The Lost Libraries Archive (The Erik Midgard Case Files Volume 2)

Chapter 7

VII

"You're a J.I. secret agent?" said Bernard Baal to Chernobog. "Cool!"

"Not yet, she isn't," said Mirabi. "So the I.I's had something stolen and they don't know who did it. Brilliant. I can't wait to tell everyone back at HQ about this."

"Don't you dare. It's classified," said Chernobog. "And I am going to be an agent. I'm sorry if this is inconvenient, Detective Arjuna, but you're not the only person here with a job to do."

"That does not give you permission to be playing around with the university's environmental systems," said Ra, who was examining her palmcom. "ChronOps is authorised, but the Jupiter Imperia is not. Tranquillity is the capital of the Solar Union, let me remind you."

"Yes, and you should have told us you were working for the J.I," said Zeus. "I know we probably wouldn't have believed you, but still..."

"You can look at disciplining her later, Doctor," I said. "There's something slightly more important we need to talk about."

"Really? What?" said Zeus.

"The illegal backsteps to 2500BC, 1581 and 1607AD," I said. "What exactly were you doing at those times?"

While I'd been checking Wei'To's office, and then fighting with Chernobog, most of the suspects, except for Anubis's team, had taken an opportunity to start on the food laid out for the party. Zeus dropped the plate he was holding, which smashed loudly on the floor.

"What?! How did...? You... You can't prove it was me!" he said.

"So it was you?" I said.

"What? No! Yes! I mean, no!" said Zeus.

"You do realise we have polygraphs built into these?" said Mirabi, tapping her helmet. He had just scored -98%

"You...? Oh, Shav! I..." said Zeus. He looked around, trying to find somewhere to look that wasn't at us and failed.

"It was you?" said Ra. He and Baldr both stared at Zeus.

"Oh, Thank Darwin! I told you it wasn't me!" said Max Ishtar.

"I can explain!" said Zeus. He looked at me. "How... How did you know?"

"You gave yourself away," I said. "When I asked what was going on at those three dates, you gave more examples than anyone else. Which isn't surprising considering that you've got books on Ancient Egypt, Ivan the Terrible's Russia and Elizabethan England in your office. You've been researching all three time periods in detail. Why have you been going back there?"