I gazed at the rows of xylazine bottles. ‘She’s very well prepared,’ I murmured. ‘She’s got enough stock to last her into next century.’
‘And she’s quite methodical,’ Lukas mused. ‘Think about all the trouble she went to in order to hide her visit to Brown’s flat, and to make both his and Becca’s deaths appear anything but murder. Not to mention using enough poison to weaken Anna but not kill her. If she’d died before the full moon, there would have been no challenge for Cassidy to answer. Cassidy had to ensure Anna remained alive.’ He checked his watch. ‘There’s only another twelve hours before the sun sets again and the werewolves converge for the change. Our girl isn’t out partying. She’s preparing.’
Of course. ‘She’s in St James’s Park,’ I breathed. ‘Checking the lay of the land, calculating possible entry points, doing everything she can to make sure that she doesn’t miss Anna and doesn’t screw up the challenge.’
‘The sensible thing would be to wait here until she returns,’ Lukas said.
I was already heading for the door. ‘She might not come back until she’s taken care of business. Besides,’ I threw out over my shoulder, ‘I’m done with being sensible. This is for Tony and for Becca and for Anna – and for me.’ Butch Cassidy wasn’t going to get away. Not this time.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
For a park in the centre of London, St James’s is surprisingly large. Bounded by Buckingham Palace to the north and Birdcage Walk to the south, it has a small lake in the centre and numerous monuments in the grounds. There were signs everywhere warning the public about the full moon and, to my surprise, barriers were already being erected around the park to prevent anyone who wasn’t a werewolf from getting in.
A large group of people was waiting on the pavement. When we pulled up, they all turned in our direction. Vampires, I realised. Lukas had called in his own private cavalry.
I didn’t care about any of that. I hopped out of Lukas’s car, crossbow in hand. I was getting into that park and I was going to find Cassidy. The vamps could tag along if they wished, but for them this was merely work. For me, it was personal.
Every single one of the waiting vampires stared at me before turning to Lukas and bowing. A leather-clad vamp stepped forward. ‘Lord Horvath. We might have a slight problem.’
Lukas raised an eyebrow. ‘Go on.’
There was a loud cough from the side. I peered round the crowd of vampires and saw two uniformed police officers standing there. Both of them looked nervous but determined.
‘Good morning, sir,’ the older of the two said. ‘We’ve been explaining to your, uh, your colleagues here, that we can’t allow you to enter the park. The area is being closed off for the werewolves.’
‘Full moon doesn’t begin for another twelve hours,’ Lukas said. ‘We won’t be more than an hour, tops.’
‘St James’s Park is forbidden to the public for the next thirty-six hours.’
Lukas’s black eyes narrowed dangerously. ‘I am hardly the public.’
‘All the more reason to keep you out. We don’t need any brawls between vampires and werewolves, any more than we need dead tourists who think that they can take on four werewolf clans.’
Shit. I knew exactly what they were referring to. A couple of months earlier, a group of Australian students had sneaked into St James’s Park before the full moon fell. Their plan had been to hide in the trees and film the wolves in their complete lunar abandon. It might even have worked. They’d scouted out the werewolf hiding places and checked the wind was blowing away from them in order to mask their scents. One of their number, however, couldn’t resist clambering down from a tree to taunt a young wolf. The result hadn’t been pretty. It wasn’t the wolf’s fault – even the Australian government had to concede that fact; the dangers were well documented and heavily advertised. But it did mean that legislation had changed, and now St James’s Park was shut off for a longer period of time to discourage others from thinking they could do the same.
Lukas didn’t bother arguing with the police officers. He drew out his phone. ‘I’ll speak to Lady Sullivan and the other alphas. They’ll grant me temporary dispensation.’
I gazed at the two uniforms. I didn’t envy them their job; it couldn’t be easy to face up to a group of vampires, especially when it was still dark. It would be simple for the vamps to push past them and force admittance. The repercussions of such an action would be more than Lukas was willing to face, however. He still had to strike a balance between human law and supernatural desires. But I wasn’t a supe like him.
I strode up to the officers. ‘I’m with Supe Squad,’ I declared, a fraction too loudly. ‘I’m going into that park.’
They were implacable. ‘We can’t let you do that. Unless you turn furry, you’re not getting in.’
I tried to move past them; they moved with me, barring my way. ‘If you’re really with Supe Squad,’ the first police officer said, ‘you’ll understand we can’t let you enter.’
I gritted my teeth. ‘Look,’ I began. ‘It’s vital that I get in there. There won’t be any wolves for hours yet.’ Apart from the one that I wanted to get hold of. ‘Just let me in. I won’t be long.’
‘No can do.’
I reached for my ID and passed it over. The second officer took it and examined it. ‘You’re a trainee,’ she said flatly. ‘You’re not qualified yet.’
‘That doesn’t matter! Call DSI Barnes. She’ll tell you that—’
‘You’re not getting in.’ The policewoman paused. ‘I’m sorry. We have orders.’
I cursed and looked at Lukas. The phone was glued to his ear, but he didn’t appear to be having any joy. ‘Lady Sullivan isn’t picking up,’ he muttered.
I watched him for a moment. He was going about things the right way. There were strict procedures to be followed and damned good reasons for those procedures. But there were also damned good reasons for getting into that park and locating Cassidy as quickly as possible. If she spotted the congregating vamps, she’d know something was up. I wasn’t willing to risk her going on the run and escaping.
