Everard touched a speed-dial button on his phone. “Sharene? Deke here. You know anything about a public-health warning coming into Douglas from the CDC in Atlanta?”

I heard the tinny clatter of her voice, music while he sat on hold, more tinny clatter, filled with exclamation points.

He looked at me bleakly. “Apparently the sheriff and our public-health director said it was premature to panic the people of Douglas County. You say ‘bubonic plague’ and everyone starts screaming and heading for the exits.”

I felt a chill, a stiletto-shaped icicle, down the middle of my back. “Gisborne was the person who pulled Jenny Perec from the Wakarusa. He’s popped up like a magician’s rabbit every time I’ve been at the McKinnon farm or near the missile silo. What is his role in all this?”

Everard shook his head. “You and Ken don’t hit it off, that’s obvious, but that doesn’t mean you get to accuse him—”

“Yes, when someone puts me in jail, it usually stops me from having warm and fuzzy feelings. He has the power in this situation, as do you, and your lieutenant, and so on. And it’s your territory. All I have is a trail of events that show him trying to stop my investigation, along with his connection to many of the events I’m uncovering. He doesn’t want a public alert on the plague? Who’s he protecting?”

“Maybe he has more information than you do, Warshawski. You’ve done some smart fieldwork and made some lucky guesses, but that doesn’t mean you know everything.”

“No, you’re right,” I said quietly. “I understand this much: that I’m an outsider. Some days you feel you can trust me and some days you need to be loyal to your homies.”

“To my homies? You think the Lawrence Police Department is like some big-city street gang?” His eyes were bright and hard.

“I grew up in a big-city neighborhood, which is essentially a small town where everyone is inside one another’s business. We had plenty of feuds across our alleys and playgrounds, but you’d better believe we all banded together when someone from South Shore crossed our borders. I’m not accusing the LPD of corruption or lawlessness, just trying to understand why you stand up for Gisborne when you yourself have questioned his actions around the McKinnon murder.”

Everard pounded his fist into his palm with such force that Peppy jumped up and anxiously started licking me.

The sergeant gave a bark of harsh laughter. “I cling to my homeboys, and I frighten puppies. Sorry, dog.” He petted her head but turned and strode from the bar without saying good-bye to Simone and her friends, let alone me. Simone stared at me, questioning.

“Policy differences,” I said, more lightly than I felt.

My phone dinged with a message from Cady: what did the dna analysis tell you? are you going to the silo?