As soon as the surveillance cams were shut down, Feeney immediately grabbed his communicator. “All surveillance cams have been shut-off! McNab go and check the internal glitch! Baxter, monitor Dallas’ location!”

Everyone moved swiftly on their designation. Roarke’s hands flew on the monitor screen, trying to read the glitch, and realized Eve’s communicator has been shut down, and as he traced the source of the disruption, it gave him Eve’s current location as the source.

“Someone has a jammer, and he’s with Eve.”

Peabody saw Eve went to the bathroom, and like Baxter, they immediately went there. Afef, who was the Princess’ butler and attendant, was first to locate where Eve went. But what surprised them was to see armed Harmin guards blocking their way.

“Step aside! The Princess needs an assistance.”, Afef commanded.

“We have orders from Royal Prince Lamook to guard this area and not to let anyone enter inside.”

“Is the Royal Prince inside the female toilet?”, Peabody asked. “What is he doing there?”

Baxter stepped up, but was blocked immediately by Afef. He wanted to whirl up the man aside, but the fiercely glare of the butler to the guards made him backed off. He let him do the talking in their native language, but as a trained detective, he could sense a failed negotiation.

Afef looked at them with a sigh. “I apologize for this, detectives, but what we could do is wait for the royal Highness here. We couldn’t make a fuss about this situation, given that it’s a banquet party for the upcoming marriage, and there’s a lot of media outside. We have nothing to worry about, and since we’re talking about her brother, she’ll be safe.”

“You’re right.”, Baxter muttered, “But we have our own means and ways to handle a situation.”

“This is not an ideal place for such matters, Prince Lamook. I’m the host of the party outside. What do you think would be the people’s reaction if I’ll be gone for a long time?”, Eve said as she rested her back at the tiled wall.

“I’m not there as well, so anybody would assume we’re having a brother’s talk.”

“Inside the toilet?”

“Now, now.”, Lamook said raising his hands. “Both of us, especially me as a diplomatic representative, have tight schedules, and I bet you already realized that. Be thankful that I set this up, for us to have a direct and undisturbed conversation.”

And he’s right.

“And with that undisturbed conversation, you mean that jammer?”, she said pointing the jammer on his hand.

“Ah. This has a purpose.”, Lamook shrugged, then showed her a small bug stuck on his lapels. “Because somebody was an idiot enough to plant a bug on my things, thinking I won’t be able to notice it.”

Eve eyed it closely, and then stepped back. “Why don’t you get rid of that, squash it with your hands?”

“I don’t want to let my enemies know I’m aware of this ploy. Besides, nobody ever planted a bug to me before, not until I arrived in New York.”, he scoffed.

“So you’re aiming an insider angle, Prince Lamook? A mole?”

He sat at the sink and placed the jammer beside him. “I couldn’t believe that Petun’s attacker and Amir’s killer was different, someone that does not involve politically.”

“We couldn’t say that yet, but there’s a possible connection.”

“We’ve had several assassination attempts in our entire lives, much to the male heirs like me, and we know that rebels, especially those around the borders, wouldn’t dare to hide their faces, much to use our sword-fighting skills. It’s a blasphemy for them do to use it, and also, it was a pride for them to kill a royalty. They even broadcasted the killer’s name.”

This revelation strengthened the possibility that the perpetrator was aiming the princess’ wedding, solidifying Mira’s theory that it’s a personal attack, Eve thought.

“Did you tell anyone about the Princess’ whereabouts?”

“Not a soul, not even my wives or my Sora.”, he said in serious eyes. “I know your reputation Lieutenant, and I believe Roarke have shared some things to you about myself and our family. It’s Harminian nature to have a mild distrust to outsiders, given our culture and country’s history, but you’ve saved my sister and you’re trying to solve the murder of our consul. That’s why you have all my cooperation and my blessings.”

Afef said something similar, about having an ethnocentric view, same with the households when she asked for their cooperation.

She’s also aware of the Prince’s connection to Roarke, but she stuffed it in the back of her mind to avoid biased views.

“You’re not inclined to Levinski?”

“The reason why I favoured my sister to marry that American mogul was to ensure her safety only.”, Prince Lamook explained. “We only shared the same father, but she’s no different from my direct siblings. I’ve lost them, same with Mother, and I don’t want to have another family member to be killed again.”

