‘So Tom’s reaction was nothing to do with his particular body chemistry,’ Kate said slowly. ‘It was just the drug doing its thing.’

‘Woollard Serum …all the time.’ Stacy threw down the pile of papers in despair. ‘But I’ve been running a register, I’ve got ’wolves out there on the street reporting back to me. They say the lupine numbers have gone down – and a steadily greater number of newbloods have come back for more serum, that’s fact!’ She looked at Kate desperately. ‘So the serum must be working on the lupine brain in the way it’s intended – controlling newblood cravings without them having to go out and bite someone. The math works!’

But Kate was thinking about something else Stacy had read out. The report had said the serum was chronically addictive. And Kate remembered Swagger’s tempting the gladiators to fight with a promise of something … Something that was worth all that violence and pain. She flicked through the contents of the envelope more carefully. ‘Suppose your serum works too well? What if taking it’s better than going out and killing for real?’ she suggested slowly.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, what if someone’s been getting newbloods hooked on Stacy Serum, the ultimate high –so they can control them through it!’

Stacy shook her head. ‘I haven’t been able to make the stuff in that kind of volume. We weren’t ready—’

‘Woollard was ready,’ Kate said quietly, holding out a small sheaf of papers. ‘Top sheet’s a fax from Takapa. Ordering Woollard to go ahead with producing the serum in serious volume. It’s like he’s got some kind of distribution network going—’

‘Give me those.’ Stacy snatched the papers from her and scanned them. ‘Sweet Jesus, it’s true.’

‘Your ’wolf informants must be in the pay of Takapa,’ Kate realised. ‘Telling you what you want to hear.’

‘So I keep on handing out the drug,’ Stacy concluded, tears in her eyes. ‘There’s me, thinking I’m refining it –but I’m only helping Woollard make it even deadlier.’

Kate nodded. ‘Then he just goes and turns a whole load of the stuff over to Takapa to infect more street kids.’

Stacy put her head in her hands. ‘Shit, Kate, who knows how many ’wolves there could be hiding in this city.’

‘All of them more violent and aggressive than any pureblood could imagine,’ Kate agreed. ‘But being forced to fight each other to the death, just because Takapa wants them to.’

Stacy was practically tearing her red hair out by the roots. ‘But we still don’t know why. Why would he build up ’wolves in such numbers and then decimate them?’