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mother's from time to time. The one that said quite clearly that I knew nothing and she knew everything. It was damned annoying. I squirmed under the intensity of her glare as though we were still in grade school. Kara had always been the boss of our relationships. Laid back she may be, but she certainly knew how to rule the roost.
    “Just try? Please? We're getting nowhere through all the normal channels and even Stu's lawyer is starting to lose hope. They have something, something they are sure has made the case a done deal. And until it goes to court, we won't know what it is.” She took my hand in hers and squeezed surprisingly hard. “We need to know what we're up against. For Stu, Gigs. Please?”
    I sat back on the couch and sighed. I liked Stu. A lot. And I couldn't see him slicing Alison Danvers. Plus, this was Kara asking. My best friend. The girl who didn't run a mile when I told her vampires existed. The girl who didn't scream in fright when I showed her my fangs. The girl who simply asked, when given the evidence of my altered DNA, if vampires were as sexy as the books and movies would have you believe.
    I looked at her now. Hope and fear and a weary tiredness that I didn't like seeing on her cherubic cheeks making my heart ache and my gums throb as fangs threatened to elongate ready to right her world. This was my best friend, how could I not try to do what I could to help out?
    “ I can't promise anything,” I started slowly, holding her gaze. “He may not even agree to see me. And you know how dangerous glazing is. If anyone witnesses me doing it I could be in a lot of trouble. And the trouble my kind gets into makes Stu's problems pale in comparison.”
    Kara frowned, not liking me comparing Stu's predicament to vampire politics. But, I had to make her see I was subject to certain rules. Set not only by the Master of Auckland City, but by the vampire governing body in Paris, called the Iunctio . I hadn't met a member of the Iunctio Council before, but every vampire and even Lucinda, had made it quite clear that I didn't want to. And being something other than your standard, run of the mill vampire, made the repercussions of appearing on the Iunctio's radar that much more dangerous.
    Dhampirs, or Nothus as we are called, were not tolerated by the Iunctio . Considered illegitimate or better still, an illegal combination of species, they had a standing execution order out for any who are identified. Stake first, ask questions later. There were only a few vampires who knew my secret. Those of Lucinda's line and Michel. Lucinda's husband. Even his vampires weren't aware of what I was. Except Doug. I worked too closely with him to hide it, so Lucinda had insisted he be brought in on the ruse. Otherwise, she had said it was imperative to keep it secret. So we did.
    Half a dozen vampires, a Nosferatin and a human. The full extent of my top secret club. Acceptance into our circle was by invitation only. And even then, I didn't trust any of them. Well, I trusted Kara, that's why I had do what I could to help.
    I just hoped I wouldn't get caught using vampiric powers of persuasion on a cop.
    I just hoped he'd remember me. That'd be a good place to start.
    As it happened, Detective Mark Anderson worked the night shift out of Auckland Central Police Station. Convenient, considering I couldn't barge in there during sunlit hours. I'd never had reason to go to the cop shop before, but I'd certainly dealt with my fair share of cops. Sensations might have been a step up from previous employers, but I'd had to do my time with some of the seedier joints in order to build up a decent resume. Cops and bars go hand in hand. The fact that Sensations kept the cops away was more to do with wards than good management.
    Access to the impressive ten storey Central Police building was on Cook Street, not far from my apartment, so I took in the night air and strolled the short distance to the front desk. I hadn't rung for an