Page 50 of Hard Heart

“What’s BuzzHub?”

“Uh, it’s a social media network. Like Facebook, or Instagram, or TikTok. You only do Etsy, huh?”

“I don’t run the Etsy account. But in answer to your question, if he’s suddenly gotten in contact again, then he’s having regrets and wants to keep his options open.”

Levi had never been a violent man, but if this douche was messing with Serafina’s heart, he could be tempted to make an exception. Especially when she sighed. She looked as though she needed a hug, not an impossible murder case.

Jim knocked on the door and walked in without waiting. “Time’s up, sorry.” He mouthed the word “alpaca.”

Serafina’s foot fell away as Levi stood, and he felt the loss more than he had a right to. Would she be back? They both understood her efforts were pointless, and even after two visits, he saw the toll the long drive was taking. She had more important things to do. Her work at the Justice Project, her studies.

Her shoulders slumped as Jim ushered Levi out of the room, and he focused on packing away the emotions she awakened. She was both an angel and an enigma.

And he was fucked in all the wrong ways.

CHAPTER 17

SERAFINA

“August Groveland was killed because he wanted to make the world a better place,” Bodhi told me. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”

He’d shown up with a girl named Bliss who had to be at least eight months pregnant, judging by the size of her belly, and a tabby cat on a leash. The vegan café we were sitting in served excellent cake and dairy-free coffee, and it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant way to spend my lunch break.

“Did you know him personally?”

“I went to two of his talks. The man was a visionary, an inspiration, and he was absolutely convinced we’d have free, clean energy within his lifetime.”

“Uh, how old was he?”

“Fifty?” Bliss said. “Sixty?”

Another question for Sykes, unless I could find that information in an online bio. But I’d seen pictures, and I’d put Groveland at around fifty. Grey hair, but still in good physical shape.

“That’s not very long to develop a revolutionary technology?”

“He was almost there. If he hadn’t been murdered by the deep state, everyone would be driving around in hydrogen-fuelled vehicles by now. But the billionaires always protect themselves. The top one percent owns half of all global assets, do you realise that? Imagine what would happen if a small group of people tried to disrupt that balance. Well, we don’t have to imagine; we already know. They get taken out of the equation. Framed for crimes and sent to prison, discredited, or killed outright.”

“I’ll admit the fates that befell Sykes and Groveland were unusual, but perhaps it was just a terrible coincidence?”

“Oh yeah? Then what about Julisa Denning? Winston Viggs? Tim Weston? Christine Yang?”

“Who?” I scribbled down the names before I forgot them.

Bodhi gave a triumphant nod and bit into an un-chicken nugget. “They were all working on water electrolysis. You never asked yourself what happened with Professor Groveland’s research?”

“I understand his notes were destroyed in the fire?”

“And Levi Sykes?”

Phew, a question I knew the answer to. “His laptop disappeared from police custody.”

“Precisely. Dr. Denning’s notes disappeared as well, along with Dr. Denning herself.”

“What?”

“She said goodbye to a colleague, walked out with her purse and laptop, and no one ever saw her again.”

A shiver ran through me, the bad kind this time. “And the others?”