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David didn’t seem like a likely candidate, though; mad as he was at Mark and Seren, he wasn’t someone who revelled in violence. Mark’s murderer had taken their time killing him, slowly cutting into his flesh and gradually poisoning him with silver. Whoever had killed him had enjoyed it.
‘Who doyouthink killed Mark?’ I asked.
David was startled by the question. ‘An outsider,’ he said finally. ‘Mark did some drugs, including the new fancy one, Boost. It was crazy expensive and Mark was just a park ranger. There was no way he could afford that drug on his wage. I reckon he owed the wrong person money.’
It was a viable theory. Steve Marley had told me that Mark had finished with Boost a few months ago, but he could have been wrong. More likely, Mark had funded his drug habit with money he earned from dabbling in the black tourneys.
‘What was Elena’s problem with Mark?’ I hoped an abrupt change of topic might startle an honest answer out of him.
David wasn’t so easily manipulated. He pulled off his tortoiseshell glasses and cleaned them on his T-shirt before responding. ‘I don’t know the full story but it was something to do with her brother.’ He pushed the glasses onto the bridge of his nose. ‘Her brother got killed and she blamed Mark for it. I don’t know why. Her brother was from a different pack.’
‘And Noah? What was his problem with Mark?’ Marissa had suggested it was something to do with drugs, but I wanted to hear what someone else had to say before I approached Noah.
David hesitated. ‘No one pays attention to me so I hear things,’ he said unhappily. ‘From what I gather, Noah took some Boost at Mark’s suggestion – Mark gave him his first hit. Noah got addicted and his parents had to pay a healer an arm and a leg to get him clean again. Noah said Mark used his position as second to pressure him into it. I don’t know how true that is, but Mark was a bully and I’d believe it of him.’
We talked for a few more minutes, and David told me more than I’d ever need to know about roses. It was clear he was passionate about his calling. There was nothing wrong with that and I silently vowed to help him make some friends in the pack. His problem wasn’t dissimilar to mine – he just didn’t fit in yet. I’d help him get there. Maybe we could do a regular pack film night when things settled down and give everyone more opportunity to mix and mingle.
When I returned to my office, a muscled brethren dude was guarding the door. He paused just a moment too long before stepping aside. Great: even non-wolves didn’t respect me.
The room was empty except for Fritz, but he was in the zone and didn’t even acknowledge my greeting. I guessed the brethren guard was there to keep Fritz safe. It would be frighteningly easy for someone to hurt the spaced-out whizz kid whilst he was lost in a world of code.
I spent a good twenty minutes tearing apart my office looking for Lord Samuels’ secret journals. I had seriously expected some sort of locked drawer or hidden compartment – a room behind the bookshelf would have been epic. But no, it was just an office. A locked cabinet held files on each pack member, but all they contained were names, addresses, current occupation and a photo. That was it: no handy notes scrawled in the margins telling me that Lord Samuel knew about the black tourneys and was blackmailing Mark into not challenging him; no notes about Mark taking Boost. Zip. Zilch. Nada. I was feeling less James Bond and more Nancy Drew by the second.
I gave up and called a farewell to Fritz, which was duly ignored. I took the long way to the kitchens rather than going through the communal living room. The kitchen was empty, so I happily knocked back the bread and shaped it into a dozen rolls. I left it for a final prove and checked the time. I needed to start getting ready, but first I wanted to get Noah alone and see how he responded to David’s accusations.
I spotted him in the lounge, chatting quietly with Archie in the gaming area. The consoles were off and the two of them were slumped in the beanbags. ‘Can I borrow you for a minute, Noah?’ I asked with a friendly smile.
Noah was young, perhaps not much older than Archie. ‘Sure,’ he said finally, giving Archie an ‘ugh what now?’ look. His cheerful friendliness in the kitchen had dissipated, but I understood about presenting a different front to different people. Noah was playing it cool in front of Archie.
Archie shoved Noah up from the beanbag. ‘Don’t be an ass. Lucy’s nice.’
‘Thank you,’ I smiled. ‘I am very nice – when I’m not mutilating people.’ I gave Noah a wink. Perhaps he needed a timely reminder that I wasn’t just a pretty face and a surly attitude was going to get him nowhere fast.
Noah paled a little at the reminder of the de-manning of my succubus ex.
‘Follow me,’ I said brightly. Since my office was still occupied by the brethren, albeit by Fritz and his guard, I took Noah to my living room. The cheerful yellow room wasn’t your normal interrogation setting, but it would have to do.
I gestured for him to sit but I remained standing. I’d take any advantage I could. ‘How old are you, Noah?’
’Eighteen.’
‘And were you born a wolf?’
‘Yeah.’ He was being loquacious all right.
‘Are your parents in this pack?’ I ignored his wilful lack of conversation.
‘Yeah, my dad George is fourteenth, and my mum Sally is forty-second.’
‘You’ve done very well to get to ninth at your age.’
His chest puffed out and he grinned. ‘Yeah, it totally grinds Dad’s gears.’
‘I bet. So did you get a helping hand?’
He faltered. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Rumour has it Mark gave you some Boost, and you used it during the recent tourney to hop up several ranks.’ It was pure conjecture on my part but Noah looked away and hung his head. I’d hit the nail on the head.
