by Helen Harper
‘You’re far too stubborn for your own good.’
I shrugged, then immediately regretted the impulse when more pain shot through my shoulder.
‘Let’s get you back to Supe Squad and bandaged up properly,’ Lukas said. ‘Whoever shot your Adam Jones is already in the wind.’ The street was now a sea of blue flashing lights. ‘You’re not alone, Emma.’
I sighed. Then I let him take me back to the scene of Adam Jones’s latest death.
***
None of us were used to this many people hovering around Supe Squad. Liza took up position in the corner of the office, her arms folded and her face expressionless, watching the comings and goings without comment. Fred gazed at everyone like an eager puppy; he was still young enough to find the action exciting rather than depressing. For my part, I kept out of the way and allowed Lukas to tend my shoulder with the Supe Squad first-aid kit.
‘You should go to a hospital,’ he muttered. ‘But I’ve already told you that and I know you won’t go.’
‘You could lick me,’ I suggested. Vampire saliva contained special healing properties. It was a quirk that allowed them to pierce human skin and drink blood without fearing that their victim, willing or otherwise, would bleed to death.
‘I would love to lick you,’ he said, his voice low enough for my ears only. ‘Very slowly.’ His fingers brushed my lips. ‘From here all the way down to here.’ His hands moved to my hips. ‘But perhaps I’ll save that for later.’
I sucked in a breath and stared at him.
‘Is it because I died?’ he asked suddenly. ‘Is that why you seem to have changed your mind about me? Until today, you seemed determined to avoid me at all costs.’ His face was inscrutable. ‘I’m not looking for a sympathy fuck, Emma. I want far more from you than that.’
‘I…’
‘Emma!’ Molly appeared in the doorway. She bounded towards me with her arms outstretched as if to offer me a tight hug. ‘Are you alright? I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news. How would someone dare to attack a police station in broad daylight?’
Lukas was already moving away. She glanced at him quickly, then did a double take. ‘Wait,’ she said slowly. ‘Are you…’
‘This is my … friend,’ I told her. ‘Lukas. He’s a vampire.’
Her mouth dropped open. ‘I know who you are,’ she breathed. ‘You’re Lord Horvath.’
He offered her a lazy smile. ‘Please,’ he said, ‘call me Lukas. Any friend of Emma’s is a friend of mine.’
Molly all but melted into a puddle right before my eyes. ‘I’m Molly.’ She blinked at him. ‘It’s lovely to meet you.’
‘There is someone at the door for you, Lord Horvath,’ another police officer interrupted. ‘Scarlett somebody?’
Fred straightened up, his gaze darting to the window. Lukas nodded and glanced at me. ‘I’ll be right back.’
I swallowed and managed a smile, then grabbed my T-shirt and hastily pulled it over my head. I wasn’t particularly modest but I wasn’t going to wander the office in my bra when so many people were around.
‘Oh my God, Ems.’ Molly stared at me. ‘I didn’t realise he was so … magnetic. Are you and he having a thing? When I walked in here, he was completely absorbed in you.’
I coughed. I was not having this conversation right now.
‘And,’ she added, ‘you were completely absorbed in him.’ She grinned at me. ‘Does he have any single friends?’
I didn’t have to answer because DI Collier marched into the room and cleared his throat. For the first time I was glad to see him; normally he had a way of sucking the life out of everyone around him.
‘Listen up all,’ he intoned. ‘DSI Barnes has left in order to brief the Prime Minister about today’s events. In her absence, I’m assuming full authority and any questions should be directed to me. Nobody is to say a word to the press. There will be a statement later on today – any journos that complain can be told to wait until then. For now, all orders run through me. I’m sure I don’t need to emphasise that this is an incredibly serious situation. We have an active shooter on the loose. Initial indications seem to suggest that he was hiding on the rooftops opposite this building until he had a clear line of sight to his target. The weapon appears to have been a high-calibre rifle with a silencer attached.’
There was a murmur amongst the assembled police officers. I heard more than one person whisper ‘execution’. I swallowed. They were right; that’s exactly what it had been.
