard HGR’s back door close moments before Montgomery walked in through the front door.
“Captain Burke is in A Little Bite,” Vlad said.
“I have a question for you,” Montgomery said, the usual courtesy in his voice sounding strained. “Are there Sanguinati living in one of the second-floor apartments in my building?”
“If there are?”
Montgomery’s breath came out in a sigh. “That’s good. It would be better if they were a little more obvious. Get a pizza and sit out on the porch, turn on the TV or radio.”
“We thought humans would prefer us to be more discreet about our presence.”
Montgomery looked uncomfortable. “My brother told some acquaintances that they could make use of the apartments.”
The Sanguinati won’t need to eat pizza.
“It’s what Jimmy does,” Montgomery continued. “He sets up situations to net himself a little cash, then blames someone else when the scheme is stopped. And he’s always just far enough removed from the trouble not to get dirtied by whatever happens. I told him he should get a job and find another place to live, but as long as he gets that apartment rent free, he won’t be going anywhere.”
How much to say? “If your brother goes by his own choice, no one will stop him. But Simon can’t force him to leave.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Can’t.”
Montgomery looked uneasy. “Why would someone want Jimmy to stay around the Courtyard?”
Interesting that Montgomery didn’t ask who wanted Jimmy to stay around, which meant the man had his suspicions about what was in the Courtyard keeping watch.
Vlad heard footsteps approaching the archway that connected HGR with A Little Bite. “You should talk to your captain. He’s been waiting for you.”
“Actually, I wanted to share this information with you as well,” Burke said, walking up to the checkout counter. He looked at Montgomery, then at Vlad. “You know about highway patrol?”
“They’re enforcers who watch the roads that connect towns,” Vlad replied. “They have territories like the police packs within a city. Some are human, some are Intuit, depending on what kind of communities are connected by the roads. The terra indigene aren’t considered part of the patrol, although they do keep watch over anything that goes through the wild country.”
“Even places that are not under human control still have law enforcement.”
“Did you do that kind of work?” Vlad asked, curious about the things Burke seemed to know that other humans didn’t.
“In my younger days.” Burke paused. “Two days ago, highway patrol found a white car that had bullet holes and blood. The license plate matched the numbers Ms. Corbyn saw in her vision—and the car is registered to Dr. Dominic Lorenzo.”
“You found Dr. Lorenzo?” Montgomery asked.
“I found him. He was wounded, but he’ll be all right.” Another pause. “He’s staying on Great Island for the time being.”
“Emily Faire did tell Simon and me that she was needed here full-time because someone else would take care of the River Road Community,” Vlad said.
“Did she?” Burke smiled, but the smile quickly faded. “Agent O’Sullivan talked to Governor Hannigan last night. Several of the doctors who were involved with the task force have gone missing.”
“Maybe they’ve gone to ground in out-of-the-way villages,” Montgomery suggested.
“Some of those men have wives and children who haven’t heard from them in days. We’ll hope to find them all and reunite them with their families, but I don’t think all of them will be as lucky as Dr. Lorenzo.” Burke took a breath and shook off the grimness. “O’Sullivan is waiting for me. We have a meeting with the mayor and police commissioner.”
Vlad waited until Burke left before saying, “You have missed your bus, Lieutenant.”
“Kowalski and I will grab a taxi.”
“No.” Vlad picked up the phone and called the Liaison’s Office. “Meg? Is Harry still there? Tell him he’s giving Lieutenant Montgomery and Officer Kowalski a ride to work before making his other stops. Yes, that will be fine.” He hung up and smiled at Montgomery. “Harry will wait for you in the delivery area.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“Special circumstances.”
Vlad waited until Montgomery left the bookstore before calling Eve Denby to tell her to be vigilant about anyone who might be trying to stay in the apartments without permission—and to let her know that a few Sanguinati would be taking up residence in one of the apartments from now on.