Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson #3)(71)

I let out a sigh of relief and turned back to what I needed to know. "When O'Donnell was killed, were you and Zee the only ones who knew he was the killer?"

"We hadn't told anyone else."

"Were you the only ones who knew the murderer was stealing artifacts?" I caught a whiff of something magical and tried to keep my face from showing my sudden alertness.

"No. It wasn't talked about, but as soon as we discovered that Connora's list had been taken, we started asking around. Anyone would have made the obvious connection."

Beside me, Samuel nodded in happy agreement. Not that he should have objected to anything Uncle Mike said but...

"Quit that," I told Uncle Mike. I noticed that the tiredness I'd seen in him when he came was gone and he once more appeared to be a kindly man who made his living making people happy.

"What?"

I narrowed my gaze at him. "I don't like you right now, and no fae magic is going to change that." Samuel jerked his head toward me. Maybe he hadn't caught that Uncle Mike was using some kind of charisma magic - or maybe he smelled that I was lying. I did like Uncle Mike, but Uncle Mike didn't need to know that. He'd be easier to pry information out of as long as I could keep him feeling guilty.

"My apologies, lass," he said, sounding as appalled as he looked. "I'm tired and it's a reflex thing."

That might be true, it might be reflex, but he didn't say he wasn't doing it deliberately either.

"I'm tired, too," I said.

"All right," he said. "Let me tell you what we are going to do right now. It is agreed among us that the Fideal offered first offense. It is agreed among us that your death would cost the fae more than it would gain us - you can thank Samuel and Nemane for that."

He leaned forward. "So here is what we can offer you. As it seems important to you that Zee be proven innocent, we can work on that - so you don't cause even greater problems for us. We are allowed to aid the police - except that we cannot tell them about the stolen things. They are powerful, some of them, and it is better if the mortals don't have any idea that they might exist."

Cool relief flowed down my spine. If the Gray Lords were willing to accept the time and notoriety of an investigation, then Zee's chances had risen exponentially. But Uncle Mike hadn't finished speaking.

"...So you may leave the investigation to us and to the police."

"Good," said Samuel.

Now it was true I had no idea where to look for O'Donnell's killer. Perhaps it had been Fideal, or another of the fae, maybe someone who cared for one of the victims, who had somehow discovered O'Donnell was the killer. If it were one of the fae, which at this point was probable, I didn't have a chance of finding out anything. So maybe if Samuel hadn't said "Good," my response to Uncle Mike would have been different - but probably not.

"I'll make sure and keep you informed when I find out anything interesting," I told them gently.

"It is too dangerous," Uncle Mike said, "even for heroes, Mercy. I don't know what relics the killer has, but the things we recovered were lesser items, and I know that Herrick - the forest lord - was a guardian of some greater items."

"Zee is my friend. I'm not going to leave his life in the hands of people who were willing for him to die for this because it was more convenient for them."

Uncle Mike's eyes glittered with some strong emotion, but I couldn't tell what it was. "Zee seldom forgives trespasses, Mercy. I have heard he was so angry that you betrayed his trust that he will not speak to you."

I paid close attention to that "I have heard." "I have heard" wasn't the same thing as "Zee is angry with you."

"I've heard the same," I told him. "But I am Zee's friend anyway. If you'll excuse me, I need to get to bed now. Work starts bright and early."

I heaved myself out of the chair, tucked the book under my arm, and waved at both of the disapproving males as I limped out of the living room on my sore feet. I closed the bedroom door on them and did my best not to listen to them discussing me behind my back. They weren't very polite. And Samuel, at least, should know me better than to think I could be persuaded to sit back and leave Zee to fae hands.

Chapter 11

I called Tim the next morning before I went to work. It was early, but I didn't want to miss him. He'd caught me off guard last night, but I had no business dragging a human into my mess of a love life - even if I liked him that way, which I didn't.

Maybe I couldn't live with Adam - but it looked like I was going to try. If I went to Tim's, it would hurt Adam and give Tim the wrong impression. It had been stupid not to just refuse yesterday...

"Hey, Mercy," he said as he picked up the phone. "Listen, Fideal called me last night - what did you do to tick him off? Anyway he told me that you came to our meeting to do some investigating into O'Donnell's death. He said you knew the suspect they have in custody."

There was absolutely no anger in his voice, which pretty much meant that he must have been speaking the truth when he said he wasn't interested in a romantic entanglement. If he'd been interested in me, he'd have felt used.

Good. He wouldn't feel bad when I told him I couldn't go.

"Yes," I said cautiously. "He's an old friend. I know that he didn't do it, which is more than anyone else investigating can say." Zee's name was still being withheld from the press, as well as his being a fae. "Since no one else was doing anything, I've been poking around."