Animal Attraction by Tracy St. John Page B

on the fast track to promotion.”
    “And that plum instructor’s job with its good
pay,” Gerald surmised.
    Levi jerked a nod. “You know it, Kitten. It’s
got me wondering if the disappearances have to something to do with
the missing being blackmailed.”
    “Not revenge for their evil deeds?” I
asked.
    Levi considered and shook his head. “There’s
no connection between the two matters. No, I think somebody got
wind of these guys’ pasts and told them to pay up in some way.
Instead, they pulled up stakes and vanished.”
    Gerald stroked his chin. “To do what though?
Where are discredited law enforcement types going to go?”
    Levi scowled at the air over our heads.
“Yeah, that’s the off part of this. Plus they both had families and
didn’t take any money out of their accounts to survive on. They
just up and disappeared.”
    “Maybe they had bank accounts you don’t know
of.”
    Levi smiled. “Point made, and I’m sure the
cops are looking into that. At any rate, it would be interesting to
know if the other missing shifters also had something hinky that
they didn’t want known. Something they wanted to keep hidden.”
    I exchanged a look with Gerald. “We’ll check
that out. Thanks, Levi.”
    “My pleasure. Thanks for nosing into
this.”
    We got up. Levi and Gerald shook hands and
the agent said, “Stop by and tell me how it works out, Kitten.”
    “I’ll do that, Pup. Next time, I’ll bring the
steak.”
    They treated each other to real smiles.
Levi’s tone was enthusiastic as he said, “You’re on. Championship
playoffs start this weekend, you know.”
    “Yeah. Who are you pulling for?”
    I rolled my eyes and headed for the front
door, walking out on the budding bromance. “Don’t make me late for
the commission meeting, Gerald.”
    Behind my back I heard Levi ask in a low
tone, “She still can’t fly, huh?”
    Gerald sighed. “She’s a slow learner.”
    I was at the door. I turned on my heel and
glared at both of them. “But I hear perfectly well, and you know I
haven’t got the hang of it because the vampires won’t help me.”
    Gerald joined me and gave me a conciliatory
pat on the shoulder. He told Levi, “She’s right. They’re being
jerks.”
    Levi shook his head, his tongue clicking
sympathetically. “Vampires are not the kindest creatures. Now the
poor girl is one of them.”
    I opted not to grace that with a reply. I was
not a vampire, but I didn’t have time to set Levi right ... again.
With any luck, I wouldn’t have to deal with the werewolf any
longer. I would let his new best buddy Gerald keep him informed
from now on.
    * * * *
    I had to give the county commission meeting
one thing: it was not as boring as Jamus Percy’s writing. Not by
much, but it managed to be a teensy bit more interesting.
    I was hard pressed to pay attention from my
front row seat where Patricia always sat in the chamber of the city
hall building. I even took notes, as she once had ... along with a
few doodles here and there in an attempt to make Gerald laugh. He
sat next to me, nudging me when I started to fidget. I was worse
than a toddler in church.
    I had nothing to even glare about. Droning
reports from the county’s parks, then more boring stuff from the
water and sewage commission, and then more from other departments
that I had no interest in. Where was the backbiting and arguing the
county reps were known for? The slanders? The insults? They were
all playing nice.
    I’d brought a little interest to the
proceedings with my entrance. Patricia’s absence had been felt all
right. The buzz of conversation that accompanied me walking down
the aisle with Gerald in my wake had promised some excitement. But
an hour later, that had fizzled out. No one cared now that the
meeting was rolling and everyone attended to his or her own
concerns.
    I nudged Gerald’s foot with mine. In a low
voice that wove way beneath the snoozefest of a tourism report I
asked, “Are you still