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“And left again that way,” Kelley said with a nod. “We checked the area—carefully so as not to disturb any evidence—and found no implements, no blood trail, no discarded clothes.”
“The perpetrator left,” my father said. “And was very careful.”
Kelley inclined her head. “Now we have to determine why the cameras failed in the particular way that they did.”
“What are the options?” my mother asked. “Someone hacked into the system?”
“Or temporarily blocked the camera,” my father said, “although this doesn’t look like a visual break.”
“No, it does not,” Kelley said. “I have an idea, but I’d like to flesh it out a bit more before I advise you.”
“You’re the expert,” he said. “Let us know what you can, as soon as you can.”
“Of course, Liege. What about Dearborn?”
My father considered. “It might be most helpful to the Ombudsman if we were to provide the video along with our conclusions regarding... we’ll call it the ‘blip.’”
“That’s a very good idea.” Kelley’s smile was sly. “If we haveour answer first, we can tell them we’ve eliminated the possibility of a mechanical failure. And you just never know about technology. I’ll be in the Ops Room,” she said, then pocketed her screen and disappeared into the hallway again.
“Give me something to do to help,” I said when she was gone. “Riley’s my friend.”
“You can’t get involved,” my mother said. “That’s the deal.”
“I can’t just sit around while people blame him for murder. He didn’t do it.”
“There’s an agreement,” my father said. “I understand you made a promise to Maison Dumas, but we made a bigger one to the city of Chicago, to the people who live here. This time, that agreement has to win. It’s for the best, and not just because the Ombudsman’s office is trained to investigate.”
“I can handle myself.”
“We know, Elisa. But we’ve worked hard to keep Cadogan House safe, to keep the vampires protected. If we breach the deal, we lose our charter.”
That was the other penalty of the deal made with the mayor, the other promise exacted from Cadogan House. Cadogan, Grey, Navarre, and now Washington had been recognized by the city of Chicago. They were official. They were licensed. They were, basically, allowed to exist. Ironic, considering the House had been in the city longer than any of its humans had been alive.
His voice softened. “If I said I was sorry that you’re being excluded from the investigation, it would be a lie. You’re my daughter, and I want you safe and sound.”
I made a sound of frustration.
“I also wish we could do more,” my father said. “But that is the agreement we made. We will not break it. Not even for the Pack. And not even when it happened at my House.”
His tone had sharpened, and I guessed he was facing his own struggle.
“We’re doing what we can,” my mother said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “The rest is outside our control.”
“I don’t find that acceptable,” he said.
“I know.” She smiled, just a little. “Because you prefer to lead, not follow, and because you’d never take a life to prove a point, whatever point this might have been. But this battle isn’t yours. You were just unlucky enough to own the battleground.”
“I really wish you’d stop being so reasonable,” my father said after a moment.
“I’m angry, too. But anger won’t help us, and it won’t help Riley.”
My father looked at me. “You should warn the delegation to be careful until we know what’s happening here. It seems unlikely they’d be targeted, but until we know precisely why Tomas was targeted, we can’t be sure.”
“I will,” I promised. “I’m sorry this happened here. I’m sorry the House was violated, that this was brought to your door.”
He nodded, put an arm around me. “It has turned out to be a horrible evening all around. I’m sorry this is what you found when you returned home. It’s not what I wanted for you. Maybe when dusk falls again, we’ll find it a little better.”
• • •