Collier held his hand up for silence. ‘We can’t be sure whether he was aiming for us, or for the suspect in custody who was being transferred to headquarters. We have to assume, however, that the shooter still poses a very real risk to the public and that he or she is linked in some way to the events this morning at Tower Bridge and the London Eye. I know you’ll agree that terrorism has no place in our city.’
My hand shot up into the air. Collier ignored it.
‘All main railway and bus terminals in and out of London are being monitored. The police presence at Gatwick, Heathrow and London City Airports has been increased.’
I waved my hand several times and hopped up and down, just in case he was short sighted.
‘Given the nature of all three incidents today,’ he continued without blinking, as if he were some kind of damned lizard, ‘we have to assume that supernatural beings are involved. The shooter knew the area well enough to know where Adam Jones was going to be taken. Also he or she was able to find an unobtrusive spot to fire shots from. That means that the shooter is probably supernatural.’
I noted that several police officers stiffened.
‘Under normal circumstances,’ Collier intoned, ‘the law states that we can’t arrest supes and that their own justice prevails.’ His mouth turned down, indicating exactly what he thought of that particular quirk. ‘However, given the real threat to human life, all bets are off. We have full permission to treat every supernatural creature, be they vampire, werewolf or Frankenstein himself, as we would any other criminal.’
I understood what he meant and why he’d said it, but his choice of words made it clear that he believed every supe was a criminal simply because of the power that ran through their blood. I stopped trying to be polite and interrupted him. This was my office, not his.
‘Frankenstein was human,’ I said. ‘He created the monster who, I should point out, had far more humanity and intelligence than his human creator. But that’s beside the point. This cannot be an excuse for open season on supes. First of all, it’s the supe community that’s being targeted. Secondly, I have good reason to believe that we’re looking for humans. And finally, this is not about terrorism. It’s about money.’
Collier stared at me then cleared his throat. ‘For those of you who don’t know,’ he said, ‘this is Detective Constable Bellamy. She’s been working here at Supe Squad since she qualified a mere three months ago.’ He smiled nastily. ‘And I think we all know what assignment to Supe Squad means.’
There were several intakes of breath from around the room. Some of the police officers nodded, others looked embarrassed at his sneering tone. Molly put a warning hand on my arm.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ I said loudly, making sure that every pair of ears in the room heard me. I wouldn’t allow Collier to get away with suggesting that I was a lesser detective because I was in Supe Squad, or that Supe Squad was only for losers. Or that my lack of experience suggested I was talking out of my arse. I wasn’t going to pretend I had all the answers – but I knew more than most of the people in this room. ‘Other than it means that I have a far greater knowledge of supes than anyone else here.’
Liza coughed.
‘Apart from my two Supe Squad colleagues, that is,’ I added, with a nod towards her and Fred.
Collier did his best to stare me down. When that didn’t work, he elected for a different approach. ‘Excellent. If anyone has any questions relating to supes and their specific ab
ilities, you can direct them to DC Bellamy. In the meantime, we will canvass this entire area street by street. I want doors knocked, pavements pounded and every damned shed and outbuilding searched. Perimeters have been set up. Soho and Lisson Grove are closed off. No supe is to leave the area unless they’ve been searched, checked and identified.’ He paused. ‘Whether he was in handcuffs or not, Adam Jones was a young man struck down in his prime. He is a victim. It’s up to us to find his killer.’
He gestured at a prim-looking officer standing at the door clutching a clipboard. ‘DC Smith will assign you specific streets to search. You are to remain in groups of no less than three at all times. Let’s find this bastard and prevent any other innocent humans from getting killed.’ Collier turned away and marched out of the room.
Fred sidled up to me. ‘Why is he in charge? He didn’t listen to anything that you said. Why can’t we have Barnes? She outranks him by a long way.’
‘She’s not an operational officer any more,’ Liza said grimly. ‘And when the T word was mentioned, any decisions about what happens next would have been taken out of her hands.’
