"So, you come from Rogue?"

I nodded. She stayed silent for a while. Her mouth opened, as if to say something, but she closed it again. "You got your cover story then?"

"I'm called Jacob."

"Good. You should get going then. The jewel isn't going to get stolen by itself."

A silence hung between us. Outside, I heard something patter the roof. Rain. Valerie looked out of the window, a emotionless expression plasted on her face.
"Why do you want the jewel to be stolen?" I ask suddenly.

She's a Cogenth member! This could have another meaning...

She gave a weak smile.

Oh dear. I really shouldn't have said that.

She sat down, and suddenly, she looked as if she grew twenty years older.

"Seventeen years ago, I lived as a loyal Cogenth citizen with my husband in this very shop. It was a merry place back then. I had no intention to be disloyal." She told me, still looking out of the window. She continued.

"Well, until my older cousin, Vector, came to our shop. It was a rainy day. You could hear the wind howl outside as the rain flooded the streets. We were in a bad mood. Vector just had to come in on that day. I never got along with my cousin. He was a high ranking officer. I was a lowly merchant. In other words, he had total control over me. He forced me to sell my best products for a price lower than one of a broken sword!" Anger flared in her eyes.

"To make matters worse, he made me cook dinner for him! And he doesn't even appreciate my cooking skills!" Valerie cried, beating her fist in the air. I shrank back a bit, wary. She calm down slightly.

"Of course, I couldn't argue with him, so I kept my lips tightly shut. My husband doesn't have a strong will my mine. He was utterly furious. You could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears!

Without Vector noticing, he picked up one of his newly bought silver daggers, and..." Valerie stumbled.

"And...he stabbed Vector right in the chest."