Past Mistakes

She was getting defensive. You would have done the same thing. I didn't attack them. All those things. Mistakes.

"You aren't a child," Jude said. "You're a grown woman. You own a massive business with branches. Children go sneaking around. Children poke their head into abandoned warehouses to satisfy curiosity. Not women with people trying to kill them. Not women with a random stranger who they just met. When someone's trying to kill you, you're careful. You take precautions. You do everything you can to make sure you're not going to be another tally mark."

Had it even occurred to her that the elf could have been taking her somewhere private to cut her throat?

He had wondered, when she'd first said it, why the police would brush her off. Now he knew: Because even without proof, she kept insisting she knew he was all behind it. He was behind everything.

"Literally any criminal organization who just had someone explode their door would attack. That's not a brother thing. That's not a 'they knew who I was and went after me' thing. That's a someone attacked us thing. Do you have proof he's involved? That he sent them to attack you? Do you know, or do you suspect?"

The whole thing was a mess. His predecessor had been fired for being dirty. Zora continued to insist that the Black Wings were only after her because her brother had paid them off, and while Jude did squint briefly at the name of Tomas's manservant (he'd have to text Broen later)... It was a lot of I'm pretty sure and of course and no actual proof.

"Zora," Jude said, sounding less angry but still fairly stern. "No. You keep saying that, but it doesn't line up. If they were working for your brother, why would they name drop them? They'd keep his name out of it. Why would they focus on you? Why would she be so personally angry at you? Why would she go out of her way to lie, to say you've met her before?"

None of it made sense. None of it. But then Jude faltered, shaking his head and mentally pulling back.

He couldn't keep arguing. He couldn't keep digging around, trying to find an answer to a question no one had asked. So instead he bent over, digging through his bag and finally pulling out a notebook. Simple. Cheap. clearly temporary, and he set it on the table, sliding it towards Zora.

"For you."

"No, you don't get it," Jude said. "They wouldn't bring him up. There's no need to bring him into it. Not when you were going to die. Not with the cameras. There was no way they'd ever get away cleanly. Not with that many people. So there was always going to be evidence. There's no reason to bring him up."

He couldn't not point it out. He couldn't not respond, even with the notebook lying on the table. "She said you met. She was very clear on that point."

But the notebook could only be ignored so long, and he reached out, tapping a finger on the top.

"I wrote your schedule. I put the important stuff at the front. People who need to call who might not know the business is closed for now. I noted down everything that I read, so it's all in there."

On her way to see the police. Jude wasn't sure if he believe that anymore. He felt... thrown off. Frustrated. Because in the end, after all that, none of it changed things.

"I wrote it out in case this happened. I came here not knowing what I was going to do. But I knew I was going to ask. And in the end, nothing you said really changed the reason I decided to leave: Because I asked you if you were involved, and you said no, you weren't. That was a lie, and if I can't trust someone I'm going to be working so closely with... I can't keep the job."

Jude nodded briefly, and then pushed himself to his feet, happy he hadn't ordered anything. He'd known he might wanted to go, after all.

"Goodbye Zora. Hopefully you stay safe."