Molly looked at us. ‘I know he’s a wanker,’ she said quietly, ‘but it does appear that we’re looking for a supe here. All the evidence points that way.’
I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could my attention was dragged away by a flicker of movement outside the window. Fuck. Lukas and Scarlett were being confronted by two stony-faced police officers. One of them reached for Scarlett and she bared her fangs in response.
My stomach dropped as I darted out of the room, pushing my way through the uniformed officers and assembled detectives and ignoring PC Clipboard. Seconds later I was out on the street, almost throwing myself between the police, who already had their hands on their Tasers, and the two vampires.
‘Enough!’ I roared with such force that I surprised myself. ‘These two are not involved!’
‘We need to clear them first,’ the nearest policeman said.
‘I’ve already cleared them.’
‘DI Collier said…’
I ground my teeth. ‘I said I’ve already cleared them.’ I glared, daring them to challenge me. Fortunately for all of us, they decided to back off.
‘This is ridiculous,’ Scarlett huffed. ‘We’re being treated like criminals.’ She jerked her head at the Supe Squad door. ‘It’s hardly the vampires’ fault that your police security is so lacking. Even the werewolves have better systems. At least they have guards outside their buildings, and now that Fairfax has installed metal detectors at his entrances the others will follow suit.’ Her mouth pursed in disgust. ‘Anyone can be gunned down here in broad daylight. So much for the skills and security at Supe Squad.’ She rolled her eyes.
I knew her anger wasn’t really directed at me but I felt it all the same. The failure to protect Adam Jones from yet another bullet was mine.
‘Scarlett,’ Lukas murmured, ‘go back to the car, please.’
Her bottom lip curled then she stomped off, her stilettoes beating a furious staccato on the tarmacked road.
‘And you wonder why I have such a mistrust of the authorities, D’Artagnan.’ Lukas’s expression was calm but I sensed a seething rage beneath his smooth features. ‘It’s just as well that you have another chance at this day. If the human police continue in this manner, there’ll be a lot of blood shed before long. My contacts in the government are refusing to take my calls.’ His black eyes met mine. ‘This is not going to end well.’
I wished he wasn’t right. ‘You need to get back to Soho,’ I said. ‘Get your people inside, and make sure they don’t do anything to inflame matters further. Contact the clans and tell them to do the same.’
‘We’re not the criminals here.’
‘I know,’ I said quietly. ‘But assuming I do get another reset, I’ll need every spare minute to find out about the gang that’s created this mess. That’s the only way we can avoid this sort of situation tomorrow. I don’t want to waste time dealing with confrontations between you and police.’ I reached for his hand and squeezed it. ‘I need you to trust that I’ve got this. I need you to trust me.’
‘If you were anyone else,’ he began. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. ‘Very well. Where will you go?’
‘There are two clear lines of investigation – the bank and the locksmith’s where Adam Jones followed the gang.’ I checked my watch. ‘There’s less than seven hours to go for me to cover both. The bank will be closing soon so I’ll head there first.’
‘Fine. I’ll meet you later.’ His thumb gently stroked the side of my hand. ‘Don’t get shot.’
I shivered from the heat of his touch. ‘Ditto.’
Chapter Nineteen
Mosburn Pralk’s body language was stiff and unyielding. ‘From what I understand,’ he said, ‘you should be breaking down doors and looking for someone with a gun instead of bothering me again. Despite your assertions, the real trouble today has been on your doorstep, detective. Not mine.’
I needed Pralk on my side. ‘It’s all related. Please believe me, Mr Pralk, your bank is in very real danger. I’m trying to avert a catastrophe and it’ll be far easier to save lives, including those of your staff, if you cooperate.’
A crease appeared between his eyebrows, darkening the golden colour of his skin. ‘What do you need?’
This was where things could get tricky. The goblin bank manager had already given me a list of his staff, but he’d done so after the bank had been robbed and the floor was littered with corpses. Naturally, I no longer had the list to hand. I had to persuade Pralk to give me another copy and let me interview everyone on it. Regardless of what he might think, someone knew which safety deposit boxes to target and someone had tipped off the bank robbers. The only logical answer was that it was someone who worked in the bank.
