were even born with the skill as camouflage to protect them from human detection.
But it also made it twice as hard to pin a crime on them without DNA evidence left at the scene.
“The Kellies checked in.” Clay had his phone in hand, but his gaze swung to mine. “Kidd is MIA.”
A tiny flame of hope kindled in my chest. “How long?”
“He hasn’t been back to work since the day we examined the third crime scene.”
“Okay.” I itched to jump up and pace. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“They’re going to check flight manifests and car rental services, see if they can pin down his movements. It says here they checked his hotel. His room was empty. There were no signs of foul play. He appears to have left of his own free will.” Clay frowned. “They’re sending a unit to his house in Oregon for a welfare check.”
“What about his partner?” I couldn’t recall his name. “Does he know why Kidd bolted?”
“Their hotel was booked solid. A fishing tournament.” Clay shook his head. “They had separate rooms on different floors. Both singles. No suites available. The senior agent went to check on Kidd when he failed to show at the car.”
“And found the room empty,” I finished for him. “Are there security cameras at the hotel?”
Kidd was a warg. He couldn’t cloak himself and walk out unnoticed. He would be visible.
“There are,” Clay confirmed. “They all went dark for twenty minutes around midnight the night before.”
Tech could have done that. Magic could have done it faster and easier. But wargs didn’t have magic.
Proof we had two killers working together? Or evidence our cinematographer was also a hacker?
“We need to contact the Bureau,” I decided. “Let them know he’s a person of interest in our case.”
But if there were two of them…and they had been coordinating with one another…
“Get the Kellies to cross-check the agents present at each scene.” I let my attention drift back to the film. “We know Kidd was there, so the senior agent assigned to him was too. Who else?”
“You won’t want to hear this, but you need to rest.” Clay checked the time. “It’s almost eleven.”
The whole day was a blur of frantic movement and panicked thoughts, but I couldn’t stop yet.
“Colby is exhausted.” Asa hit me where it hurt. “I guarantee she won’t sleep a wink without you.”
Poor thing was in her rig, but she was drooping. Her antennae hung in her eyes, but she didn’t care.
“I’ll work through the night.” Clay made it a promise. “If I get anything good, I’ll wake you.”
“Okay.” I raised my hands in defeat. “I’ll sit with her long enough to put her to sleep.”
Leaving the guys to continue digging, I edged toward Colby, who was deathly pale for a white moth.
“I don’t want to sleep.” She kept staring at the screen, but it was obvious she wasn’t seeing it. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. I’m not fine. No one is fine.” I removed her headset and scooped her into my arms. “It’s been a rough day for all of us.” I aimed us down the hall. “Let’s curl up in your room and unwind.”
“Okay.” She snuggled closer. “We can do that.”
The door to her bedroom stood ajar, and I nudged it wider with my foot.
We discovered along the way that she slept best in a more natural environment. I papered the walls in a forest mural, painted the ceiling with blue skies—thankfully a sea sponge did most of the work for me—and matched it with green carpet. She opted to ditch her bed, and instead I had filled the space with tall artificial plants I fastened to the floor to support her weight if she decided to light on them. In the center of it all, I had strung a Colby-sized hammock that blended with her surroundings. I set her down in there.
In the far corner, a gray beanbag chair, representative of a rock, gave me a place to lounge with her.
“I’m going to veg on my phone,” I told her. “You shut your eyeballs.”
“I can’t shut my eyeballs, but I can close my eyelids.”
“Don’t sass your elders, smarty fuzz butt.” I switched off the light with an effort of will. “Sweet dreams.”
14
A tickle along the edge of my senses roused me around five in the morning, and I eased off the beanbag to investigate. Immediately, I regretted my life choices. Pretty sure my back snapped in half while I slept.
Colby was out like a light, so I tiptoed from