Page 18 of Kingmakers, Year Three

“Correct,” Professor Penmark says. “And also incorrect.”

Lola’s smirk of satisfaction fades away as quickly as it arose. She scowls at the professor, as confused as everyone else in the room.

“Try again,” the professor says, enjoying our discomfort.

“Vague details?” Charlotte King ventures.

“Stuttering?” Jacob Weiss says.

Professor Penmark’s flat stare gives nothing away. I would never know if he were lying or being truthful. The only thing I can tell about this man is that he enjoys inflicting pain. Which is why I’m sure he was a very effective debt collector for the Las Vegas mob. You can’t get money from a dead man. But you can make a man wish he were dead . . .

“Subjects can display a lack or an excess of any particular behavior when lying,” the professor informs us. “They may sit still to avoid physical tells. Or they may squirm under your gaze. They may babble and include far too many details in their fictional narrative. Or they might speak in sentence fragments and fail to provide details when pressed. You cannot determine whether a subject is truthful or deceptive unless you first establish a baseline. Which is why you must ask questions to which you already know the answer, then observe the subject’s responses when they answer correctly, as well as when they obfuscate.”

I scribble away in my notebook, trying to capture every tip. I understood what the professor said, but it’s much easier said than done. Especially in real life, without time to think or plan.

“I need two volunteers,” Professor Penmark says.

No one raises their hand. When Professor Penmark asks for a volunteer, nothing pleasant ever follows.

“Lola,” the professor smiles, baring his crowded teeth. “Why don’t you come to the front of the class.”

Lola rises from her chair, wary but determined not to show a hint of nerves. She marches to the front of the room, her plaid skirt swishing around her long, shapely legs. Carter Ross gives a wolf whistle and Lola smiles as she spins to face us, making the skirt flare out almost high enough to show her underwear before it settles in place once more.

“Who else . . .” Professor Penmark muses, looking over each of us in turn, enjoying the way most of the students refuse to meet his eyes. I can’t tell whether I’d be better served to avoid him or boldly stare back. I go for the latter.

“Cat!” the professor barks. “Front of the class.”

Wrong choice.

I slip out of my seat, stumbling over my own feet before hurrying up to join Lola. Nobody whistles for me. A couple of students snicker until Rakel turns around and glares them into silence.

Lola faces me, knowing we’ll probably have to compete in some way. She’s smiling, pleased that she’ll only have to beat me, and not somebody intimidating.

Lolais intimidating. Her big blue eyes and soft southern accent don’t fool me for a second. She’s a killer.

Professor Penmark hands us each a plain envelope.

“Read your objective. Don’t show your opponent,” he says.

I crack my envelope, then scan the card within. The single sentence reads:Find out if their father has ever been in prison.

How in the hell am I supposed to figure that out in a subtle way?

“Each of you has a piece of information you must extract from your subject,” Professor Penmark says. “You must answer your opponent’s questions, but you are allowed to lie if you wish. When you think you’ve captured the intelligence, raise your hand.”

Lola purses her full pink lips as she reads her own card. She looks up at me, smiling with anticipation.

I’m sweating.

From what I’ve learned so far in our Interrogation classes, the usual methods to get someone to disclose information are threats, appeals to conscience, and incentives. It will be hard for me to apply any of those techniques against Lola.

Despite rooming right next to each other, I don’t know much about her.

Only that she’s beautiful and knows it. She takes great care over her appearance, waves of caramel-colored hair laying over her shoulders, subtle gold jewelry, and the wardrobe of a Manhattan socialite. Even on the island, she’s somehow managed to procure a professional-level manicure.

It’s curious, too, that she embraces this look of doll-like femininity when the rest of the Dixie Mafia are a rough, countrified bunch, partial to filthy, ripped jeans, cowboy boots, and necklaces of gator teeth. This includes Lola’s right-hand woman Dixie Davis, who, with her wild mane of ginger-colored hair, freckles like paint spatters, and harsh voice, is as crass and unkempt as Lola is refined.

What I infer from this is that Lola cares very much about controlling how other people perceive her. She’s prideful and vain. Justifiably so, perhaps. But that may be her weak spot.

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