New Order (29 page)

A rumpled, tired-looking man answers. ‘Yes?’

I smile professionally. ‘Can I speak to Dahlia Templeton?’

‘She’s not here. Why would she be here?’

Shit. He has to be lying. He’s a police inspector, he’s probably good at it. I try to look behind him but I can’t see any signs of anyone.

I go for the direct approach. ‘You’re having an affair with her, Inspector, so it makes sense that she’d be here.’

He stares at me bleakly. He doesn’t even look surprised. ‘It wasn’t an affair. We were in love. You should know that.’

‘Why would I know that?’ I’m confused.

‘You’re one of her vampire buddies, aren’t you?’

‘Excuse me?’

Somewhere inside a phone starts to ring. ‘I have to go,’ he mutters.

He shuts the door, leaving me in the porch. I slam my fist against the wall and there’s a loud cracking sound. Alarmed, I pull back; I’ve managed to create a very visible fissure in the side of Beauvoit’s house. I look from my fist to the wall and back again. I’m getting stronger.

Absently rubbing my fingers, I debate what to do next. I can’t force the inspector to talk to me but I have to try again. There’s something strange going on here. I hammer on the door and repeatedly press the doorbell. After about five minutes, however, it’s clear that he’s not going to answer. I could persist and stay here for the rest of the night, which will piss off his neighbours, but I need to tread carefully. If I act like a madwoman trying to break down a policeman’s door, it’s probably not going to do the vampire cause many favours.

Beauvoit spoke in the past tense. Their affair is over – or she’s dead. Right now I’m more interested in what he meant by ‘vampire buddies’. I decide to break my fists on Stephen Templeton’s door instead.

Chapter Nineteen: Epiphany

‘Have you found her?’

‘No.’

‘She’s dead, isn’t she?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘If you don’t find a body, can I still collect her life insurance?’

I stare at him in disgust. The speculative gleam in his eyes turns my stomach. For the life of me I can’t imagine why Arzo was ever friends with this man.

‘Who were her friends?’

‘Dahlia?’ He pauses. ‘She didn’t have many friends.’

Like Simon Beauvoit, he’s now speaking about Dahlia in the past tense. He thinks she’s dead.

‘She must have had some. One, even.’

‘We have a next-door neighbour, Alice. I think they went for coffee sometimes.’

‘Anyone else?’

He shrugs. ‘There was the copper, I guess. I’m not sure you could call him a friend though.’

I stare at him. ‘What do you mean?’ I ask slowly.

‘She was shagging him. At least once a week.’

‘You knew?’

‘Of course.’

‘Stephen,’ I say softly, watching his every move very carefully, ‘were you angry that she was having an affair?’

His brow furrows as if I’ve just set him a complicated maths equation. ‘No. She was bored. She needed something to do during the day.’

I lean forward slightly. ‘What?’

‘Oh,’ he says, ‘you think I was jealous. That’s stupid.’ He walks to the mini bar and pulls out a tiny bottle of vodka. I watch as he drains it in one shot.

‘Stupid to think you would be jealous at your wife having sex with someone else? Screaming out someone else’s name?’

He rolls his eyes. ‘We’re not living in the nineteenth century. Look.’ He rummages around in a pile of discarded clothes on the floor by the bed and grabs hold of a laptop. A pair of boxer shorts is still attached to it when he opens it and sets it on his lap. He nonchalantly brushes them aside, then opens a video file.

It’s a shot of Dahlia and Stephen’s bed. On it there is a bald man, his head turned away from the camera although I’m fairly sure it’s Beauvoit. A completely naked Dahlia is on top of him, rhythmically moving her hips. She opens her eyes and looks directly into the camera, licking her lips and mouthing what seems to be ‘I love you, Stephen.’

I’m not quite sure where to look. ‘Uh, you knew all along?’

Templeton’s eyes are slightly unfocused as he watches his wife’s movements gather speed. ‘Mm? Oh, yes. I asked her to do it. She enjoyed it.’

She does look like she’s getting a lot of pleasure from this particular request. I suppose it beats doing the ironing.

‘Why didn’t you tell me about this before?’

He seems surprised. ‘Is it relevant?’

I resist the urge to smash the bloody laptop over his head. ‘Do you think he might have harmed her?’

‘Him? No way. He was in love with her. Wanted her to run away with him.’ He laughs. ‘Like that was going to happen.’

‘Were there others like him?’

‘Sure,’ he says easily. ‘We stuck to one at a time, though. Dahlia said she found it too hard to remember their names if she was sleeping with several guys at once.’