I glanced at Fred. ‘Can you give us a minute?’ He smiled amiably and stepped away. Keeping my voice quiet, I addressed Pralk. ‘I didn’t want to mention this before because I vowed that I’d keep the information to myself.’
The crease in his brow deepened. ‘Go on.’
‘The bank uses one of its own deposit boxes to store confidential paperwork. You ought to stop doing that, you know,’ I added as an aside. ‘The paperwork includes the name of every supe in the country, not just the supes who live legally here in London but those who survive incognito outside the city. We’re talking about a thousand or so people.’
The only indication that Pralk was flustered by this information was a tiny fluttering at the base of his throat. ‘How do you know all this?’ he asked evenly. ‘And please, detective, do me the honour of telling me the truth. I don’t require further storytelling or prevarication.’
Okay, then. ‘Your bank was robbed, Mr Pralk. Eight people were killed and several deposit boxes were stolen, including yours. There was a shoot-out later on Westminster Bridge when the robbers tried to sell the contents of Lord Horvath’s box back to him. In the process, he was also killed. I took a potion shortly afterwards which means that I am re-living that same period of twelve hours over and over again. This is my third time. I’m told by the person who gave me the potion that I only have one more repeat left. That’s one more chance to stop the robbery and find those responsible.’
I was expecting the pragmatic Pralk to laugh in my face. Instead, however, he folded his arms and uttered two words, ‘Carpe diem.’
I started. ‘You’ve heard of it?’
‘We have a copy of Infernal Enchantments.’
I sucked in a breath. ‘You…’
He held up a hand. ‘Before you tell me that it’s a dangerous book and should be kept under lock and key, I’m already aware of that. And no, I haven’t tried to make any of the recipes in it.’
‘Does anyone else have access to the book?’
He shook his head. ‘Only me. It’s held in a secure box in our vault.’ He raised his thin eyebrows. ‘Do these robbers try to gain access to the vault?�
�
‘They do not. But, Mr Pralk, that book…’
‘You don’t have to worry about it, detective. It’s for my eyes only – and the eyes of whoever succeeds me.’ His gaze held steady. ‘I read it once. I have no desire to do so again.’
That cursed book. If Pralk had read it, he’d have seen the section about the phoenix and its capabilities. By now, every supe in the city knew that I had the ability to resurrect. Pralk was an intelligent man; he must have put two and two together. On the other hand, he was circumspect and trustworthy – his lack of comment proved it. He went up another notch in my estimation.
‘I haven’t managed to talk to your staff,’ I said. ‘But somebody told the robbers which safety deposit boxes to target.’
‘And you think it was someone from this bank.’ His voice was flat.
‘I do,’ I said. ‘There are hundreds of boxes back there. I can’t see any other way that someone would know which ones belonged to the clan alphas, Lord Horvath and yourself, unless they had insider knowledge.’
‘There’s always a way,’ he answered. ‘I have total faith in my employees, DC Bellamy. No matter what you might think, goblins are about more than gold skin, green eyes and a penchant for financial matters. We are also trustworthy to a fault.’
I stayed quiet. I couldn’t disagree with him – but I had to speak to his staff.
He sighed. ‘Very well. I’ll get you a list and tell everyone that they have to stay behind to be questioned. Does that meet with your approval?’
It did. ‘Thank you. I appreciate your help.’
He didn’t look away. ‘And I appreciate yours. The Carpe Diem potion has given you an extraordinary gift. Don’t waste it.’
All I could do was nod in return.
***
There were nineteen bank employees, not including Pralk: three cleaners; five bank tellers; one HR manager; three administrative assistants; three account managers; one assistant bank manager; one janitor; one IT administrator, and one security specialist. There wasn’t much time to speak to them all, or to delve into what they did or didn’t know. What I did have, thanks to Pralk, were their true names. And that gave me considerable power.