As soon as I stepped inside Ruby’s Diner, I knew right away that I needed an Angus burger with extra cheese, and an apple pie. We had a long day ahead of us.
I approached a booth by the left-hand windows, exactly the spot where I’d asked the Relic to meet us. The man sitting there had his head over his plate.
“Hi, are you Graham?”
“In the flesh.”
“Sorry we’re late. I’m Raven, and this is Blue.”
Graham Wiggins’s rotund figure led me to believe he might be a stress eater. He sopped up his gravy with a yeast roll, leaving nothing to waste. To look at him, I’d never guess he was Breed. Just an average-looking guy who dressed like a middle school football coach who substituted as a history teacher. He looked like he was testing out a beard by the whiskers filling in his face.
Graham licked his fingers as we took a seat, and I was suddenly grateful that handshaking wasn’t a Breed custom.
“The food here is spectacular. Spectacular! I’ll have to come here again. I couldn’t decide between the chicken-fried steak and the meatloaf.”
Blue slid into the booth first.
Sitting beside her, I searched for Betty but didn’t see her. “Not many people order the meatloaf, so I think you made the right choice.”
After flagging a waitress, Blue and I ordered our food and waited for her to set our drinks on the table before talking business. It also gave Graham extra time to finish up his meal so he could work on the chocolate cake that just arrived.
I watched a group of teenagers smoking in the parking lot outside.
Graham finally wiped his mouth with a napkin and then eyeballed the cake. “Ren tells me you’re looking into a few deaths. Whenever Packmasters get together in large groups, nothing good ever comes of it. I’m sure your feathery friend can agree.”
Blue leaned back and drummed her fingers on the table. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nobody wears falcon feathers except falcons. If you’re not a falcon, you’re bound to ruffle somebody’s feathers wearing those earrings.” Graham erupted with laughter, and it sounded like a hyena. It was silly enough that I caught myself smiling. He was probably a hit at dinner parties, the guy who had all the best stories and jokes.
“Where’s your partner?” she asked.
“I don’t have one.”
“How the hell do you manage clients without backup? I’ve never met a Relic who didn’t partner up with someone to share the workload.”
Graham tore open a packet of sugar and poured it into his soda. “I only sleep two hours a night. It runs in the family and doesn’t affect our mental state in the least. A slight genetic mutation. I suppose I could find a Relic who specializes in Relics, but what would be the point? Anyhow, less money for me to share.”
I folded my arms across the table. “But it also means you can only be one place at a time. If you had a partner, you could have twice as many clients.”
Graham chortled and set his phone on the table. “This is the twenty-first century. Clients can schedule a conference call on the phone for virtual face-to-face contact. Half the time they’re just consulting me for advice.” He twirled his phone to make a point. “Five years ago it wasn’t as popular, but once they get used to the technology, they realize how convenient it is. Now I have more time to focus on the kids and occasional scuffles the adults get into.”
Blue snorted. “Scuffle is one way to put it.”
He picked up his fork. “Idiocy is another.”
I sipped my soda, wishing it had a little tequila mixed in. “Do you think we’re wasting our time?”
He ran the prongs on his fork across the top of his cake. “Doesn’t hurt to have a second opinion. But I examined some of the victims myself and didn’t find anything suspicious. So from a medical standpoint, I don’t see a connection. It really boils down to what you ladies uncover—if anything.”
“We just visited the Boring pack.”
Graham cackled. “Josiah should have chosen a different name, but wolves like to follow tradition with using the Packmaster’s surname. I’ve heard worse, but I have to keep from laughing whenever I hear it. Wouldn’t want word getting back to Josiah that I was making fun of his pack.”
“I’d be more afraid of Andy,” I said, leaning back as the waitress set our food on the table before leaving.
“Andy?” He waved his hand dismissively and stared at my food. “He’s a pussycat compared to Josiah. Say, why did you order dessert first?”
“So if I die in the middle of my meal, I don’t have any regrets about not eating pie.”
“You are a smart woman. Smart indeed. So, tell me what you found out at the Boring residence.”
“The beta’s woman died young.”
Graham’s fork sank into his chocolate cake. “Alisa was the epitome of a healthy woman, but Shifters are prone to genetic defects like everyone else. It’s a sad fact. Shifting usually heals most things but not conditions they’re born with. Even with humans, a heart defect often doesn’t show up until later. You see it strike down athletes all the time. Shifters can’t get human diseases or cancers, but it doesn’t mean they’re impervious to aneurysms, heart attacks, and twisted bowels.” He grimaced. “That’s an ugly way to go. We should all be so lucky to go as peacefully as that woman did.”
I scooped up the vanilla ice cream before digging into the pie. “How do you know exactly how she died? Andy said there wasn’t an autopsy, so what makes you think it was her heart?”
Graham shook his head. “Shifters don’t like autopsies. It’s not common practice in general, but we do them from time to time with unexpected deaths. We Relics are wired to seek out knowledge. The more we learn, the more we can fuse to our DNA and pass it on. But we can’t force people to do something they don’t want to. Occasionally we’ll get a pack that demands answers, especially if it’s something that can be passed down to the children. Alisa didn’t have any kids, so I guess they found it… excessive and unnecessary. As for how she died, her symptoms fell in line with a heart episode.”
“What about a stroke?”
“Strokes aren’t something I see with Shifters,” he said, eating more cake. “They have a natural healing magic, and like I said before, it’s usually something they’re born with that goes undetected. In most cases, it has to do with the heart. Especially if it gets them that fast.”
Blue sipped her milkshake and then played with the straw. “Did she have any marks on her body?”
Graham furrowed his brow before looking over his shoulder.
“Only humans come here,” I said, reassuring him. “I think what Blue’s driving at is someone in the pack suggested that Andy and Alisa got into a fight earlier that evening. If this turns out to be a case of domestic abuse, her name comes off our list.”
Graham nodded slowly. “I see, I see.” After another bite of cake, he wiped chocolate off his mouth. “I’ve known Andy a long time, and he’s definitely got a temper. If there was any foul play, I didn’t see signs of a struggle or marks on her neck. That’s not to say he couldn’t have put a pillow over her face. Perhaps that’s why they were so adamant against an autopsy.”