Chapter Twenty-Nine

The smell was both familiar and sickening. Rotten eggs. Sulphur. Fire and brimstone.

‘Emma?'

My fingers twitched.

‘Emma? Are you awake?' The hope and fear in Laura's voice filled the room.

My hand went to my chest to the very spot where Jeremy's bullet had entered my heart. There was nothing there but smooth skin. I opened one eye and the bright overhead light made me wince.

‘Hi,' I said weakly.

I forced myself to sit up. I was at the morgue, in the same room where I'd woken up before and where I'd gazed at poor Tony's body. It was probably the same damned gurney. I looked down at my body, feeling strangely detached. Even the flicker of dying flames emanating from my arms and legs didn't bother me.

‘I couldn't be sure, you know,' Laura said. She bit her lip. ‘I couldn't be sure you'd wake up again.'

I shook myself. Instead of feeling confusion and horror and fear, I actually felt invigorated. A new lease of life. I almost snorted.

Laura passed me a sheet and I smiled my thanks as I wrapped it round my body. Then I remembered Jeremy and sobered up abruptly. My shoulders sagged. ‘Oh,' I said. ‘Oh no.' I swung my head towards her. ‘Is he…?'

‘He's dead.' Her voice was matter of fact. ‘He bled out on your kitchen floor. You didn't hang up the phone, you know. I told Dean that if we had any more strange calls, he was to find me. He kept the line open and we heard everything. It's how you ended up here. I made sure that they brought you to this morgue.'

‘I can't believe Jeremy did that.' My voice was barely audible. ‘He was the one person I thought I could trust.'

‘That's not true.'

My gaze snapped over to the doorway. Lukas was leaning against it. On the surface he looked languid, but there was something about the stiffness in his spine that made me think he wasn't as relaxed as he was pretending to be.

‘If you'd truly trusted him,' Lukas continued, ‘you'd have stayed with him throughout all this. He would have been the first person you told about your resurrection. Deep down, a part of you knew all along.'

My eyes narrowed. ‘I did not know.'

He pushed himself off from the wall and walked towards me. ‘Your subconscious did.' His black-eyed gaze searched my face. ‘I wonder,' he said quietly, ‘what else is buried inside that beautiful mind of yours.'

I blinked.

He shook himself. ‘Anyway,' he said, ‘for what it's worth, I'm glad you're back with us.'

‘How did you know I was here?' I glanced at Laura, but she shook her head. She hadn't told him.

‘Cassidy continued to insist that she hadn't had anything to do with your death, even when she had no reason to keep denying it. It seemed … prudent to check up on you.' His jaw tightened. ‘Unfortunately, I was too late.'

I drew in a breath. ‘Where is Cassidy now?'

‘Gone.' He looked away. ‘I'll spare you the gory details.'

I supposed I should be thankful for that. I nodded and pushed myself off the gurney.

‘Here,' Lukas said, ‘I brought you some clothes.' He passed me a bundle, his fingers brushing against mine. A shiver of electricity zipped through me. No wonder so many people found vampires irresistible.

‘Thanks,' I mumbled.

‘We'll have to start a wardrobe for you,' Laura said cheerfully. ‘So we're prepared for next time.'

My stomach tightened. ‘There won't be a next time.'

Lukas offered me a gentle look. ‘Let's hope not, D'Artagnan.'

***

I strolled into the Supe Squad building the next morning. Part of me was expecting Fred and Liza to rush out to greet me with questions about Tony. When I walked into the main office, however, I realised why they hadn't. Sitting on the small sofa and sipping a mug of tea was DSI Barnes. She looked like she was holding court. From the expressions on Fred and Liza's faces, they were a very reluctant audience.

‘Ah,' she said, without rising to her feet, ‘I was hoping that I'd catch you, Emma.'

‘We're going out,' Liza announced. ‘Aren't we, Fred?'

He started. ‘Uh, yes.' He nodded at me. ‘Good to see you, Emma. We heard what happened. Tony can rest easy now, thanks to you. You did him proud.' He spoke gruffly, but there was a ring of honesty to his words. I thought I was fine but before he finished talking there was a painful lump in my throat.

Liza came towards me, took my shoulders and leaned in to kiss my cheek. I was so surprised by her uncharacteristic action that I didn't move. Then she whispered into my ear, ‘Stay with us. Please.' She walked out with Fred at her heels before I could react.

DSI Barnes examined the contents of her mug with vague disinterest. ‘They don't know about you,' she said, ‘if that's what you're wondering. They don't know that you possess the curious ability to un-die.'

I remained where I was, watching her and trying to decipher her agenda from her bland expression. ‘Un-die? Is that what you're calling it?'

