By the time we lost the guards and reached the main streets again, it was nearly noon.
My arms ached. My lungs burned.
We ducked in an alley and I pulled out my notebook.
VARIAN TREYLOW:
-Financially desperate
-Recently advanced to Stage 6 (artificially?)
-Wanted Lens badly (bloodline tracking?)
-Vera visited him twice before viewing (unusual)
-Still has Vera's business card
-Sent guards after us (hiding something)
"What are you thinking?" Melissa asked.
"I'm thinking Treylow had motive. But I don't know if he had means."
"Means?"
"The theft required insider knowledge. Someone who knew the security layout. The ward configurations." I tapped my pen against the notebook. "Treylow attended the viewing, but he never saw the security setup. How would he know how to bypass it?"
"Maybe he hired someone who could."
"Who? The Shadow Covenant? The Archivists?"
"Both are possible."
I rubbed my eyes.
Too many suspects. Not enough evidence.
My Interface buzzed. I checked it.
A message from an unknown number:
"Stop investigating the Treylow family. This is your only warning."
I showed it to Melissa.
She frowned. "Well, that's not ominous at all."
"At least they're polite about threatening us."
"What do you want to do?"
I thought about it.
We have Gerard trying to kill us. Now Treylow is threatening us. The Archivists are watching us. And I still need to solve this case in less than eighteen hours.
"We keep investigating," I said finally. "But carefully. We need more information before we confront anyone directly."
"What's next then?"
I pulled up my mental notes.
The missing investigators. They all disappeared while investigating this case. What did they find? What got them killed?
"Let's find somewhere quiet. Somewhere I can actually focus."
"Your office?"
I thought about my shitty office with its peeling walls and broken window.
"No. Somewhere else. Public but not crowded."
We ended up in a small park near the edge of Government District.
It was mostly empty, a few old people feeding birds, a jogger passing through. No one paid attention to us.
I sat on a bench. Spread out my notes across my lap and the bench beside me.
Melissa sat on the armrest, keeping watch.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Thinking."
"That's helpful."
Tch. Is she trying to piss me off?
I ignored her and stared at my notes.
TIMELINE:
8 days ago: Private viewing
6 days ago:
First investigator goes missing
4 days ago: Second investigator goes missing
3 days ago: Third investigator goes missing, Lens publicly reported stolen
2 days ago: Auburn-haired operative leaves message
Yesterday: Shadow Covenant attacks us
Something about that timeline nagged at me.
The investigators disappeared in reverse order.
The first one hired went missing last. The most recent hire went missing first.
Why?
I closed my eyes, thinking.
If someone wanted to eliminate investigators, why start with the newest one? The newest investigator would know the least. Would be the easiest to misdirect.
I pulled out the case file Regiran had given me. Looked at the attendee list.
ATTENDEES:
-Councilman Gerard Thorne
-Magistrate Helena Cross
-Merchant Lord Varian Treylow
-Lady Cordelia Treylow
-High Overseer Norman Proverine
Five people. Plus Vera authenticating. Plus Regiran demonstrating.
What would a new investigator look at first?
The obvious suspects. Gerard and Helena.
Gerard has the most obvious motive. Helena has the evidence against him.
But if the investigator was killed immediately, they must have looked somewhere else. Talked to someone else.
Someone who seemed helpful but was actually dangerous.
I thought about our own investigation.
Who had we talked to?
Regiran. Helena. Vera. The Treylows.
The pieces of the puzzle slowly started forming in my head.
I pulled up the Premier Detective System and viewed the evidence.
Security logs, authentications, assassins…
Then the pieces of the puzzles clicked.
Ah.. So that's what happened.
I looked back at my notes, about to tell her my conclusion..
"Melissa, the true culprit.. The one who orchestrated everything.."
[EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO]
[Gerard Thorne's Estate - Private Study]
Gerard Thorne sat across from his younger sister, Elena, his expression carved from stone.
"You're making a mistake," he said coldly.
Elena stood her ground, though her hands trembled slightly. "Regiran is a good man. He loves me."
"He's a Stage 2 artificer with no family name and no prospects. You're a Thorne. Do you understand what you're throwing away?"
"I understand I'm choosing happiness over status."
Gerard's jaw tightened. "And the documents you stole from my office? The evidence you think you have?"
Elena's face went pale. "I don't know what–"
"Don't lie to me." Gerard stood, walking to the window. "I know you've been digging. I know you found the financial records."
