‘Made to appear?’ Fairfax inquired. ‘Or did he actually hang himself? He lost his wife recently, remember.’
I cleared my throat. ‘The pathologist will be able to confirm what actually happened, but there is other evidence to suggest foul play.’ I outlined what I’d seen at Tony’s flat and its subsequent clean-up.
I expected further dissent from the wolves; instead, they gazed at each other. The atmosphere in the room changed from suspicion to worry.
‘What does this mean for us?’ McGuigan asked. ‘Are we to expect a sudden influx of police?’
‘Bound to.’ Carr’s mouth turned down. ‘They might have no legal authority, but they could easily use Brown’s death as a way to force their position. We need to be prepared for a fight. We should put out a statement to the press straight away. Then we need to find the fucker responsible for this, and rip their heart from their body.’ She licked her lips and I suddenly understood that she wasn’t speaking metaphorically.
Fairfax nodded. ‘I’ll contact the Prime Minister’s office and reiterate our loyalty.’
‘Right now, the police are keeping the matter quiet,’ Lukas interjected,
Lady Sullivan’s eyes narrowed. ‘Why? Is Barnes going to use this as an opportunity to send in more troops? More than this girl here? Whoever she really is?’ She hissed. ‘All that money we spent trying to keep Brown in place. We might as well have pissed it up that damned wall.’
I blinked, surprised at both her vehemence and her language. ‘What money is that?’ I asked.
The four werewolves, who I sensed didn’t necessarily like each other but who were in agreement, didn’t answer. Realisation hit me; now I got it. ‘The police wanted him to retire,’ I said. ‘They wanted him out of the way so that different detectives with different agendas could be moved in. You wanted him to stay. His attitude was exactly what you wanted. You were all bribing him.’
Sullivan’s lip curled. ‘It was not bribery. He was free to act however he wished. We simply enhanced his earnings. He performed a difficult job, and we were happy to help him.’
The worst thing was that I believed her. And I believed that Tony would have argued that he wasn’t in any way compromised, and that he was still doing his job. But even he would have known that he couldn’t continue as the sole Supe Squad detective indefinitely.
DSI Barnes seemed to think Tony had sanctioned me as his replacement. Was that because Tony had thought I’d be happy to take the same kind of backhanders? Or was it because he knew I wouldn’t? I shook my head; either way, it didn’t matter. The four clan heads were desperate for damage control. They hadn’t wanted Tony out of the way, they’d wanted him to stay exactly where he was.
Lukas had been right; whichever wolf had killed Tony, their motive wasn’t anything to do with police politics, or to prevent humans from taking a greater interest in supe affairs. This was something entirely different.
I stood up. ‘I’m only in Supe Squad for the next twelve days. After that, I don’t know what will happen. Frankly, I don’t care. What I’m going to do, however, is find out who killed DC Brown. I will do that with or without your help. I suspect that your cooperation will make whatever comes next easier on all of you – but that’s up to you.’
A deep grumble sounded in McGuigan’s chest. ‘We can’t be seen to be helping the police. Most of my wolves have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes, and it’s better if it stays that way. I have too many hotheads to deal with as it is.’
Fairfax agreed. ‘I have the same issues.’ He met my eyes. ‘We will not stand in your way, however. We need the killer found – assuming, of course, that it really was a werewolf who did this.’
Lukas spoke up. ‘It was.’
‘The last thing we need is for others to find out that a werewolf might have killed a police officer. Even if turns out not to be true, the rumour could be our undoing and the tiniest leak could spell disaster,’ Sullivan said.
I lifted my chin. ‘I have reasons of my own for keeping this as quiet as possible. I will find out who did this.’
‘And I,’ Lukas smiled, ‘will help.’
Carr gave him a hard look, but Lukas pretended not to notice. He got to his feet and extended his hand to me. I ignored it; I was perfectly capable of walking out of here without his assistance. Fairfax snickered but Lukas looked more amused than offended.
‘When we find the culprit,’ he said to the clan leaders, ‘I’ll let you know so that you can deal with them in your own way.’
Like hell. I’d sort out the bastard on my own terms. Wisely, I kept my mouth shut. Nobody had bought my soul – and nobody would.
Chapter Sixteen
‘I trust you’re satisfied now it’s been confirmed that DSI Barnes’ plans for Supe Squad had nothing to do with Brown’s death,’ Lukas asked, as we returned to Tallulah.
My response was grudging. ‘I am, but I still need proof positive that a werewolf killed him. I’m quite sure you vampires can also scale walls.’ I eyed him. ‘Right?’
