himself a glass, but left it on the counter to breathe. Lily didn’t object to red wine straight from the wine cooler, but Lily had very little nose.
Silence fell for a few minutes. Lily ate. Rule thought about how foolish he’d been. He’d thought that once Lily knew about the Shadow Unit, he wouldn’t have to hide things from her anymore.
Being wrong was a bitch.
Mika was not Sam. He couldn’t screen hundreds of minds simultaneously, looking for a particular one, nor could he read the minds of those distant from him. Even those close to him were difficult for him to decipher. He could, however, pick up and understand Lily’s thoughts better than most. He’d flown close enough to do that several times today so he could keep Rule and Ruben informed. He’d also passed word back and forth between Rule and Ruben.
Ruben had spent a wearying afternoon being questioned. He’d denied leaving his house that morning. Deborah confirmed that, but neither prosecutors nor juries took a wife’s word as gospel. At the moment, Ruben’s best defense was the sheer stupidity it would have required for him to commit murder in such a way.
He had one more defense. At the moment, he didn’t intend to use it. Rule wasn’t sure that was wise, but it wasn’t his call.
Lily was nearly finished eating. He stood and retrieved his glass of wine, holding it close to savor the rich, complex scents of the wine before sipping. Time to probe a bit. “I’m wondering if I should tell you something, or if it will just complicate the dilemma you find yourself in.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
He sat across from her once more. “You’ve talked about your superior on this case. About this Mullins person. You haven’t said anything about the investigation itself. Were you told not to discuss it with me, or is there some question in your mind about whether you can, given my connection to the Shadow Unit?”
She put her fork down. “I hope to hell this place isn’t bugged.”
“It isn’t. You’d know better than I if someone could eavesdrop with one of those long-distance devices.”
She glanced at the kitchen window. “Probably not. They’d have to park in the alley, and I suspect José would notice that and check them out.”
“He would.”
She sighed. “I was told not to discuss the investigation with anyone not on the team. That came from Croft, not Drummond. It’s a reasonable order, under the circumstances.” She drummed her fingers once on the table. “I’m going to violate it.”
“I don’t have to—”
“This is about what I need. What the investigation needs. I don’t know what the deal is with Drummond. Maybe he’s obstructing me because he doesn’t trust me, given my connection to Ruben. Maybe he’s going all regulation because it’s such a high-profile case and he’s nervous. Maybe he’s the damn traitor in the Bureau. Although,” she added with a sigh, possibly regretful, “that’s unlikely.”
“Oh?”
“I talked to Croft, too. He says Drummond was in D.C. on the day of the attempt on Ruben’s life, but not in Headquarters, and I’m to take that as definite. So unless Drummond’s part of a greater conspiracy within the Bureau, he’s out as a suspect. Most likely he’s a control freak who doesn’t trust me.” Her fingers drummed again. “Do you know what he had me doing most of the day?”
“Mika didn’t go into that kind of detail.”
“Knocking on doors. And it’s not that I think I’m too important for that sort of—”
“Was it Mullins who said that or Drummond?”
“Mullins.” She grimaced. “I know, I know. I shouldn’t let the little shit get to me. He was in Wyoming when someone dosed Ruben with that potion. Never mind. What happened today was that I followed the perp’s trail—”
“There was a trail?”
“That’s one of the things I need to discuss with Cullen. The perp seems to have leaked quite a bit of magic on his or her way into the house. The trail stops at Bixton’s body. I traced it the other direction and ended up at the little park across the street. The trail went right up to a bench, then stopped. That doesn’t make sense. If the perp was loaded up so much he leaked, why would he only start leaking at that bench? Anyway, Drummond decided that once I’d done that, I’d served my main function. He had me knock on doors the rest of the damn day. It’s not like finding wits isn’t important, but it’s