False Hearts (False Hearts #1)(10)

I don’t respond right away. This doesn’t sound possible. That’s advanced technology, and if Sudice or the government haven’t already done this, then how have the Ratel? Unless … perhaps they stole it from them? It’s not like Officer Oloyu would ever admit something like that happened, not to me.

He’s still waiting for me to say something. “OK. That’s fascinating, but what does it have to do with me?”

“You and your sister are from Mana’s Hearth.”

My stomach tightens, and my knees start shaking again. I clench them together, digging my fingertips into my thighs. “Yes. So?”

“Well.” He leans back in his chair, considering me again. “Lucid dreamers are immune to being influenced by Verve. They could pump you full of the stuff, and not be able to look through your eyes or listen through your ears.”

My breath stops. How could he know about that? “What makes you think I’m a lucid dreamer?”

“Because anyone who leaves Mana’s Hearth is.”

“Not enough people leave the Hearth for you to confidently make that hypothesis.” My science is showing.

“There’s enough. And let me guess—you rarely go to Zeal lounges.”

“So? Plenty of people don’t.”

“The drug does nothing for you. Never has. You don’t wake up feeling your anger has bled from you, or elated by whatever fantasy you had. Why take the drug when you can lucid dream each night?”

I shrug noncommittally.

“Your skills can help us.”

He pauses again. My tongue feels glued to the roof of my mouth.

“You really didn’t know what your sister was doing, did you?” Officer Oloyu asks. He sounds almost sorry for me. My anger flares again, but I clamp it down. I want to understand, and yelling at a police officer won’t help me. I hate that he’s seen how in the dark I am.

“This murder at Zenith isn’t a crime of passion,” Officer Oloyu says.

“My sister didn’t murder anyone.” Although if they’re right, and Tila’s been keeping secrets from me, how would I even know?

“Maybe she murdered this Vuk, maybe she didn’t.”

I say nothing.

“I am cleared to tell you a little more about him, if you’re curious?” He smiles, not waiting for an answer. “He was a representative for an anonymous philanthropist. Or that’s who he claimed to be. But we’ve exposed that for a pack of lies. The cover allowed him entrance to many places he wouldn’t otherwise have been permitted. Fundraisers. Exclusive parties. The Zeal room at Zenith.”

I look up, searching his face, but I can’t read him.

“Vuk wasn’t an innocent client, just another regular of the club. He was part of something darker. He was a member of the Ratel. We think perhaps he was trying to replace the Zeal in the back room with Verve. Lots of important people come to that club. If the Ratel could get into their heads … think of the secrets they could find, and how lucrative that could be for them.”

I can’t suppress a shudder. My mind is spinning with this information. “So, what, you think Tila caught him and killed him for it? If so, didn’t she do you a service?”

Officer Oloyu shakes his head. “From what we can gather, your sister had an existing relationship with him. Last night was not the first time they’d been seen together. She might even have been working with him.”

I can’t help it. I laugh, though it’s high and nervous. Inside, I’m frozen with terror. I can imagine some things of Tila—but this? Never. “The Ratel. You think Tila—my sister—has somehow become involved with the biggest criminal organization in Pacifica?”

Officer Oloyu shakes his head. “We don’t think … we know she is involved with them. There’s more than enough evidence to prove it. What we don’t know is why. Your sister is clever. Whatever she’s been up to, she’s left very little trace.”

“My sister is clever. Clever enough to know to stay far away from the Ratel.” It doesn’t make any sense. Tila, my Tila, involved with the underground crime syndicate? There has to be some mistake.

“What makes you think she has anything to do with this? What’s she said?” I ask.

“She’s not saying much.”

I bet she’s driving the police up the walls. She knows how to toy with people.

“Can I speak with her?”

He shrugs a little. “She doesn’t want to speak with anyone. Even you. Specifically demanded it, actually.”

I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach. Why the hell wouldn’t she want to see me? It’s all I’ve been thinking about since her arrest. If I could just see her, talk to her, clear these doubts—I know I could help her. If she’d let me.

“The man she killed—” Officer Oloyu begins.

“Is accused of killing,” I interrupt, my voice razor-sharp.

With a sardonic smile, he tilts his head. “Vuk was a hitman for the Ratel.”

My stomach plummets. I take a few sips of the tepid water to give me time to untangle my thoughts. “Was he … after Tila?” She could have died yesterday. I hadn’t really considered that before now. I swallow, hoping my thoughts aren’t flitting across my face. Why would she be a target?