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“You have day-old stubble. That’s furry enough.”
“There are other parts that are smooth.” I gave her my best suggestive smile. “If you need more to work with, I’ve got other places for you to molest.”
It took a moment for her to react. Then she flushed bright red and made a face. “Ugh! Men.” She stomped over to the kitchen counter to pack up some extra bowls and a big Ziploc bag of food for Sriracha. The cat had his own separate mini duffel that matched Eva’s.
I laughed and picked up her gym bag, mostly so I wouldn’t be asked to pick up the cat. Those claws might not be able to get past the thick skin on my arms, but my face was another matter.
She picked up the spoiled feline and cuddled it to her chest. That was when I realized Sriracha’s collar was the same blue as Eva’s top. The two matched, blue and gray. Had she chosen her wardrobe to match her cat, or was it the other way around?
She walked in front of me as we headed back to my SUV, with Sriracha glaring at me over her shoulder. Technically, the SUV belonged to the museum, but the driver’s seat had been modified to accommodate my tail. As long as no one tried to sit in the seat behind me, it was fine, which was why I always kept a bag of tools there.
Eva directed me to a less-than-stellar part of town and to a row of run-down townhomes with peeling paint and grimy, barred windows. I parked around the corner and stayed in the car with Sriracha as she went to ring the bell.
She was frowning as she made her way back to me and opened the passenger side door. “I don’t think he’s home. Well, technically, it’s not his place. It’s his friend’s, but his buddy’s in lock up.”
Not home? Just as I’d expected. “Let’s go in and see what we can find.” I reached into the back seat for my tools.
“You’re going to break in?” Her eyes were round.
“Do you have the keys?”
“No.”
“Then yeah, we’re going to break in. Come on.”
“No way. I never agreed to break into anywhere. Unlike you, I don’t break the law.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Okay, fine.” I turned to Sriracha. “Hey, buddy, wanna come with me and be a cat-burglar?”
Her arms tightened around her cat. “Leave poor innocent Sriri out of this. He’s an upstanding feline citizen!”
“Well, one of you is coming with me.” I didn’t want her to run off while I was distracted, and I wasn’t beyond using her cat as collateral—or would that be cat-lateral?
“Come on. You honestly think I’m going to steal your car? Where the hell do you think I’m going to run to? You know where I live.”
The little minx did have a point. I leaned in close to her and inhaled, but didn’t smell any lies. “All right. You can stay here. But you’d better be here what I get back.”
“Yes, boss.”
I grinned at her ridiculous salute and adorable eye roll.
I opened a canned look-away spell and approached the home. The lock was an easy one to pick, so easy I didn’t need to waste any of my magical options. The second the door swung open, I knew that Eva had not let me astray. That same overpowering cologne I’d encountered at the crime scene and to a lesser extent in Eva’s home filled the space, except here it was fighting the stench of stale beer, sweat, and unwashed dishes.
The place was a mess. The walls were grimy and stained, and there was an unidentified mustard-yellow patch on the beige carpet. The smell of mold and mildew wafted out from the disgusting bathroom. Empty fast-food containers and crumpled beer cans littered the coffee table, and a layer of filth blanketed everything in sight. Everything looked…sticky.
Wow, this Tony guy was a slob.
I grabbed a pair of extra-large gloves from my bag and put them on. Thus protected from the film of gross covering everything, I searched the place thoroughly, but didn’t find the locket, nor anything else useful. No laptops, cell phones, or electronics of any kind. No IDs. No papers. It looked like all this guy ever did here was eat and sleep. I doubted he’d come back since stealing the artifact.
And if he’d used a portal to leave Eva’s house, it certainly hadn’t led here.
I made my way back to the car.
“Nothing?” Eva asked when she saw my grim face.
I shook my head.
“You have his number, call him.”
