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triumph.
    “Interesting facts,” he said, keeping his voice even, although his amusement and patience had dried up. “But you haven’t asked me a single question—and you only have one minute left.”
    The woman sat back in her chair, her expression benign.
    She wasn’t finished, yet. Navarro guessed she’d probably even forgotten she was entirely nude.
    Her gaze was too focused, her smile almost feline—small and enigmatic. “Humor me,” she said. “Just one more item of trivia. One of your associates , a fellow master on your council, was aboard that plane, but he didn’t return. The murders resumed in Florida around the same time Dylan O’Hara arrived. Don’t you think the authorities would find that interesting?”
    Navarro relaxed. She had a few facts, but wasn’t connecting all the dots. “No.” He set aside his glass. “See how accommodating I’ve been? I answered your question.”
    A frown creased her forehead, and her shoulders slumped. “Okay, so maybe I haven’t figured it all out yet—how he’s connected and why the killings suddenly stopped—but I’m not through digging.”
    “Tell me, Miss Coffey. What do you think will happen if you approach your station with this information—and your creative spin? Do you think anyone will believe a shadow government comprised of vampires exists in Seattle?”
    “It’s the truth,” she replied, indignation clear in her tone. “I just have to find proof.”
    “Why did you think it necessary to talk to me? Did you think I’d tell you anything, especially if your muddled theories were correct?”
    “I didn’t.”
    “Didn’t what? Think?” His voice rose, and Navarro drew back. That last had felt like anger speaking. He hadn’t lost his temper in years, but the girl was too headstrong. Had he been a different sort of vampire, she could have walked into a nightmare.
    She shrugged one shoulder. “I just wanted you to know…that I know.”
    Navarro shook his head. No wonder she was relegated to reporting on how bored housewives spent their husbands’ money. “I’m not understanding your logic. You think I’m a vampire and conspiring to hide a killer. If that were true, shouldn’t you be worried I’ll make a meal of you and be done with this annoyance?”
    Her mouth opened and closed like a guppy’s. “Well, you are a vampire—you’ve lived in this house for forty-five years, but you don’t look a day over thirty.”
    That was the only part of what he’d said that she’d latched onto? The ridiculous woman obviously counted being right as more important than staying alive. “Again, pardon my confusion ,” he said, letting sarcasm season his voice, “but I hardly think my real estate investments warrant the use of your venerable investigative skills.”
    “Don’t you patronize me!” she said, her voice rising. “What is it with you men?”
    “I think, Miss Coffey, you’re a rather foolish woman. No doubt you’ve heard that before. You came here without a clue of what you hoped to achieve. You simply blundered your way inside my home.”
    Her lips thinned. “Perhaps, I am an idiot, but I have a nose for a good story. Maybe I’ll turn my attention to a new development. Tell me, why would vampires seek out three fellows of the GenTech Institute and murder them? What interest would vamps have in a bunch of geneticists?”
    Navarro drew in a sharp breath. What did she know?
    She must have heard him. Her expression changed from indignant to thoughtful.
    He waited, hoping she’d draw another irrational conclusion.
    “Geneticists working on cloning,” she murmured. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and her mouth clamped shut.
    Damnation! “Yes, it’s an interesting development. And something I’m already investigating myself, Miss Coffey.”
    She swallowed and lifted one finger. “I’ll just be leaving. I’ve overstayed my two minutes.”
    “Come, Miss Coffey,” Navarro said, with a deep inward sigh. He really didn’t want