Page 114 of Carbon

“But—”

“Forget it. When you’re ready, we’re having a meeting downstairs.”

She turned on her heel and disappeared along the corridor, her footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. I couldn’t deny she scared me, but underneath her tough exterior ran a river of vulnerability. I got the impression a lot of people had hurt her, not just her father.

“She’s not how I thought she’d be,” Ben whispered.

“I don’t understand her.”

“Me neither, and I’m not sure anybody truly does.”

31

“Why is it called Project Carbon, do you think?” I asked Ben as he held the door to the conference room open for me.

Xav’s voice came from behind us. “Emmy’s idea. It’s because of the DNA, as in Ben’s a carbon copy of Sofia.”

Really? “They’re not very much alike.”

“They’ve got more in common than you might imagine.”

What was that supposed to mean? I didn’t get time to consider as Gideon walked up behind us, clutching a steaming mug of coffee. Oh, how I craved a cup of full-bodied roast, but we were already late.

I didn’t miss Black’s glower from the front of the room as Gideon took a seat next to Emmy. Sofia was already ensconced on the other side of her, and Emmy smiled as Sofia leaned in close and murmured a few words I couldn’t make out.

Black flicked a switch, and the lights dimmed. “Shall we start? Forensics first.”

When he spoke, everybody paid attention. He was a man of few words, and he didn’t waste any of them. The way he moved struck me as, well, like a caged tiger full of pent-up energy waiting to be unleashed at a second’s notice when the moment arose.

“We’ve got some reports back, and the lawyers have evidence to work with now. We insisted the police examine not just the DNA from the semen in Angelica Fordham’s body, but the rest of the sample. The cell walls within it show signs of damage, indicative of being frozen and thawed.”

“Do you think that will stand up in court?” Ben asked.

“It’s not going to court.” Black spoke as if the matter were a simple fact.

“How do you know?”

“Trust me. And even if it did, the answer’s yes. We’ve recreated the process under lab conditions with the same results.”

“What, with a sample of—?”

“Exactly that,” Nye said. “Emmy sent a memo round saying the first man to take the fruits of his labours down to the lab would get an extra week of paid holiday. Every toilet stall was full within seconds.”

Gideon took a sip of his coffee. “S’il vous plait, that is not an image I want in my mind.”

Emmy grinned. “I, on the other hand...”

“Enough.” This time Black treated both of them to a sharp look. “Forensics. The police have also reviewed all trace evidence at the scene and identified a single light-brown hair. The colour’s a match for Leroux, but we’ll need his DNA to test against. Renard?”

“I’ll see what I can do. I also need to add another item to our agenda.”

“Yes?”

“Leroux senior. He’s been out of favour with the powers that be for a while now, and the incident with Guy didn’t help. The xenophobic rhetoric he’s been spouting is inciting tensions in Paris and the surrounding areas, especially around Strasbourg Saint-Denis, and it’s been decreed that we do something about the problem.”

“Such as?”

“Removing him from a position of power. My bosses haven’t voiced a preference on the method.”

---