“At the loft.”
“Will you turn it over for forensic analysis?”
There were limits to everything. Including my cooperation.
“No,” I said, and she stopped taking notes, looked up at me.
“You refuse?”
“If you have a duly executed warrant, you’re welcome to take it. But since I didn’t hurt Blake, I don’t think you’ll be able to get one. It’s possible there’s a trace of his blood on it; I don’t know. The fight at the Grove was intense, and I’m not sure who the blade touched. But I didn’t kill him.” I looked at Theo. “I suggest you talk to Clive, find out who the Compliance Bureau has pissed off recently.”
“Other than you?”
“Pissed off,” I repeated, “and is willing to use murder as a tool of revenge. Because I’m not. Nor, for the record, are any of my friends.”
“Killing Blake might slow down the AAM’s prosecution of you,” Theo said. “Divert their attention.”
And killing Clive would have done that faster, I thought, but managed not to say that out loud. “I don’t want to divert their attention,” I said instead. “I want them to leave me alone. That’s not going to happen now. Instead, they’re probably going to draw the same conclusion you did. They’re going to think I did it.”
And they were going to come after me even harder.
* * *
* * *
Three more times. We went through it three more times, enough to have my temper flare and fall again. By the time we were done, it was midnight, and I was exhausted.
I hadn’t killed Blake. But I didn’t like the coincidence that he’d been killed here, during a trip to Chicago to investigate me, to confront me. And why Blake particularly?
“Theo,” Gwen said, and the word snapped me out of my thoughts. “Would you give me and Ms. Sullivan a minute?”
Brows lifted, he looked between us, nodded. “I’ll be right outside,” he said and rose.
“And clear out the observation room,” she said.
Another look of surprise, but after checking my face, he nodded at that, too, and left us alone.
I had no idea what to expect, or what she didn’t think she could say in front of Theo. So I watched her. When the door closed with a decisive click, she rose, flicked a switch on the wall. The mirror went transparent, revealing the observation room on the other side. Empty and nearly as grim as this one was.
Our privacy confirmed, she leaned against the far wall, arms crossed. “It hurts him to interrogate you.”
I hadn’t expected that. “What?”
“He values your partnership and your friendship. He doesn’t want to question you. But he also knows it’s the right thing to do—for Chicago, and for you.”
I considered that in silence. And she let me. “You and he are close?” I asked.
“We’re just friends, if that’s what you’re asking.” She pushed off from the wall, sat at the table again. “I knew him when he was with the CPD, and I was, frankly, disappointed when he moved to the OMB. It’s those damn comic books.”
Theo was a fan of graphic novels and comics, and told me he’d decided to join the Ombuds because he loved stories of superheroes, of supernaturally inclined crusaders who made a difference in the lives of humans. He thought the OMB was the best way to do that.
For the first time in hours, I smiled just a little. “Tell me about it,” I said. “Connor shares the obsession.”
“I know. Theo and I grab a beer every once in a while, and he tells me about the latest release or explains how number sixty-two is amazing or somebody I’ve never heard of is going to be at a comic con or whatever.”
“It’s a language I don’t understand.”
“Girl, same.” She linked her hands on the table, gave me a level stare. “I know what you’ve done for Chicago, and what your parents have done. Your great-grandfather.”
He’d been Chicago’s first supernatural Ombudsman.
“But given what happened last night, there’s a good chance this will get uglier before it gets better. For both of you.”
I didn’t know if she meant me and Theo, or me and Connor. Probably both. And I wasn’t sure how much of this was earnest concern versus the questioning technique of a very skilled investigator. But Theo trusted her. So I decided I would, as well.
“I’m not angry at Theo.” I scrubbed my hands over my face, giving myself a minute to collect, to gather my thoughts. Then pushed my hair back and sat up again, looked at Gwen.
“I don’t know you, but I do know him. I like and respect him. He’s smart, and he’s savvy, and he’s pretty funny, although I’d never admit that to his face. He’s had my back, and I hope he’d say the same thing about me. As to the AAM, I probably wouldn’t have any complaints about them if they hadn’t decided to make an example of me.”
I broke eye contact for a moment, deciding how much I should tell her. And, since she’d given me the space for it, opted for the truth.
“Carlie was dying,” I said, glancing back. “We were in the woods, surrounded by monsters and too far away to get the help that she needed fast enough. I had to make a decision. And, honestly, I was scared shitless. I’d never made anyone before, and not everyone survives the transition. There was a very good chance I’d screw it up. But it was the only way I knew to save her. So I did, and she survived. I think that should be the end of it.”
“She’s in Minnesota?”
I nodded. “There’s a small vampire coven near her home. The leader agreed to help her through the transition. That way, she could stay near her family and friends, the place she’d lived her entire life. I checked on her earlier. She’s safe for now.”
“The coven leader,” Gwen said. “Is he still angry at you?”
“He says no,” I said, and felt that clutch of guilt again.
“And the AAM has targeted you for this.”
“Its Compliance Bureau, at any rate.”
She nodded, shifted a little in her seat as she crossed one leg over the other. “From my discussions with them, I think most Masters would agree the AAM is necessary. Those in Chicago, certainly. And from what I’ve heard, Heart generally stays out of the way of Masters trying to do the best for their people.” She frowned. “Is something else going on?”
Yes, and Testing was at least part of that something. But she hadn’t raised that issue, and I certainly wasn’t going to bring it up—or have the CPD wondering why I was so opposed to it. But there was another part.