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"And how did he get into Navarre House? Jeff said the biometric security was linked to vampires Celina sired, not current members of Navarre House."
"Michael Donovan was sired by Carlos, and Carlos was sired by Celina. The chemistry would be the same for both, as they'd both carry her particular mutation."
If that was true, Michael Donovan could be our killer.
Ethan cursed. "That son of a bitch. I let him into my House, Merit. I asked him for advice and shared our security protocols with him. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have been so naive?"
"Oh, God," I said, looking up at him. "I told him I had the map, and then you walked in, and that's when he left. Does he know? Does he know that we know?"
"Christ," Ethan said, vaulting from his seat and running to the front door, then out to the gate where humans now stood watch. I followed behind.
"The brown-haired vampire," Ethan said, then indicated a height. "Is he here?"
The humans exchanged a glance. "He left," said the one on the right. "About five minutes ago." She put a hand on her revolver. "Is there trouble?"
"We aren't sure. What was he driving?"
"Tonight, a black SUV."
Just like the vehicle that had lured Oliver and Eve into the alley and stopped me and Ethan on the street a few nights ago.
Ethan swore out another string of curses, this time including words I'd never heard before; in fairness, some of them may have been in Swedish.
"Assemble the team, if you would, Sentinel. I think it's time we explore a plan to handle Michael Donovan."
* * *
Luc, Malik, and the guards were easy to assemble. We gave them an overview of our theory, then called Catcher, Jeff, my grandfather, and Jonah, as Scott's proxy, and patched them in by phone. I considered calling Morgan, but thought it best to wait until we'd finalized a hypothesis.
When the Cadogan vampires took seats around the Ops Room table, Ethan got the ball rolling.
"We believe the man I hired as a security consultant, Michael Donovan, is the killer of Oliver, Eve, Katya, and Zoey. He also injured a member of my House."
He paused to allow a moment for shocked noises and expressions.
"Morgan Greer has confirmed that Michael Donovan was made a vampire by Carlos Anthony Martinez, Second to Celina before Morgan was appointed. Unfortunately, Carlos made Michael a vampire without his consent and, in fact, over Michael's strong objection. We believe Carlos is deceased.
"We believe Michael killed Oliver and Eve and placed their bodies in a building owned by Carlos's estate. We have learned he stamps his documents with a signet ring that bears the initials 'C.A.M.,' and that once belonged to Carlos. Because Celina made Carlos, and Carlos made Michael, we believe that would have given him entry into Navarre House despite their biometric protocols."
"Jeff," I asked, "do you think that would work?"
"Without a doubt," he said grimly. "Vampirism is genetic, so Celina's genetic marker would be the trigger. If she sired them, or she made a vampire who sired them, they'd be there."
Ethan nodded at me. He'd been right about that.
"We also know Michael drives a black SUV of the same approximate size and color of the vehicle that lured Oliver and Eve into the alley and followed me and Merit."
"Our working theory," Luc said, "is that Michael Donovan was made a vampire mostly without his consent. He takes that personally, maybe has a secret vendetta against vampires who took away his humanity and so on and so forth. He'd have to be a self-hating son of a bitch, but we've heard weaker reasons for murder."
"All this because he's still angry at Carlos," Jeff marveled.
I understood Jeff's surprise, but also a touch of Michael's anger. Ethan had made me a vampire without my consent. He'd done it to save my life, but my initial nights as a supernatural had included frustrating realizations of all I'd be giving up.
"The fact that he makes use of the ring and the initials suggests he's harboring some anger," my grandfather said. "He is, in a sense, reliving his experience each time he kills, but he gets to be the attacker."
I nodded. "He kills Oliver and Eve, placing them in a secret room in a property owned by Carlos. We aren't yet sure why he picked that particular property or that particular room, but it stands to reason there was some connection between him and Carlos."
"Maybe that's the place Carlos turned him," Catcher said. "It's unlikely to be a place he'd soon forget."
"That's a good thought," Ethan said. "We'll check with Morgan."
I nodded. "After Oliver and Eve, he gets brave. He walks right into Navarre House, takes them out while everyone else is asleep."
"The connection there is easy," Luc said. "Revenge against the House that created the monster who attacked him."
"And earlier tonight, he attacks Margot outside the House."
"Unfortunately," Luc said, "the video doesn't help us on that one. Coincidentally, after the GP ceremony, Michael recommended we upgrade the cameras to get a better view, so we're in between hardware. There's no video in the back of the House." Not that Luc sounded bitter. At all.
I saw the flash of regret in Ethan's eyes. Michael had been his hire, and he'd been badly bitten.
"Why Cadogan?" Jonah asked. "What's the connection there to Carlos?"
"We aren't sure," Ethan said. "It could be part of his escalation. He killed Rogue vampires, then Navarre vampires, then attempted to kill a Cadogan vampire."
"And Grey House would be next?" Jonah wondered.
"Perhaps," Ethan said.
"I obviously can't let that stand," Jonah said. "What's our approach?"
"He might suspect we're onto him," I said. "My father dropped off a map of the warehouse plat, and I mentioned it to Michael. Michael left the House quickly after that."
"In that case," my grandfather said, "he might make himself known, especially given the theatrical way he's arranged the bodies. He'll want us to know who he is and what he's doing."
Ethan's phone rang. He checked the screen and seemed surprised.
"Who is it?"
"Diego Castillo. He's a member of the GP," he said, for the nonvampires on the call. "A representative of Mexico."
Something uncomfortable thrummed in my chest. Why was a member of the GP calling Ethan?
Ethan answered the phone. "Ethan Sullivan."
I could have used my vampiric senses to listen in, but since I was already in RG hot water, I thought it best to trust Ethan would tell us what we needed to know.
