I wore a striped necktie and my best gray suit. Actually my only suit. I hadn't worn it since a friend's wedding two years ago, and I was relieved that it still fit around the stomach. Rachel was in the smart-looking blue pantsuit she wears to meet her corporate clients.
And we were in the office of the mayor of the city of Chicago. The wide window beside us looked toward the lake. Puffy white clouds drifted in the sky, high above boatsd in the gray-green water.
The mayor was a short African American woman with gray hair. I'd voted for her. She sat next to the recently installed superintendent of police, fresh from the Dallas PD.
On my side of the table, along with Rachel, were Sharpe and Commander Hughes, her boss on the vampire squad. Hughes didn't look happy, but he never does where I'm concerned. All three of the cops were in uniform. Sharpe looked uncomfortably dressing so formally.
"Okay." The mayor folded her arms on the table. "When I first got briefed on the vampire situation, I figured you guys were all high and watching too many horror movies. I assume the super felt the same."
The superintendent tapped a finger on the table. "We've got something like 150,000 gang members in Chicago. How many vampires are we talking about, again?"
Hughes rubbed an eye. "Maybe a hundred, 150, based on the numbers at the distribution centers."
"When they were open." Oops. I'd promised Rachel I wouldn't talk any more than I had to. She kicked me under the table.
"Yes, Mr. Jurgen?" The mayor stared at me.
I gulped. "Well, uh, ma'am, without access to blood, the vamps are going to feed. The centers give them enough blood—just enough—to keep their instincts under control, but without them . . . well, when you're starving or thirsty, you'll go after anything. It's like being an alcoholic. Or, uh, so I'm told.
"Jurgen's right." Hughes seemed annoyed at agreeing with me. "And with social distancing, it's easier for vampires to hunt without being spotted."
"And that Lincoln Park thing last night—" I braced myself for another kick from Rachel. "That's just going to make things worse. Vamps don't trust us at all. They rely on the centers, but most of them think the registration process is just for a database that we'll use to hunt them all down and stake them. Would you expect gang members to give up their home addresses, their family members, all their personal information?"
"So what do you suggest we do, Mr. Jurgen?" The mayor's stare was fierce.
I sighed. "First, open up the centers again. Let me tell the two leaders that vamps can get blood. Maybe juice it up a bit, offer a little bit more blood—"
She frowned. "We're in a health crisis, in case you hadn't noticed."
I nodded. "Yeah. I just managed to score some toilet paper yesterday. But you can't hunt them all down. And even if you could, they're like the virus too. They'll always come back. The centers are crucial, even if neither side likes them. And not shooting them like it's Wounded Knee would help."
The superintendent coughed. "I've spoken with the officers involved. When the situation threatened to turn into a riot, they responded. But they weren't equipped with wooden stakes or silver bullets—"
"Getting shot still hurts, even if you're a vamp. It just makes them mad. More mad." I shook my head. "Whatever. I'll talk to the king and queen. Just let me know when the centers are up and running again. And no more ambushes like last night."
The superintendent cleared his throat. "With all due respect, madame mayor, I've got to say this is just—different from anything I've ever dealt with as a cop. We fight the gangs. We don't negotiate, we don't make truces, we don't have ambassadors and liaisons. This just feels—wrong."
The mayor sighed. "I understand, superintendent. None of this makes sense. Especially now." She glanced up at me. "But it looks like it's what we've got to do to protect our city."
"Ma'am?" It was Hughes. "For the record, I think Jurgen here is . . . an idiot. But he's reliable. Truthful, even when he sounds crazy. He does his own thing, and we've had problems with him—" He shot me a warning glare not to interrupt. "But in this case, at least, I think we can believe him."
I was stunned. It was the nicest thing he'd ever said about me in my presence. I wanted to throw a hug around him. But social distancing and all that.
The mayor nodded. "I'll get people on it. Thank you, Mr. Jurgen. Everyone. Dismissed. Now, superintendent . . ."
I stood up and held Rachel's chair. Only the mayor and the super stayed seated.
Out in the hallway I turned to Hughes. "Thank you, sir."
He scowled. "Talk to your people. Take care of it. And stay out of my face." He swung around. "Detective? We've got work."
"Yes, sir." But Sharpe grinned. "Good seeing you, Tom. Wish we could shake hands." She followed Hughes down the hall to the elevators.
I looked at Rachel. "That went better than I hoped."
"Yeah. You got lucky." She pulled out her face mask. "Let's go home."
* * *
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