(Caius)
Sera came to my office just after dusk.
I knew it was her from the knock. Three even taps, spaced the same way every time. She never changed it. Most people did not keep patterns that exact unless they meant to. Sera always meant to. I set my pen down before answering. Vorak lifted his attention at once, not pushing, just alert in the same way he had been earlier. I had already been expecting her.
"Come in," I said.
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Her case was in her hand, but she did not set it down right away. That told me enough. She had seen Isla. She had noticed something. The same thing Vorak had felt earlier. I stood from behind the desk and waited.
"You noticed it," she said.
It was not a question.
"Yes," I said.
She nodded once. "So did I."
The
