“As soon as this threat is over, you’re free to do whatever you want. Go back to the university. Continue your research. Whatever you choose. And I will support you with everything I have.”
Ellie studies my face for a moment, weighing the sincerity of it.
Then she nods slowly.
“I understand,” she says.
Her voice is calmer now.
“I’ve been keeping in touch with my colleague Samantha anyway. We talk almost every day, and everything at the lab is running perfectly.”
“That’s good.”
“If you want,” I add, “Samantha can come visit you here.”
Her expression brightens slightly. “Really?”
“Yes.”
She smiles. “Thank you.”
The word is simple, but it softens something between us.
For a few seconds, the room is quiet.
Then Ellie speaks again: “I can help you find whoever’s behind the attacks.”
I tilt my head slightly. “How?”
Her posture shifts subtly. More confident now. More professional.
“If they send any threatening emails,” she says, “or voice messages, or even recorded instructions…I can analyze them.”
I hum. I know what she does, but I’m wary about involving her in this. She’s already involved enough.
Ellie continues, “Speech patterns. Linguistic habits. Repeated phrasing.” She leans forward slightly. “People reveal a lot about themselves through the way they communicate.”
I’m listening carefully now.
“A person’s region, education level, emotional state, sometimes even their professional background,” she continues. “You’d be surprised how much information leaks through language.” Her eyes hold mine steadily now. “Forensic linguistics is basically behavioral fingerprinting through language.”
I sit back slowly, considering it.
The conversation has changed completely.
We’re no longer arguing.
We’re working through a problem.
“I’d need access to anything your men collect,” she adds. “Messages. Transcripts. Voice recordings.”
I nod once. “That can be arranged.”
A small spark of excitement flashes across her face, the first genuine one I’ve seen in days.
For the first time since the attacks began, we aren’t on opposite sides of the problem.
We’re facing it together.
