Making a decision, I stood up. ‘We’ll work together for now. We’ll find the supe responsible for this and bring them to justice.’
‘Supe justice,’ Lukas said.
Barnes’ mouth tightened. ‘Very well.’ She began to re-fasten the buttons on her jacket. ‘I won’t advertise any suspicions about the manner of DC Brown’s death until we have proof. The two of you have the freedom to investigate further – but I don’t want word getting out either about DC Brown, or that I’m permitting a trainee to remain in place without adequate supervision. These are extraordinary circumstances. It will harm all of us if anyone gets wind of what might have really happened. The last thing we need is to sour relations between the police and the supes even further, or to create any more public ill-will.’
She glanced at me. ‘And that silence covers your … resurrection, too. I don’t understand what happened to you, or what you are, but I strongly suggest you keep it to yourself for now.’
‘Agreed.’ I jerked my thumb towards Tony’s room. ‘Send him to Dr Hawes at the Fitzwilliam Manor. She’ll know what to do. We can trust her.’ I checked my watch. ‘We don’t know how long he’s been dead but, if he’s going to wake up like I did, it won’t be long until he does.’
‘Noted.’ She raised her chin. ‘Tony Brown was one of us. Find the bastard who did this.’
Lukas nodded. ‘Count on it.’
Chapter Fifteen
Lukas and I headed down to the DeVane carpark. ‘Here,’ he said, tossing something at me.
I caught it and looked down. A car key. My head snapped up again. ‘What’s this?’
‘It’s for Tallulah.’ He ambled over to the pillar where my crossbow bolt was still embedded, reached up and yanked it out as if he were sliding a knife out of butter.
‘Where did you—’ I frowned at the key. ‘You took this from Tony’s hotel room?’
He shrugged. ‘He doesn’t need it any more.’
‘I told you not to touch anything. I thought we were coming down here because you had a car of your own parked here.’
‘I do,’ he answered smoothly. ‘But Tallulah is better.’
‘Tallulah smells funny,’ I muttered.
Lukas stilled and gave me a long look.
‘What?’ I asked.
‘What is it exactly that you smell?’
‘Tony told me it was a blend of verbena and wolfsbane, but I get patchouli too.’
Lukas absorbed my words for a moment then passed me the silver bolt. ‘Careful with that,’ he said. He continued walking.
‘Wait.’ I caught up to him. ‘What’s the big deal with the smell?’
He put his hands in his pockets. ‘Did Tony tell you why it smells like that?’
‘Not exactly. It’s the same as inside the Supe Squad building, though.’
‘Indeed it is.’
Becoming frustrated, I nudged him. ‘So?’
‘So what?’
‘The smell. Why is it a big deal?’
‘I’m not sure that you really want to know the answer to that, D’Artagnan.’
I ground my teeth. ‘Tell me.’
‘The quantity of herbs burned to release the smell is miniscule. Far less than a human nose could detect.’
‘Bullshit. It was so strong the first time I walked into the Supe Squad building that it made my eyes water.’
He gave me a sidelong look. ‘I told you that you wouldn’t like the answer.’
‘You’re saying that because I can smell it, I’m a supe,’ I said flatly.
‘Pretty much. You’re not a vampire or a werewolf. You’re clearly no gremlin or pixie, either. You, D’Artagnan, are something new.’
The back of my neck prickled uncomfortably. I couldn’t pretend that this was news; it wasn’t as if normal people had their throats slit and woke up twelve hours later in a burst of flames. And I’d not even mentioned the flames to Lukas.
‘In theory,’ he continued, ‘Brown used the herbs to root out any supes who are hiding their identity. It’s a technique Supe Squad have used for decades.’
‘And in practice?’
‘Could be habit. But it’s probably for the tourists.’
I frowned. ‘To impress them?’
Lukas laughed. ‘No. To ward off all those idiots who appear at the door convinced that they themselves are supes. People who pass by a vampire in the street and think that they’ve been turned because they’ve breathed the same air. Or the people who think that they’re werewolves because they enjoy their steak rare.’ He grinned. ‘Humans are far crazier than supes will ever be. And if they can’t smell the herbs then they ain’t supe, no matter how much bloody meat they consume.’
‘I’m vegetarian,’ I informed him snippily, as if that meant I couldn’t possibly be supernatural.
He glanced at me, still amused. ‘Good for you.’
