“I didn’t shoot Jack. I shot his clone.”
Mary snorted. “And State’s buying that defense?”
“Apparently not, considering I’m still suspended.”
Stephan gave Mary a look that quickly silenced any other questions she might have had, and then he leaned forward, interest bright in his green eyes. “Why was the clone attacking you?”
“I don’t know.” She glanced up as an autocook unfolded from the ceiling, and a large silver tray began to descend. “But Jack had become a vampire, and the clone had every intention of killing me.”
“A vampire?” Stephan glanced at Gabriel. “When did Kazdan become a vampire?”
She raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You know Jack?”
“I know of him.” He regarded her steadily for a minute, his green eyes intense. “Was Kazdan a vampire before he disappeared?”
“No.” There was something in Stephan’s manner that reminded her of Gabriel. Maybe it was the way he leaned back in his chair, casual yet on guard. But there was also an odd sense of disinterest behind his words—it was almost as if he already knew the answers and was simply asking the questions because they were expected. Which made no sense at all.
“Interesting.” He glanced at Gabriel again. “That means Kazdan was cloned after he turned.”
“It would appear so,” Gabriel said quietly.
“That’s not possible.” Martyn’s voice was scratchy, almost harsh on the ears. “To produce a clone the same age as Kazdan in two and a half weeks, they would have had to use a tremendous amount of accelerant—and that in itself is problematic. Even presuming someone has found a way to transfer personality and memories, the clone simply wouldn’t have had the time to correlate everything. Hell, it probably wouldn’t have been able to even speak properly.”
“And it didn’t,” she murmured.
Stephan cast her an oddly amused look as he said, “Perhaps they merely wished the clone to be old enough to pass as Kazdan. Perhaps it was merely a means to an end.”
That end being her charged with Jack’s murder, she thought grimly. Then she frowned.
“Hang on, why does the clone have to have been produced after Jack was turned?”
“Because,” Martyn said, “if accelerants were used on the clone—as his inability to speak properly would seem to indicate—then it would have soon aged past Kazdan and been of no use.”
“Anyone would think you men actually believe her clone story.” Mary hesitated, staring at Sam for a moment. Anger radiated from the woman, a wave so heated it was almost visible. For some reason, her shooting of Jack mattered to Mary. And if Jack was connected to this Sethanon, as Gabriel suggested, then maybe he’d better start investigating Mary. “But if it was a clone she shot, surely the coroner would have picked that up.”
“Given that the clone is genetically identical to the original, no, they wouldn’t,” Gabriel said. “Although they would have picked up any accelerant used.”
“And have they?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“There you go.” Mary sat back in her chair and continued to glare at Sam. “She killed her partner, not some mythical clone.”
The silver tray settled on the table. The rich aromas of fresh breads, spicy curries and fresh vegetables filled the room, but while she would normally have dug in, right now her stomach turned. The feeling of wrongness was growing, gnawing at her like a dog with a bone. She just wished she could figure out what, exactly, was wrong.
Everyone except her and Stephan immediately reached for plates. Martyn produced a small flask from inside his jacket pocket, then poured a dark, viscous liquid into a wineglass. Blood, she thought, a chill running down her spine. If he was a vampire, why hadn’t she sensed it? And why had Gabriel said two of his friends were a shapechanger and a human, when what she was sensing suggested one shapeshifter, and possibly two vamps? She couldn’t even begin to guess what Stephan was, but if he was part of this Federation of Gabriel’s, it was possible he was also nonhuman. So who was the human? Her gaze swept the lot of them. She had no idea, and yet she doubted Gabriel was lying.
“Curry?” Gabriel asked.
His sudden question made her jump. He frowned, but otherwise made no comment.
“No thanks,” she said. “I think I’ll stick to vegetables.” The way her stomach was churning, she didn’t dare try anything spicy.
He nodded, and handed across the platter of vegetables instead. She grabbed a plate, spooned a small selection onto it, then put the platter back onto the tray.
“How long have you known Jack?” Stephan asked, breaking the brief silence.
She glanced at him. There was nothing in his tone but polite interest, yet something in the intensity of his gaze suggested he was judging her. Because she’d come here with Gabriel? Because she’d gained his trust enough to meet his friends? Obviously, Stephan had no idea just how little Gabriel really trusted her.