The question lingered between us, and I sat there rubbing at a grease stain on my knee from the bacon I had eaten at the breakfast we had shared this morning, the one where I thought tonight would be ending with a belly full of food and not rage. I embraced the anger. It broiled away my aching uncertainty into a flawless clarity that allowed me to appreciate what he was saying, the logic of it, and then wield that same instrument to deduce what he wasn’t.

“You weren’t surprised.” The truth slammed into me. “In Falco, you weren’t surprised I could shift.” Most folks were stunned where he had been sympathetic. It wasn’t a talent I often showcased for good reason, yet he took it all in stride. A worse possibility dawned. “Were you at the Wink Sinks? Is that how you knew?”

“I interviewed one of the marshals.” Tension in the air thickened, and he admitted, “He told me what you did.”

So he had come to find me knowing I could shift even if he hadn’t grasped the parameters of my abilities.

“That explains the white-glove service.” Feeding me, driving me around and hauling my luggage up to my room. “You wanted to keep an eye on me until you figured out what Vause saw in me.” I felt sick. Nauseous. I wanted to crawl in bed, pull the covers over my head and stay there for a month. “Then you saw Lori, and the cogs started turning.”

“The killer is targeting young fae girls,” he pressed. “Tell me it’s a coincidence you can shift into a child’s form. Not an illusion, an actual child. Tell me Vause doesn’t know exactly how to play on your guilt over Lori to coerce you into doing what I’m asking you to do of your own free will.”

I got to my feet and smoothed the wrinkles from my pants.

“Where are you going?” he demanded.

“You won’t leave my room, so I’ll go.” I walked to the door and snagged my purse too fast for him to dump the contents off his lap and come after me. “Make sure you lock up when you’re done.”

Once out in the hall, I made the short trip to Harlow’s room. The “Do Not Disturb” sign still hung from the lever. So much for hiding out with her. There went my buffer. I pulled out my phone and dialed her number but got punted straight to voicemail.