Part 3 of 3
Camille comes in and goes to her desk. She can feel the tension in the room and wonders who is angry with whom when Dwayne stalks out to do a town round and Fidel takes an armload of files out to the storage building. The air cools down immediately so now she knows and turns to the suited man, "What's biting them? Or did you do something again?"
Auburn eyebrows lift and a clipped voice answers peevishly, "Certainly NOT! They're merely having a difference of opinion about deductive reasoning." At her questioning look he adds, "Dwayne thinks beautiful women can't be guilty of murder…"
She nods, "He meant Michelle, didn't he?"
He nods, "Yes," then he sighs. "Sometimes I despair of teaching Dwayne the value of impartial attention to details, to use cold logic when accruing evidence. Fidel is coming along nicely… but Dwayne?" He sighs again and shakes his head.
She smiles, "Well, don't give up, OK? I love watching you do it."
He's silent for several moments then begins idly straightening up his desk top, "Oh? Do what?"
She props her chin in her hands, "How you walk us all through the evidence. You weave your spell so brilliantly, using that cold logic of yours and your powers of observation…"
He fiddles with the stapler and murmurs, "Always checking the furniture…"
She nods, "Yes! Always… and now you've got me doing it too... but your 'wrap ups' are so exciting that even people like Solly's roadie Neville want to be included. You're like a master story-teller unraveling the mystery of a good bedtime tale." She leans forward and lowers her voice, "I especially love how you always catch the culprit unawares. Right up until we all turned to stare at Eddie, he didn't see it coming." She sits back, eyeing him with appreciation, "In a way, you make your own music, don't you?"
He mulls this over then nods slightly, "Perhaps… when it all starts to come together… when separate players start to synchronize… become attuned… become one…" She isn't sure but she thinks she sees a flash of green before his voice hushes. He puts down the stapler, picks up a letter opener and frowns, "Speaking of Eddie... why didn't you come forward when he rushed me?" His eyes studiously study the slide of light on the blade as he tips it in his hands.
She blinks, sits back. How much do I tell him? That I was lulled by his eloquence? That I was terrified Eddie was armed? How angry I was that no one was stationed by his side to protect him from a possibly desperate killer? Instead she murmurs, "I stepped in front of Michelle to keep her safe. Dwayne rushed to your aid but I admit he shouldn't have been so far away. I'll put new safety protocols in place by tonight so that doesn't ever happen again." She takes a deep breath, "Besides, Curtis, Renward, and Neville were with you. I'm sure they would have grabbed Eddie if he tried anything physical. You were fine."
He stabs the letter opener onto his desk top and husks low, "Not so fine if he'd had a knife."
Her heart hitches in her chest, "Oh, don't say such a thing, not ever. Solly may be worth more dead than alive… but not you… never you."
He looks up sharply, "No?"
"No," she gulps at his hawk-like regard and shoots to her feet, "I think I'll go check on Dwayne. We can begin planning the new safety measures for when you do your big reveals." She's almost safely out the door when his voice halts her.
"What am I worth, Camille?"
She twitches on the threshold then blurts out the truth, "Diamonds, rubies, emeralds. You're priceless and irreplaceable. One of a kind." Then she's gone and sunshine fills the doorway.
He slowly sits back and listens to her pattering footsteps. That's funny, he thinks, how her rapid steps keep pace with my heart. It's almost like a kind of music all its own.
END