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There was a beat of silence on the other end. Jess had offered to dig into them for me many a time, and I’d said no just as many times. ‘How come?’ she asked finally.
‘The whole dying thing has made me realise I wantto know. Ineedto know. I was pretending to myself that it doesn’t matter, but it does. I know who raised me, who loved me. I know Mum and Dad are my parents, and nothing will ever reduce what they have done for me, or who they are in my life. But I want to know more – who gave birth to me and why they gave me away.’
‘Knowledge is a double-edged sword,’ she cautioned. ‘Once you know the truth, you can’t unknow it.’ She paused. ‘Unless we get your mind wiped.’
‘Let’s not mess with my synapses. They hardly work as it is.’
Jess huffed. ‘You’re the brightest person I know, maybe with the exception of Fritz.’ Fritz is a child prodigy who specialises in information gathering and hacking. There was no doubt in my mind that Fritz was brighter than me.
‘The thing is, my mum said my adoption record is partially blank. She thought the entries had faded away, but when she hit up the agency they didn’t have a complete copy either.’
‘That’s weird. Adoption agencies have everything in triplicate. A paperwork trail is essential. Leave it with me.’
‘Do you need me to get the name of the agency from Mum?’
‘Nah. I know your name and national insurance number. I’ll be able to find it.’
‘And why do you know my national insurance number?’ I demanded archly.
‘Just in case you ever gave me the green light,’ she admitted.
‘You’re the best. Send my love to Gato and Emory. Oh, Manners is going to hit up the brethren for some security cameras.’
‘I know. He already rang and spoke with Emory about it. I would have insisted that they fix you up with the security, but Emory had already sorted you out with top-of-the-line stuff. They’ll be there tomorrow to hook it all up.’
‘Thanks, Jess, and thanks to Emory, too. While I’m calling in favours … I could do with having an informal chat with a dryad.’
‘No problem. I’ll ring Joyce and see if she’ll meet with you.’
‘That’d be amazing. Can the meeting be on the down-low?’
‘Sure, I’ll see what I can sort. I’ll text. Love you, Luce. Better go – Gato’s whining at the door.’
‘Okay. Love you.’
‘I’ll be in touch with any news,’ Jess promised before she hung up.
I sat thinking for a few more minutes then I reached out to Esme.Anything else I need to know about this formal hunt?
There should be at least nine of us, including our two guests. Ideally we want a show of strength and numbers for a first hunt.She hesitated.Thirteen would be better – that’s a full paw – but I’m not sure how many of the pack will answer our call to hunt,she admitted unhappily.
Liam is warming to us. It’s a start.
We should get Archie involved.If he comes, others will follow him.She didn’t sound entirely thrilled about the prospect, but if we needed thirteen we weren’t going to get it without Archie’s help.
Mrs Dawes knocked and bustled in with a ridiculously huge platter of sandwiches for my lunch. She assured me that the council duo were settled in the guest wing.
‘Will you come on the hunt later?’ I asked her. That would be another one of my thirteen secured.
She beamed at me. ‘I’d be honoured.’
‘I understand I need thirteen for the hunt.’
‘Yes, but with those two that’s only an additional eleven.’
‘What would Lord Samuel have done?’ I sighed.
‘He would have summoned the first thirteen in the pack.’
