"Did you get any feedback?" Chalidah asks. "From Lori?"
"I don't know," you say. "Maybe?" You go over the experience in your head. "Coldness, I suppose. Lack of sympathy." You pause. "I don't think she likes me very much."
"Thankfully, this is not about liking you. It is about trust," Chalidah says. "Lori seems to trust you, and so I cannot help but feel the same way. So listen carefully."
Sendra interrupts. "Are you seriously doing this?" she asks. "We've already opened up too much."
Chalidah raises her hand. "Hush," she says.
Sendra walks off toward her dome without a word.
"Okay," you say. "I'm listening."
"When Lori found out the truth about Eugenie's agenda, she threatened to expose her. That was foolish of her, but that's just who she is. Dangerously honest."
"So what happened?"
"Eugenie arranged to have Lori murdered. Torvald Wuopio helped, and then helped cover it up. Make it look like a suicide."
So there was a reason why you've always found him distasteful.
"How did Lori survive?" you ask.
"Luck. If you consider that sort of thing lucky. She'd lent her car to one of my feeders. She was the one in Lori's car that day, the poor thing. Torvald was in such a hurry to bury the case he didn't look twice. So Lori went into hiding."
"Where?"
"I can't tell you that just yet. Eugenie and Torvald think she's dead. We need to keep it that way for now."
"For now?"
"We're building a case against them both. Something that will end Eugenie's machinations and help our cause at the same time. But we have to get it right." She pauses, looks at you. "You're part of that now, you understand?"
"So now what?" you ask. "What do I do?"
"Now you go home, or wherever it is you go when you're not here. Act normal. We'll be in touch."
"I should at least let my client know her partner is alive. She suspects but doesn't know. It's cruel."
"I strongly suggest you don't do that. She may be under surveillance. It may put everything, everyone, in danger. Can't risk it." Chalidah unstraps you from the medichair. "In fact, you can't tell anyone about this," she says. "Not yet. You understand?"
"I do," you say as you stand up.
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