“Any ideas of possible revenge from the princess’ old flames?”

“I don’t think so. She has a lower dowry, so there are no tight competitions for her hand.”

This means he’s not aware about Kyrios, and his relationship with Petun.

“Maybe it’s on Levinski’s?”, the prince suggested.

“He’ll be lucky if there’s a woman, besides his mother, who would kill for his affection.”

Lamook gave a low laugh. “Honestly speaking, I don’t like that guy for Petun, but Father only sees money, so he immediately gave him his blessing. I only supported and convinced Petun afterwards because I see an opportunity for her to escape, and living in New York would be her ticket. I never realized she’ll be facing another one here.”

Eve never had a family or any blood relatives, so she didn’t know the feelings of a brother towards its sibling. “What’s your father’s say about this?”

“He only sees himself, and the desires of pleasure like money and fame. He’s hedonistic by nature, and existed by the quote ‘live and be merry for tomorrow you will die’.”, he snickered. “I’m not only slandering my own father but our King as well, yet who am I to blame? Do we, as children, must always obey our parents even we knew there were wrong?”

Eve did not answer.

His knuckles grew white as he gripped the edge of the sink. “I hated him, no – I despised him to the bone. If only I didn’t have a fear in our gods and the karma, I’ll gladly use my own hands to strangle him till death. But I can’t, because in the end of the day, he’s still my father. And I know that an act like that would gnaw my conscience for the rest of my life.”

“You made a right choice, Prince Lamook.”, Eve muttered, remembering her past.

She felt a thrill of joy when she struck a knife to her father who had raped her, killing him eventually, and she knew she did for her freedom. But even though everybody claimed she did the right thing, the act was still eating her conscience, torturing her by means of nightmares and flashbacks she couldn’t even control.

Just like what Lamook had quoted, in the end of the day, Richard Troy was still her father.

Seeing the emotions swirled in Lamook’s face, she knew by her gut he’s innocent in the murders. And normally, her guts were right.

“You’re the newest first-line heir. I bet you’ve got your best share.”

“And I lasted for almost a year now carrying that damned title.”

“Have you ever thought why?”

“Because I have a longer life than my older brothers? That was a lame excuse.”, he said with a raised brow. “No, I have no idea.”

“I am a Homicide for more than a decade now, and I always see any forms and patterns of deaths more than a normal human being. When I studied the history of your family, it was easy to distinguish the murderers and their motives – but since our country has a different system than yours, I don’t have the right to conduct an arrest to those people.”, she shrugged, continued. “Rule of the thumb says that premeditated murders like yours study their subject, and that means murderers have studied you.”

She crossed her arms and looked straight at his amber-colored eyes. “They knew that out of all male heirs of King of Harmin, you’re the most sensible and the most sensitive towards the family, which made you less threatening compare to your other aggressive brothers. So as an advice, watch your back.”

“Thanks for that heads-up, Lieutenant.”, he answered with a smile.

He stood up and patted the back of his trousers. “Before I forgot to tell you Lieutenant, the jammer I have here did not disabled this bug, but also all the communication devices in this room.”

“Disabling the communications? You mean – ”

“Surveillance cameras, ‘links and recorders. That includes yours, and probably my perpetrator too – which I find it favourable. Anybody can rule this as a system failure.”

Eve immediately remembered her communicator on the small cabinet, and the spycams they planted for the purpose of tracking the killer. She also knew that Roarke was constantly monitoring her, and if she failed to transmit or activate her tracker, there would be ruckus.

“It was a gift from Roarke during my visitation in his company here six years ago. That time, he had this prototype – a half-inch jammer, plus scanner that could block system communications for large scale. Even though I’m not a tech-savvy, this gadget piqued my interest, so he gave it to me. Too bad I don’t know how to regulate this one.”, Lamook said before she could asked about it.

Eve only shook her head. What would be that man’s reaction if his current e-toys were defeated by his own old e-toy?

Lamook slipped his jammer to his pocket. “I believe he’s part of your team, probably observing us from afar. I won’t be removing this bug to avoid flagging, so if Roarke ever traced where this bug came from, I wanted to know who stuck this thing to me. May it an enemy or not.”

