"What did Celina say about him?" I asked after a moment.
"That he was a vendor for the House."
And things had come full circle. "And as Second, selecting vendors was your job, right?"
Morgan glanced back and nodded ruefully.
"That's another reason it was strange that he was here. I just guessed it was a special project. I checked the books - they were fine. All the House's funds were accounted for. But there weren't any extra vendors listed."
"So she hadn't actually gotten anything from him. On the books, anyway."
Morgan nodded.
"What else would she want with Paulie Cermak? I mean, even if they were in the drug game together, why would she want to be involved in selling drugs to vamps? Does she need money?"
Morgan shook his head. "She gets a stipend from the GP for being a member, and she's been alive for a very long time."
"Compound interest?"
"Compound interest," he confirmed.
No dice there, then. "Maybe it's the drug itself," I suggested. "Cermak said it stood for veritas, which is Latin for 'truth.' He said it's supposed to make vampires feel more like themselves."
Morgan furrowed his brow, considering.
"Celina has always believed relations between humans and vampires were going to come to a cataclysmic end. She just thought she'd come out on top."
"Which is why she'd worked to ingratiate herself to humans - to usher in the end of their reign?"
He shrugged. "Maybe. But as for V, I don't know. If she wanted 'truer' vampires, why not allow Navarre to drink?"
Because if she'd allowed drinking, I thought, she wouldn't have been able to demonize Cadogan. In any event, we could ferret out her motivations later. Right now, we needed evidence.
I stared at the floor for a minute, trying to figure out if I was missing anything. But nothing occurred to me, as much as I wanted there to be an ultimate answer to all my V-related questions.
When I looked up at Morgan again, I found his gaze on me, his expression surprisingly unguarded.
"What?" I asked him.
He gave me a flat look, the implication being that he'd been reminded of the affection for me that I didn't share. No time like the present to cut off that train of thought.
"I should get going," I said. "I need to get changed."
"You bringing a date?"
"Is there ever going to be a time that you don't ask me about Ethan?"
"Only when it stops irritating you to ask."
"Unlikely to happen."
"And there you are."
We stood there for a moment, and I caught the hint of a smile on his face. If he could manage to work through his anger, I could manage to have a good attitude about it.
I headed for the door. "You're such a comedian."
"I try, Merit. I really do."
"Good night, Morgan."
"Only for an hour," he reminded me as I closed the door and walked back to the stairs.
When I reached the first floor, the cadre of vendors still stood in the lobby, milling impatiently about as they waited for their turn with Nadia. I hoped they had more patience with the Navarre House staff than I did.
When I returned to the House, Ethan and Luc met me at the door.
I looked at Ethan, prepared to tell the tale one last time. Frankly, being a proactive Sentinel involved repeating the same information over and over and over again. But the tale needed to be told, so I sucked it up and did my duty.
"Paulie Cermak is probably involved in the drug trade, and he's not especially shy about it.
He says he's only a bit player. His digs are in pretty bad shape, but there's a shiny, vintage Mustang in the garage."
I almost spilled out the rest, but thought ahead enough to glance at Ethan, a question in my eyes: Could I tell him? Could I implicate a member of the GP after the tongue-lashing I assumed he'd received from Darius? Or was I putting him in an even worse position?
"At this point," he said quietly, "there's no harm in candor."
"In that case, I went to Navarre House and showed Morgan the picture of Cermak. Six months ago, Morgan saw Paulie coming out of Celina's office. She called him a 'vendor.'"
I watched Ethan's expression carefully, and I'm still not sure whether I saw relief or anxiety there. The news was equally bad and good - we had a witness who could link Celina to the man who sold V, but it was Celina. She was hands-off as far as the GP was concerned.
Luc glanced around warily, then lowered his voice, as if expecting Darius to come waltzing in at any moment, receivership papers in hand. "So Celina and Paulie are acquaintances," Luc said.
"That makes it more likely Celina was the 'Marie' seen by the human, and the woman in the car."
"But we can't prove that," Ethan said, tucking his hands into his pockets. "And as much as it pains me to say it, that Paulie and Celina had a meeting half a year ago doesn't mean she's actively involved in setting up the raves or distributing V."
"And it's unlikely she's going to come forward and offer the evidence on a platter," Luc said.
"True," I agreed, a plan already forming.
"Which is precisely why we need to draw her out."
Ethan's gaze snapped to me. "Draw her out?"
"Prove that Paulie and Celina are connected.
Use him to get to Celina, to draw her out, and to prove that she's involved in distributing V and organizing the raves to help that endeavor."
"And how do you propose to do that?" Ethan asked. "What bait could we offer that would entice Celina?"
The answer was easy. "Me."
Silence.
"You have certainly grown into your position," Ethan dryly said. "And your willingness to take risks on behalf of the House."
"I'm well aware that she can thoroughly kick my ass. That makes it less a risk - if more of an inevitability."
"You are stronger than the last time you met," he pointed out. "You've bested shifters since then."
"She knocked me out with a single kick to the chest," I pointed out, my ribs aching in sympathy. "But that's not the point. For whatever reason, as we've discussed, she's fascinated by me. If Paulie tells her I'll be waiting, she'd probably take advantage."
Ethan frowned. "That is probably true."
"I have to do it," I told him. "We've identified Paulie, and we know he's involved with Celina.
But we can't close down V - halt the distribution - until we have proof, at least enough evidence to take to Tate. We don't have to take it to the GP," I reminded Ethan. "We only need to give Tate enough information to nail Paulie and Celina so the CPD can close the loop. If we can't rely on the GP to bring her down," I quietly added, "then let's help Tate do it."