"I think you're a monster. Those children, Gerard. How could you—"
"Provide opportunities?" He turned back to her. "Those children were going to die on the streets anyway. I gave them purpose. Value. You wouldn't understand."
"I understand you're a trafficker. A murderer." Elena's voice shook. "And I'm going to stop you."
Gerard laughed.
"With what? Copies of financial records that could mean anything? Testimony from dead witnesses?" He walked closer to her. "You have nothing, Elena."
"I have Vera. She's seen the artifacts you've commissioned. The binding collars. The essence suppressors. She'll testify."
Gerard paused. "Vera Blackwood? Your authenticator friend?"
"She knows what you are."
"Does she now?" Gerard smiled. "Interesting."
Elena backed toward the door. "I'm leaving. With Regiran. And if you come after us, if you touch my family, I'll release everything I have."
"You'd destroy the family name to spite me?"
"I'd destroy the family name to save innocent lives."
Gerard watched her go, his expression unreadable.
When the door closed, he pulled out his Crystal Interface.
Made a call.
"I need information on someone. Vera Blackwood. Authenticator. Works in the Sapphire District. Find her weaknesses. Her vulnerabilities. Everything."
A pause.
"And start a file on Elena's husband. Regiran Voss. If my sister wants to play games, we'll make sure she has something to lose."
He ended the call.
Walked back to his desk.
"You think you've escaped me, little sister. But I have time. Years. Decades if necessary."
"And when you finally build something you love, when you finally feel safe..."
"I'll take it from you. Just like you tried to take from me."
[FIFTEEN YEARS AGO]
[Unknown Location]
Elena Thorne-Voss opened her eyes.
She was in a chair. Bound. A single light overhead.
Across from her sat a man in a dark suit. Not Gerard. Someone else.
"Mrs. Voss. Good evening."
"Where am I? Where's my daughter?"
"Your daughter is safe. Currently at home with your husband. Sleeping peacefully." The man smiled. "We're not monsters, Mrs. Voss. We're simply having a conversation."
"About what?"
"About the documents you stole from your brother. The evidence you've been collecting."
Elena's blood ran cold. "I don't—"
"Please. We know about the safety deposit box. The copies hidden at Vera Blackwood's workshop. The encrypted files." The man leaned forward. "You've been very thorough. Impressive, really."
"If you're going to kill me, just do it."
"Kill you? No. That would make you a martyr. Make your evidence more valuable." The man pulled out a folder. "We're here to offer you a deal."
"I'm not making any deals with Gerard."
"This isn't from Gerard. This is from... let's call them interested parties. People who would prefer Gerard Thorne's activities remain quiet."
Elena stared at him. "You work for him."
"We work for stability. Gerard's operation, while distasteful, provides certain services that powerful people rely on. If you expose him, you don't just hurt Gerard. You hurt senators, magistrates, generals. People who will retaliate."
"I don't care."
"You should. Because they won't just kill you. They'll kill Regiran. Your daughter. Vera Blackwood and her daughter. Everyone you've ever told about this. Everyone who could possibly know."
Elena's breath caught.
"Or," the man continued, "you can disappear. Take your evidence. Hide it somewhere Gerard will never find it. Live quietly. Raise your daughter. And never speak of this again."
"And if I refuse?"
The man slid a photograph across the table.
Regiran. Walking with baby Melissa. A red crosshair digitally imposed over his chest.
"Then tomorrow, your husband has an accident. The day after, Vera's daughter doesn't make it home from school. The day after that..." He smiled. "Well. You get the idea."
Elena's hands clenched.
"How do I know you'll keep your word?"
"You don't. But you know we'll keep our threats."
Silence.
Finally, Elena spoke, her voice hollow. "What do you want me to do?"
"Live. Stay quiet. If Gerard ever crosses a line that threatens our interests, we'll handle him. But until then, you disappear into obscurity."
"And the evidence?"
"Keep it. Think of it as insurance. If something happens to you, if Gerard breaks the rules, your evidence goes public. Mutually assured destruction."
The man stood. "Do we have a deal, Mrs. Voss?"
Elena looked at the photo of her husband. Her daughter.
"Yes."
"Good. You'll be home in an hour. Your memory of this conversation will be... fuzzy. But you'll remember the important parts."
The light went out.
When Elena woke up, she was in her bed. Regiran beside her. Melissa sleeping in the next room.
For a moment, she thought it had been a dream.
Then she saw the photograph on her nightstand.
The one with the crosshair.
And she knew.
Gerard had won.