Midnight Smoke (The Firebrand Series Book 3)

by Helen Harper

  For the first time in what seemed like days, I was in luck. As I pressed a bloody thumb on the button to call the lift, it arrived and a familiar face blinked at me. Gaz. One of Devereau Webb’s men. ‘Jesus,’ he exclaimed. ‘What the fuck’s happened to you?’

  I waved at him weakly. ‘Webb,’ I croaked. ‘I need to speak to him.’

  ‘The boss is sick,’ he began. He looked at me again. ‘But I think you’re sicker.’ He stepped forward, hooked my arm over his shoulders, and hauled me awkwardly into the lift. ‘Come on then, detective.’ He pressed the button for the fourteenth floor. ‘Do I get a medal or summat for helping a police officer?’

  I gave him a long, tired look. Gaz was as much a criminal as his boss but I supposed I should be grateful he wasn’t dangling me out of a window for daring to return here.

  It seemed to take an eternity for the lift to reach the right floor. I focused on breathing. Breathing was good. Oxygen was my friend. What worried me was that I wasn’t in much pain – the left half of my body felt numb.

  When the lift doors finally opened, Gaz almost had to drag me down the corridor. I left a bloody trail behind me. ‘You know we’re going to bill you for that,’ he said cheerfully.

  He knocked loudly on the door of flat 1412. Devereau Webb owned pretty much the entire building and moved through various properties as he saw fit. It was just as well Gaz had found me because I’d never have found Webb without him.

  The door opened and the freckled face of young girl peered out. The last time I’d seen her, she’d been pale and scrawny as leukaemia ravaged her body. Now her cheeks were glowing with healthy chubbiness and her smile was bright. Until she saw me.

  ‘Why did you bring that pig here?’ Alice asked, frowning. Then she brightened. ‘She’s bleeding. Did you hurt her?’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Gaz replied.

  The girl shrugged but I didn’t miss her worried look. She was more concerned about my well being than she was letting on. It was enough to warm the cockles of a tired, wounded police detective’s heart.

  ‘Boss,’ Gaz called. ‘We’ve got a bit of a situation here!’

  Alice stepped to the side and Gaz hauled me in. I glanced round, blinking blearily before my gaze settled on Devereau Webb who was slumped on the sofa. He didn’t look much healthier than I felt.

  Gaz deposited me on a chair as Webb sat up. He was shirtless and I counted three wounds on his body. They looked like bite marks and I felt a deep chill run through me.

  ‘DC Bellamy.’ Webb raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re bleeding all over my furniture.’

  ‘Should I fetch the doc?’ Gaz enquired.

  Devereau Webb looked me over. ‘I think that would be a good idea.’ He turned to Alice. ‘This would be a good time for you to go home to your mum.’

  She jumped onto the sofa beside him and stared at me with unabashed curiosity. ‘I want to stay.’

  ‘Alice.’ His tone brooked no argument. ‘Go.’

  Alice wrinkled her nose and huffed loudly, but she did as she was told.

  ‘Yara will come and look after you,’ Webb said to me when she’d gone. ‘We call her the doc, although she’s not allowed to perform any deeds of derring medical do in this country legally. She was a surgeon in Syria. In this country, the most she can be is a cleaner.’ His mouth turned down in disgust. ‘We offered her an alternative that was more suited to her skills and she was only too pleased to take it. It’s a shame our government wasn’t more willing to do the same but,’ he gave a half smile, ‘their loss is our gain.’

  This wasn’t the time to get into a political discussion. I tried to sit up straight. ‘What did you give me?’

  ‘Pardon?’

  ‘What did you give me? What did I drink?’

  Webb’s brow creased in confusion, then he threw back his head and laughed. ‘I gave you the potion? And you drank it?’ He chortled.

  I failed to see what was so funny. ‘Webb…’

  He continued to grin. ‘Presumably I didn’t tell you what it could do.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘And presumably you were having a very bad day. I’ve been watching the news. Your day is still not going well.’ He’d muted the television but I could see flickering images of the London Eye, Tower Bridge and the Talismanic Bank. I spotted DI Collier on the scene in front of the bank, barking out orders at some poor underling. I hoped it wasn’t Molly. I turned my gaze away.

