Midnight Smoke (The Firebrand Series Book 3)

by Helen Harper

  Devereau Webb smiled. ‘See you around, detective.’

  ***

  ‘What was all that about?’ Fred asked when I joined him in Tallulah and we were driving towards the Supe Squad office.

  ‘Beats me,’ I said. ‘I think it was some sort of bizarre show of power.’ As soon as I said the words, I knew I was wrong. Webb had been earnest, and his gratitude for what I’d done for his niece had been sincere. I didn’t believe he was trying to poison me – but I still had no idea what he was really about, either.

  ‘This is a helluva strange day,’ Fred muttered.

  I sighed. ‘Yeah.’

  Just then my phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID and frowned. ‘Hi, Molly.’

  ‘Ems.’ Her voice was warm. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to say hello properly earlier. Collier runs a tight ship. He would’ve been pissed if I’d wandered over for a chat.’

  ‘Mmm. I had enough of a talk with the man to get his measure,’ I said. ‘Are things okay with you? It can’t be easy working for him. He seems quite … stuck in his ways.’

  ‘He’s an old-school kind of guy and he doesn’t like admitting when he’s wrong. There are worse than DI Collier – and there are better. He has a high opinion of himself and gets away with murder because last year he arrested the man who shot that finance guy, Timothy Barratt. It was in all the papers.’

  I grunted in response. I remembered that incident. The shooter had almost got away but DI Collier’s dogged diligence had brought him to justice in the nick of time. No doubt Collier would be riding on that success for many years to come.

  I could almost hear Molly shrug. ‘It is what it is. Collier’s in charge. We can’t all work for ourselves like you do.’

  I had to admit that I enjoyed the freedom that working at Supe Squad granted me, even if some days it felt like I was picking my way through a magical minefield.

  ‘Anyway,’ Molly said, ‘I’ll get to the point. I’m calling because I know Collier won’t, and I figured you’d want to know. I’d prefer it if he didn’t find out that you heard it from me.’

  Wariness flooded my system. ‘Go on.’

  ‘We think we’ve found the getaway car. A burnt-out florist’s van has been located in an old tunnel to the east of Lisson Grove.’ She gave me the coordinates.

  I exhaled. ‘I appreciate this, Molly,’ I said.

  ‘I thought you might. I’ll expect several drinks in return at a future date.’

  ‘Done,’ I said. I hung up and glanced at Fred. ‘Change of plan.’

  Chapter Nine

  The tunnel, which turned out to be an old Victorian-built electrical distribution structure that had been out of use for decades, was located to the edge of Ealing in west London.

  We parked as close as we could, not far from the flashing lights of numerous police cars and a cluster of white-suited forensic technicians. I hopped out of Tallulah and strode forward with Fred in my wake. I could already see DI Collier striding around and barking out orders. I hoped he wasn’t planning to kick up a fuss about my presence.

  The police officer manning the cordon recognised me and ushered us through without any hassle. That was a positive start. I looked around, taking in the scene. In terms of suitable places to dump a vehicle in the middle of a city, this was about as good as it got – it was all but concealed from the nearby road. Certainly anyone in a passing car would be unlikely to notice anything unless they craned their necks or stopped at the side of the road and got out. And, given the busy traffic, it was unlikely to have much pedestrian footfall. There were also no cameras to be seen anywhere nearby.

  I glanced at the old graffiti tag adorning the side of the tunnel. It was faded and several of the letters were covered in creeping moss. There wasn’t even much litter. This spot was not visited often. I checked the ground, where several technicians were taking photos. Two sets of tyre tracks; the van had been driven in here, set alight, and then another vehicle had driven out. Wherever the robbers were now, they were long gone from here.

  I walked to the shell of the van just inside the open tunnel. A few wisps of smoke were still rising from its twisted metal carcass. Collier gave me a black look from the other side of the burnt-out vehicle. ‘How did you get here?’ he asked.

  ‘I drove.’

  ‘That’s not what I meant,’ he snapped.

  I sighed. ‘We’re both on the same side here.’