‘Did she?’ I murmur. ‘How long was Beauvoit in the picture?’

‘A year, maybe two. But I think she was ready for a change. We were talking about maybe mixing things up a bit, perhaps experimenting with a triber.’

‘You mean like a vampire?’

‘No.’ He shakes his head. ‘We might have run into Arzo. It could have been awkward. I was thinking witch, but Dahlia wanted to try a daemon.’

My mind flicks to X and I quickly push him away. ‘Beauvoit seemed certain Dahlia was friends with some vampires.’

‘Really?’ He laughs. ‘Well, that’s Dahlia. Always walking on the wild side. She wouldn’t have gone near a Montserrat though.’

He leans back and grabs the remote, turning on the television. I snatch it from him and switch it off again. ‘Think, you idiot,’ I hiss. ‘She might still be alive. Did she ever mention anything about vampires? Or anyone else?’

‘No.’ He scowls at me petulantly. ‘I don’t see why you’re here interrogating me when you should be finding out where she is.’

‘I am sodding well investigating where she is! If you’re not prepared to cooperate, then there’s not much I can do.’ I walk over to the window and stare out at the bright city lights. My frustration is building up to boiling point. After several deep breaths, I turn round and try a different tack. ‘Why do you have a photo of Arzo on display in your house?’

‘What? We don’t.’

‘Yes, you do,’ I say impatiently. ‘It was in the living room, smashed on the floor with the others.’

‘We got rid of everything we had to do with him after he left.’

I ball my fists. ‘You mean after you made him leave.’

‘He got a long life and lots of power. It wasn’t a bad deal for him. I might just let them recruit me, you know. In a few years’ time, before it all starts to grey.’ He points up to his hair. It’s a flippant, throwaway remark but I still rise to the bait.

‘You’re already grey. And no one would have you.’

‘I’m a very good accountant,’ Templeton says stiffly.

‘You’re a cheat, a liar and a thief.’ I stop. Actually, who am I kidding? The Families would probably jump at the chance to bring him into the fold. Wanker.

‘The photo,’ I say, returning to the topic.

‘I’m telling you we don’t have any photos of Arzo. Honestly, do you feel the need to question to every single thing I say?’

‘Why would it be in your house?’

‘How the hell should I know?’

I try to think. I pinch the bridge of my nose. Then I pick up the hotel phone.

‘Hey!’ Templeton protests. ‘It’s expensive to call from here.’

I ignore him and dial directory inquiries. When I get the number I need, I ask to be transferred. After a few rings, someone answers.

‘Medici Family. How may we be of service?’

I deepen my voice to disguise it, not because the Medici receptionist will know who I am but in case the call is recorded and someone decides to trace it.

‘You bloodguzzling bastards,’ I snarl. ‘How many children have you killed today?’

Templeton stares at me wide-eyed.

‘I don’t know who you think you are but we are not in the business of killing children. Or anyone,’ the receptionist responds indignantly.

‘Oh yeah? The whole lot of you are going down. No one’s going to want to be recruited by you ever again,’ I taunt. ‘You’ll die off and there’ll be no one left.’

‘Piss off!’ she shrieks. ‘Stop bothering us! And for your information, we recruited someone just two weeks ago so our numbers are doing fine.’ She hangs up.

I slowly replace the receiver, then I look at Templeton. ‘I don’t think you’re going to see Dahlia again.’

*              *              *

Arzo grips the edges of his wheelchair. ‘You think Medici is responsible? That doesn’t make any sense.’

‘It makes perfect sense. Lord Medici approached me. I turned him down and he said there would be consequences. Except those consequences were already in play because he’d already snatched Dahlia. He must have been hedging his bets. And it wasn’t just me‒ Connor was made an offer. He turned it down. Medici left you and Peter alone because you’re Montserrat Sanguine and therefore intrinsically loyal. Matt’s never been alone outside so they’ve never had the chance to grab him. If they did…’

‘Matt would be gone. He might have Montserrat loyalty but the effects of Nicky’s machinations mean he’d do whatever they told him to. What’s Medici’s motive though? It still doesn’t make any sense, Bo.’

Michael’s dark eyes are hooded. ‘Yes, it does. Medici doesn’t want our new venture to succeed. He’s the only Family Head who voted against it. He sees it as pandering to the whims of the humans and a sign of weakness. He’ll do just about anything to avoid relinquishing power.’

‘It’s not relinquishing power! If anything, better relations with the humans will strengthen the Families.’

