Page 99 of The Other Side

“Christ. You’re right. Okay. Thank you.” He smiled. “You’re doing a good job.”

Drum nodded and left.

It was a risk telling Purbeck, but Drum thought it was the only way he was going to get him off his back. Probably wouldn’t be for much longer anyway.

Chapter Sixteen

“Stay down,” Drum said as he got in the car.

“Woof.”

Drum laughed.

As soon as Osian could safety move into the front seat, he climbed over.

“Keep talking to me,” Drum said. “I’m really tired.”

“Tell me what happened first.”

“Before I fall asleep?”

“I won’t let you fall asleep.”

Osian bit his lip when Drum said he’d told Purbeck he was in witness protection.

“I can hear you gnashing your teeth,” Drum said.

“I should think so. You shouldn’t have told him.”

“I know but he’d stopped being a prick and he was starting to get too curious about me. When he said ‘thank you’, he sounded as if he meant it.”

“In case you didn’t spot it, that was more furious gnashing from me. So what now? They going to arrest Bettina Motson?”

“Not yet. They need forensic evidence, but I’m pretty sure they’ll get it. Much harder than people think to get away with murder.”

“So you solved two murders?”

“Helped solve. Probably.” Drum paused. “So what did you think about Sparlow?”

“It wasn’t hard to guess there was something wrong with the place when we found it so hard to get to. Then there was the werewolf. But I was stunned by what Mikkel said. Made me wonder if there are other places like that.”

“You knew there were werewolves but what about vampires, shadow-walkers, ghosts, demons and the rest?”

“I knew of them. Never met any apart from the werewolf in the café and Mikkel. He didn’t look like a demon.”

“How did you know he was a demon?”

“It was just some sense. I had a flash for a moment of another person sitting with us. Someone with horns. He can probably use a sort of glamour, just like me.”

“Ears!” Drum groaned. “You’re glamouring your ears. I suppose that really proves I’m not fae. My ears aren’t pointed. Could that be a reason they no longer wanted me?”

“Your fae parents could have easily glamoured your ears.”

“Oh. So they just chose not to.” Drum sighed. “I wish and yet don’t wish I knew why they threw me away when I was ten.”

“They’d probably lie.”

“Yep. I wonder why Mikkel trusted us.”