She placed the mug on the table and leaned back in her chair. ‘Well,' she said, ‘to call it a resurrection makes it sound like you're the Second Coming. While I admire you, Emma, I don't believe that of you.'

I was hardly going to disagree with her.

‘I saw you, you know,' she remarked. ‘When you were brought into the morgue this second time. You were most definitely a corpse, so it's extraordinary that you're standing in front of me now. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we could bottle that sort of power?'

I folded my arms.

‘Don't worry,' she said, ‘your secret is safe with me. I'm not suggesting we start experimenting on you or anything as crass as that.' Her expression grew more serious. ‘Don't advertise what has happened, Emma. This is a secret best kept to yourself.'

Despite her hard-nosed fa?ade, she did care about what happened to her officers. I couldn't deny that. ‘What do you want, DSI Barnes?'

‘Straight to the point,' she murmured. ‘I like that.' She met my eyes. ‘You know what I want. Your training is almost over. There's the matter of the final examinations, but I'm sure they won't trouble you too much. I want to know what you're planning to do next. You've done well here. Your work into investigating DC Brown's death means that you can have your pick of departments. The entire Metropolitan Police Department is at your disposal.'

‘You want me to stay here?'

‘Of course I do,' she answered simply. ‘But, tragic as it was, DC Brown's murder at the hands – or rather claws – of a werewolf does have a silver lining.' She allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction. ‘I've managed to procure an agreement with the clans and the vampires that we'll keep the details of his passing secret in return for greater autonomy for Supe Squad. It doesn't have to be you, although since you're a supe too, it will make it an easier pill for them to swallow.'

I drew in a sharp breath. ‘The clans know that I…' I struggled with the terminology, eventually choosing to use DSI Barnes' own word, ‘un-die?'

‘Oh no. I wouldn't allow that to happen – it would open a whole can of worms. But they are aware that you're different.' She shrugged. ‘They are quite impressed with what you've achieved in a short space of time. What happens next, however, is up to you.'

Her gaze remained steady. ‘If it sweetens the proposition, I should tell you that DC Brown's flat belongs to Supe Squad. Should you choose to take up a permanent position here, the flat is yours for your entire tenure. And you'd be the sole detective here, at least for the time being. No newly qualified detective has ever had such power. You'll effectively be running your own department right out of the gate. Although,' she added with a hint of darkness, ‘I'd prefer it if you didn't choose to go down DC Brown's route and accept bribes from the supes in return for your services.'

I started. She'd known about that all along?

‘So, Emma,' DSI Barnes said. ‘What is it to be?'

I swallowed. It would never have been my choice and I wasn't sure I was up to the task. Without another experienced detective on board, I'd be flying blind. And I wasn't na?ve enough to believe that the supes would now fully accept the authority of the human police.

But staying with Supe Squad would be a massive ‘fuck you' to Jeremy's memory. It would give me the opportunity to find out what I really was. It would also be my chance to make my mark, especially if DSI Barnes was telling the truth about the supes' more amenable attitude to the squad's existence.

None of those reasons had anything to do with my final decision. Neither did the welcome surprise of free accommodation.

‘I met a satyr the other night,' I said. ‘He said something that's stuck with me.'

DSI Barnes raised an eyebrow. ‘Go on.'

‘He said that it's only through truly understanding others that we can achieve peace. I don't understand the werewolves or the vampires, or any of the other supes. I don't even understand why you're so determined to maintain Supe Squad. And that,' I inhaled deeply, drawing air into my lungs, ‘is why I'd like to stay.'

The corners of her mouth twitched. ‘I'm very pleased to hear that.'

I didn't smile back. ‘But if I do, CID doesn't get to take my investigations. I don't care what they think or say – if a crime happens and it involves supes in any way, it belongs to Supe Squad.'

From her expression, she'd been expecting that demand. She might even have been hoping for it. ‘Very well.' She rose to her feet. ‘I'll make all the necessary arrangements.'

I watched as she picked up her bag. ‘Aren't you going to say something along the lines of "I'm sure you won't regret your decision"?'

DSI Barnes laughed. ‘Oh, I'm sure you will regret it.' She smiled. ‘But that doesn't mean it's not the right decision to make.' She nodded and walked out, leaving me alone in the office.

I stayed where I was for a long time. I knew that I was deeply traumatised. From what had happened to Tony, through to Jeremy's betrayal and my two deaths, I had a lot to resolve. Somehow this felt like the perfect place to do that.

I walked to the desk in the corner and sat down, enjoying the warm beam of sunlight filtering in through the window. The familiar shape of Tallulah was just visible outside. I smiled. Then I propped my feet up and surveyed my small domain. Supe Squad was already beginning to feel like home.