‘We know that. He doesn’t.’

‘No. I still can’t believe he would deliberately act against us like this. It would violate every Family law there is. If he was discovered, he’d be slaughtered. The four remaining Families would see to it.’

‘If he’s got Dahlia and he’s turned her, then he’s already got leverage against you, Arzo. That means leverage against this entire firm. Would you avoid revealing the truth about Medici to the other Families, even to Montserrat, if her life was in danger? The photo of you was left there deliberately in case you went to check on her. It would make you think she still cared for you…’

Arzo flinches.

‘They made it look like a break-in. They wanted Stephen Templeton to call the police because sooner or later they’d come round asking questions and you’d be forced to get involved.’ I continue. ‘They would have subdued her in a heartbeat, especially if she’d made friends with them and invited them into the house already. She didn’t tell her husband she suddenly had bloodguzzling besties so I’ll bet they don’t want us to know they have her just yet. Medici will wait until you’re desperate then dangle her fledgling arse in front of you as a lure. Sabotage this firm or watch her die.’

Arzo shakes his head. ‘I still don’t think he’d go that far. Medici wouldn’t grab someone like that, not with the way things are right now.’

‘Right now is the perfect time to do it,’ I argue. ‘We can’t accuse him because it’ll put all the vampires in the country in jeopardy. If the humans have proof that someone’s been recruited against their will, they have a reason to declare outright war.’

‘She may have volunteered. Or she may have just left and be nowhere near the Medici Family. She might be sunning herself on a beach somewhere.’

I glance at Michael. ‘There is one way to find out. We let Matt off the leash and see if they approach him. Two birds are better than one. I bet Medici jumps at the chance to create a double agent as well as pull Arzo’s strings at the same time. It’ll mean that this agency will never get off the ground and he’ll win.’

‘How do we keep Matt safe though?’ Michael says grimly.

I grin. ‘Matt was in the army.’

‘But he’s…’

‘No.’ I interrupt. Michael looks annoyed but falls quiet. ‘Don’t say it. He’s not an idiot. He just needs some encouragement. In fact, he’ll tell us what to do.’

‘I wasn’t going to call him that,’ he tells me quietly. He sighs. ‘You know Medici might not fall for it.’

‘Let’s try and see.’ I look at Arzo and he gives me a brief, albeit reluctant, nod.

Michael sighs and rubs a hand over his scalp. ‘Okay. I’ll go and talk to Matt.’

*              *              *

We begin immediately. With no way of knowing if my theory is correct or if the Medici vampires are keeping an eye on our movements, we approach the set-up with care. If Medici takes the opportunity that’s being handed to him on a plate, it’s imperative that our actions remain covert. There’s no point going to all this trouble and then tipping our hand – but we can’t let them do anything damaging to Matt either.

‘Whatever you do, Matt,’ Michael says, ‘don’t move the chair.’

‘I won’t move the chair,’ Matt repeats dutifully. He stands back and eyes it, folding his arms as if to prove his actions will mirror his words.

‘Matt.’ My voice is soft.

‘Yes, Bo?’

‘Can you pass me the chair please?’

His face screws up like a crumpled ball of paper. There’s tension in his bulging biceps and it’s clear he’s undergoing an internal struggle, but within twenty seconds he follows my request. We exchange looks.

Matt is anxious. ‘Did I do something wrong?’

‘No, you did everything perfectly.’ I smile at him reassuringly and focus on Michael. ‘How many vampires like this does Medici have?’

He frowns. ‘There were several.’

‘Were?’

‘A couple survived after Nicky’s incarceration, like Matt, but Medici…’ He glances at Matt and doesn’t finish his sentence.

‘The man’s a monster,’ I breathe.

‘He’s keeping his Family strong.’

‘You agree with that?’

‘Of course not,’ he snaps. ‘But I understand it.’

I curse under my breath. Michael frowns at me but doesn’t pursue it further.

The plan is to make a midnight coffee run. Thanks to our busy central location, there are a number of twenty-four hour cafés dotted around. Each night, Matt will venture out on his own to fetch everyone a drink. We’ll establish a routine, although we’ll take care not to be too punctual, giving ourselves twenty minutes either side of the witching hour so his errand doesn’t appear too forced. We can’t bring in any Montserrat reinforcements so we need to manage on our own. Matt sets up the route himself, mapping it out carefully to create a splinter ambush. I estimate that if Medici is really going to make a move, he’ll do it by the fourth night or not at all.