She’d told him the highlights of what she’d gleaned from the conversation between Liam and Minh, so Cole relayed that to Jessup while staring out the window.
Finally, Jessup said, “No need to stare outside like a mooning hound. If that gal was around, we’d feel her.”
Cole’s scars weren’t burning and he couldn’t see Cecile anywhere outside. Still, he couldn’t quite get himself to lower his guard. “Are you sure she’s going to meet up with us?”
“If she wasn’t, there ain’t a lot we could do about it.” Since he wasn’t taking any comfort from that, Jessup added, “Sometimes you just gotta do your thing and have faith that whatever you set into motion before will keep on turning.”
“You think she heard anything I said about what Paige found?”
“They can sniff out quite a lot, but I don’t think it’s the same for hearing. At least, not for one as inexperienced as her, especially since she’d have to hear past this damn powerful engine to put any pieces together. I still can’t believe Paige heard all of that from two Full Bloods without them knowing she was there.”
“There was some sort of interference. She says it messed up a little bit of everything, including cell phones. Whatever it was, it distracted the Full Bloods long enough for them to have their meeting and leave before they noticed she was there. She got away and was still running when I talked to her.”
“I suppose that ain’t too surprising. Considering how everything’s been going, the Full Bloods don’t have to worry if we hear them talking or not.” When Cole stared at him, Jessup added, “Time to face up to it. We’re scrambling just to see another sunrise. The quicker we wrap our heads around that, the better. We’re almost in town, so I’d better tell you what I got in mind for when we get there. You do much hunting lately?”
“Do werewolves count?”
“You think I let that Full Blood girl run out on her own so we could get enough privacy to talk about hunting squirrel? Of course werewolves count! Have you been out hunting since the Mud Flu cleared up or not?”
“Actually, no,” Cole admitted. “We’ve been busy with the Lancroft business, the Nymar, and then I was locked up. The whole prison thing happened when I was hoping for some time to rest.”
“Typical Monkey’s Paw scenario.” Seeing the blank look on Cole’s face, Jessup scolded, “Don’t you ever read? ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ is a short story about making wishes. It’s this charm that grants ’em but turns them around to bite you in the ass through some loophole. You wish for a million dollars, it gives you a million that was stolen from some bank. You want time away from hunting, you wind up in prison.”
“Now I see why Cecile was so quick to get the hell away from you.”
“The reason I brought up hunting,” Jessup said without trying to disguise the sharpness in his voice, “is because it’s been getting mighty crazy out here. A lot of Skinners, me included, have been stumbling onto plenty of things that even we thought was bullshit or myth. Some of them were just laying low because of Half Breeds in the area. Just so you know, Half Breeds love the desert. Wide open spaces, plenty of room to run, folks living out in trailers or cabins that nobody’ll hardly miss.”
“Tons of little caves to use for dens?”
Jessup raised his eyebrows. “Very good. Most of the critters out here hid because they didn’t have what it took to survive a pack of Half Breeds. What’s so funny?”
“Did you just say critters?” Cole said through a persistent chuckle. “Why not just call them varmints, Yosemite Sam?”
“I can see why Paige likes you. Smartasses travel in packs. Anyway, after the Mud Flu cut the Half Breed population, the things that were hiding from them didn’t have to hide no more. What we’re after in Raton is something you ain’t gonna find in any Skinner journal. At least, not one from this century. I checked.”
When they passed a green sign on the side of the interstate that told them they were within ten miles of Raton, Jessup eased his foot off the gas and leaned forward to scan the horizon. “Cecile wants to hide and Randolph wants us to guard her, but we’re not playing this by any Full Blood’s rules. I sent her ahead to sniff out some