87

For the next two weeks, I’m forced to keep a low profile. The murder of the deputy commissioner of the police is no small matter. Fortunately or unfortunately, there were no cameras at the carnival. And with all the people coming and going, nobody noticed him. There is an active investigation, but I’m confident no one is going to link his death to me. No matter what Cedric says, though, I still feel guilty.

But there’s nothing I can do.

Not two days after George’s death, two police precincts receive a bomb threat. The buildings are cleared, but before the bomb squad can enter, the buildings are blown up. The attacks happen at night, and there are no casualties. According to the information that George gave me, both precincts contained evidence that I needed access to.

When I watch the footage on the news, my heart sinks. There’s nothing left of the buildings. Somebody is covering their tracks. And I have a feeling they’re going to try to come for the flash drive that George gave me next.

It is a fount of information. Between the flash drive and what we already knew about the kidnappings, the conclusion I come to is the same as George’s. The individuals who were taken were not chosen at random. They were carefully selected.

Aside from Harold, they all worked at human establishments and had little to no family, or if they did have family, they were not in touch with them. These were very socially isolated individuals.

It’s not uncommon for some shifters to prefer to stay away from their packs. In the human world, I’ve seen it happen a lot. Unfortunately, it makes them easy pickings for these kidnappers. The only people who would raise any alarm would be their colleagues or bosses from their human-owned workplaces. Now we know that one day after each kidnapping, a letter of resignation was diligently sent to the employer, and there was no further contact.

Harold’s autopsy has been completed, and his blood is being tested, but Maya is still working on her report.

I’m at the palace today since I have to get some information from Cassian. I frown at my laptop as he enters the office.

“These people had enough information about the individuals they were going after to know who they worked for and what their routines were,” I murmur. “Harold had no close relatives, either, only extended family. But he worked for the royal family. His kidnapping doesn’t make sense to me.”

Cassian comes to stand behind me. “Are these the case files you got from that human?”

I nod.

“Maybe Harold was a victim of opportunity,” he suggests.

“No.” I pull myself away from the screen and walk over to the board I’ve been setting up. “These people are too methodical. But the kidnapping of the two teenagers also doesn’t make sense. They’ve never grabbed two people at the same time before. Plus, one of those kids had a family.”

“One was an orphan?” Cassian checks the file before nodding. “Yup. No parents. He lived by himself in an apartment complex. He was going to a trade school and a human high school.”

“That’s odd. Isn’t there a welfare program for orphaned shifters?” I ask. “He should’ve been going to a shifter-run school. Why was he going to human high school? Why was there no adult looking after him? I thought there were establishments in place that are run by shifters who raise and teach these kids to make sure they land on their feet.”

“There are.” Cassian goes over the victim’s file. He looks bewildered, adjusting his glasses. “This boy should have been in our welfare system. Who let him attend a human school?”

“I know that human children sometimes slip through the cracks when it comes to the foster system. I didn’t realize it was the same with our kind.”

“It’s not. Each orphaned child is usually accounted for.” Cassian rubs his temples. “I’ll have to find out what happened in this case.”

I glance at my watch. “I should go check on Finn. Why is the palace so busy these days?”

“It’s the ball,” Cassian replies. “The annual royal ball is in a month. Surely, you must be attending.”

I blink. “Ah. That. No, I never go to it.”

“Oh.” Cassian looks awkward. “I thought that now, with King Cedric here, you would…”

Cassian is among the few people who is aware of my true identity since we have to work together.

My hand goes to touch the mating mark on the side of my neck, and I hesitate. This is something I should probably discuss with Cedric. During the previous annual balls, Erik always instructed me not to leave my home for the entire week. I had enough working knowledge of royal events to know why. He wanted me to avoid running into anyone from the North. I always thought that Cedric and Vivian came together.

I ignore Cassian’s comment and direct my attention back to the laptop. I wish I could print out all these documents, but the flash drive is encrypted, and I can’t seem to print anything. Yawning, I take a few photographs of some of the documents on my computer screen without really looking at them. It’s not like I can carry my laptop around constantly. And I can’t even copy the documents from this flash drive to my laptop. I have to insert it every time I want to access what’s on it.

What kind of security is on this thing?

Checking the time once again, I decide to go grab some lunch with my son.

It’s odd not having Finn around at home. He’s been having a blast here at the palace with Harriet keeping an eye on him. According to Erik, the palace staff is thrilled. They enjoy having a child running around and filling the otherwise silent halls with his laughter. The royal chef is constantly coming up with new recipes to please him. The kitchen has never been busier, according to the butler. There is never a dull moment in the palace with Finn around.

I’m glad that my son is happy here, but it doesn’t change the fact that I miss him. On the other hand, with Cedric and me in the house alone, we have been quite busy. Apparently, after a couple shares a mating mark, they retire to their bedchamber for weeks on end. I don’t really know much about this matter, and I’m a little suspicious of Cedric’s insistence that this is customary.