Smolder (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #29)(18)

“Ah, okay, I handled this badly. My bosses back in DC would not be happy.”

“You don’t make mistakes like that, Pete,” Dolph said.

“The first time I met you, you had brought me the files on an arson that you thought was a pyrokinetic. You risked your job to bring me on before you got permission because you didn’t want people to get caught in the next fire,” I said.

“I remember,” he said. He gave me those tired eyes, then looked back down at the body.

“What do you need us to know now, today, that your bosses wanted you to wait to tell us?” I asked.

He smiled at me, then said, “That they’re afraid that your wedding will be targeted by the hate groups.”

“We’re aware that the hate groups are hating us even more because of how popular Jean-Claude has become in the media. It’s too much positive press for the hate groups to stomach.”

He shook his head and the smile faded. “I don’t mean the regular hate groups and the regular shit I’m sure you and your intended have to deal with, I mean that whoever is behind these murders is aiming at you and Jean-Claude specifically. They want to hurt people close to you.” I frowned at him, then looked back at Dolph. “You said this vampire was new to town, not one of ours.”

“He’s never been to St. Louis as far as we know.”

I looked back at McKinnon. “How is the death of a vampire new to our town a blow aimed at Jean-Claude and me?”

“I’m not sure it is, maybe it was just a convenient target, but the intel we got recently says that the group behind the”—he hesitated—“murders wants to kill Jean-Claude and anyone close to him.”

“All the hate groups say that, and you can call them the Sunshine Murders if you want, I don’t have a better name for it,” I said.

He shook his head. “I can’t give you details, but we have a credible threat against Jean-Claude and you that’s connected to whoever is doing the Sunshine Murders.”

“How credible?” Dolph asked.

“Credible enough that I got on a plane to visit family in St. Louis to tell you about it before this murder happened.”

“You mean you came to visit family just so you could tell Dolph and me about the threats to Jean-Claude?”

“Jean-Claude and you, Blake, don’t discount that. Whoever this group is, it’s using the internet to connect, and some of our intel looking for other terrorist activity caught it. They want Jean-Claude and his queen dead, and they want you dead before the wedding. It seems very important to them to prevent the wedding.”

“Why? Is it just the publicity being so good?” I asked.

“We’re not sure, but I told my wife we’d go visit family and I told my bosses that my wife wanted to visit family here in St. Louis so I could tell you this.”

“Thank you for that, Pete,” Dolph said.

“I know Anita’s like family to you, and yeah I know you had a falling-out a few years back, but what family doesn’t fight among themselves? I didn’t want to know this and have something happen and have to face you at the next reunion, and”—he looked at me—“you’re a good cop, and you do your best to be one of the good guys, good people, whatever term won’t offend people nowadays.”

“?‘Good guys’ is fine with me,” I said.

He smiled. “Good to know, but you are one of the good guys, Blake, and no matter what the rumor mill says about you, you do your best to keep people safe on both sides of the divide between human and supernatural. You needed to know.”

“We were planning to up our security around the wedding, but thanks for giving me the heads-up.”

“No, Blake, you still don’t get it; you need to up your security now, as in right now.”

Dolph looked at the other man. “Did the online chatter mention a time frame?”

McKinnon nodded. “They’re planning something this week.”

I stared at him. “This week, like now this week?”

“Yes.”

“Shit.” I was already reaching for my phone.

“Who you going to call?” he asked.

“Jean-Claude to start with, then . . . everyone, I guess.” I thought about it. “Ted Forrester is in town getting his fitting as my best man, so him, too.”

“Forrester is in town this week?” Dolph asked.

“He and his son were only planning to stay for a couple of days. In fact, I left him being fitted to come here.”

“U.S. Marshal Ted Forrester?” McKinnon asked.

I said, “Yes.”

Dolph said, “Is there another one?”

“I know his reputation; if he could stay over for a few days that would be good.”

“You could have picked up a phone and told me. I’d have told Anita,” Dolph said.

“I could have, but then I wouldn’t be here on the ground to help catch the bastards. The Sunshine Murders are set up online; the main part of the group doesn’t have to be in the city where the murder happens, but for what they’re planning to do here in St. Louis they’ll need to have boots on the ground. It’s our best chance to catch the leaders.”

“With me and Jean-Claude as bait.”