Page 153 of Night's Fall
“Indeed,” he murmured.Thenhe said, “I’llgo with you.”
I was surprised at this decision.
“You will?”Iasked.
“A statement needs to be made.Ofcourse, it has, but no one has picked it up.Thestory was much more sensational when she was an accessory in an assassination plot.Ifyou andIattend her passing ritual, that statement will be made.”
“And it might provide some small balm to her family and friends,”Iadded.
“Yes,” he agreed. “ButI’llwarn you, love, this will be controversial.Beingshave made up their minds about her.There’llbe a great number of opinions about us doing this, and no one will have any compunction about putting them on a tape.”
“Do you mind?”Iasked.
He shook his head. “Idon’t, but you’re very new to this.Inthe short time you’ve been exposed to it, you’ve enjoyed unprecedented popularity.Youneed to be aware that will turn,Laura.Itisn’t a maybe, it’s a definite.Therewill be those who understand what we’re doing and see it for what it is.Therewill be those who will not.Commentsand speculation can be misguided and vicious.Iwant you to go in knowing that’s not a possibility, it’s what will happen.”
“Not having experienced it,Ican’t sayI’llbe prepared.ButIdon’t want to get into a zone where what people may or may not think dictates whatIdo.IfIget in that zone,I’llnever do anything for fear someone will get pissed about it.OrI’llsurgically attach myself at the hip withGermaineso she can guide my every move.”
“Let’s not do that.Theonly femaleIwish in my bed is you.She’snot welcome,” he joked.
I laughed.
ThenIhad to quit laughing to get to the next part.
“Do you rememberNata?”Iasked.
He still had his arm around me but had turned his head and was taking a sip of his coffee, and only his eyes came to me at my question.
He swallowed the sip, put his cup down and faced me fully.
“Yes,” he said cautiously.
“Has…anything happened with her?”
“I informedAllainof my concerns.”
“And?”
“AndAllaininvestigated it.HefoundIwas correct.Erroldallied with her.Healso promised her he would announce they were formally courting.Hedid not deliver.”
“And?”Ipressed.
He sighed. “AndAllainis looking to find her another post.Nothingis available for her skillset, so she’s still working at theCataloguesfor now, but she’s been taken off anything that’s sensitive or has great value.”
“What does she do at theCatalogues?”
“Documentation and data entry.”
“What does that mean?”
“That means she researches backlog papers and artefacts, verifies their authenticity and enters them into the database with thorough substantiation and descriptions before they’re stored.”
“And her skillset?”
“She has a university degree, double major, history and preservation.”
“So she’s pretty qualified.”
“She wouldn’t have been hired if she wasn’t.It’smy understanding her goal was to move out of authentication and into preservation.Butshe’s young and was working her way up.”
