"OK, what's going on?" Genie asked, half to herself, looking at the memory stick Jenny had brought her.
"You tell me," Jenny shrugged. "I go for my morning jog and end up meeting a spy, who tells me you're looking into things that powerful people don't want looked into."
Genie shook her head, confused.
After seeing Kassidy the evening before, she'd decided that her little sister needed her support. So, though she hadn't planned to, she'd decided to stay on and try to help. Fortunately, Stephens had come to the same conclusion ahead of her, and with his typical efficiency, had already started airing out the guest house, carried over her small travel bag and laptop, and fully stocked the kitchenette.
Her best idea for helping Kassidy was to understand what had happened to her friend, at least as much as random violence could be understood. So, setting up her laptop in the dinner nook, she'd started digging into the death of Shannon Charm. It had been slow going.
Still, she'd never expected Jenny to turn up with this story about spies and coverups.
"No, seriously, tell me," Jenny repeated.
"I'm really not sure," Genie said as she led her into the dining nook. "I know that Kassidy's friend Shannon Charm was killed. The news reports, what there are of them, agree with what Kassidy told me. A mugging gone wrong. But thinking about it, that's weird all by itself. I mean, a gang mugging... much less one that turns fatal... in Gesellschafter Square? It's not exactly the Spice District back in the City.
"Then there is Shannon Charm herself. Kassidy says she was an organizer for Speak for the Trees, which is more than I've been able to find out on my own. Public records show a Shannon Charm, age 21... no arrest record, no university education, no job history, no driver's permit... about all I can find is a minimal but solid credit history and that she's a resident of Windenburg. It's like she doesn't quite exist in the world."
"Maybe she was a spy too," Jenny offered excitedly. "Ohhh... maybe she's in hiding. Living under a false identity like Miranda and Mariah are!"
"Maybe," Genie mused, "but if she's Agency, why isn't the Agency able to investigate her death? Unless Candice was lying about that... but why would she? And if Shannon is in hiding, what's she doing leading a major pubic protest? I feel like I'm missing something important."
"Well, what's on the memory stick?" Jenny prompted.
"Right, let's have a look," Genie agreed, plugging the stick into her laptop.
"Ok, we have the police report, medical examiner's report, and a police background check," Genie said. "Where do you want to start?"
"Background check," Jenny said. "Maybe they got more than you could."
"OK," Genie said. "Let's see. No, this looks pretty much the same. Shannon Charm, age 21, born June 21, 2005. No arrests, no university, no job history, no driver's permit... wait a minute. Shannon Charm is the daughter of Darrell Charm. Baron Darrel Charm. He's a Lord of the Upper House. My dad's talked about him. The Charms are an old noble family. Like old money and old power."
"So, our murdered environmental activist was a member of a wealthy and powerful noble family," Jenny said. "Why isn't that all over the news?"
"Good question," Genie nodded. "Are the Charms burying it? Are the police covering something? Or... Well, there are a lot of possibilities."
"What's in the police report?" Jenny asked.
"Umm, a lot," Genie said. "Let me read for a minute."
Jenny fidgeted while Genie "hmm'd" and "oh'd" for a time. Finally, she couldn't take the waiting. "Well, what does it say?!"
"Sorry," Genie said. "OK, the big things we didn't already know - First, there was a witness. A woman named Jade Rosa saw the whole thing! According to her statement, a woman in a black hoodie approached Shannon, spoke with her briefly, and when the woman walked off, Shannon collapsed. She died before Ms. Rosa could call for help.
"Second," Genie continued, "the original investigator on the scene was almost immediately replaced. It looks like the new investigator, a Detective Inspector Glass, changed the direction of the investigation to focus on street crime, completely dismissing the witness statement and the medical examiner's... the phrase he uses here is 'wild speculations.'"
"So there is a cover up," Jenny said eagerly.
"I'm going to give that a solid maybe," Genie nodded. "Hang on, I want to look at the medical examiner's report... see what 'wild speculations' Inspector Glass is dismissing."
"Well, don't keep it to yourself," Jenny insisted.
"OK, OK, give me a minute," Genie said. "So according to the medical examiner, Shannon Charm was stabbed three times in the torso, with blows striking the lungs and heart. She would have died quickly... which lines up with the witness statement. Aha! Here we go... He stresses the precision of attack and speculates that the killer likely has military or covert operations training."
"Holy shit," Jenny breathed. "So... we have an environmental activist, who is the daughter of a wealthy and powerful noble family, murdered by some kind of trained assassin, and someone in the National Police is covering it up."
"Yeah, I think maybe we do," Genie agreed.
-----------------
"Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Ms. Rosa," Genie said.
After a restless night, Genie had awoken even more determined to uncover the truth about the death of Shannon Charm. She still wanted to find Kassidy some answers, but she admitted to herself that her reporter's instincts were smelling a story here. Maybe a big story.
Jade Rosa, who turned out to be an analyst at an investment firm located near Gesellschafter Square, had been relatively easy to track down. Even better, she'd quickly agreed to meet Genie at a nearby coffee house during her lunch hour.
