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He glanced down atin my oily hair, my white clothes “Are you homeless?”

“Excusephones “No I was kidnapped and released People who are kidnapped look like shit You never solved a kidnapping before? No surprise there…since you’re terrible at your job” Great Definitely wasn’t gonna help me now

His eyebrows rose at my hostility “Sorry, I’ve never heard about a secret cult—”

“Because it’s a secret,” I snapped “Let’s take a chopper, and I’ll find it for you”

“You think we just have choppers parked on the roof?”

“I’, I can show you where it is, but it would be much easier from the air”

“We aren’t spending tax o on a safari—”

“Wow…okay Can I speak to your supervisor?”

“Sure” He nodded to the office behind him “Go for it”

I sat there, knowing that Beatrice was right, that this was pointless “They deal acid This is a whole operation for you to take down The accolades and recognition you’d get—”

“Either talk to et out I have work to do”

My shoulders sagged in defeat, even ht I expected a report to at least be filed I expected them to at least look into it before they dismissed me But they just flat out rejected me Discredited me Acted like I was a crazy homeless person when I was far too coherent and concise for that

Noas I supposed to do?

I stayed at a hotel for a couple days

I didn’t stay anywhere nice, because Benton’s money was all I had for the foreseeable future Now that the police were a dead end, I’d have to move somewhere else London was too expensive Italy was too, in et on a train right now

Benton ain, but I didn’t have anyone else to ask

I wasn’t even entirely convinced that a new country would solve my problem

If Forneus truly believed I was his only chance of salvation, he’d find me anywhere

Even Antarctica

I’d have to kill him

No other option

But a knife wouldn’t be enough

I’d need a gun

The hotel didn’t have room service, because it was a shabby place that men used to bed their prostitutes, so I left for everycheap A dancer’s salary had always been minimal and I’d never eaten like a queen, but I rationeda premade sandwich from a café

I didn’t want to sit in lass was covered with raindrops because it had poured that afternoon It’d been a long time since I’d had coffee, so I ordered ht, so the caffeine didn’t matter