Human Nature Read Free Page A

it.
    She didn’t feel guilty about taking advantage of a privilege she might or might not be earning. She was using her phone to protect and serve, not to chat about personal matters…though there was an uncomfortable overlap between the professional and the personal in this case.
    When Nettie answered, Lily began with the words she’d used too often, professionally. “Nettie, I’m calling about Steve Hilliard. I’m sorry for your loss.”
    “So am I.” Nettie’s voice was gruffer than usual. “Are you going to handle the case yourself?”
    “I don’t know yet. Are you up to a consult?”
    Nettie Two-Horses—a ritually trained shaman as well as a Harvard-trained physician—was Nokolai, as Steve Hilliard had been. Nettie must have known Hilliard, might have played with him as a child. She was close to Rule’s age, Lily thought, though the years looked different on her than they did on him.
    Nettie was clan, but she was female. Female clan weren’t lupus. They aged normally.
    “If I can help, I want to. Training and disposition mean I can’t go kill the bastard who did it myself, but I want him caught.”
    “Good enough. You know that someone applied a tattoo to his neck?”
    “I’ve talked to Isen. Yes, I know about that.”
    “Okay. My first question’s about gado. I’ve read up about it some.” Not the full, need-to-know classified document, but an abridged version. She could probably get more if she had to, but she’d have to jump through some hoops first. “I’ve got a rough idea of its effects and a partial ingredients list. Apparently gadolinium and wolfbane are two of the key ingredients. I’m having purchases of gadolinium checked, but wolfbane is not regulated. What can you tell me about it?”
    “Actually, gado uses a solution of an organic gadolinium complex—Gadopentetate dimeglumine, or Gd-DTPA—rather than pure gadolinium. Presumably the agency that tracks gadolinium sales is aware of this.”
    “I’ll check. Can you spell it for me?”
    “I’d rather you didn’t. The various agencies that take note of such things are unaware of how much I know about gado, and I’d prefer them to remain ignorant. I did considerable private research on the subject when the government was using gado on the lupi they caught.”
    “Right.” Lily considered asking just how much Nettie knew about the manufacture of gado. Best not, she decided. Best if she didn’t actually know.
    “Wolfbane, of course, can’t be tracked,” Nettie said. “It’s far too common.”
    Wolfbane, aka monkshood, devil’s helmet, or aconite, was a member of the buttercup family scientifically known as aconitum. Lily was an amateur gardener, but she’d looked this particular plant up. “It’s not native to the San Diego area, I think.”
    “Not that we know of. It generally prefers wetlands, but one species—Columbian monkshood—is found in many parts of California. Also, the flowers are pretty enough that some landscapers use it, despite the toxicity.”
    “It’s a neurotoxin, right? And it interferes with a lupus’s healing.”
    “It does. If you’re wondering whether wolfbane could account for the tattoo—”
    “I am. The government used gado to tattoo registered lupi, but what I read suggests wolfbane might work, too. I’m also wondering about the fatal wound. Would a lupus heal that before bleeding out without the application of some agent like wolfbane or gado?”
    “There’s no way to answer your second question. Lupi healing varies, and I don’t know enough about the wound. What structures were involved? Was the trachea severed as well as the exterior jugular vein? What about the carotid artery?”
    Lily grimaced. So far, everything she knew about the case came from Rule’s father and a single newspaper article. The local police had to send the FBI requested material, but if they felt uncooperative, it could take an amazingly long time to process a request. “I don’t know.”
    “Until you