Back on the infirmary floor for what felt like the tenth time in the span of only two days, Jenn stood before the threshold into what was now effectively Enez’s prison room, steeling her nerves for the conversation ahead. She wasn’t sure how it’d go. The girl was sharp, that much had become evident to Jenn even during their limited prior interactions. She could very well be quick to catch on to Jenn’s true intentions. You can do this, Jenn kept telling herself. You’re a professional. If she does catch on, you’ll know how to handle it.

Taking one last deep breath, she stepped beyond the fateful threshold.

A wide but careful smile on Enez’s face greeted Jenn as she entered. “Hi again,” Jenn chirped in greeting. “Hope you slept well.”

“About as well as this table of torture let me,” Enez re-plied humorously but with evident cheer. No immediate sign of suspicion from her. This was going to go well. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Just checking in. I know I’m not your doctor, but I still care about you. And I want to make sure your recovery is as fast as it can be.”

“Didn’t think caring about a suspect’s recovery would be part of the job description,” Enez muttered, sounding slightly accusatory. “I appreciate the concern, though.”

Okay, now… How to steer the conversation over to the murder attempt? Jenn stayed quiet for an awfully long time while she pondered her options. Can’t be too obvious. She’ll catch on otherwise.

“You know…” came the beginning of a thought from Enez. Maybe she wouldn’t have to guide the conversation. Maybe Enez was already headed where Jenn was hoping she was. “Our exchange from yesterday has been kinda lingering in my mind.”

“Yeah? How so?”

“The stabbings from two years back.”

That was Jenn’s cue to start recording. She hid her hands behind her back as she fiddled with her wrist comm. Muscle memory informed her where the Record button was. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Yeah. If you don’t mind hearing me out.”

“Of course not.”

Enez nodded gratefully and let out a sigh of repentance before reciting her account of the events. “There’s some pretty important background related to the incidents. A coworker I had at the time disappeared one day, roughly a year before. Seemed random at first. But that impression didn’t last long. Another went missing not long after. Cops raided the establishment, came investigating. I remember overhearing them interrogating my boss. Turned out Harashima had been client to both of the missing girls. That’s what tipped me off that there was more to him than meets the eye.”

“Remember the names of the girls?”

“Yeah. Hisako Busujima and Nichiho Amano.” The first name in particular caught Jenn’s ear. Could she have been re-lated to Yoshiro Busujima? Might be worth digging into.

“And then he became your client,” Jenn speculated.

Enez shuddered. That told Jenn she was right. And that the memory was painful. “And then he became my client.”

“What was he like back then?”

“Exact same as right before he died. Basic-ass billion-aire with a superiority complex. Short-tempered, sexist, abusive. Both verbally and physically.”

“So what led to the stabbing incidents?”

“I started carrying a knife to work. Just so I could defend myself in case he tried something. And boy, did he try.” The way Enez elongated the “boy” told Jenn a lot. “The brothel had rules about how to treat the girls, and he just ignored every single one. It took my boss until the first stabbing to finally ban him.”

“How’d it happen?”

“Bastard tried to hit me. Which, of course, was against the rules. I grabbed the knife, aimed for his leg… Missed and hit the side of his stomach instead. So the ‘intention to kill’ part is a bit of a misreport.”

Jenn nodded. This was usable. “And the second stab-bing?”

“Public run-in. I was on my way home from work, he walked by me, started following me. Realized in the moment that letting him know where I live would be too risky. So I took another route. Led him to an alley where he thought I was de-fenseless. Tried to assault me, but I took the knife out and he basically walked into it.”

“Must’ve been scary,” Jenn commented.

“In a way, it was,” Enez confessed. “Just happy to still be alive.”

Something wasn’t adding up to Jenn, though. For a moment, she debated between continuing the interrogation and concluding it here. Curiosity got the better of her eventually. “How did you end up working at one of his companies then? Can’t imagine he’d be inclined to hire someone who stabbed him.”

Something in Enez’s expression changed. She looked at Jenn more intensely. Oh no. I took it too far.

Jenn tensed up. Her cover was blown.

“You’ve been recording this,” came an accusation from Enez. “Haven’t you? You didn’t just come to check on me, you came to interrogate me.”

Feeling a burning sensation on the back of her neck, the only thing Jenn felt capable of producing in response was a sigh. A sigh that would confirm Enez’s suspicions and erode the trust that’d formed between the two.

“You fucking bitch,” Enez whispered angrily, glaring at Jenn. Her voice raised steadily as she continued: “Thought you could play friends with me just to manipulate me into giving a testimony?!”

In that moment, Jenn had to admit to herself she was no longer in control. She thought she’d know how to handle the situation if Enez sniffed her out. But she didn’t. Pure instinct took over. “I understand you feel betrayed. But it’s all in the interest of advancing the investigation.”

“Fuck your investigation if this is how you’re gonna play me,” Enez grunted. “I thought I could trust you. Should’ve fucking known better. You’re just as bad as the rest of ‘em. Worse, even.”

Ouch. That hit Jenn right in the soul. “Please don’t mis-understand me,” she pleaded in an attempt to defend herself. Good going, Jennifer. Real professional. “I’m just doing my job. We can still help each other. We—”

“I have no interest in helping you anymore. Not if I can’t even be sure you actually care about me.” Enez waved a hand dismissively in Jenn’s direction and commanded her: “Please leave.”

“Enez, please, I—”

“I said leave!” Jenn could practically feel the rage seething in Enez’s voice digging into her skin like nails. It was no use trying to de-escalate. She hung her head down in regret and left the room, spending a few minutes regaining her com-posure before dialing Josh.

Josh got right to the point when he picked up. “Got her testimony on record?”

“Yeah,” Jenn replied, shame still subtly audible in her voice. “But I fucked up. Blew my own cover. Didn’t stop when I should have.”

“You did your best,” Josh attempted to comfort Jenn. “Long as we have her account of the stabbings, we have every-thing we need.”

“I did get that much.”

“Then you got what we needed. That’s all that matters.” Yeah… To the investigation. But Jenn didn’t say it out loud. Instead, she simply nodded in feigned agreement.

A chuckle escaped Josh. The gaze of his holographic image in the air drifted somewhere to the side. He sounded im-pressed. Jenn certainly was, even if Enez’s deductive skills had cost her her trust. “Kid’s sharp,” Josh muttered a comment.

“Legally, a 23-year-old isn’t a kid,” Jenn corrected him. Drifting the conversation to legal terminology was a great way to get her mind off the failed interrogation, even if only tem-porarily. Josh turned his gaze back to Jenn and nodded, looking surprised by her response. “Point taken,” sounded his punctual, I-stand-corrected reply.

“Question is, what do we do with her now? Move her into prison or keep her in the infirmary until she recovers?”

“We’ll let her testimony decide that. If she has a strong enough defense, she’ll get away with a light sentence. And there is room for adjustment.”

Jenn nodded, feeling significantly calmer now that con-versation was back to procedure. “I’ll send the file to you right away. I trust your judgment as to where to go from there.”

“Thanks. Later.” And Josh’s holographic face dis-integrated, signifying the end of the call.