He splayed his fingers towards me. ‘No claws here.’
I noticed he hadn’t answered my question. ‘A definitive cause of death will make a massive difference.’
‘I’m sure your pathologist friend can help you with that.’
I hoped so. I’d visit Laura first thing in the morning and keep my fingers tightly crossed that there was real evidence of foul play.
‘You should get some rest,’ Lukas advised. ‘It’s been a long traumatic day and you look tired. We have some vampire guest houses where you can sleep if you still don’t want to go home to your boyfriend.’
Guilt twinged at me. I’d barely given Jeremy a thought since he’d walked away from Supe Squad’s door. ‘I appreciate the thought, but there’s a sofa at Supe Squad that will do me just fine. I can drive there and park outside.’ I paused. ‘Would you like a lift back to Soho first?’
Lukas stretched out his arms and grinned at me with an edge of wicked delight. ‘D’Artagnan, this is my time. We vampires might be able to go out during the day, but at heart we’re creatures of the night. I’ll walk. And I’ll enjoy every breath of the sweet, dark air.’
Okay then. ‘That’s not creepy at all,’ I muttered. I fiddled with Tallulah’s door, eventually wrenching it open so I could clamber inside. ‘You don’t have to keep helping me, you know. I can take care of the rest of the investigation from here.’
His dark eyes danced. ‘I wouldn’t dream of abandoning you.’ He winked at me then took off.
Lukas strolled down towards the elaborate wooden archway leading out of Lisson Grove. The werewolves that were still milling around gave him a wide berth. I didn’t suppose they were very happy about having a vampire in their midst. His presence, and the nonchalant way he strolled towards the archway, laid waste to the theory that it was a deterrent for vampires.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw me watching him. I coughed and hastily looked away, then shoved the key into Tallulah. It was time to get a move on. Regardless of what Lukas might think, my work wasn’t done.
I put Tallulah into gear and drove off. In theory, I could easily park at Supe Squad and walk the remainder of the way, and I’d probably get there faster if I did so. Navigating London’s one-way system, especially this close to the centre of the city, could be a minefield. But I still wasn’t prepared to wander round the streets on my own.
As far as I was concerned, the night air was far more bitter than sweet. The memory of my death was very fresh – and very traumatic. It was nibbling away at the edges of my psyche; if I thought about it too hard, my mind felt like it would explode. The safest thing would be to do exactly what I’d told Lukas and curl up on Supe Squad’s sofa for some sleep.
I’d confronted the werewolf alphas, however. It was only right that I did the same with the vampires and located their leader, Lord Horvath, so I could question him. Lukas might indeed be a vampire – and a helpful one at that – but for all I knew he was at the bottom of the pecking order. And his opinion of the vampires was obviously biased.
I was determined to keep an open mind regarding all the supes and their potential involvement in Tony’s death. Seeing the whites of Horvath’s eyes, and registering his reaction when I informed him about Tony, would be priceless investigatory material. Assuming that Lukas and his contacts at the DeVane hotel hadn’t beaten me to the punch. I mentally crossed my fingers that wasn’t the case.
I found a parking spot on the edge of Soho and the vampires’ quarter. Lukas had been right about one thing, I thought, peering out of the window. It certainly was a lot busier here than in Lisson Grove. The groups of people wandering around were comforting, but I still glanced down at the crossbow and debated whether to take it with me. But I doubted its presence would endear me to the vampire Lord, assuming I could get close to him. And I’d almost taken Lukas’s head off with it by accident. I left it where it was.
The one obvious stumbling block about this little venture without Lukas in tow was that I had no clue about Lord Horvath’s whereabouts. Soho wasn’t massive, but I could search it all night before I stumbled across him. I considered – and discarded – the idea of asking someone for directions. I wanted to catch Horvath unawares so that he couldn’t prepare glib answers to my questions. In order to locate the vampire Lord, I’d have to be sneaky.
From the relative safety of Tallulah, I watched a group of women cross the road. A few of them looked the worse for wear, no doubt having imbibed a lot of alcohol. To a woman, they were wearing short skirts and pretty tops that were entirely at odds with the cold weather. I glanced down: I’d have to do better than an oversized coat and sweater if I wanted to blend in.
I removed them both, then tied the bottom of the large T-shirt into a knot so my midriff was exposed. My get-up was hardly the stuff of high fashion, and it made me feel more vulnerable, but it would have to do. I ran a hand through my hair to muss it up. A moment later, I left Tallulah and slid in behind the women so anyone watching would think I was a part of their group.