Lukas smiled sympathetically. ‘Well, at least I know where I should go first.’
‘We,’ I corrected. ‘Where we should go first.’
‘It might be wise if you kept out of sight,’ he said. ‘If our killer still thinks you’re dead, it might be better – and safer – not to disillusion him.’
As I’d already told Laura, there was absolutely no chance I’d simply cower away. This was my mentor’s murder we were talking about – and mine. ‘For all we know,’ I argued, without mentioning the phone call to the morgue, ‘that ship has already sailed. I’ve been up and down both Lisson Grove and Soho. Besides, if I appear alive and well in front of the bastard who killed me, their reaction might tell us everything we need. And this is my investigation.’
‘If they tried to kill you once, they’ll try again. It’s not safe.’
‘I’ll have big bad Lord Horvath by my side,’ I taunted. ‘I’m sure I’ll be fine.’
Lukas’s eyes gleamed and he suddenly relaxed. ‘True. I suppose I’d better stick by your side at all times.’ He opened Tallulah’s door and got into the passenger seat without another word.
My eyes narrowed. He’d given in very suddenly. I couldn’t help thinking that he’d been manipulating the conversation all along so that we could reach this very point and he could glue himself to me. Bloody vampire.
***
I parked Tallulah smack bang in Lisson Grove, metres away from the spot where Tony had said his last words to me. I’d barely climbed out of the car when a young woman – whose long hair was not only remarkably thick but also russet coloured –strode towards me. ‘You can’t leave that thing there!’
I patted Tallulah’s bonnet. ‘You must recognise her.’ And then, because I couldn’t help myself and I’d always wanted to say it, ‘Don’t you know who I am?’
She glared at me and opened her mouth to argue but Lukas interrupted. ‘Good afternoon. Is there a problem?’
‘Yes, there’s a problem,’ she began. ‘In fact—’ She glanced at him and stopped abruptly.
Lukas winked at me. ‘She knows who I am.’
‘Sorry. I’m sorry.’ She dropped her shoulders and her head. If she’d been in wolf form and had a tail, it would no doubt have been between her legs. Either that, or she’d have presented him with her belly.
‘This woman,’ Lukas said, pointing at me, ‘is from Supe Squad. You have heard of Supe Squad, haven’t you?’
Her head was now so low that her chin was pressing against her collarbone. ‘Yes, sir.’
‘Well then, you’ll know that Supe Squad is permitted free access to this area. That includes parking.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘You will remain here and look after Tallulah until we return.’
‘Yes, sir.’
I sincerely doubted that was necessary; only a madman would try and steal the little purple Mini, and no amount of vandalism could make her look any worse than she already did. But this little show of power was about far more than the car. There was a great deal about this world that I didn’t understand.
‘Your hair,’ I said softly. ‘Do many werewolves have hair that colour?’
She mumbled something.
‘Speak up!’ Lukas ordered.
‘Yes, sir. Yes, ma’am. Many werewolves are this colour.’
It was my first time being ma’am-ed. I wasn’t sure I liked it. ‘Thank you.’
‘Predominantly Sullivans,’ she continued. ‘But not exclusively.’
Huh. I nodded and walked towards the sandwich shop. Lukas adjusted his long stride to match mine. When I glanced back, the woman was standing directly in front of Tallulah with her arms folded. She really was going to stay there and guard the car, then.
‘Was that completely necessary?’ I asked under my breath.
‘It’s how the werewolves work,’ Lukas said. ‘To them, hierarchy and power are everything. Everyone knows their place. Sometimes they just need to be reminded of it.’ He gave me a sidelong look. ‘Tony knew his place.’
I took that to mean that I didn’t know mine. ‘And the vampires?’ I enquired. ‘Are you all about hierarchy, too?’
‘When you’re a vampire,’ Lukas said, briefly displaying his white fangs, ‘there’s only one thing you need to know when it comes to power and leadership.’ He paused and waited for me to ask.
I sighed. I’d bite. ‘Go on then. What’s the one thing?’
He grinned. ‘That I’m in charge.’
I rolled my eyes.
Lukas’s expression grew serious. ‘By now, everyone knows that Brown is gone. That young wolf back there knew exactly who you were. Even if she hadn’t, Tallulah’s presence was more than enough to tell her. If you want to gain respect and set the foundations for a successful role in Supe Squad, you need to assert your authority from the beginning. If you don’t, in six months’ time every supe in the city will be walking all over you.’
