Chapter 22. Business Relations
Early Morning - Saturday 10 December 40 PY
Dear Diary,
I turned out Louisa last night after an hour of chatter. She rambled about some man that she had met in the neighborhood.
The first draft of the report was finished near midnight. I stuck strictly to the original instructions, which were to report on Jennings's whereabouts and activities. The mystery of Jennings's altered appearance remained unsolved. While cosmetic surgery available in the Domes, the best surgeon would telltale signs and could not effect such a drastic change.
It is likely that my current case relates to Roger's last case as an MP. More on this later, but I must finish the write-up, which is due Monday morning.
R. Dorothy Wayneright
Monday 12 December 40 PY
Dear Diary,
Early this morning, I submitted myself to a pat-down search by Rocko's fastidious assistant. He admitted me into Rocko's office after determining that I was not armed to assassinate our mutual employer. Her office had been transformed into a gallery of glass and ivory, though my retina-burning view of the sun had been carefully preserved. Rocko was dressed in a custom-tailored suit of pinstripes on vanilla wool.
I waited before her elevated desk as she paged through the fifty page report. Rocko laid it aside a few minutes later. She loaded and lit a cigarette holder at a leisurely pace and then sucked in a lungful of smoke through the black, thin tube.
"Is there anything that you wish to add to your report, Mz. Wayneright?" she asked.
"Was there any topic that required clarification?" I responded.
Rocko studied me through narrowed eyes. "We agreed that you would observe Mr. Jennings and report anything out of the ordinary. During your investigations, did you observe any discrepancies worth noting?"
"I believe that the scope investigation was conducted in a thorough matter," I answered.
"Are you certain? Further investigation could be well compensated. Think carefully."
"Yes, I am certain," I answered.
"My evaluation of your work is that it is sentimental tripe," Rocko announced in a staccato. The woman rose to her substantial height. "You attempted to analyze Mr. Jennings's motivations and concluded that he was motivated by loyalty and unrequited affection. Loyalty is a strange word considering that he breached his agreement with me while doing so.
"He was 'loyal' to a woman who chose another man, who left her when for better turned for worse. Blindness is more like it," Rocko concluded as she picked up my report again. In a single motion, she snapped up her stainless steel lighter and ignited my report. She dropped the flaming remains into an empty wastepaper basket.
"I believe that this concludes our business dealings. My assistant has rest of the your payment ready. I confess that I am deeply disappointed in you. Good-bye, Mz. Wayneright."
Rocko revealed her intent during our brief meeting. I suspect that I was not the only investigator on the case. I did not mention the photograph of the young Jennings, but she spoke as if she expected something out of the ordinary. If this were a case of a jealous lover, the case would be closed.
A Memory would best explain the change in Jennings's appearance. It would also explain the amount for the fee. If Rocko managed to tap this Memory, she could name her price to Paradigm's rich and famous. However, Memories seldom awake peacefully as the Archetype in the underground and the Sea Titan demonstrated.
In the forty years following the Amnesia, Paradigm Corp and a few foolhardy operators have scoured the city for Memories. The readily available artifacts have been harvested. The remaining knowledge is deeply buried, guarded, or both.
A knock on my window interrupted my entry. Carris stood at my window. Evening had inked the afternoon as I wrote. I let in the doll-like woman from the fire escape. She was coat-less and her azure dress left her pale skin covered in goose flesh. She had been enjoying the winter wind. Carris had become alarmingly thin during the two weeks since I had seen her.
I put on a kettle of water for tea. Unfortunately, there was nothing else in my cupboards.
"You're sweet, but tea is fine," she replied to my apology. "How was your day?"
I outlined Rocko's reaction to my report. The details of the case remained confidential.
"Maeve Rocko. My employer calls her the Rolling Pin," Carris said. Her face took on a dreamy expression as she recalled the information. "She's rumored to use spies, intimidation, and even murder to gain leverage. It's probably for the best that you no longer work for her.
"I'm forgetting something."
Carris suddenly rose and left through the window without closing it. When I moved to follow, she met me at the opening, sealing my lips with her index finger. Without a word, she clanged to the end of the fire escape and backs.
"Come with me," she said in a subdued tone.
Carris reentered, shutting the window after her. She headed out of my apartment for the stairs, went up a level, and headed down the hall. Two doors away from the end of the darkened corridor, she flattened herself against a wall and slipped the rest of the way to the cracked window. Carris pointed upward and to her left. Though it seemed wholly unnecessary, I emulated her movements. Two men stood on a nearby rooftop
One was a Caucasian of average height and stocky build with peppered hair. His collar was turned up. The other man towered to nearly seven feet. His face was muffled in a scarf and hat.
"I saw them earlier today," Carris said.
No one had trailed me on the train, but Rocko knew where I lived.
R. Dorothy Wayneright
Tuesday 13 December 40 PY
Dear Diary,
I left my apartment at mid-morning to run errands. I resolved to act disinterested in Jennings's case for several days. A bright glint flashed at the edge of my vision several times. I did not turn around. It could have been a pair of binoculars, but I did not want to reveal that I was privy to their surveillance.
Carris wanted to talk to me about something last night, but refrained. I will talk with her tonight.
R. Dorothy Wayneright