I didn’t take it. “What’s on that?”
“A record of a conversation.”
“Who with?”
“Two people.”
“What two people?”
“Unknown, but I believe they might be behind my daughter’s disappearance.”
“Believe?” I said, a little confused. “You’ve not listened to it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I was told the information on it is for your ears only.”
The confusion swirled into suspicion. “Who told you that? Who gave you the USB?”
Just for a moment, his gaze went blank. It really,reallylooked like he was searching for the appropriate answer. “You’re the lead investigator, and you’re the one who will most benefit from the information that lies on this.”
Which answered one question and not the other. “Who gave the USB to you, Mr. Ashworth?”
He hesitated, his gaze briefly going blank again. “That is not important.”
It wasn’t important because he didn’t know. Or rather, the answer hadn’t been supplied. That pressure he’d felt earlier had indeed been a telepath, and she hadn’t just knocked him out and searched his apartment. She’d given him the USB to pass on to me and provided a script for him to follow.
Which led me to a vital question—why had she gone to so much trouble to get the USB to me when it would have been far simpler to mail it? Going to the extreme of knocking Tane out, rewiring his memories, and implanting orders seemed a rather convoluted path to take. Unless, of course, she’d also rummaged through his mind to grab information.
I warily accepted the USB with my gloved hand, tugged the wrist end of the glove up and over the USB to encase it, then shoved it into my handbag. I doubted our telepath would have been foolish enough to leave a print, but just in case...
“You need to keep that USB to yourself. Do not share it with the Society. Do not tell anyone else about it.”
I frowned. “If this holds vital evidence?—”
“What it holds is dangerous. I want your word on this.”
As he said that, his magic rose. He was going to enforce it if I didn’t agree. I held up a hand. “Fine. I’ll keep it to myself for the time being. But be warned, if this leads to an arrest, I will submit it as evidence.”
“That is agreeable, because by then, it will not matter.”
And with that statement, the odd remoteness left his eyes. The telepath had obviously set certain trigger words to begin and end the compliance she’d enforced. And, looking back, it was only after Viceroy had said my name aloud that the remoteness had returned to his gaze.
I hesitated, then said somewhat warily, “Mr. Ashworth, I have reason to believe your memories have been tampered with, and I think the services of an auditor?—”
“Don’t be damn ridiculous,” he snapped. “There is nothing wrong with my memory, and I will not allow you people to willy-nilly sweep through my mind.”
“And if detangling any false memories from real might be the difference between finding Monica alive and dead?” It was said a little more harshly than necessary, but damn, the man was tiresome.
Which was another reason I hadn’t followed Samuel into service for the council. I’d be dealing with similar pricks day in and day out, and it would just get the better of me. I did not have—and never had—his patience.
Tane glowered at me for several seconds, then gave me one short, sharp nod. “Fine. But it will happen here, not in your office. I will not risk gossipmongers spreading misinformation or lies about me or my family.”
“I can assure you, Mr. Ashworth, the Society is the soul of discretion.”
He snorted. “The Black Lantern is no freer from gossipers than the government or indeed society as a whole.”