  ‘If that were true, you wouldn’t have gone behind my back and tattled to Barnes. You might think you’re something special because you have vampires and werewolves hanging off your every word, but I can assure you that in the real world it’s only results that receive praise.’

  ‘In that case,’ I returned, ‘tell me what you’ve got and let’s work on achieving those results.’ I tried to stare him down. He stared back, then his mouth twisted and he yielded to the inevitable.

  ‘They must have driven straight here after the robbery,’ he said, begrudging every word. ‘The fire was called in by a passenger on the top floor of a double-decker bus who spotted the smoke. It took the fire service almost an hour to get here. It wasn’t a priority, given the location and obvious lack of casualties. By the time they arrived, the worst of the damage had already been done.’

  ‘What about the weapons?’ Fred asked. ‘They had a whole arsenal with them at the bank. Throwing them into the back of the van and leaving them to burn along with the other evidence would have been the smart move. Is there any indication that they left the guns here?’

  It was a clever question. Unfortunately, Collier shook his head. ‘There’s no sign of any guns. Either they dumped them somewhere else or they took them when they left.’

  I pursed my lips. Quite often the easiest way to trace criminals was by tracking their guns. Most denizens of the underworld understood this and would quickly get rid of weapons by dumping them in the Thames, where the river’s wash and silt would erase their existence, or by burying them in the ground. A fire like the one that had destroyed the van would have done the trick just as effectively. It was possible that the gang hadn’t considered leaving the guns here, or that they’d been afraid the fire wouldn’t be hot enough to destroy enough of them.

  There was another possibility: the robbers might not be finished with their plans and they might have more violent deeds to undertake. That worrying thought nibbled at the edges of my brain but I wouldn’t give voice to it yet, not until I was more sure of Collier.

  ‘What about the van?’ I asked. ‘Has anything been uncovered about where it came from?’

  ‘It was reported stolen late last night,’ another police officer offered helpfully. Collier sent her a dirty look. He still didn’t want to volunteer too much information.

  ‘Where from?’ I asked.

  This time, the policewoman kept her mouth shut.

  ‘The East End,’ Collier said shortly.

  ‘Where in the East End?’

  ‘That’s not relevant. We’ve checked and there’s no way of telling who stole it. It’s a dead end.’

  I’d have liked to have checked that for myself but it wasn’t a priority; I’d have to trust the older detective about this at least. Just because he was a grumpy bastard who hated my involvement didn’t mean that he was incompetent.

  ‘There’s no doubt in my mind,’ Collier declared, ‘that this is an inside job. Someone from the bank – or one of the customers – is responsible for this mess. For all we know, the wolves and the bloodsuckers could be working together.’

  I folded my arms. ‘And what would be their motive? Let’s not forget that there are dead supes at the scene.’

  His lip curled. ‘From what I hear, they’ve always had a disregard for life even when it comes to their own kind. But it was probably the vampires working on their own. That Horvath fellow was very obstructive when my officers spoke to him earlier, and he refused to stay long enough for me to talk to him. It can’t be a coincidence that there were no dead bloodsu
ckers at the bank. And let’s not forget it was a vampire clambering up the side of the London Eye earlier today.’

  ‘No, it wasn’t,’ I said patiently. ‘A pair of fake fangs was found at the bottom of the wheel. Best guess is that it was another student who’d been fooled into acting like those idiots dressed up as werewolves on the bus.’

  ‘Only a vampire could climb that thing,’ Collier said dismissively. ‘The goblin – Pralk, is it? – he doesn’t seem to know anything. We let Horvath go but we need to get him back for questioning. I’ve spoken to my superiors and they’ve agreed that we can hold him for forty-eight hours before we charge him.’ At my look, he laughed coldly. ‘You can protest his innocence all you want and quote supe law, but humans were killed during this robbery. That means I can have him. I’ll get the fanged bastard to talk.’

  ‘If you rush in gung-ho and haul the vampire Lord in for interrogation,’ I said, ‘there will be consequences. The supes don’t like police interference, and the relationship between us and them is delicate. Supe Squad have been working hard to improve matters. The wrong move could set that relationship back by years.’

