Inspector Rames

Chapter 20

The Diamond Hotel was closer to the university than Duty Bank, so it was Jasper we visited first. By the time we arrived, it was mid-morning, and the electro-tape had been moved so it was circling the front desk only. A PRB was standing guard there, and a different receptionist was hovering nervously next to it. Ironically, an outdated poster advertising a part-time position was pinned to the wall behind her.

She told us that Jasper was in his penthouse, so we rode the lift up to the top floor. Brady the housekeeper was standing outside the penthouse door in much the same manner as the PRB downstairs. He examined us disapprovingly with his golden eyes. "Jasper's having a meeting. He'll be out in a minute."

I leaned against the door, listening. I could make out one muffled voice.

"Who's he with?" Alex asked.

"The other staff. It's about..." He lowered his voice. "Kristina."

The voice stopped. Others filled its place. Then someone thumped towards the door.

I stepped back just in time to avoid being run over. A group of smartly-dressed staff hurried past us and entered the lift. Jasper appeared in the doorway behind them.

"Just raising morale," he said. "Do come in. Thank you, Brady."

We followed Jasper into the penthouse, and Brady followed us. He sat on a leather sofa and lit a cigarette. It seemed openly defiant, surely a breach of the hotel rules -- and surely a major risk to Jasper, too, when every wall of his office was hidden behind dark bookcases. They held real, old-fashioned books, not flimsy hover-backs, most of them hardback editions without their dust jackets. The block colours of their covers were faded, and the tops of their pages were yellow. No one needed to tell me that they were from the surface, or that they were worth a fortune.

The whole room was like a library: dim, muted, cosy. Jasper retreated behind his desk and turned on a lamp, even though it was still early in the day. He clasped his hands together on the solid oak and sat back.

"You were expecting us," I said cautiously.

"Oh, yes." Jasper picked up his tablet and tapped it. "See?"

We stood behind him and looked at the Xplora article on screen. Updates on The Diamond Murder (Clyde Edwards).

Alex and I were pictured at the top of the page, showing our warrant cards to the guards outside the gates of Bright Light University. The caption read: A dark past? Leading investigators on The Diamond murder inquiry enter Bright Light University, where Kristina Nixon graduated in 2176. The photo was credited as Clyde's own. I glared at it, wondering how I'd managed not to notice him lurking.

Jasper closed the article and put his tablet into sleep mode. He turned his chair to face us. "That journalist's already been here to nose around. When I saw the picture, I realised you were looking into Kristina's university days and that you'd want to speak with me again. However, I must say that I don't see how it links to her murder."

"Everything about Kristina is important to the inquiry," I said. "So, am I right in thinking that you were friends with her while you were at university?"

"That's correct. Friends from the first year."

"And the other members of your friendship group," Alex said. "They were her boyfriend, Zed Croft; her future husband and your cousin, Ronan Lewis; and her best friend, Ripley Lewis. Ripley was also your cousin."

Jasper winced. "Ah, yes...Ripley. I'm sure you found out what happened to her."

"Were you aware that she was suicidal before she died?" I asked.