Was he implying the vampyr attack had been Connection-sanctioned? Because I had kept a doppelganger case open? The vampyrhadsaid he was working on orders.
‘The attacklast night,’ I voiced. ‘Was it a sanctioned hit?’
‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I don’t think so. I got told to tell you to close the case only this morning. I don’t think Connection would have escalated the situation this fast, but the timing is … troubling. I want you to watch your back, Wise. And close the damned doppelganger case.’
Despite myself, I couldn’t back down. ‘This isn’t some random doppelganger, sir. This is Jude fucking Jingo.’
The grimace across Thackeray’s face told me he was as pissed off with our marching orders as I was. ‘Even so,’ he said.
‘Sir,’ I tried one last time. ‘Aspen was subsumed by Jingo. The body was dumped on Kate Potter’s property like a fucking calling card. And a vampyr tried to kill me on my way home the same night Kate’s neighbour’s vampyr ward flared. That’s not a coincidence. If the Connection didn’t sanction a vampyr hit on me …’
Thackeray’s gaze sharpened, assessing, recalculating. ‘You think Jingo ordered the vampyr?’
‘Or Reed did,’ I said. ‘Either way, someone wants me dead.’
Thackeray’s jaw worked. His eyes stayed hard, but something in his posture shifted. ‘Listen carefully,’ he said. ‘Officially, you are closing the Aspen file.’
My heartbeat thudded.
‘Unofficially,’ he continued, ‘betweenus, you’re going to keep digging. Off the books.’
Thackeray held up a hand as I opened my mouth. ‘But you are going to do it smart. You are not going to go charging around shouting “doppelganger” like it’s karaoke night at Wraithmore. You are not going to put anything in writing. You are not going to ask for resources through normal channels. You are going to do what you do best.’
I raised an eyebrow.
‘You’re going to find the killer and report to me. When we know which body Jingo is inhabiting, we can decide our next steps. No fucking maverick calls, Wise. You hear me? You work it out, you come to me.’
If I couldn’t do anything through proper channels, then arresting Jingo wasn’t an option. Only killing him. With a doppelganger, that came with inherent danger.
My pulse steadied. ‘To be clear, you’re telling me to lie and officially close the case?’
‘I’m telling you,’ he said, voice low, ‘to survive the politics long enough to do the right thing.’
I sat back slowly. ‘What’s the official story, then?’
Thackeray’s expression remained as inscrutable as granite. ‘Ash Aspen was killed in an altercation with an unknown assailant. No further credible leads. File closed pending new information.’
‘Kate will hate that,’ I muttered.
‘Kate will live,’ he said. ‘Will you?’
My throat tightened a fraction. ‘I will,’ I said firmly.
‘Good,’ he grunted. ‘Because if Jingo is involved, this will escalate. Quickly.’
I drew a slow breath. ‘All right. I’ll close it on paper.’
Thackeray’s eyes stayed on mine. ‘And?’
‘I’ll keep digging off the books.’ I paused. ‘But I want something.’
‘Of course you do.’
‘I want access into Wraithmore.’
He blinked, the most shocked I’d ever seen him.
I couldn’t tell him why, couldn’t tell him I wanted to speak to Amber’s father, the only Domini I knew who was still alive. Couldn’t because Thackeray was here pressing me to close an open case because of politics and power.
