Pick Your Poison. Lauren Child

have been someone here in Spectrum.’

      She drew a figure to represent Lorelei von Leyden.

      ‘Maybe Lorelei hacked into our security system, or the DOD’s security system.’

      ‘Claude was meant to pass both the skin and the 8 key onto Lorelei von Leyden in return for a sizeable chunk of cash. Lorelei in turn was to pass the key and, maybe I’m guessing, the skin also onto the Count, but she was planning to double-cross him.’

      ‘You’re sure about that?’ asked Blacker.

      ‘I’m sure she was meant to deliver them to someone because I overheard her saying so and I’m sure it had to be him because the Count was waiting for her.’

      ‘Why would he wait for her on the roof? If he’d employed von Leyden then why not wait for the items to be delivered?’ asked Agent Trent-Kobie.

      ‘Because,’ said Ruby, ‘I’m also kinda sure he was expecting Lorelei to betray him; either he knows her pretty well or he’s not much of a truster. What Lorelei was not expecting was for him to second-guess her actions.’

      ‘So coming back to Claude, what did he say before he disappeared?’ asked Agent Delaware.

      Ruby remembered this very well. ‘He said, “Let the girl go Capaldi, or your treasures will be lost forever.” Then he held up the key in one hand, and the invisibility skin – which of course I couldn’t see – in the other, and then he said, “You want this? And this?” and then he threw them both into the air. And then he just vanished.’

      ‘So you have no idea where he might have gone?’ asked Agent Delaware.

      ‘Why would I?’ asked Ruby. ‘We never exchanged addresses.’

      ‘Would you regard him as a risk to Spectrum?’ asked the agent, his voice so steady that it unnerved her.

      ‘I don’t see why he would be,’ said Ruby. ‘His criminal motivation was highly personal – he was stealing items to avenge his wronged mother and the chances are we will never hear from him again.’

      ‘You are very quick to dismiss him as a threat,’ said Agent Delaware, without a hint of accusation.

      ‘You asked me if I felt he was a risk and I said no,’ said Ruby.

      ‘Why no?’ asked Agent Delaware. He had stopped writing, his eyes trained on her every blink, her every twitch.

      Ruby tried to keep her voice even and not betray her irritation. ‘He used the skin to steal a pair of yellow tap shoes, a paperweight, a tie-clip and a poetry book, all things once belonging to his mother, and all stolen for sentimental reasons that had nothing to do with the core plan, which was to steal the 8 key, and everything to do with a personal vendetta against Margo Bardem.’

      ‘You sound like you have a degree of sympathy for him, Agent Redfort.’ An observation or an accusation? It was hard to tell.

      ‘He seemed like a pretty broken man. I felt sorry for him, if that’s what you mean.’

      Agent Delaware’s eyes were firmly fixed on hers, not a blink, not a twitch. ‘Didn’t he save your life?’

      ‘Yes,’ replied Ruby.

      ‘Twice?’ said Delaware.

      Ruby nodded. ‘I guess.’

      ‘Why would he do that?’ asked the agent.

      ‘How should I know?’ said Ruby. ‘Perhaps he hates to see kids go splat.’

      ‘As far as he was concerned you were the enemy,’ said Delaware, ‘wouldn’t you say?’

      ‘I’m not sure he saw it that way,’ said Ruby.

      Agent Delaware cocked his head very slightly to one side.

      ‘Look, I was just someone who might get between him and his goal. I think he wanted to keep me at bay until he had done what he needed to do. He wasn’t what I would term a “danger to society”.’

      ‘This man somehow obtains a highly classified code and breaks into a top security safe room, and you don’t think he is a danger to society?’ said Delaware.

      ‘I was talking about his personal motivation,’ said Ruby. ‘In my opinion, he is not one bit interested in bringing about world destruction. What should concern us though is the man who is.’

      ‘And who is this man?’ asked Delaware.

      ‘The Count,’ said Ruby, looking around the room. ‘He took the key, and given that it was deactivated even before he took possession of it, what I’m struggling to understand is – why? Why would he want it?’

      ‘Wasn’t it you who let him take it?’ said Agent Delaware.

      ‘You think I had a choice?’ said Ruby, aware that there was an edge to her voice. Keep cool Redfort.

      ‘But you did see him take it?’ said Delaware.

      There were a whole bunch of sarcastic replies coming to mind, but in the end Ruby opted for silence. Sometimes silence was the only option, or as Ruby’s RULE 4 had it: IF IN DOUBT, SAY NOTHING.

      Agent Delaware gently tapped his pen on the page of his notebook and asked, ‘So what do you think is going on here?’

      ‘I think we have to assume that there is something much bigger at stake,’ said Ruby, ‘that this – everything I mean: the cyan scent, the truth serum, the Jade Buddha, the 8 key – is not the end of it. But I have no idea where it’s leading us.’

      Agent Delaware gave her that same look, like he was trying to fathom her mind.

      ‘Do you have a question for me?’ he asked.

      She did actually, what she really wanted to ask was, ‘Why do I feel like I am under suspicion?’ but instead she said, ‘Agent Delaware, do you think the threat is coming from within or without?’

      ‘That is the million dollar question, Agent Redfort,’ he replied.

      ‘And if you decide it’s from within, do you think you’ll find the mole?’ she asked.

      ‘The difficulty with moles, or double agents as I prefer to call them, is that they are always very smart. I could be staring into the eyes of a traitor right this very moment and not know it,’ said Delaware, not shifting his eyes from Ruby’s.

      ‘Do you ever consider that when you look in the bathroom mirror?’ asked Ruby.

      He smiled very slightly. ‘I’m pretty sure it’s not me, if that’s what you’re getting at, but to take your question less literally, seeking the truth can lead you to some uncomfortable places and searching for answers often sends you down blind alleys.’ He closed his notebook and replaced the lid on his fountain pen.

      The interview-stroke-grilling at an end, Ruby stood, shook hands with all present, and with much relief left the room. She took some bubblegum from her pocket and popped it in her mouth. The taste of strawberry reminded her reassuringly of less complicated days. She was looking forward to getting back home – it had been a long Saturday and she was tired.

      She blew a bubblegum bubble as she walked to the exit, but leaving wasn’t going to be so easy.

      ‘Agent Redfort.’ The voice of the administrator came across the Spectrum intercom system. ‘Agent Redfort, please report to Dr Selgood.’

      Pop went the gum.

      ‘You have to be kidding,’ muttered Ruby.

      Ruby walked over to Buzz’s desk. ‘How about we do this some other time?’ she suggested.

      ‘The