I hesitated. I liked Kristin, but she was clearly loyal to Cedric. I didn’t think it’d be wise to share my theories with her, like that the Army being in Seattle had provided a convenient reason for Jerome and Cedric to be together when Jerome got summoned. It occurred to me that I might very well owe Hugh an apology for my adamant denial of Cedric’s involvement. Something else also occurred to me.

“Um, it’s a long story,” I said hastily. “Do you know if he’s been hanging out with Nanette a lot?”

“Why?” Her tone was quickly turning suspicious. She didn’t like me interrogating her about her boss.

“Well . . . I told him the other day that I thought Nanette might be involved with Jerome’s disappearance. He didn’t think so, but he told her . . . and she got really pissed off. She, um. . . . well, let’s just say she got physical, and I have the scars to prove it.”

My immortal friends had pointed out that Nanette’s attack made her look guilty. If Cedric had done enough goading to make her angry when he told her, it could have very well sent her to me in a rage—and successfully shifted attention from him. Fuck. I didn’t want another suspect in all of this. I didn’t want it to be Cedric. Nanette had hitherto been a convenient explanation.

Kristin was silent for several seconds. “I didn’t know that,” she said quietly. “Are you okay?”

“Mostly. Mei healed the worst of it, but I’m still a little sore.”

“I can’t imagine . . . Cedric would never have told her if he thought that was going to happen. He likes you. He wouldn’t condone that. He couldn’t have known. I’m sorry.”

She was sincerely contrite, hurt at the thought that her boss—even if he was a demon and a servant of evil—could have been involved with something that had turned out so terrible.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ve gotta run, but thanks for the info. Things are kind of crazy here too, as you can imagine.”

We said our good-byes and disconnected. I flipped the cell phone around in my hand, feeling overwhelmed. Nanette wasn’t off the table yet, but Cedric was right alongside her now as a culprit—maybe more so. If I had enough evidence, I could possibly take it to Grace and Mei . . . but I didn’t have that yet. Besides, knowing who the culprit was wouldn’t solve the immediate issue: finding Jerome.

I glanced back at the photo, resting on my nightstand. Sore back or no, it looked like I had to do a little beachcombing.

I nearly knocked Dante over when he came home that night.

“Succubus,” he said, letting me wrap my arms around him. He was careful only to rest his hands on my hips. “Happy to see you too.”