Cursing, Lih jumped back with a start. He had shut up the moment he realized what he’d said, but it was too late.
He fell silent, listening. Then he walked to the door of the secretary’s office. He just wanted to look. He didn’t want to talk. He just wanted his eyes to see; to observe. He reached up and threw on the recording setting on Sage’s lenses.
Ms. Petrovsky talked for a long time. In the first couple of minutes there’d been a fair amount of chat back and forth between her and Dorian and a lot of “I don’t know’s” from Ms. Petrovsky, who was sitting forlornly in her chair with a look on her face that announced that her world had ended. But since Dorian brought out his badge, in the last five minutes the secretary’s guard had begun to drop, noticeably. She looked dispirited and scared.
Then Dorian had shown up from the station in the opening hours with his stupidly handsome face. He’d reviewed the situation, told her she could call him with additional information, and added he’d call back at a later date if he needed to talk to Alistair’s boss.
Viktor had no idea how Dorian was going to sort “missing scientist” out at this time. It was important. Lih knew that immediately. People don’t disappear. Nor bodies, come to that. You could run away. You could kidnap a person and raise a ransom, and even fire a gun and kill said person, but no one would ever go to the bother of hiding the body without reason. Besides, a shake down this big couldn’t be staged without funds. Nobody Lih could think of was gun-totingly mad enough to have set something up when they'd go head-to-head with the police and Vaia Plus… What the hell was going on?
Lih looked at the secretary as she answered Dorian’s questions. Even the best actress couldn’t manufacture the tight look of real fear and bewilderment that Lih could see on the face before them.
The young detective, dragged into the interview by peer pressure and the notion that maybe if he grew some, his mind might stop ragging on him.
“Yes.” Lih nodded. He turned to look at the secretary. The woman recoiled from the flash of electric violet in the new detective’s lens-augmented eyes. "Did Alistair share what he was working on with you?” he demanded. “Did he resume Victor’s work?"
She tilted her head in his direction, surprised by Lih's voice suddenly coming through from the doorway.
Lih stared mirroring her horror as she replied in a voice squeaky with anxiety. “I have no idea, sorry!"
He fell silent, listening. Then he walked to the door of the secretary’s office. He just wanted to look. He didn’t want to talk. He just wanted his eyes to see; to observe. He reached up and threw on the recording setting on Sage’s lenses.
Ms. Petrovsky talked for a long time. In the first couple of minutes there’d been a fair amount of chat back and forth between her and Dorian and a lot of “I don’t know’s” from Ms. Petrovsky, who was sitting forlornly in her chair with a look on her face that announced that her world had ended. But since Dorian brought out his badge, in the last five minutes the secretary’s guard had begun to drop, noticeably. She looked dispirited and scared.
Then Dorian had shown up from the station in the opening hours with his stupidly handsome face. He’d reviewed the situation, told her she could call him with additional information, and added he’d call back at a later date if he needed to talk to Alistair’s boss.
Viktor had no idea how Dorian was going to sort “missing scientist” out at this time. It was important. Lih knew that immediately. People don’t disappear. Nor bodies, come to that. You could run away. You could kidnap a person and raise a ransom, and even fire a gun and kill said person, but no one would ever go to the bother of hiding the body without reason. Besides, a shake down this big couldn’t be staged without funds. Nobody Lih could think of was gun-totingly mad enough to have set something up when they'd go head-to-head with the police and Vaia Plus… What the hell was going on?
Lih looked at the secretary as she answered Dorian’s questions. Even the best actress couldn’t manufacture the tight look of real fear and bewilderment that Lih could see on the face before them.
The young detective, dragged into the interview by peer pressure and the notion that maybe if he grew some, his mind might stop ragging on him.
“Yes.” Lih nodded. He turned to look at the secretary. The woman recoiled from the flash of electric violet in the new detective’s lens-augmented eyes. "Did Alistair share what he was working on with you?” he demanded. “Did he resume Victor’s work?"
She tilted her head in his direction, surprised by Lih's voice suddenly coming through from the doorway.
Lih stared mirroring her horror as she replied in a voice squeaky with anxiety. “I have no idea, sorry!"
Viktor Lih
Officer of CCDPD
Officer of CCDPD