  ‘I was considering coming to find you,’ he said, still grinning broadly. ‘But it appears I already did.’

  A sudden wave of dizziness overtook. Damn it. I couldn’t let myself pass out – I had to get answers. ‘What was it? What was in that bottle?’

  Devereau Webb settled back against the cushions. ‘Forgive me if you’ve heard any of this before because I don’t know what I’ve already told you. Or why you decided to drink what I gave you.’ He linked his hands together behind his head, stretching the muscles across his chest. He was in surprisingly good shape. ‘After what you did for Alice, I went in search of the book you mentioned.’

  I nodded. ‘Infernal Enchantments. That part you told me.’

  ‘Well,’ he said, ‘when I got hold of a copy from the Carlyle Library, I went through it.’ He shook his head. ‘There’s some weird shit inside that book, dangerous too. You ought to be more careful, detective. Anyone could get hold of a book like that and do some bad stuff with it.’

  I gritted my teeth and Webb smirked at my expression.

  ‘I’m not normally beholden to others,’ he told me. ‘Under any other circumstances, I wouldn’t have gone to the werewolves for help with Alice. It hurt me to ask for their assistance. It hurt me even more when they denied it. It was not a sensation I enjoyed so I decided to take matters into my own hands. When I found the Carpe Diem recipe, I knew it was exactly what I needed.’

  ‘Carpe Diem?’

  ‘It means seize the day.’

  ‘I know what it means,’ I snapped. ‘What’s in it? What does it do?’

  He shrugged. ‘It’s mostly herbs. It’s certainly not as gruesome as the potion you gave me to help Alice.’

  ‘And?’ I glowered.

  ‘And when you drink it, your timeline is … altered. You get a repeat of the same twelve-hour period. After that, your life is yours to do with as you will.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘Neither do I really.’ He leaned forward. ‘How many times?’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘How many times have you had a repeat?’

  ‘Once.’ I stared at him hard. Did that mean there was more to come?

  ‘Then,’ Webb said easily, ‘you’ve got two more to go. The same twelve hours will repeat a further two times. That’s two more chances to solve whatever this,’ he gestured at my blood-covered body, ‘is about. You’ll remember every episode. And you’ll still have that bullet wound. The day might reset, but your body won’t.’

  If I’d not already been experiencing it, I wouldn’t have believed it was possible. ‘What about everyone else?’ I asked, struggling to understand what Webb was telling me and to think past the increasing pain in my shoulder. ‘What do they experience?’

  He pursed his lips. ‘I’ve questioned everyone closely. As far as they’re concerned, they only remember the last twelve hours that you experience, nothing else. Maybe there are parallel universes where versions of themselves continue in the original timelines. I have no idea.’ He smiled disarmingly. ‘I’m no quantum physicist. I don’t know how it works, I only know that it does work.’

  My mouth felt dry and a throbbing in my skull was getting worse. ‘So it’s Groundhog Day. What you’ve given me is a damned Groundhog Day.’

  ‘Essentially.’ Webb looked very pleased with himself.

  ‘And you did this? You took the … Carpe Diem potion and had the same thing happen.’

  He nodded. ‘I did. I survived. And I achieved what I wanted to.’

  I looked at the mark
s on his body. I couldn’t deal with Devereau Webb’s subterfuge on top of everything else. ‘What have you done with the book?’ I whispered. ‘Where is it now?’

  His answer seemed to come from a long way off. ‘I burned it. And I made no copies. What you’re experiencing is a power that nobody should be allowed to experience. After this, there will be no more of what you took.’

  ‘Then why do it at all? And why give it to me?’

  ‘I owed you, DC Bellamy. Consider my debt to you paid.’

  ‘But…’

  The door to the flat opened and Gaz reappeared with a small woman in tow. ‘Doc’s here,’ he announced.

  I grimaced. I didn’t want a doctor. I swung my head to Webb. Black clouds were edging around my vision. I frowned and tried to shake them off. ‘But…’ I tried again. ‘But…’

  It was no good. Darkness was overtaking me. Before I succumbed, a single image spun through my head over and over again of the small boy in dungarees as he lay motionless in the middle of a London street.