We reached Tallulah. I did my best to repair the black plastic sheeting then got into the driver’s seat. Lukas had to all but fold himself in to fit inside next to me. I snickered slightly at his discomfort. ‘I thought Tallulah was better than your car. What do you drive? A Little Tikes Cozy Coupé?’
‘I’m not an entirely selfish bastard,’ he said, shifting himself around. ‘Driving Tallulah makes you instantly recognisable to any supes. It means you won’t be treated as a tourist and you’ll be taken more seriously.’
‘Like Tony was?’
Lukas didn’t answer.
I clipped in my seatbelt and turned on the engine. I was briefly tempted to head back to Tony’s flat and see its now unblemished state, but that was pointless and would only waste time. I already knew what it looked like, and there was no chance there would be any new evidence lying around that would help us.
‘You said only a few people know about the plans for Supe Squad to become more active,’ I said to Lukas. ‘Do you happen to have a handy list of these people? Specifically werewolves?’
He sighed. ‘It’s a fool’s errand. This is not why either you or Tony was killed.’
I waited.
Lukas clicked his tongue. ‘I don’t have a definitive list. But I assume all four werewolf clan heads and their immediate deputies are aware of the plans.’
I glanced at my watch. It was already one in the morning. ‘Will they still be up and about?’
‘Probably.’ He crossed his arms over his chest, indicating that it was a pointless effort. I ignored him and released the handbrake. Werewolves, here we come.
***
Taking a leaf out of Tony’s old playbook, I parked Tallulah smack bang in the centre of the wolves’ quarter, ignoring the fact that there were no others cars and the streets were teeming with people.
Lukas sniffed. ‘It’s always so much quieter here at this time of night than in Soho.’
I stared at the crowds and wondered just how busy the vampires’ quarter got. ‘Four clans. Sullivan, McGuigan, Carr and who?’
‘Fairfax.’
‘Anything important I need to know about them?’
‘They’re werewolves.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘You know what I mean.’
‘I wasn’t being facetious. No matter how friendly – or human – they might appear when they’re in human form, werewolves still possess an inherent wildness that can make them wholly unpredictable and incredibly dangerous.’
‘Unlike vampires, who are warm and cuddly?’
‘Werewolves are governed by the moon,’ he responded without rancour. ‘They are less in control of themselves than we are. And full moon is only a few nights away.’ He waved a hand. ‘The closer it is, the longer the wolves stay out for. They sleep less. From tomorrow, they’ll start fasting in preparation. A tired, hungry animal should always be approached with caution.’
Point taken. ‘Is that why Tony and I were killed?’ I asked. ‘Because a werewolf gave in to their inner animal?’
‘No.’ Lukas was silent for a moment. ‘Those murders were planned. Nobody walks the streets at night with a sharp dagger like the one used to cut your throat unless they intend to use it. And everything we’ve seen so far suggests that Tony was stalked before he was killed.’
A shiver rippled through me and I rubbed my arms. ‘Where to first?’
Lukas nodded towards the line of people queuing up outside some sort of club. ‘Lord Fairfax will be holding court in there.’
It was as good a place to start as any. I nodded and began to get out of the car. Before I could, Lukas leaned across and placed a hand on my arm. The touch of his skin seared into me.
‘Tread carefully,’ he warned. ‘And leave the crossbow in the car. You won’t be in any immediate danger in this place, but these are still powerful people. If you start flinging around accusations, it won’t go down well. Especially when there is no chance that these were alpha-sanctioned kills. You don’t want to start a war, D’Artagnan.’
It was on the tip of my tongue to snap that I wasn’t stupid even though I was a trainee, but I knew that he was genuinely trying to help. ‘I will be careful,’ I promised. ‘But don’t you do anything stupid either, like telling them that I was killed too.’
‘I give you my word that they won’t hear it from me,’ he promised.
Good.
I stepped onto the street, very aware of the wide eyes staring in our direction. He’d been right about Tallulah.
The last thing I was prepared to do was join the back of the club’s queue. I strode to the front with my head held high, ignoring the well-dressed people waiting behind me. The heavyset bouncer didn’t hesitate; he simply unclipped the rope and allowed both Lukas and I access. I could get used to this.
As soon as we entered, I realised this wasn’t a head-pounding nightclub filled with sweaty bodies and thumping tunes. On the contrary, despite the long queue of people waiting hopefully outside, it was more like a sedate gentleman’s club. Round tables dotted the main room, each one lit with a small lamp, the green glass shades giving off an intimate, warm hue.