The Senior Auditor nods. “But there is clearly a matter of priorities for us to discuss here,” he says smoothly. “We have benefited from two excellent assets meshing frictionlessly for too long. Or at least, providing each other with mutual support.”

“But the current enquiry . . .” Lockhart’s mustache twitches.

“It was inevitable, I’m afraid. As with all such phenomena, the closer the great alignment comes, the more frequently we’ll have to deal with outbreaks like this. Especially when inside meddling is implicated. Sooner or later one of our night-crawling friends was bound to make a power play: or perhaps it’s just another of their interminable duels. It’s just unfortunate for us that the nexus in question involves Agent CANDID’s partner’s former lover: the threat surface is wider than usual . . .” The Senior Auditor trails off into a thoughtful silence. “Agent CANDID, in combination with her instrument, is a major offensive asset. We can’t permit trivial insults to jeopardize her efficiency.”

Angleton’s expression is stony, but he holds his counsel.

“That may be true,” Lockhart ventures, “but what about Agent HOWARD? He’s on the tier below, but coming along nicely. In the long term”—he glances sidelong at Angleton—“he may be an even more important asset.”

“I am aware of that,” says the Senior Auditor. A slight stiffening of his spine and a glint of light from his glasses causes Lockhart to purse his lips. “Now tell me about Ms. Murphy. And Mr. Menendez.”

Lockhart flicks through a few pages. “Oscar Menendez: nothing special. He’s your usual managerial overachiever, very bright, organizationally highly competent, and about as untrustworthy as—well, I wouldn’t have chosen to bring him in, let’s put it that way. He might be useful if he manages to avoid making any fatal errors of judgment in the short term, but for the time being I’d be inclined to put him in a padded box and throw away the key. He doesn’t really understand that we’re not playing by the rules he’s used to.”

“And Ms. Murphy?”

Lockhart’s mustache thins. “She’s much more interesting, if you ask me. We originally recruited her straight out of university, in more innocent days—the ‘if someone sees something’ dragnet was still practical back then. She was badly mishandled by her original managerial oversight people, let go, given a discharge placement in the bank, then turned out not to be a waste of space after all.”

“And now she’s back, as a vampire. And she actually kept her coven alive and survived as such for nearly six weeks. That’s quite an achievement.” The Auditor nods to himself.

“What is the life expectancy of a vampire in this day and age, anyway?” asks Lockhart.