Chapter 12: Detective Henrietta

At the beginning and the end of it all, there was Henrietta. She was an excellent detective, so excellent that she got corrupt superiors arrested. People were scared to hire her, for fear of their pasts coming to light. Still, she was a commodity to have for anyone who wanted to solve cases. Her work ethic was bizarre, to the point that she would sometimes go for nights without sleeping just to study evidence, and other times would solve a case after practically ignoring it for weeks. No one understood her methods, except perhaps me. There’s no closer bond than that of the criminal and the one who caught them.

Henrietta knew who I was, and I knew her. She always saw the good in people first, despite what many thought. Upon exhausting her optimism, she finally was forced to see the bad. Henrietta appreciated a good joke, even though she rarely admitted it to me. She ate spicy food and regretted it every time. I can’t quite say if she was a good person, much less great, but I appreciated her. She was reliable. That’s a quality that is greatly underappreciated.

A few days after I met Hadrian and returned hastily to my apartment, Detective Henrietta walked into the lobby of Antler with a bit of a racket. Her boots made a clack, and she tested the limits of their engineering with how hard she stomped her feet. Everyone in the large room was forced to look at her. That included Will. She wore a dark trench coat despite the clear weather.

“Detective,” Will greeted. Henrietta glared at him.

“Look who it is, Mr. Happy looks a bit sad now. When was the last time you shaved?” She questioned. Will scowled. Henrietta walked by him.

“Wait!” Will exclaimed. She stopped and turned around. “Where are you going? Mr. Hensley is busy.”

“Not here to see him,” responded Henrietta. Will didn’t budge, which caused Henrietta a great deal of annoyance. “Fine, here you go.” She showed him her phone, which caused Will to let her pass. Henrietta continued to the elevator while quickly sending a message a text.

She didn’t like heights. To her, it made sense for architecture to stay close to the ground. Perhaps she also didn’t like it because all the tallest buildings were made by Antler, and she despised Antler. She always had. All of her attire was non-Antler, which was a feat by itself. She had to buy from independent sources or objectively worse companies. It didn’t matter to her. She would sacrifice quality if it meant not succumbing to a company like Antler. It’s not that there was an abundance of lawsuits against them or a history of shady practices. It was the perfection of their image that bothered Henrietta. She didn’t believe any of it.

Henrietta stepped out on the top floor, meeting a kind face.

“Detective Henrietta?” asked Erin, the receptionist. Henrietta’s demeanor softened.

“Here to meet with Anders.”

“Okay, just one second while I inform him you’re here.” Erin picked up the phone and said a few words before hanging up. “He’s ready, Detective.”

“Thanks,” replied Henrietta. She continued into the special elevator and rose to the top floor. Despite her disdain for being this high up, she continued to walk with incredible volume. She strode down the floor and knocked on Anders’ door. Before he could answer, she entered. Henrietta didn’t consider this some social strategy. To her, it was logical. If Anders was ready, there was no need to wait for his response.

“Detective,” declared Anders. He stood near his desk. His face was confident and relaxed. He was dressed formally, though it was clear he had come from some event that required it. He had since taken off his blazer, which only made him appear taller.

“Anders Askeland,” Henrietta replied. She did not sit down.

“You called me, Detective. If you don’t mind, can you tell me what is so important?”

“Yes. You can take a seat if you want.”

“I’m just fine standing. There’s always a seat for you too, Detective.”

“I’m fine.”

The two of them looked quite silly, choosing to stand for some hidden reason that neither fully understood. Anders remained relaxed.

“I did cursory research about you, Detective. I found your cases solved immensely interesting, though I found equal numbers of faults.”

Henrietta twitched.

“What faults?”

“You are aware that it’s impressive to work together with others, correct?” asked Anders in an honest tone. “I have noticed that many believe it better to win by themselves, to solve problems by themselves. This is not true.”

“Oh, it isn’t?” Henrietta asked with a tenuous grasp on her frustration.

“No. Humans are only as advanced as we are because their specific attributes allow them to work together superbly. There are other animals with larger brains, with more durable bodies. Humans, by themselves, without ever having the benefit of thousands of years of learning, would be terribly incapable. They would appear less intelligent than an octopus or a whale. This is both impressive and a good reminder. You should make use of other humans.”

“That’s what you do, isn’t it?” replied Henrietta. Anders looked at her, curious. Henrietta noticed that his eyebrows were groomed. When he raised them like that, he didn’t appear natural.

“Yes, it is.”

“How unfortunate that you don’t see that as a flaw.”

“Detective, what is it you want to tell me?”

“It’s about an employee of yours.”

Anders remained unperturbed, but Henrietta could tell it was a facade. He had a lot of practice hiding his intentions.

“Who are you referring to?”