‘I won’t be anywhere near here in six months’ time,’ I said baldly. ‘And in any case, I thought you despised the very existence of Supe Squad.’
Lukas took his time before answering. ‘There are many grey areas in life, D’Artagnan. I do indeed dislike Supe Squad. However, I do not dislike you. And it could be argued that Supe Squad’s continued existence is a necessary evil that must be borne. What I definitely do not want to happen is its expansion into something different.’
‘So you want us to remain toothless.’
‘I didn’t say that,’ he said mildly. ‘I want us,’ he gestured towards himself, ‘to remain independent.’
‘I won’t be bribed into staying away from real investigations.’
The corners of his mouth lifted. ‘But D’Artagnan,’ he murmured, ‘you already said you won’t be staying here.’
I cursed him silently. This entire conversation was a waste of time. I came to a halt, turning so that my back was to the sandwich shop, and pointed to the street in front of us. ‘There,’ I said. ‘That was where I saw the woman. She appeared there, covered in blood, and ran in that direction.’
Lukas’s gaze followed my pointing finger. ‘Well then,’ he said, ‘let’s go and find her.’
‘We should talk to Lady Sullivan first. She was very unimpressed that I was snooping around.’
‘Let me guess,’ he said drily, ‘you backed off immediately. That’s exactly the sort of thing that I’ve been talking about. Where the wolves are concerned, you never back off.’
‘Tony said—’
‘D’Artagnan.’ His voice was quiet. ‘If you do things the way that Brown did, you’ve already failed.’
‘So you believe he was a failure?’
‘Brown? Not entirely. He inherited a shitty situation from the previous Supe Squad detectives, and he did the best that he could with it. His approach was to work from underneath and weasel his way in, while appearing unthreatening. You might think badly of him for taking bribes, as you call it, but I think there was a purpose to that. I think he was paving the way for better things to come. However,’ Lukas’s eyes hardened, ‘he was also murdered.’
‘So was I.’
He wagged his finger at me. ‘Indeed. You should make sure that doesn’t happen again.’
‘Noted,’ I said sarcastically. I started to cross the street, making a show of leading the way. ‘Come on then, Lord Horvath. Giddy up.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
Chapter Twenty
The bloody trail left on the cobbles by the werewolf was long gone, even to a vampire’s finely tuned senses. Lukas scanned the road and his nostrils flared, but I knew from his studied focus that there was nothing left to detect. I also knew from the glimpses of wide-eyed faces appearing at the windows above us that his presence here was causing a stir. I wasn’t sure whether that was a good or bad thing, but I had to admit that I felt safer having him around. I wasn’t planning to tell him that, though.
‘There,’ I said finally, after we’d rounded the corner and I recognised the door. ‘That was the house where I found them arguing.’ I straightened my shoulders. ‘It’s time to see if anyone’s home.’
I walked up and rapped sharply on the door. Lukas hung back. I knew that he was trying to give me the lead so that I could assert my authority as he’d suggested. I wasn’t sure whether that knowledge troubled me or warmed me. The idea that he might want me to stick around in Supe Squad was not one I wanted to think about too closely.
Fortunately, someone was indeed home. We didn’t have long to wait before there were heavy footsteps inside and the sound of the door being unlocked. It opened and a man peered out – the same man who’d transformed from a wolf in front of my very eyes just a couple of days earlier. His clothes were unkempt, and he had a scraggy beard that hadn’t been there last time I’d seen him. I glanced over his grubby T-shirt, the blue tag pinned to his left arm and his bare feet caked in dirt. This was not someone who’d been taking care of himself.
When he saw me, he stumbled backwards. ‘It wasn’t me!’ he blurted out. ‘I know it might look that way, but I didn’t do anything to her!’
I glanced at Lukas, whose expression was dark and forbidding. ‘Perhaps it’s better if we come inside to discuss it,’ I said,
He shook his head and moved further back. Given that he hadn’t actually denied me access and the door remained open, I stepped across the threshold. Lukas followed. The man noticed him belatedly, his eyes widening as he recognised the vampire Lord.
The wide hallway still bore traces of the fight. The wallpaper was ripped in several places and had tattered scraps hanging down, and there were scars gouged into the carpet where the wolves’ claws had dug into it. I could still smell the faint tang of spilled blood clinging to the air. The evidence outside might have been washed away but, as far as the house was concerned, the fight had only just occurred. I took it all in. He’d obviously made no effort to tidy up.