Biting Bad_ A Chicagoland Vampires Novel(70)

“The riots have only been occurring at night, when we’re awake. But why? If you want to damage vampires, hurt vampires, why not riot during the day when we’re unconscious? Talk about maximizing damage . . .”

That point echoed many others I’d heard over the last few days. If the rioters really meant to get media attention and do damage, they’d done a pretty bad job of it.

“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” I said. Counting on my fingers, I offered my concerns: “They don’t hit the most obvious House. They don’t hit us during the day. They don’t hit us as hard as they probably could, and they don’t even show up to protest afterward. All that buildup, and for what?”

“Maybe they just aren’t very good rioters,” Luc said.

“Maybe,” I said. “But I can’t help thinking there’s something else afoot here, and we’re only seeing the symptom, not the real illness.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” I said, deflated. “I miss having a suspect.”

“Indeed,” Luc said. “Robin Pope, we hardly knew ye. And while we did, we thought you were a crazy weirdo.” He shook his head in faux grief. “What did you learn from Bryant Industries?”

“We talked to Charla. No new information about possible threats per se, but she did pass along a very interesting tidbit.”

I waited for a moment before the big reveal, giving everyone a chance to lean forward in anticipation. But no one did.

“Seriously? What’s a girl gotta do to build a little tension around here?”

“Firebombs,” Luc and Jonah simultaneously said, then congratulated their single-mindedness with a fist bump.

“The Chicago Department of Public Health scheduled a last-minute inspection at the facility.”

Still, no reaction.

“Really? Nothing?”

“Their facility was firebombed,” Jonah said. “Probably they just want to look things over, make sure the product isn’t tainted.”

“The last-minute inspection was before the riot,” I clarified.

Finally, there was a pique of interest in their eyes.

“Before the riot?” Jonah asked.

I nodded. “The city of Chicago has taken an oddly timed interest in a vampire-service facility. Maybe the riot occurred at Bryant because they didn’t get something they wanted at the inspection.”

“Like what?” Luc asked. “If they wanted blood, they could buy it.”

He was right. Anti-vamp sentiment or not, humans were more than happy to stock Blood4You in their stores. I guess profit trumped conviction for the store owners who didn’t really like vampires.

“Maybe it wasn’t blood,” I said.

“Then what?” Jonah asked. “What else do you want at a Blood4You facility?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But consider this—if Robin Pope isn’t the one organizing the riots, maybe someone else from the city administration is. Maybe McKetrick is.”

“You’ve got evidence of that?”

“Why does everyone keep harping on ‘evidence’?” I whined. “And no, I don’t have any. But we’ve got a vamp hater in a new position of power, and a sudden interest in a facility that’s been providing blood to vampires for decades. The rioters hit Bryant Industries first; they must have had a reason for it. Why else that place? Why else now?”

“I’m not saying you’re wrong, Sentinel,” Luc said. “But you don’t have anything yet to confirm you’re right.”

“I’ll find something.”

Luc checked his watch. “You’d better find it quick. You’ve got a turn on patrol coming up, and that dress isn’t going to cut it. Go upstairs and get dressed. I’ll call Jeff and Catcher, see if your grandfather has any connections at the health department.”

“What time is Saul arriving?” Jonah asked.

Somehow, I’d forgotten it was pizza night at Cadogan House, the food thoughtfully delivered during vampires’ prime eating hours. Not that I needed any more food. Dinner at the Merit house had been plentiful.

“Half hour or so,” Luc said.

“In that case, I’ll walk Merit upstairs,” Jonah said. “All this discussion of blood is making me thirsty. I want to grab some before the pizza arrives.”

Probably not a bad idea for me, too, since I hadn’t had any yet today. And other than the few minutes at Bryant Industries, I hadn’t even had a craving for it. The emergency drink Ethan had given me last night must have satisfied the lust.

When Jonah and I were alone in the hallway, I broached the topic I hadn’t had time to discuss with my RG partner.