“That’s if we’re given another chance to talk privately.” Eve answered. “And I hope not during our pee breaks.”

Lamook reached the doorknob. “Please say hi to Roarke for me, Lieutenant, and tell him I enjoyed the company of his wife, inside and outside of a closed room.”

Eve chuckled. “Don’t tease Roarke like that, because you’ll never know what kind of retribution he could give to you when he’s jealous.”

“The word insecurity never exists on Roarke’s dictionary, especially towards his women.”, he replied with a smile, and left.

When Peabody saw a tall, lanky man with a brunette hair went outside the toilet and left together with some armed guards, she immediately rushed inside.

“Dallas!”

Relief flooded when she saw her Lieutenant’s scowling mouth as she adjusted her head veil, with pissed eyes glaring towards her.

“Are you alright? Did Prince Lamook harassed you or something – ”

“He didn’t, and if he dared, he won’t be walking outside alive.”, Eve interrupted, showing her clutch piece strapped on her thigh. “Why are you here?”

“There was a system shutdown in all of our surveillance cams from an unknown jammer located at this area. It didn’t jam our devices but also everyone’s, including the media’s transmission. It’s a large-scale block, and it timed when you left the banquet table, so we got worried.”

“How’s the situation outside?”

“Well controlled. Good thing nobody asked about your short disappearance.”

Eve clipped her ruby earrings-transmitter as she listened to Peabody’s report, but before she could utter a word after activating it, a pissed Irish tone boomed through.

“Why in the bloody world did you turned this off?”, Roarke spat.

“Cut me some slack here, Ace.”, Eve responded in her transmitter. “I deserve to have some private moments, okay? No harm done. Peabody can affirm that.”

“She’s okay.”, Peabody responded while nodding.

“The one who jammed all the devices in the hall was with you, and both of you were locked inside a small space for twenty bloody minutes.”

Whenever Roarke was angry, his Irish accent thickened.

“I know, and Prince Lamook didn’t know how to operate the jammer you gave to him several years ago. He also said hi.”

“Did he touched you?”

“Do you think he can use his two legs again if he did?”, Eve chortled, and received a low grumble. “Are we having a marital fight here, Roarke?”

When he did not answer, Eve rolled her eyes. “Is there anybody here, besides my husband, who’s listening to this transmission? Because my foot is ready here to haul somebody’s asses. Now.”

Everyone – including Whitney and Tibble – turned off their communicators immediately.

“You’re sick, Darling Eve.”, Roarke finally spoke, hinting her that they have their own privacy. “I could sense your anxieties and migraines behind those thick veils. Even in surveillance cameras.”

“I’m fine.”

“Liar.”

She was about to say something, but Roarke cut her. “I’ve known you intimately for years now, Lieutenant, and I know your bullshits.”

“Look, pal.”, she sighed, resigned that she couldn’t tell him the doctor’s diagnosis yet, “If you know me well, then you know I will never cut myself out this op because I have an upset stomach and I’m booting.”

“Upset stomach, Darling?”

“They’ve been purging me with vegetables, and fucking God knows what kind of brewed concoction! And can you imagine they don’t even allow me to drink coffee?”, she grunted, frowned. “I know you too well, pal, and I know you’re grinning right now.”

“And my grin widens.”

He knew it was an ill-timing to press some matters about Eve’s condition, and if she wouldn’t say anything about it, he’ll find some ways to discover it.

“Just a quick question: did you detect any bugs inside the building, besides the one you guys have implanted?”, she asked.

She’s back to the business, Roarke mused.

“We scanned some, Lieutenant, and we did not interfere its transmission per advised of our ol’ Captain Feeney. I think you’ll approve our decision.”

“Did you find a bug in Prince Lamook?”

“Gosh, how did you know that?”

“Don’t get cute with me, Ace.” she said, noticing Afef and Baxter’s reflection from the mirror. She went outside in full-veil. “I need to brief everyone and discuss the developments from your ends to mine. Around…shit.”

She trailed off. Seeing Afef’s hand gestures reminded her about the schedules she must comply, and the pitiful look from Peabody did not helped either.

“Pass the message to everybody that the team’s briefing will be at 1900. That’s before my fucking dance lessons.”