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“You were here last night. I should have you in a holding cell right now. I should shoot you up with truth serum and find out exactly what you know.”
“Not without a chance to speak first, I hope. That is the law.”
“Then speak. Because my suspicion is enough for the serum. Plus there’s a sergeant who swears you’re a match for our only suspect. I don’t care who your daddy is. You’re going to talk to me and tell me everything you know or—”
“This is how you repay someone who’s helped keep your ass in that chair for the last few years?”
“Were you here last night when the explosion happened?” he asked, leaning forward in his chair.
“You mean, did I witness a bomb go off? Yes, I did. Great job on managing the press, by the way. I could take a few tips from you.”
“How did you know it was a bomb?”
“I guessed. You wouldn’t be yelling at me like this if it wasn’t.”
Shaw rubbed at his mustache. “Did you have anything to do with it?”
“What on earth would I have to gain by it?”
His eyes narrowed. “Did you have anything—”
“I had no idea that was going to happen,” she said carefully. “I was working on my father’s case when the fire alarm went off. I fled, and the bomb exploded as soon as the sergeant pinched me.”
Lila didn’t mention that Sergeant Holguín had only caught her because he had turned on thermal imaging. None of the blackcoats had mentioned it or her disembodied head floating above the street. They would have been thought crazy at the addition, a fact that might have worked in her favor if it didn’t also expose her thermal suit. Bullstow and Chief Shaw were both ignorant of her toys, and she wanted to keep it that way.
“So that was you in the compound? You tranqed my men?”
“The idiots deserved it. They were shouting privileged information about your testing protocol. I nearly got away from your men by bluffing with the information. They need retraining. Restraint techniques, emergency crisis—”
“Okay, okay. I get the point. One’s a rookie, and the other has never been promoted for a reason.”
“What’s Sergeant Holguín’s excuse, then? The man has violent tendencies. He needs anger management courses.”
“What else did you see last night?”
“I saw the flyers, if that’s what you’re asking. What do you have so far?”
Shaw crossed his arms and considered her. “You had nothing to do with it, then?”
“I had nothing to do with it. I can’t believe you’d even ask me that.”
“And you do not know who planted it or why?”
“I couldn’t imagine what sort of idiot would plant a bomb, especially so near Bullstow.”
Shaw’s eyes narrowed. “It’s never a simple yes or no with you, is it?”
“Oracle’s light, chief, my little brother lives here!”
The reminder did the trick. “I’m sorry,” he grumbled. “You were my only lead. We’ve been at it all day, and we have nothing. The prime minister won’t approve my request for citywide sweeps with CR detectors. Says it’d be too costly, and they’d ding too often.”
“What are you looking for?”
“Nitro.”
“Nitroglycerin?” Lila asked, wide-eyed. She hadn’t given Tristan as much credit as he deserved. “My father’s right. Randolph General would light up like a star, as would most pharmacies, their staffs, and most patients with a heart condition. If you’re going to violate everyone’s rights, you better be sure it will be worth it.”
She thought back to the explosion, remembering the mushroom haze and flames. “Are you sure that’s what it was, chief? I saw smoke and fire. Nitroglycerin is used in demolitions. It doesn’t give off smoke. Just dust when the building falls.”
