“I just need him. Drive. I want to go by his office before the precinct.”

I dial Andrew, who thankfully answers my call. I quickly recap what I know so far and then ask, “Did we find ibuprofen?”

Papers shuffle and then he says, “Nothing on the list, but in light of this development, I’m going to send North back to look for any kind of drugs. We’ll bag them all and get them to the lab.”

“Take a look at the food as well. I don’t think that is a likely option for this kind of attack, but look anyway.”

“I’ll handle it.”

“Fingerprints?” I ask, since he’s not offering.

“None that we can’t identify. Not even in the car.”

“Of course not,” I say dryly. “She was wearing gloves. Anything else?”

“Nothing yet. You?”

“Other than watch what you put in your mouth, Andrew. It might kill you.”

“You loved saying that to me, didn’t you?” he accuses.

“So very much,” I assure him and hang up.

I immediately check my messages to find nothing from Kane. He has an empire to run, I remind myself, but I also know Kane. He puts me first. He has always put me first, especially in high-risk situations. And he decides what’s important, and when. That damn jar of blood with my name on it flashes through my mind and so does Fake Naomi inside our house.

What the hell is going on?

I dial Tic Tac, who is now officially on Director Murphy’s cold case task force that is really about the Society.

“Lilah,” he greets tartly.

“Okay, why do you sound like you’re sucking something sour right now? I didn’t call you yesterday.”

“No, but having Director Murphy call me is the same thing. That was low, Lilah. I couldn’t say no.”

“I didn’t have Murphy call you. He called me yesterday. But whatever. What do you have for me?”

“Officer North,” he says.

“I see Director Murphy talked to you. What about him?”

“I found a connection to your old partner, Greg Harrison.”

An answer I don’t expect. “What connection?”

“North worked a private security job with Greg a few years back.”

My lips press together. Greg’s been working with a security company that pulled him into trouble. He told me that was fresh. I suddenly wonder. “Which private security company?”

“It’s called Cops Off Duty. Looks like that’s the only job either of them ever did for that service.”