  ‘I don’t give a fuck about your relationship with the supes. Our job isn’t to be mates with criminals.’

  I tried hard to keep my temper. ‘Supes aren’t criminals. They’re people like you and me.’

  ‘We all know that isn’t true.’ He glowered at me. His true colours were on display. Detective Superintendent Collier was the worst kind of person. Deep down, he believed that supes didn’t deserve to exist and they should all be locked up. I’d thought that sort of attitude had gone out with the Dark Ages but, alas, I regularly encountered people who thought that way. It was wholly irrational – and downright dangerous.

  ‘How would the bank robbers have known which safety deposit boxes to target?’ Collier enquired.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘I’m told that silver bullets were used. I’m sure you can confirm that sort of ammunition is lethal to werewolves in particular. Is Lord Horvath aiming to incite war against the clans?’

  ‘I very much doubt it. He was a victim of this crime as much as the wolves, even if no vampires were killed.’

  ‘Then why are he and the other supposed crime victims refusing to tell me what was stolen? Why are you refusing to tell me?’

  I winced. ‘I made a deal with them…’

  Collier rolled his eyes. ‘Whatever. Isn’t it convenient that Horvath and all the supe leaders have alibis for the time of robbery? That they were called away to deal with other matters just before the guns opened fire?’

  ‘It was obviously a diversion to get them out of the way.’

  ‘It wasn’t obviously anything,’ he snapped. ‘You are blind to their faults, DC Bellamy.’

  Something else that wasn’t true. ‘Look,’ I said, trying to stay calm and keep control of the situation, ‘I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t question Lord Horvath and the other supe leaders again. I’m just saying that there are smarter ways to go about it than treating them like criminals. I’m the Supe Squad detective. Let me approach Horvath and the others. I’ll request that they come to the Supe Squad office and—’

  ‘No. We don’t want to give them any warning. We have a better chance of getting real answers if they don’t know we’re coming after them. We’ll catch the bastards unaware.’

  I’d seen the way the vamp community acted around Lukas. As far as they were concerned, he was akin to a god. If Collier went in all guns blazing and treated him like a criminal, there could well be rioting in the streets of Soho. Even if that didn’t happen, the vamps would close their doors on us. As much as Lukas was keen on dinner with me – and goodness knew what else – his number-one priority would always be his own vampires.

  I gazed helplessly at Collier, wondering what I could say that would get him to back off slightly. Then I suddenly realised why he was acting in such a bull-headed fashion. This was all my fault.

  ‘DI Collier,’ I said carefully, walking round the burnt-out van so I could draw him to the side. It wouldn’t be a good idea for the other officers on the scene to hear what I was about to say. ‘I realise that you’re pissed off that DSI Barnes told you to stop treating the supes like terrorists and that you feel undermined. I know that you’re trying to maintain your order and authority, but you should put your feelings to one side for now and think rationally about this. Your question about the safety deposit boxes was a good one. We should focus on who might have known which boxes belonged to the supes and the bank, and who might have got hold of that information. I don’t think this was an inside job. Put your prejudices to the side. Let’s work together.’

  He looked at me incredulously. ‘Are you trying to manage me? Me?’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘You’ve got delusions of grandeur, girl.’ He jabbed a finger at me. ‘If you warn Lord Freak that we’re coming for him, I’ll have you arrested for obstructing the course of justice.’ He stalked away, yelling out commands at anyone who’d listen to him.

  Fred sidled up to me. ‘This isn’t good,’ he murmured.

  I rubbed the back of my neck. ‘No,’ I said. ‘I’ve handled it all wrong.’

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ Fred said. ‘He’s afraid of supes and what they represent and his fear is manifesting like this.’ He waved at Collier’s departing back. ‘He knew Tony,’ he said, referring to my now-dead predecessor. ‘I’ve been trying to place him and it suddenly clicked. DI Collier is the reason Tony ended up at Supe Squad. Tony clocked him after he spouted off about something. Collier got away with it because he kept his hands to himself and Tony got sent to Supe Squad as punishment. It was years ago and long before my time, but Liza told me about it.’

