“Yeah. Pretty much. And it’s been made a whole lot easier now that we know where to find the Narrow Man.”

“So what’re you going to do?” Virgil asked. “Storm the place, all guns blazing?”

“That’s rarely the smart move,” said Ronnie. “Austin’s safety is our first priority. If we can find out where he is and get him out without causing a fuss, that’s our best option. Once he’s safe, we can go back for Oscar Moreno. Would you guys have any idea where Moreno would keep Austin?”

“None, sorry,” said Virgil. “Although I doubt he’d take him home, not with his family there. He has the hardware store, of course. I always use the one on Main Street. It’s bigger. Every time I pass his store, it looks dead.”

“So if he needed somewhere to hide a kid …”

Virgil shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. But what if you go snooping around and he finds you? If he is a shapeshifter like I think he is, he’s going to be more than a handful. From what we’ve read, shapeshifters are pretty hard to kill.”

“We’ll find a way,” said Ronnie. “We always do.”

“Sometimes,” said Warrick, nodding.

Chapter 21

THEY ATE THEIR MEALS, and a civilian came to take away the remains. He didn’t seem intimidated by Amber’s horns any more than Lucy had been, but unlike her he didn’t stop to chat.

Another three hours rolled slowly by, and they were well into the fourth when Lucy returned with Ortmann. They cuffed Amber and Milo and took them outside, into an SUV with three rows of seats and tinted windows. They were seated in the middle row. Lucy climbed in behind the wheel and Ortmann sat in the back, and they waited a few minutes until Chief Novak climbed in beside Lucy. Then they drove off for the mayor’s residence.

It was set away from the town proper, and occupied a generous expanse of woodland and meadow to the north, where a large river curled down from the hills and brought with it melting snow and ice. The house itself was a grand old colonial, wood-framed and broad and two storeys tall. They were met on the front steps by a man with a badly burned face, wearing a transparent plastic mask over his scars.

“Novak,” the burned man said in greeting. His eyes moved to Milo and then Amber, examining her horns without comment. When he was satisfied, he grunted and turned, led the way into the house through an ornately carved door. Novak followed immediately after, and then Amber and Milo. The other two cops were right behind them.