Page 74 of Cold Curses

“Not much. Too wired. But I’m going to crash at dawn. Just want to make it until then.”

“Take a break when you need to,” Roger said kindly.

“Yep” was all she managed. “Oh, there is something. But it’s nothing. Literally. There was no official construction at the quarry ward. That means city, ComEd, or anything else. So whoever got down to the cornerstone did it on purpose.”

As I had suspected.

“Anything else?” Roger asked when silence settled again.

We looked around, shook our heads.

“Then we discuss priorities,” he said, nodding at Petra, who put another image on-screen. This one was a list.

Fix Lulu

Fix wards

Rid city of remaining demons

“I’d be happiest if they all happened simultaneously,” Roger said, “but I don’t have infinite wishes, so…we figure out what Lulu needs, and we wake her up. We get the wards fixed, so we stop the infiltration of violent demons. And we deal with demon issues as they arise.”

If only a list could be conquered so easily.

My screen buzzed and I checked it, in case it was an update from Connor or one about Lulu’s condition. But it was a message from Jonathan Black. It was an address, nothing more.

I frowned.

“What is it?” Theo asked.

“I’m not sure. Jonathan Black just sent me an address. That’s it.”

Theo’s brows lifted before settling into low suspicion. Which I figured was the appropriate response. And I sent the appropriate return message to Black:what and why?

“Where?” Petra asked.

I read out the address, and she put a map on-screen, then zoomed in to a location just west of the Loop on the edge of new developments and town houses.

The address corresponded to an empty lot, or at least that was what it had been when the satellite snapped the shot. And I didn’t see anything Black would be interested in—or that he’d think we’d be interested in.

“A ward location?” Roger wondered.

Petra shook her head. “That’s not even on the list of potential sites.”

“Weird place to suggest if he wants a meet,” Theo said. “He’s been to our office before. Surely he’s not trying to lure us out there.”

“I don’t think that’s his style,” I said. “He’d have picked something—I don’t know—grander.” And he hadn’t yet responded to my message. This was all very sketchy.

“He’s not our enemy,” Petra said, “based on current facts.” But she didn’t sound entirely convinced.

Roger deliberated in silence. “Check it out,” he said to me and Theo. “But be careful. If you smell something off, don’t even get out of the vehicle. Just keep driving. I’ll call Gwen.”

We looked at each other, nodded.

“Petra and Jeff can work on the research,” Roger said, “after they’ve had food.”

“I really don’t need…,” Petra began, but trailed off when the receptionist brought in a stack of pizza boxes. And the scent was outrageous.

“To-go slice,” Theo said, and we each grabbed one, folded it, and dashed.