Untrustable

Chapter 18

+13

And I was ascending up the elevator again. With only Christopher this time.

"So, you want me to find something missing from his room?" He asked as the door closed.

"Yes."

The elevator started moving.

"Cynthia, have you thought about the potential that I'm the killer?" he asked after a while.

"Well, are you?" I asked back. "No."

"Then I guess you're not the killer this time."

"But how can you trust a stranger like that? Do you even have a guess?" Christopher raised his hands up in frustration. I looked at him.

"First, I'm not trusting you– I just know you're telling the truth. Second, I do have a guess, and that's why I brought you here."

"I need you to do something," I said to Christopher, who was leaning against the doorframe leading to the dining room. The servants struggled to walk past him as they carried large silver trays with mounts of food, careful not to smack into him.

"To which sliced head do I owe the favor?" He asked. A servant accidentally bumped into Christopher, continuously bowing as she backed away, not wanting to gain the attention of The Leader. He waved it off.

"While I interview Mrs. Dockus, I need you to go inside the library and stand behind her to tell me if she's lying," I said.

"What, you can't even tell if someone is lying in your face? How are you even a detective?" He spat.

"Even if I was able to, I'm sure you would believe me even if I told you that she was lying about something, so it's better if you see it for yourself." I was more than capable of telling the truth to lie, of course– but it's better if he doesn't know. It's better if I look incapable of doing anything.

And lure them in– nono, I'm not killing him.

He grunted.

"So, will you do it?"

He pushed himself against the wall, standing upright. If I hadn't moved out of the way, my face would have hit right onto his chest, bullseye. He walked out of the dining room, toward the direction of the library.

"All you need to do is nod," I called out.

From his previous reaction, I was surprised when he told me he was coming with me back there, I thought.

The elevator came to a stop.

Christopher sighed.

"Why didn't we bring Han–er, Peter with us?" He asked. "Or Keeho?"

"I don't have complete evidence for all of them yet," I said. "They were both certainly there at the banquet yesterday."

"You don't trust your boyfriend? Such a shame~" He shook his head.

"Sir, first, I need to differentiate between life and crimes. Second, he's not my boyfriend. I'm sure you're closer to Mr. Peter than I am to Keeho. I only met him this afternoon."

"But got close enough to fuck with him in the bathroom?"

"Pretend to," I corrected him. "Please don't get your love affair mixed up with my nonexistent one."

I took out the key as we approached the door.

"Where'ju get those?" He asked, on mild alert.

I side-eyed him. "Sir, why do you ask so many questions?" Without waiting for an answer, I turned the key and let myself inside.