  Chapter Fourteen

  This time, the sunlight streaming in through Tallulah’s windows was almost blinding. My radio crackled. In the nick of time, I pressed down hard on the brake pedal. Tallulah’s bonnet nudged forward, gently kissing the rear of the taxi in front of me.

  While the burly taxi driver flung open his door and stormed out to check the damage, my fingers went to my shoulder to examine the spot where the bullet had entered. My T-shirt was clean and undamaged, although the gunshot wound was definitely still there. It was tender to my touch and, although it appeared much less serious than it had been the day before, it ached painfully.

  Devereau Webb had been right: not everything was wiped clean when the day reset itself. It also explained his own collection of wounds – and it suggested that Dr Yara had worked on me at Webb’s flat while I was unconscious. I definitely hadn’t died, and I must have received a good few blood transfusions.

  The taxi driver rapped hard on the window. ‘You ought to be more careful!’ he yelled. ‘You could have done some real damage!’

  Yeah, yeah. I raised a hand in apology as the radio crackled again. I checked the clock. I didn’t have long. I crossed my fingers and prayed that Devereau Webb had been telling the whole truth and I still had another repeat after this one. A moment later I pulled out, almost hitting the fuming taxi driver, and sped off towards the London Eye.

  This time I took more care with my parking. Rather than simply slide Tallulah into the first available space closest to the Eye, I performed a U-turn and found a spot on the opposite side of the road. It took more time than I wanted to waste but it would be worth it. Once I left this scene, I wanted to be sure that I could get to the Talismanic Bank before the gang arrived. Even coming to the London Eye was a risk but, given the little information I’d managed to glean so far, it felt like a risk worth taking.

  I waited for a break in the traffic then crossed the road to the police cordon. I could already see the black-clad figure clambering up the London Eye. I hoped I was right about this.

  Sliding out my warrant card, I waved it at the police officer. The same police officer. He nodded and gestured me through. I jogged down to the bottom of the wheel where Paige, Mr Hannigan and Lukas were having their argument.

  ‘You have to get that idiot down!’ Hannigan shouted. ‘There are news crews here already. This isn’t the sort of publicity we need right now!’

  ‘Are you suggesting, Mr Hannigan,’ Lukas enquired, ‘that the pages of tomorrow’s newspapers are more important than a person’s life? Perhaps we should hope for a gust of wind to knock the poor fellow off his perch? Then you can clean up the bloodied mess of brains and splattered internal organs while the tourists get back on board for their selfies.’

  ‘I’m Detective Constable Emma Bellamy,’ I stepped between the pair of them. ‘I’m with Supe Squad. I’m assuming full control for this situation. Nobody needs to worry, everything will be resolved shortly.’

  Lukas seemed surprised by my calm confidence. ‘Unless it’s resolved with that vampire being brought down safely, I think there’s every need to worry.’

  ‘Agreed,’ Hannigan growled.

  Paige plucked at her sleeves, flicking nervy glances at Lukas when she thought he wasn’t looking. I simply smiled serenely. The more I saw of Lukas in that daft shirt, the more I enjoyed the sight. Especially when he was still breathing.

  ‘How are you, Emma?’ he was watching me carefully. ‘You’ve been avoiding my calls.’

  ‘We’ll discuss it later. I’ll explain about the kiss, too.’

  His inky black eyebrows shot up to his head. ‘Kiss? What kiss?’

  Oops. I’d momentarily forgotten myself there. I felt my cheeks redden and I coughed. Now I was acting like Paige. ‘Uh, never mind,’ I muttered. I stepped back and looked up. ‘I’m going to climb up and encourage the … vampire down.’

  ‘You’re going to do what?’ Lukas snapped.

  Hannigan looked relieved. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Anything to bring that freak down.’

  I nodded, strode over to the steel structure and placing one foot on it. My shoulder was hurting a lot more now. I hoped I wouldn’t have to clamber very high because I doubted I’d reach the heights I had before.

  ‘Emma,’ Lukas said, ‘what the fuck do you think you’re doing?’

  ‘I’ve told you before, I prefer it when you call me D’Artagnan.’ I glanced at him. ‘I’ll have a wee chat with your vamp and do what I can to persuade him to climb down to solid ground.’

  ‘Don’t be an idiot. You might fall.’

  I paused. ‘Hmm,’ I said. ‘Okay. Do you have a head for heights? Do you think you could climb up?’

