Inspector Rames

Chapter 39

We walked to the police station together the next morning, bearing coffee from our new caffeine haunt, plus a packet of chocolate chip cookies. When we were in the office, we did an exchange: one coffee for Alex and a handful of cookies, one coffee for me and the rest of the packet.

Alex dropped a kiss on my forehead. "By the way, have you seen the article about us on Xplora?"

"No." I held a biscuit between my teeth, dumped the rest on my desk, and threw my bag underneath it. "Is it about the press conference?"

"There are loads of articles about the press conference. But someone noticed our visit to The Silver Star last night."

I looked up. He let go of his tabphone so that it was hovering in front of me, and I glanced over the article on the screen.

It was an anonymous and illiterate piece without many likes, revealing little other than the basic fact that we'd been out for a date. It was accompanied by a high resolution shot -- photography was clearly more their forte -- of Alex and I leaning towards each other across the table. Alex was smiling. I was laughing at what he'd said to me.

Warmth flowed from my heart to my toes. "It's okay."

His gaze searched my face. "Really?"

"They didn't bother us while we were there -- we had a good time. And it wasn't written by Clyde, which means he wasn't stalking me. So it's fine."

Alex tucked his tabphone inside his jacket. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Maybe it's because you fed me chocolate before you broke the news." I smiled and tilted my head towards the door. "Now, we need to get kitted out and find Nora Fitzroy."

***

Sten was straight-lipped when he gave us our equipment, which put me on edge. I tried to focus my mind on other things during the tram journey to Nora Fitzroy's flat -- like finding the illiterate article and saving the accompanying picture to my tabphone without Alex noticing. I didn't want him to think I was sappy...but I didn't have a single photograph of us together.

Nora lived on Flicker Street just like her boss had. In fact, she lived in the same building, but on the next floor down. We found the right door and rang the bell. A round camera emerged from the wood.

"May we come in?" I asked.

The camera subtly scanned us to check that we weren't blocked from requesting access by the Fitzroys. Then the doorbell said, "Let me ask Petr and Nora."

A few seconds later, a man's voice came over the intercom. "Who is it?"

I held my warrant card up to the camera. "Inspector Rames and Sergeant Sullivan, Socrico Police."

"Come in."

The door swung open. We entered a plain hallway identical in design to Janet's but without the clutter. A man emerged from the other end, dressed casually in a navy jumper and jeans. He had thick, dark brown hair and a thin beard clinging to the edges of his chin. His equally dark eyes and the set of his face reminded me of a grizzly bear.

He shook hands first with me, then with Alex. "Petr Fitzroy. I'm assuming it's Nora you want to speak with?"

"Yes, sir," I said. "But I'd appreciate it if you were present as well."

"Of course." He stepped back into the room he'd emerged from. "Make yourselves comfortable."

We followed him into a kitchen that looked like a hurricane had blown through. The fat island counter in the middle was littered with blank paper, lined paper, graph paper, pens, tablets, and reading glasses. Two lines of counters stood on either side of it, and washing up was overflowing from the sink in the corner: wine glasses, plates, a greasy butter knife, a glass beaker, a tower of colourful mugs, and a mixing bowl. A full-length window straight ahead gave us an immersing view of a brick wall.