* * *

The facts were these: Iona could not tell Saori or anyone else at the bureau about Alyssa, not without incriminating herself. She was also worried that if the bureau’s suspicion did turn on Alyssa, then Alyssa might very well tell them about her association with Iona. But at the moment the bureau seemed to be occupied with investigating Weston. Which gave Iona a chance to track Alyssa down and get some answers for herself.

To this end Iona arrived at the planning department and went to the front desk. The young woman behind it was called Quinn.

“Hello,” said Iona. “I’m looking for someone called Alyssa who works here? Where’s her office?”

Quinn looked puzzled. “I don’t know the name . . .” She reached for the staff directory and started looking through the entries. “How are you spelling that?”

Iona wasn’t entirely sure—she’d never seen it written down—but gave it her best guess.

“And you’re sure she’s in planning?” asked Quinn.

Iona was not sure. Alyssa might have been lying to her. But for Quinn’s benefit she said, “I’m fairly sure . . .”

Quinn kept on looking through the directory, shaking her head. “Sorry. She might be new? This thing isn’t always up to date. If anyone knows, it’ll be Victor.”

Iona thanked the young woman for her help and walked up to Victor’s office. She’d had a little contact with Victor—he worked on planning policy and made recommendations to the king, so Iona had read various proposal documents he’d written. He was also responsible for assigning staff to the various planning teams, so he knew everyone who worked here.

His office was at the top of the building. There was a desk just outside the office door, which was presumably where his secretary worked, but the desk was vacant right now so Iona knocked on the door herself. There was no response. Presumably Victor was in a meeting somewhere. Iona had time on her hands and no other leads on Alyssa’s whereabouts, so she decided to go into the office and wait for him.

Victor’s office was on the side of the building that faced away from King’s Tower and had once offered an excellent, 180-degree view across half the city, but the view was now partly blocked by the buildings that had risen around it. Victor’s job meant he needed a good view from his office for reasons beyond his own aesthetic pleasure, so Iona had made sure to provide him with one in the new planning office. Perhaps that was where he was right now, preparing for the big move.

Iona walked over to the window behind Victor’s chair. She ought to be able to see the site of the fire from here. The sun was bright and as she moved into the light she flinched away from it, looking down—

And it was then that Iona saw something glinting between the floorboards. The sunlight was catching it in an unusual way. She kneeled down. The glinting came from an object that was wedged between the boards. With the aid of a pencil she pried it out and held it in the palm of her outstretched hand. She barely had any time to consider what the object might possibly be before Victor’s secretary came in and found her kneeling behind the desk.