Right on cue, the helper, Nicole stepped forward. Her presence already grated. She held her hands behind her back in a stiff, deliberate pose that projected authority she did not possess. I had not seen her before.
“The surveillance for that wing of the building is damaged,” she announced. “It looks like magnetic interference. We are unable to access it. So the eyewitness account must serve as the factual basis for now.”
I studied her carefully. There was something calculated in her tone. It was a small glimmer in her eyes that suggested she already knew the outcome she wanted.
“Magnetic interference,” I repeated. “Interesting.”
Her smile tightened. “These things happen.”
No, they rarely did and certainly not without help.
The tension shifted abruptly when a new voice broke through
