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 donotwant 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.
‘Do you have somewhere we can sit?’ I asked kindly. Despite Lukas’s advice, I didn’t think this was the time for a show of aggression. From the looks of him, this werewolf was already well and truly cowed.
He sighed heavily and gestured to the door on his right. I walked into a small living room. Crumpled tissues littered the floor, and there was a bottle of vodka with less than an inch of liquid in it on the table next to the sofa.