  He looked at me suspiciously. I didn’t normally back down from a challenge so quickly and Lukas knew it. ‘What’s going on, Emma?’

  ‘You’re going to climb up a famous London landmark to retrieve a vampire who seems to have a death wish.’ I smiled. ‘I’ll wait down here. Just in case.’

  ‘In case of what? Are you planning to catch him if he jumps?’

  I gave a fake laugh and started climbing. Lukas watched me for a moment, aware that something odd was going on. He’d never begin to guess what, however.

  ‘Very well,’ he muttered as he reached up. I marvelled at how easy he made it look, not to mention the way his muscles strained and the ruffles on his daft shirt flapped in the breeze. He wouldn’t look out of place striding across moors in a gothic novel. I gazed up at him fondly, then I realised what I was doing. Experiencing Lukas’s death had clearly erased my desire to maintain a distance from the vampire Lord.

  ‘He’s amazing,’ Paige breathed. ‘I’ve never been this close to a vampire before. He’s so handsome. And strong.’

  Mmm-hmm. I couldn’t blame her for her reaction when I felt the same. I smiled tightly.

  ‘How long will this take?’ Hannigan barked. He wasn’t eyeing up Lukas’s athletic build or tight muscles; his only concerns were revenue and reputation.

  I glanced at my watch. ‘About thirteen minutes,’ I said, ‘give or take.’ I turned on my heel and walked towards the cordon. I’d take the long way round.

  I ignored the strange looks from the other police officers. Assuming nothing sent him off course, I knew exactly where the fake vampire was planning to go. When Lukas got high enough, the ‘vamp’ would climb down, jump the security barrier and run away. I would stop that from happening.

  I followed the path to the other side of the security barrier until I was at the exact spot where the black-clad, rubber-fanged bloke had escaped the first time. The Thames glittered in the sunlight; pleasure boats and tourist vessels chugging past. I angled my head upwards. Lukas had reached the glass pod with the gaping family inside. I crossed my fingers tightly and slid out my phone. There was more that I had to do.

  ‘Fred,’ I said, the second he answered, ‘I need you to listen very carefully. In about fifteen minutes’ time, you’ll be calle
d to an incident on Tower Bridge. Three werewolves are about to hijack a bus there.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘They’re not werewolves,’ I said, ‘and you need to ignore the call.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Instead,’ I continued, not responding to his shocked disbelief, ‘you must get to the Talismanic Bank. A trio of bank robbers is planning to storm it, shoot a bunch of people and steal the contents of several safety deposit boxes.’

  ‘Whaaaat?’

  I kept my eyes trained upwards. There. I breathed out. The would-be jumper was coming down. I had to be ready.

  ‘Get everyone out of the bank,’ I ordered.

  ‘I’ll speak to the manager. I’ll get the bank shut down and—’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘That won’t work. I want to catch the bastards during the robbery. Just get everyone to safety and clear the street. Get back-up from DSI Barnes, if you can.’

  ‘You know I trust you, boss. But the manager of the Talismanic Bank is never going to shut down the entire building on my say-so.’

  I nodded, my gaze continuing to track the black-clad figure. Lukas was doing a good job of reversing and catching him up – but I knew it wouldn’t be good enough.

  ‘Tell the manager, Mosburn Pralk, that the contents of the bank’s own deposit box are in danger, and that he wouldn’t want the names of every supe with an account advertised to the world.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘You don’t have to,’ I said briskly. ‘Just tell him and he’ll do what you say. Then get out of there. The robbers are armed and very dangerous.’

  ‘Boss…’

  I didn’t have time for a discussion. The fake vampire had stopped about fifteen metres from the ground and was preparing to jump. I ended the call and got ready.

  ‘Left!’ Lukas yelled from above, his voice indistinct. ‘Go left!’

  The dangling figure pushing away from the wheel and jumped. My view of his landing was obscured by the barrier between us, but I didn’t need to see it to know he’d nailed it.

  I heard shouts and the sound of feet pounding on the tarmac, then fingers appeared above me and curled over the top of the barrier. In one smooth movement, the hooded bloke leapt over. He noticed me a second too late. My hand snapped forward and caught his arm. I wrenched it back and forced him face down onto the ground.