The Raven Conspiracy

Chapter 29 - The Symbols

Chapter 29 – The Symbols

After a short trip home to shower and change into my work clothes – new grey pencil skirt and a dark red blouse – I met Kairo at the coffee shop. As I walked into the almost-empty shop, I saw Jared leaning over the counter to speak to a thin man in a long coat. The man’s eyes darted to me; he whispered something to Jared and passed over a folder containing some papers. I caught a glimpse of the contents; bank notes – much more than the cost of the one take-away cup in front of the man.

The man slipped on a pair of sunglasses, adjusted his coat and nodded at Jared before leaving without a second glance at me.

“It’s good to see you again, Miss Taylor. Take-away, or are you waiting for Kai?”

I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, or if there was a slight strain to the cheerfulness of his voice. I wondered if his previous customer had anything to do with it.

“I’m waiting for Kairo,” I answered. “It’s funny – you’d swear he doesn’t have an office the way we always meet here.”

He smiled at my weak joke and whistled a familiar tune as he started up some of the coffee machines.

“Is Nicky coming in?” I asked.

“Nope...I found her a job somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“At the light-bulb factory,” he answered, flipping some switches. I smiled uncertainly, the neutral look on his face making it difficult to tell if he was being serious or not. He turned a few dials before smiling at me again.

“That was a joke too, Miss Taylor. You are allowed to laugh.”

I smirked and tapped my fingers against the counter. Jared was preoccupied getting his shop in order for the day and I didn’t want to distract him any further.

Soon, the warm aroma of coffee filled the air along with Jared’s pleasant humming. He turned on a radio and some morning DJ chattered in the background above the whirring of the different coffee machines. It was a good environment to just sit and relax. I yawned; waking up so early was starting to catch up with me. My arms throbbed from the exertion of Kairo’s lesson, and my hair was still damp against my back.

Finally, I heard the door open and Kairo’s footsteps. It was strange; they were already familiar to me.

“Hey Jared,” he said, folding his arms on the counter next to me.

“Hey Kai,” Jared answered. “How’s the case going?”

“Okay – we’re going to speak to a suspect today.”

“Really?” I asked. It was the first I was hearing about this.

“Yes, we are. I didn’t tell you?”

“You didn’t,” I confirmed.

Kairo shrugged,

“Thought I did...Jared, some coffee?”

A second later, Jared placed two take-away cups on the counter.

“Got it ready while Miss Taylor was waiting for you,” he explained. “You should have come sooner – it’s not good to keep a lady waiting.”

Kairo answered with a distracted smile.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Maya,” he said.

“It’s fine,” I picked up my coffee – grateful for it – and dropped the right amount of money on the counter. “So who’s this suspect? Someone I know?”