Cabal of Lies by Michael Anderle

Author:Michael Anderle [Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LNBPM Publishing

Chapter Thirty-One

Aug 26, 2229, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Police Enforcement Zone 122 Station, Office of Detectives Jia Lin and Erik Blackwell

Jia stepped into the office, two piping hot beignets in hand. Her stomach growled at the smell. She’d liked them okay before becoming Erik’s partner, but his obsession was beginning to bleed over into her as well. She didn’t mind.

There were worse problems to have.

“I know you love the ambiance of different places, but sometimes delivery is where it’s at,” she offered. “Although, something does vaguely bother me about a drone delivering my beignets, but not other food. I wonder why that is?”

“It’s weird,” Erik muttered under his breath. He wasn’t looking at her. Instead, he was staring at the wall, his eyes narrowed.

Jia looked at Erik, the wall, and the beignets a few times, trying to figure out if this was some weird new game he was playing with Emma. “So, you agree with me? You’ve never objected to delivery before, the few times we used it at least. I never pressed you on it because I figured most of the time you wanted an excuse to leave the station.”

“Not that. Delivery isn’t weird. As long as the beignets are from a good place, I don’t care how they get to me. And you’re right, a lot of the time it’s about me leaving the station.” Erik chuckled and shook his head. “And it’s not my life. I shouldn’t worry so much about it.”

“Not your life?” Jia closed the door. “What’s weird about my life?”

“Not your life, either.” Erik shook his head. “Hey, Emma, keep it private for us, will you?”

“Very well, Detective Blackwell,” the AI replied. She didn’t materialize.

Jia handed Erik a beignet before heading to her desk. She nibbled on it, eyeing her partner, not bothering to try to hide her confusion on her face. “Care to clue me in? Because right now, I’m wondering if I’m having another one of those dreams where I’m about to be given some ridiculous and impossible case to solve.”

Erik stared at her. “What dreams? You never mentioned them before.”

Jia smiled sheepishly. “They’re stupid. Like in one I had recently, I had to somehow prove a Shiba Inu was responsible for assassinating a government official.”

His face scrunched for a second. “A dog?” Erik laughed.

“Yes. Somehow the dog was trained to fire a high-powered sniper rifle in the dream.” Jia shrugged. “That’s one of the least weird ones, but don’t turn this around on me. You’re the one who’s acting strange. What were you mumbling about when I came in?”

Erik tore off a huge chunk of his beignet with one bite, leaving powdered sugar all over the bottom of his face. “Malcom went out on a date with Camila the other night. He mentioned it to me this morning when I went to talk to him about some stuff.”

“Really? I know she mentioned it might be okay, but I thought that was just a line she was feeding him.” Jia settled into her chair.

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