Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files #8) - Jim Butcher Page 0,15

Mouses ears, nodded to me, and seized up his big, black gym bag. You have some more business come to town, Harry?

Thats the scuttlebutt, I said. I havent had time to look into it yet.

He tilted his head to one side and frowned at me. What the hell happened to you?

Car trouble.

Uh-huh, he said. He slung the bags strap over his shoulder. Look, you need some help, just let me know. He glanced at the clock and said, Gotta run.

Sure, I said to his back. He shut the door behind him.

Murphy arched an eyebrow. That was abrupt. Are you still getting along?

I grimaced and nodded. Hes . . I dont know, Murph. Hes been very distant lately. And gone almost all of the time. Day and night. He sleeps and eats here, but mostly when Im at work. And when I do see him, its always like thatin passing. Hes in a hurry to get somewhere.

Where? she asked.

I shrugged.

Youre worried about him, she said.

Yeah. Hes usually a lot more tense than this. You know, the whole incubus hunger thing. Im worried that maybe hes decided appetite control was for the birds.

Do you think hes hurting anyone?

No, I said at once, a little too quickly. I forced myself to calm down and then said, No, not as such. I dont know. I wish hed talk to me, but ever since last fall, hes kept me at arms length.

Have you asked him? Murphy said.

I eyed her. No.

Why not?

It isnt done that way, I said.

Why not?

Because guys dont do it like that.

Let me get this straight, Murphy said. You want him to talk to you, but you wont actually tell him that or ask him any questions. You sit around with the silence and tension and no one says anything.

Thats right, I said.

She stared at me.

You need a prostate to understand, I said.

She shook her head. I understand enough. She rose and said, Youre idiots. You should talk to him.

Maybe, I said.

Meanwhile, Ill keep my eyes open. If I find anything odd, Ill get in touch.

Thank you.

What are you going to do?

Wait for sundown, I said.

Then what? she asked.

I rubbed at my aching head, feeling a sudden surge of defiance for whoever had run me off the road and whatever black-magicky jerk had decided to mess around with my hometown. Then I put on my wizard hat and start finding out whats going on.

* * *

Chapter Six

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Murphy stayed until she was sure I wasnt going to suddenly drop unconscious, but made me promise to call her in a couple of hours to be sure. Mouse escorted her to the door when she left, and Murphy swung it shut with two hands and a grunt of effort in order to make it close snugly into the frame. Her car started, departed.

I prodded my brain with a sharp stick until it figured out my next move. My brain pointed out that I knew the current Summer Knight of the Summer Court, and that the guy owed me some fairly big favors. Id saved his life when hed just been a terrified changeling trying not to get swallowed up by an incipient war between Winter and Summer. When everything settled, he was the new Summer Knight, the mortal champion of the Summer Court. It gave him a lot of influence with fully half of the Sidhe realm, and hed probably know more about what was going on there than any other native of the real world. My brain thought it would be really wonderful if maybe I could make one little phone call to Fix and get all the information I needed about the Sidhe Courts handed to me on a silver platter.

My brain is sometimes overly optimistic, but I indulged it on the off chance that I came up a winner in the investigative lottery.

I reached for the phone. It rang eleven times before someone answered. Yes?

Fix? I asked.

Mmmph, answered a rumpled-sounding male voice. Who is this?

Harry Dresden.

Harry! His voice brightened with immediate, if somewhat sleepy, cheer, which seemed far more appropriate to the Summer Knight of the Sidhe Courts. Hey, how are you? Whats up?

Thats the question of the day, I said. I need to talk to you about Summer business.

The sleepiness vanished from his voice. So did the friendliness. Oh.

Look, its nothing big, I started. I just need to

Harry, he said, his voice sharp. Fix had never cut me off before. In fact, if youd asked my professional opinion a year