Chapter 10 #3
“There may not be a Daydawn connection,” Peredur said, “or not a strong one, anyway. The bombs were almost certainly put on the ships a long way from here and detonated remotely.”
Hallie looked at the walls of images and information and sat back, cradling her coffee mug as she let that turn in her mind for a bit.
“Let’s see if I’ve got this right. The papers we found mean that the attackers in Minamaan were connected somehow to the port bombings.
And yet, Girard and I weren’t after the port bombers.
We were after Findo Trask. It doesn’t seem possible that while we were hunting Findo and picked up Manju Nayak, as his local contact, the attackers suddenly decided to come after him and us.
So we think there had to be some connection between Findo and the port bombings?
” Hallie was glad she was sitting down as she worked it through.
“That’s the current thinking, yes,” Peredur agreed.
“And, as of right now, we have no good leads on Findo Trask,” Hallie said, and heard the frustration in her voice.
Her fingers tightened around the mug in her hands.
She didn’t like just sitting around and talking.
She wanted to be up and moving, working her way through the streets and talking to people, narrowing her search.
But she didn’t know where to start. Except maybe she did.
“Oh, no, wait, we do have one more thing to follow up.” In everything that had happened, she’d forgotten the message from Rosalia.
“We have a lead on the forger in Daydawn who makes fake IDs. I’m not sure it’s going to lead us straight to Findo, but the forger seems like the sort of person Findo would associate with. ”
“This is news to me,” Peredur said, but he didn’t sound angry. He leant forward, eyes brighter as he looked at Hallie. “A solid lead?”
“I believe so, sir, yes. It’s from a reliable source. I’m sorry, I got the message just before we were attacked and kind of forgot about it until just now,” Hallie said.
Peredur waved her apology away. “I was going to get you and Girard to review the materials, get some fresh eyes on what we’ve gathered so far, but following up on the forger takes priority. Do you need backup?”
“Ah, I don’t know,” Hallie said, thinking back to the information that Rosalia had provided her.
She pulled out her phone and noted the local time.
It was later than she’d realised, still disoriented from the journey.
“I think, if it’s alright with you, we should pay a visit first thing in the morning.
The forger operates a cover business with normal business hours, so going in during the day may take her unaware. ”
“Good plan. And it will give the medics some time to work on Girard, too,” Peredur said, glancing across the table to where Girard was slightly slumped in his chair. “Go report to the medical team. That’s an order.”
“Sir,” Girard said, with a rueful smile. He looked at Hallie. “Text me the time and address to meet you tomorrow.”
“I will, thanks,” Hallie said, and watched as Girard pulled himself out of the chair and headed out of the room. He was moving far more slowly than normal, and slightly hunched over. Even with the extra strength and faster healing of being hochlen, he’d been through a lot in the past few days.
“The medics will put him back together,” Peredur said, as if reading the concern on her face. “I’ll have someone drive you home.”
“Thank you, that would be great. Do you mind if I take a look at the boards here before I go? You’ve done a lot of work.”
“Not at all,” Peredur said. He started to speak, then shook his head. “I was going to offer to talk you through it, but actually I do want your own view on this, not coloured by what I think or believe.”
“Alright,” Hallie said. She put her coffee down and stood up, making her way to one end of the wall.
By the time she was halfway along the stretch of photographs and notes she was impressed again by the thoroughness and attention to detail that Peredur and his team had applied to the investigation they had undertaken.
She had known that the director and other investigators had been working on the matter for some time, and the more she looked at the boards they had set up, the more clearly she could follow their line of thinking.
About halfway along the wall she spotted something so out of place it made her laugh.
“What is it?” Peredur asked. He’d stayed seated, working on his own tablet and drinking more coffee, while she studied.
“Oh, maybe nothing. But this wrapper, here? It’s from a sweet I haven’t had since childhood,” Hallie said. She shook her head. “It took me back.”
“Which one?” Peredur asked. He’d moved quickly and was now standing beside her.
“Oh, this one.” Hallie pointed. The photograph was of an odd collection of objects, including a waxed paper food wrapper in virulent yellow and pink.
“Do you remember the brand name, and where it’s sold?” Peredur asked. He had a clipboard with sheets of coloured paper in his hand, pen poised to take notes.
“The name is Sweet Lemon,” Hallie said, and grimaced.
“It’s that kind of sweet and sour flavour that pinches your mouth, but which some people can’t seem to get enough of.
It was sold, ah, let me think.” She frowned.
“I wanted to say it was sold all over low city, but actually that’s not true.
There was a sweet shop next to the main market in low city which stocked it, but I don’t remember anywhere else.
It’s not made locally, but imported from somewhere.
” She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m drawing a blank on where it originally comes from. ”
“That’s really helpful, thank you,” Peredur said. His eyes had the same edge of brightness as when she’d told him about the forger. “That’s the first piece of new information we’ve had for a while. I’ll get Dudon and Jasper to track it down.”
“I could go in and ask, if you like?” Hallie offered.
“I want you on the forger. That’s your lead. And some field work will do them good.” There was a hint of warmth in his voice along with sincerity. He cared about his people. And from what Hallie had seen, they both cared about and respected him in return.
“Alright. Well, if you need anything else, let me know.” Hallie was about to say something else when she yawned. “I’m sorry. It feels like my brain and body can’t make up their minds what time it is.”
“Jet lag,” the director said. “A good night’s sleep will help, and I’ll make sure you get a vitamin pack before you head home. Try to act like the local time is your normal time, then take the pack in the morning with some water and it should fix any lingering fatigue.”
“Thank you,” Hallie said. She turned back to the wall and looked along it. “There’s a lot of information here. It’s clearly been a thorough investigation.”
“And yet, it feels like we’re no closer to answers.” There was weary frustration in the director’s voice.
Hallie faced him, studying his face, the purple shadows and the lines that hadn’t been there two weeks before. “I think I’m not the only one who needs a good night’s sleep. Perhaps you should have some of that vitamin stuff, too.”
Peredur’s face reflected surprise, then he laughed, some of the exhaustion lifting. “Good advice.”
“I have a feeling that Leodegan or one of the medical team could make it an order, if asked,” Hallie said.
In fact, she was quite sure that Leodegan would be willing to do so.
She suspected that she was far overstepping what would normally be tolerated of an investigator, but she also knew that the kind of exhaustion that Peredur was showing wasn’t going to help him or anyone else.
To her surprise, he laughed again. “It’s been suggested once or twice. Alright. Let’s both consider ourselves under orders to get a good night’s sleep. I will expect you and Girard to use all resources necessary to follow up on the forger then report back when you’ve got news.”
With that promise, and knowing that the next day was likely to be busy, Hallie headed home with only a brief detour to leave her gun and its holster behind.
Even though she was permitted and licensed to carry the weapon when working for the Conclave Investigators, that did not extend to taking the weapon home.
She tried not to think too much about how strange it felt to be back in her own clothes, in her home city, and without the weight of the weapon at her side.