Xeno looked away, sheepish at the compliments he was getting today. Suddenly, Haiden looked at the clock. "It's seven O'clock already?" Haiden turned to face Xeno. "I'm sorry, I gotta shoot off. It's almost my dinner, and I left my slow cooker on. Thanks for everything today!" As they gathered up Haiden's things, Xeno wondered if they could make this a regular thing, meeting up to discuss the clues they had found as part of being detectives.
Waving goodbye in the car park, Xeno's mind shifted to the coming week. Surely he could prove the culprit was Mr. Crossley- It was so obvious that it couldn't be anyone from his department. Still, he'd need to talk to Jess to work out the suspect list (and, to be honest, because he missed her sound advice and humour, though he'd never admit to her that she was funny).
Besides, then they could start interviewing people.
And that's when the truth would really come out.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
Xeno felt awkward waiting outside Jess' office. Checking the schedule, she should be free in a minute or two, and she'd probably come back to her office soon. He shifted uncomfortably , folding his arms as he stared intensely at the ground. How would she react? Was this a mistake? He steeled his resolve. She'd be there any moment- he couldn't afford to change his mind now.
"Xeno?"
He looked up. She stood at the other end of the hallway, looking at him as he stood in front of her office door. She stopped walking; her high-heeled feet planted firmly on the tile floor.
"I'd like to ask you something, if you don't mind." He asked in a tone that was somehow both guarded and vulnerable.
"Yeah, come inside." She replied coldly. Clearly, she hadn't forgotten when they'd last spoken. Jess walked into her office, turning back to him as if to say "Come in."
When he stepped into her office, he noticed how starkly different it was from how he remembered it. It used to be decently tidy, whereas now, it was like a wild animal had come crashing through it: There was rubbish piled up on the bin, files were scattered everywhere, and everything was falling apart at the seams.
In the middle of the crater was Jess. Despite it all, she had the outward appearance of someone who had everything together. She always did; she was a very proud woman. Despite this, however, Xeno could tell that the scheduling issues caused bythe sabotages, on top of her regular museum duties as an astronomer, were taking their toll on her.
"Are you okay?" He asked; after all, they were still friends, despite their feud..
Her eyes darted up to meet his. Her wild green-eyed stare was intimidating. For a brief moment, she looked like a feral animal. Then, as if preening her feathers, she composed herself.
"I'm fine, really, Xeno. Why did you come here? I'm busy." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"I need your help with something." He replied.
She looked down at the pile of files on her desk and said, "You know, if you really want me to help you, you can do something for me. Help me schedule everyone. This is seriously difficult now that everyone's getting sabotaged. Fingers are getting pointed left and right, and there's so many people that can't be timetabled free at the same time, either by their request or Ms. Pepper's."
"I can help you." He replied. "I mean, we both know that I'm punctual, if nothing else."
"Really?" She briefly half-smiled back at him. "Thank you." She said, before getting out a spreadsheet the size of a desktop computer and laying it down over the table.
As they worked, Xeno tried to think of a way he could surreptitiously ask her about alibis for other people. Luckily, she'd already brought up the sabotages first. "I know I'm only here for another month and a bit, but I wish that whoever destroyed that stupid pterodactyl would just grow up and admit it." She said bitterly.
"I'm working with someone to figure out who did it." He suggested helpfully. "I was actually going to ask you if you knew of an alibi for anyone in the astronomy department?"
"Oh, I could figure out what anyone was doing at any time." She replied nonchalantly. "I've got the shift timetable for that day right here, and I remember pretty much everyone who was at the pre-party."
"The pre-party?"
She suppressed her clear annoyance. "I literally invited you twice, you can't get the least bit upset that you didn't know." She rolled her eyes.
As he helped her tidy up, she rattled off names of people who weren't free during or after the workday before the party until finally, they narrowed it down to just two people from the astronomy department without alibis.
"Dr. Carmazan was free for a couple of hours during the day; it could be her." Jess suggested, though the corners of her mouth curved a little at the prospect of such an ancient woman premeditating sabotage.
"Who else?" asked Xeno.
"I hate to say it, but Dr. Aruda's undocumented after work." Jess said solemnly. "I think you'll have to ask her yourself." The thought of interviewing Dr. Aruda made Xeno's stomach turn. Still, it could be all right; he'd just frame it as a casual conversation.
"Thank you so much, Jess."
"Don't forget you're doing me a favour too, now pass me that file." She replied, removing the lid from a highlighter and circling someone's name.