“So you don’t know?” asked Henrietta. She couldn’t hide a smile. Anders went and picked up his drink. Henrietta was surprised Anders Askeland drank alcohol.

“I do not appreciate your tone, Detective. If you wish to anger me, I would recommend you direct your efforts elsewhere.”

Henrietta could not tell if this was an insult or advice. Considering who she was speaking to, she assumed it was both.

“I saw that news report a week ago. You claimed some people ‘attempted’ to steal from Antler. Did you wonder if it was an inside job?”

“Detective, I will not repeat myself.”

“Fine. I’ll save you the trouble,” said the proud Henrietta. “It was an inside job. Not only that, I think that the theft was successful. It’s not illegal to lie to the media, so don’t worry.”

Anders set his glass back down and walked to the window. He avoided looking at her, or perhaps he wanted to pretend Henrietta was gone for a moment. She hated it.

“Now that I see your faults in person, it makes even more sense.”

“Are you lashing out? I was only laying all the facts out,” added Henrietta. She was enjoying this.

“There exists in nature a trend, Detective. This trend is pervasive in its silence. The cosmos do not send us any message, which tells us all we need to know. We are headed toward demise. A permanent demise. All species, across all space and time, are doomed to end. We do not know why, but it remains true. I have been working to avoid this fate, Detective.”

“Why are you telling me all that?” asked Henrietta. It made sense that Anders liked to monologue, but Henrietta was the worst person to practice speeches on. Her patience was thin.

“When you speak to me, no matter how rude you choose to be, I cannot see it as important. Nothing else is important. Say what you want to say or leave, Detective. I do not have time for this.”

“Fine. It’s Nathaniel Hensley.”

There was a silence as Anders did not move. Henrietta stared closely to make sure he was still breathing. This was what she hoped would make him break, to cause him discomfort. She had been looking forward to it.

“Nathaniel, you say?”

“Yes. Not only is he the one behind this theft, but it’s not his first. He’s a former criminal.”

“How did you learn this information?”

This question was expected. Anders was a logical man, so he wouldn’t proceed emotionally. He had to know how this related to him and his business.

“I worked on a case of his before. I followed him here, and I made the connection between the news and his actions.”

“I see. You said former?”

“Yes. He was caught but released for aiding the authorities. His record was wiped clean, which is why nothing showed up when you hired him.”

“Detective, what you say does not add up. You followed him despite having only a slight connection. What drove you to come here?”

Henrietta’s expression soured. She didn’t like being doubted. She liked it even less coming from the neutral face of Anders Askeland.

“Nathaniel is not an ordinary criminal. The ones who cleared him didn’t care, but I knew he would do something again. He’s impulsive. He’s smart, but he’s not…detail-oriented. His goals aren’t always that wise, but he makes them work. That’s the kind of person I have to track.”

“How did he steal it?” asked Anders. Henrietta was surprised that he would admit this to her. He told the media that the attempt failed, yet was ready to tell the truth once confronted. She knew this meant that he cared. He could try to hide it, but what she said affected him.

“That’s what I mean when I say he isn’t ordinary. What he steals is strange and how he pulls it off is stranger. If I had to guess, he had help.”

“You don’t know who helped him?”

“No,” replied Henrietta while narrowing her eyes. Anders asked annoying questions. He still faced the city, his arms crossed behind him.

“Another flaw.”

Henrietta gritted her teeth.

“The biggest flaw is your security, Anders. Your most important invention was stolen.”

Anders finally turned back around. He strode to his desk and sat down.

“I understand. Thank you for telling me.”

“Right,” responded Henrietta. She felt whiplash from the change in mood. She was hoping for him to be annoyed, or doubtful, or anything other than what he was. “Do you have any questions?”

“Many, but your answers are limited,” answered Anders. Henrietta opened her mouth to insult him, but was interrupted. “Actually, I do have one for you.”

“What?” sighed Henrietta.

“Would you like to work here?”

Henrietta stared at Anders, the foremost tech entrepreneur and the closest humanity would ever get to a god amongst them. She laughed. She laughed and laughed as if such a thing were natural for her. Every time she began to calm down, she replayed his question again in her head and began to laugh once more. Anders didn’t flinch. He sat there, watching Detective Henrietta chuckle until her stomach hurt.

“No, Anders.”

Anders nodded.

“That’ll do. Thank you for coming by.”

Henrietta left the building still chuckling. Will had to double-check it was indeed her, the woman he had attempted to blackmail before. She was unrecognizable. Henrietta stepped out onto the sidewalk next to Antler and pulled out her phone. Her typing was slowed down by the leftover laughter. Finally, she pressed send. She looked up at the cloudy sky as her face slowly returned to its normal unhappy state.

“Let’s hope that worked, Nathaniel.”