Charles pulled a chair out and sat down. "How is the killer getting in and out from the murder scenes?"
"I think she's a hybrid; one we haven't got on record."
Stephan raised an eyebrow. "The SIU tests are pretty intensive. It's doubtful that we missed one."
"But it's only in the last ten or so years that our tests have become so precise. Before that, it was hit and miss, with most hybrids being allocated shifter or changer status, depending on which was their strongest trait. Emma Pierce was sixty-one. So was her sister. There's no record of Emma coming in for tests since puberty."
Stephan frowned. "If she was part of Hopeworth, that's not surprising. As for the sister, we haven't been able to find anything on her yet."
"A little too convenient, don't you think?"
"Erasing records is not something an everyday hacker can achieve — not without setting off alarms."
"If they got into Hopeworth, we're dealing with someone a little more skilled than your average computer hacker."
"True." Stephan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know, it might also indicate someone who has regular access to records. How else would they get into the system without raising alarms?"
"A government employee?" It was certainly a distinct possibility. As Stephan said, anyone without clearance hacking into the file system would have raised alarms. It was doubtful they could have erased data so completely without getting caught.
"You might even be looking for a cop," Charles said, deep voice somber. "They have access to all manner of records, and who would have a better understanding of how to avoid detection at a crime scene?"
Gabriel frowned. "If our killer was a cop, her hybrid status would have been picked up in the six month checkups."
"They never picked up Sam's extra chromosome," Stephan said. "It might just be possible they'd miss this. Race is not something checked every six months, unless the officer has noted his or her desire to become a vampire."
"True, but still..." He hesitated as the door opened.
Jessie walked in and dropped several sheets of paper on the table. "We traced the birth certificates for every one of the Greenwood adoptees. Emma Pierce is listed as birth mother for nine of them." She hesitated, tears suddenly welling in her green eyes. "The killer is working straight down the list. Miranda..."
She broke off. Stephan stood, gathering her in his arms and holding tight. Gabriel reached for the papers. Emma Pierce's children were highlighted. Miranda was number five of nine. He looked up.
"Then we know the next victim. Jeanette Harris is number six on the list."
Charles smiled grimly. "Get protection on her right away."
"Already done," Stephan said. He handed Jessie a handkerchief, then met Gabriel's gaze. "If our killer is a cop, she'll know about the safety measures we've taken."
"It won't stop her. She's a hybrid — if she's in animal form, more than likely our people won't even see her." He hesitated. "But Sam might be able to."
Charles studied him through narrowed eyes. "Why do you say that? I thought she didn't have any talents?"
No talent or too much talent? He was beginning to think it was the latter. "Test results to date indicate no psychic inclination, but I've seen her in action. In certain situations, she can sense the presence of other nonhumans. She sensed the shifter who'd attacked Finley in the labs, for instance, even though no alarm had been given."
"And didn't she sense the fact that Mary was a vampire long before either of us were aware of it?" Stephan said.
He nodded. "And yet she didn't know you were a shifter and that Martin was also a vampire."
"As if she could sense the evil in people, more than what they were," Charles murmured. "How very interesting."
"And useful, if that is the case," Stephan said. He glanced at Gabriel, gaze hardening. "Assign her to Jeanette Harris immediately."
Gabriel stared at his brother for several seconds and then reached for his viaphone. In that instant, pain hit, a sledgehammer that belted him sideways. He hit the floor hard, clutching his head, desperate to break the connection running fire up the left side of his body and into his brain.
"Gabriel!" Fear and confusion ran through his brother's voice.
Hands grabbed him, touching his neck, feeling for a pulse. Darkness welled, a tide that threatened to overwhelm him. "I'm okay. It's not me," he managed to gasp out.
"Sam?" Stephan's voice, close by his side.