Page 21 of The Doctor's Wolf: Part Two
“The paperwork concerning these older cases was impeccable,” Seine added.
“Meaning?”Adler asked.
“It was the kind I would not have given a second look unless the conversations with Pearson hadn’t all felt so off, and even on that second look, everything seemed in order.Maxim had the right idea, going after the files from when she was still a minor.”
Maxim looked back to Adler.“When it looks like a conspiracy and it quacks like a conspiracy…”
This is above my pay grade.Why is he telling me this?“Fine, let’s say it is that, but to what end?”
“Hate,” Seine said.
Maxim got back to his feet.“What she means is, money doesn’t seem a reasonable motivator, since a vampire with that skill wouldn’t need to go to those lengths for it, and a day shifter would likely have the support of any pack they choose.
“Bloodlust might move someone to do this, but for that, there are not enough corpses, dreary though that may sound.However, we do have a human murdering supernaturals or those who have at least some connection to the supernatural world.
“You remember we talked about the Ripper murders in London and the unrest that ensued?I think Pearson or those who helped her wanted that, the same anger the Ripper cases bred in the people.Pearson’s hate for everything supernatural is quite real even if it was carefully cultivated, so that may have well been the common denominator in all this: a shared hate.A love of chaos.”
The room was too colorful, too cheerful to be talking about conspiracies in it.The colors and smells clashed with the memory of that first scene that still stuck in Adler’s head: that murder had made everything shimmer red and wet, the coppery scent of drying blood filling the air.Vinegar to hide the scent of who had done it from werewolf noses.
“Shit,” Adler said.
“You are not entirely wrong,” Maxim agreed.“Not wrong at all.”
Chapter 12
Theyweresilentasthey left Dr.Seine, and Adler didn’t even find it in him to ask about her very idiosyncratic office design.
When Maxim pulled out of the Forum’s parking lot and sped away, Adler was still lost in his thoughts.They spent the drive in silence until the vampire parked his car in the garage beneath 43 Ruthaven.Maxim got out, and Adler followed.
“What now?”he asked.
Maxim walked around the car and unbuckled his swords from his hunter’s blacks, then put them into the trunk of his car.That should have made him look less lethal.It didn’t.
“Now you follow me.”He headed toward the elevators.
“You have a plan though, right?”
Adler hoped so.The idea of Pearson—of these most recent murders—being a coordinated effort… It scared him.Maxim had been afraid the Jack the Ripper copycat murders would create unrest in both the human and supernatural populace.If that is still the goal of whoever is behind this, they need to be stopped fast.
“You’re in such a hurry.How about you introduce me to that wolf child Clement has been looking after, and then Heath can hand you your new phone.”
The elevator doors opened for Maxim without him having to push a button, and he strode inside.When he turned, Adler noticed a single strand of golden hair that had escaped the hunter’s long braid, a flaw Adler didn’t want to notice but couldn’t ignore.
“Why do I need a new phone?”Adler asked into the silence of the elevator.
Maxim leaned against a mirrored wall.“We are going to compartmentalize because we can’t be sure that your police colleagues and Gordon’s and my Forum colleagues are fully conspiracy free.All of us will use the devices Heath provides for communication from here on forward.And if a vampire other than me uses their compulsion to extract information, we don’t want too much information around, do we?Which leads me to ask, have you ever been compelled?”
Adler cocked his head.“Not to my knowledge.”
Maxim nodded, a mischievous grin spreading like honey on wild berries.He put a hand on his hip.
“Look into my eyes, detective.”
Adler looked down.“Do I have to?”
Maxim clicked his tongue.“What now, are you shy because it’s your first time?I promise I’ll be gentle.It won’t hurt one tiny bit.”
“Is that what you tell all the people you compel?”Adler asked, stalling.