  ‘So DI Collier has even more reason to despise Supe Squad.’ I ran a hand through my hair. I couldn’t investigate the robbery and deal with that idiot at the same time.

  ‘What are we going to do?’ Fred asked.

  ‘I’ve been explicitly ordered not to warn Lukas in advance,’ I said thoughtfully. ‘There’s no actual evidence against him. Collier is simply making a show of his authority.’ I looked at Fred. ‘Right?’

  He nodded. ‘Right. He probably won’t question Lord Horvath himself. He’ll leave him to stew in a cell while he gets on with the rest of the investigation.’ He sighed. ‘And the entire vampire population will despise us for the rest of time. Is what Collier’s doing even legal, considering supe law?’

  ‘It’s murky when human casualties are involved.’ I straightened my shoulders and started marching out of the tunnel. Fred trotted to keep up with me. ‘We can’t warn Lukas. Speaking to DSI Barnes again and asking her to intervene will only inflame Collier further. If we ask Lukas to help with other details of the investigation, we might have a way out. As long as he’s out of Collier’s path and sticking with Supe Squad, nobody can complain.’

  ‘DI Collier will.’

  ‘Then let’s get to Lukas before Collier does, and before Collier finds out about what we’re doing.’

  Fred was wide-eyed. ‘We could get into a lot of trouble for this.’

  ‘You’re welcome to stay out of it. You don’t have to put your neck on the line.’

  ‘Are you kidding me? I’m with you all the way, boss.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘This will be fun.’ He nudged me. ‘And I love that you’re running to rescue big bad Lord Horvath like he’s a damsel in distress.’

  ‘I’m no knight in shining armour.’

  Fred winked. ‘Lukas Horvath won’t see it that way.’

  Chapter Ten

  We arrived outside Lukas’s grand home not long after ten o’clock at night. Now that it was summer, it didn’t get dark until late. I often didn’t realise the time until the sky pooled into a blanket of indigo marred only by the odd passing aeroplane. I’d been afraid of the dark for a while after my boyfriend slit my throat in the graveyard at St Erbin’s church. I had jumped at shadows and felt a tightening in my stomach whenev
er the sun started to set. These days, however, it was comforting. I’d come a long way.

  I hopped out of Tallulah and gazed up at the grey, granite building. I’d yet to cross the threshold, despite Lukas’s attempts to invite me round for dinner. I couldn’t help wondering what his taste in décor was like. I thought about the ruffled shirt he’d been wearing. Decadent, probably. And with lots of frills.

  Fred hung back, waiting for me to do the honours. I sucked in a long breath and glanced round. Collier wasn’t here yet. There was still time. I stepped up to the perfectly varnished door, painted ostentatiously in a glossy blood-red colour, and knocked.

  It wasn’t Lukas who answered. Instead I found myself faced with a young vampire whose face I didn’t recognise. When he saw me, he blanched. ‘Lord Horvath is not home,’ he said, his eyes shifting from left to right nervously.

  ‘I need to find him immediately. Where is he?’

  The young vamp scratched his head. ‘Uh… I’m not sure.’

  ‘Has he gone to Heart?’ I asked, referring to the nightclub that Lukas ran.

  ‘Maybe,’ the vamp said hesitantly.

  That was a no, then. I frowned, vaguely irritated – then a cold chill descended through my body. Suddenly I knew exactly why Lukas wasn’t in. Bastards. I should have acted on my earlier instincts. ‘The bank robbers have been in touch, haven’t they? He’s gone to meet them.’

  Alarm lit his expression. ‘What? No!’

  I ground my teeth. Damnit. I glanced at the vampire again. This might work. I licked my lips and raised my chin, summoning all the power I had within me. I’d achieved similar results with weaker werewolves but I’d never tried it on a vampire before. ‘Tell me,’ I intoned, the thrum of compulsion ringing through every word, ‘where Lord Horvath has gone.’

  Strain contorted the vampire’s face. He clamped a hand over his mouth and gave me a panicked look, stepping back as if to get away. He shook his head violently from side to side, desperately trying not to speak.