"I'm happy to help," Ms. Rosa replied. "It's just horrible what happened to that poor young woman. It's like Representative Friend has been saying... crime just getting so bad these days."
"Actually, I think crime rates are down," Jenny pointed out. After staying the night in the guest house, the actress had shown no intention of going back to the City, tagging along instead. Genie had to admit that she didn't mind the company.
"Well, that's what the Unity government would have you believe," Ms. Rosa huffed. "But, clearly, there is a serious crime problem. I mean, a nice young woman like that... even if she was obviously a radical... killed in the street, right in front of the Von Windenburg Bank. I mean, it's just so shocking."
"Thank you again for your time," Genie interjected smoothly, before the two of them could get any further into a political argument. "I don't want to keep from your day any longer."
"Well, if there is anything else I can do," Ms. Rosa said, rising.
"I have your card, and you have mine," Genie said smoothly. "If you think of any other details, please don't hesitate to email me."
"I certainly will," Ms. Rosa nodded. "I'm sure you'll get the real story out there, Ms. Elderberry. I voted for your father, you know."
"I know he appreciates that," Genie said with completely false cheer.
"So, did we actually learn anything new there?" Jenny asked as they left the coffee house. "Other than that Ms. Rosa is an Axis voter and she doesn't know you don't support your father's politics, that is."
"We learned that what she told us matches what was in the police file you got from Candice," Genie said, walking over the nearby fountain. "That's at least partial confirmation of Candice's information. That's important. Especially since DI Glass's office just forwarded me to the police media liaison, who just repeated the official story."
"Why do people fall for Mr. Friend's bullshit?" Jenny mused, obviously still stuck on her interrupted political argument with their witness.
"Because he's offering Peace and Order, Stability and Tradition," Genie said, tossing a coin in the fountain for luck. She felt like they could use some. "Those sound like good things. They can be good things. You know, my dad was a good guy once. Sure he was always kind of stuffy and conservative but that's not bad, necessarily. Lately, since he's gotten involved with Mr. Friend and the Axis, he's become willing to hurt a lot of people to get power and stay in power. That's what I have a problem with."
-----------------
"Do you really think you can get in?" Jenny asked.
After the coffee house, they had taken the bus out into the rolling hills above Windenburg. This open, parklike countryside had been preserved from the steady expansion of Windenburg's urban sprawl by virtue of tradition and the wealth and power of the old aristocracy, who were determined to keep those traditions alive.
"I'm not sure," Genie admitted, looking up at Stoneridge House, the antique Windenburg mansion of the Charm family. "It can't hurt to try. We're just here to offer Baron Charm our condolences... and if the Elderberry name works in my favor twice in one day, I'll take it."
The butler who answered the door was rail thin and so pale that at first Genie caught herself wondering if she might catch a glimpse of fangs when he spoke. She didn't, but there was definitely something odd about him. He looked younger than Genie herself, except for his eyes, which looked too knowing for someone that young. He had clearly been trained in the same traditions of service as Stephens. He'd also clearly taken extra coursework in Advanced Snotty.
"Can I help you?" he said in a tone that was anything but helpful.
"Ms. Genie Elderberry and Ms. Jenny Poole," Genie said, offering her card. "My father, Representative Rohan Elderberry, is a colleague of the Baron's. We've come to offer our condolences to the Baron for his recent loss."
"Elderberry?" the butler repeated, as if tasting the name on his tongue and finding it unpleasant. "You are Ms. Genevieve Elderberry, daughter of Luna Villareal."
"Yes, that's... that's right," Genie nodded.
"You dare to come here," the butler snarled, naked fury burning away his professional disdain like wildfire. "You have the audacity to set foot in this house. No Villareal is welcome here! Get out or I will take great pleasure in removing you myself!"
"OK, I was wrong," Genie said as they walked away. "It did hurt to try."
The rain was coming down harder now, soaking the wild green country around the old manor house. She'd been quiet since their startling ejection from Stoneridge House, letting Jenny lead the way without really wondering where they were going.
"What was that about?" Jenny asked gently.
"I don't know," Genie admitted. "I mean, I know the Baron and my dad aren't exactly friends or even political allies. I mean they aren't even in the same House. Upper House nobles and Lower House representatives usually just meet at dinner parties. I have no idea what could have offended the Baron that much... unless..."
"Unless?" Jenny prompted, stopping.
"He didn't say Elderberry," Genie said. "He said Villareal... mom's maiden name. 'No Villareal is welcome here.' ... and there's something else...
"When I first arrived and mom was being a bitch about Kassidy being upset, she said 'Associating with people like... Shannon Charm, only leads to pain and grief.' No, she said 'especially people like Shannon Charm.' It almost sounded as if she knew Shannon."
"Or maybe she knew the Charms," Jenny offered. "Clearly there's some history between the Charms and the Villareals?"
"Except the Charms are old aristocracy, and Grand-père Villareal was a gangster," Genie replied.
"Yeah, because gangsters and aristos never have anything to do with each other," Jenny said sarcastically.
"Jenny, what if this does have something to do with gangsters?" Genie asked. "What are we getting into here?"
