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.”“I’ll just notify her,” she said brightly, then disappeared again.Ethan, apparently not content to stand by and wait, walked to the end of the hallway, which ended in a large window.“Come here,” he said over his shoulder, and I joined him.The window looked in on the bottling room.There were giant vats and long conveyors of bottles being washed, filled, capped, and cleaned.Everything was automated, and the entire line moved so fast my brain could barely keep up.“Very cool,” I said.“And very crucial,” said a voice behind us.We turned to find Charla in the hallway in a fitted navy sheath dress and kitten heels.Her hair was tucked behind a couple of thin navy headbands.She looked like the perfect businesswoman—whether or not that business was supernaturally related.“We supply the vampires of Chicago and much of the upper Midwest.We’re one of the largest facilities in the country.” She smiled at us and stepped forward.“Ethan,” she said, extending a hand, “it’s lovely to finally meet you in person.”“Charla, a pleasure.And I understand you’ve met Merit.”Charla nodded, then clasped her hands in front of her.“It looks like you’ve had an evening out.Except for the galoshes, perhaps.”“We’ve tried,” Ethan said.“Per my note, we’re here about the riots.We’d believed Robin Pope might have played a role in selecting Bryant Industries as her first target.But it appears she’s unconnected to the crime.”“I see,” Charla said, frowning.“So you’re looking for another cause?”“We’re trying to identify the source of the riots so we can stop them from happening again,” Ethan said.Charla smiled, just a little.“Like the Supernatural Justice League?”“Something like that,” he said.“I don’t suppose you’ve thought of any other reason you might have been targeted?”“Honestly, I’ve been racking my brain.I wasn’t convinced Robin had the capacity to organize people—she just doesn’t think anyone is as intelligent as she is—but she is a very angry person.So from that perspective, the theory fit.But I cannot think of any other reason people would be upset with us, other than because we’re associated with vampires, of course.No grudges, no family disputes.”My gaze kept flicking back to the production line, the blur of bottles streaming by.“This is pretty amazing to watch,” I said.“And it’s so clean.Not that I expected it to be dirty, but when you’re bottling a liquid, you expect spills.That room looks spotless.”“Oh, it is,” Charla said.“We had a city inspection last week, so we’ve been extra careful about pretty much every detail around here, including security.”Ethan looked suddenly interested.“A city inspection?”Charla nodded.“Department of Public Health.They inspect our facility as part of our arrangement with the city.They’ve known who we are and what we do for a very long time.They had to—it was the only way we could get operational permits.” She frowned.“Although, come to think of it, this inspection was a little less than routine.”“How so?” Ethan asked.“Normally, our inspections are scheduled a month in advance.We might have an unscheduled drop-in, of course, but the top-to-bottom reviews are planned.This last time, they gave us two days.”Ethan and I exchanged a glance.“You said the inspection was a week ago,” I said.“Just a few days before the riot?”“I hadn’t thought of that,” Charla said.“But now that you mention it, yes.They did.Do you think that matters?”“It’s difficult to tell,” Ethan said.“Perhaps it’s coincidence.”Or perhaps, I thought, someone wanted inside the facility.“Did anything weird occur during the inspection? Did they take anything, or look at anything they don’t usually inspect?”“I actually wasn’t here that day,” Charla said sheepishly.“I take a spa day twice a year, and I’d had it scheduled for months, so when they called about the inspection, I let my brother handle it.”I smiled politely.“Completely understandable.”She nodded but clearly wasn’t convinced she’d done the right thing.“No one reported anything odd to me afterward, and the inspection report was fine.Do you suspect foul play?”“We suspect the timing,” Ethan said, gesturing toward the front door.“You might want to check with your brother, ask if anything unusual occurred he might not have thought to mention.”“I appreciate the suggestion,” Charla said, her expression changing to the same all-business mode I’d seen in Ethan’s.She wasn’t a vampire, but she was a leader of humans, and a protector of her particular house.“Also, you’d mentioned your brother might have security videos he could share?”Charla pointed at me and pulled a phone from an invisible pocket at her hip.“Thank you for the reminder.I’ll send him a note right now.” She paused for a moment, looking at the phone, which then beeped in acknowledgment.“Got it,” she said.“He promises to send them tonight.” She put the phone away and smiled at us.“I love my brother, but he’s not quite as.organized as I am, if you catch my drift.”“We do,” Ethan said.“And we thank you again.” He put a hand at my back.“We’ll get out of your hair so you can get back to work.Thank you for your time.”“You’re very welcome.Thank you for paying attention.” She dropped her voice to a whisper.“I know I shouldn’t say this, but we talk, you know.The distributors.Most of us are human, but we like to keep an eye out, and not just because you’re clients.It’s a tough time to be a vampire in Chicago, especially when thugs like McKetrick are about.And we know about the GP, about how you stepped forward when others didn’t.Being the leader can be a thankless job,” she said.“It often just makes you a bigger target.But we see.We notice
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