“Go back over the film of her talking about it,” said Flannery. “I’ve watched this same footage over and over again.” She didn’t wait for Fareed to respond. She sat down at the keyboard and brought up the film of Kapetria telling her story, zipping through it until Kapetria’s voice poured out of the speakers of the computer.

Fareed came round to watch the film as Seth and Lestat gathered to his right and left:

There was Kapetria at the table as she had been last night.

“But for all the hours I’ve worked alone and with Welf in the sanctum of laboratories under Gregory’s roof, I have never discovered the actual formula for luracastria, or come close to reproducing a thermoplastic or polymer like it. I have not, contrary to your suspicions, ever grown a Replimoid whole and complete and animated, though I have certainly struggled towards this goal for many years.”

Flannery hit the button to go back.

“Now watch it again. See what she does? See how she touches her hair when she said the words. That’s a tell, a giveaway, that she’s lying. If you watch the whole tape again, you’ll see exactly what I mean. There are three points where her voice changes in pitch and she makes that same gesture, smoothing back her hair.”

“I have never discovered the actual formula for luracastria, or come close to reproducing a thermoplastic or polymer like it. I have not, contrary to your suspicions, ever grown a Replimoid whole and complete and animated, though I have certainly struggled towards this goal for many years.”

“I see it,” said Seth.

“Struggled with it?” asked Flannery. “She’s been working on it night and day, and she’s close to completing a Replimoid! She’s used enough chemicals to grow a family of Replimoids. She’s established a reserve of such chemicals….”

Lestat turned and walked away. He started pacing again, making that same circle, or was it an oval now?

“Lestat, do you realize what Flannery is saying?” Fareed said. “How long before they’re scheduled to leave?” He knew the answer. He didn’t have to look at his watch. He knew full well that it was almost time for Lestat to retire to his crypt, and that meant that Fareed had little more than an hour himself.

“What can we do about it?” Lestat asked in a low voice. His head was bowed and he kept walking at exactly the same speed. His hands were clasped behind his back.

“She’s making a body for Amel,” said Flannery. “Lestat, you know that’s what she’s been doing.” Flannery looked helplessly to Fareed. “Whatever her goal was before now, whether it was simply to make others, she’s got that body almost ready. I know it. Give me another two hours with these printouts and I could chart her progress just through the orders.”