As Cole strode towards Sinje's office, he paused and turned away. There was something he wanted to check.
"How's it going Cole?" Jan Ansar was the same as always. "Could you help me test a theory with the door logs?" Cole got straight to the point, not wanting to waste the man's time.
"Sure, what did you have in mind?" Jan seemed perfectly pleased to help Cole, even if it meant being a little behind schedule.
"I want to test what is put onto the door logs, if a door remains open. Does it input a time for when the door closes?" Cole wanted the answer before he questioned Sinje.
"That's easy enough to do." Jan walked over to the door, propping it open. "Now we wait for a few minutes, and check the logs." Jan yawned softly, showing no sign of asking Cole why he wanted to know the information.
The two stood in silence for a moment. In the absence of conversation, Cole thought about something that had been worrying him. His parents still had not contacted him. He was worried about them, but he did not know what to do. His attempts at contact had not been met with any success.
Cole looked at Jan, thanks to Sara's chattiness, he knew that the man's parents were dead. "Is there something wrong? I might not have the highest rank in the company, but I think my advice is pretty solid." Jan noticed Cole's expression.
Cole hesitated, not feeling comfortable bringing up the man's past, just because his parents were busy. "Go on." Jan urged. "Even if it is a little silly, I will give an earnest response."
"I am just worried about upsetting you. I may have heard from Sara that your parents died…" Cole trailed off, trying to understand Jan's expression.
"Sara, of course." Jan chuckled. "Actually I would love to tell you about my parents, I am incredibly proud to be their son, and I want them to be remembered. But let's hear your burden first."
Looking into Jan's eyes, Cole felt as if he was looking into a peaceful lake, the man truly meant his words. "I am worried about my family. I usually have a fair amount of contact with them, but it has been a while."
Jan scratched his head. "And you are wondering if you should drop everything and go visit them, or if you are overreacting."
Cole nodded quietly, allowing Jan to continue speaking. "I can't make that decision for you. I imagine they are not easy to get to, maybe in another city. All I can say is to trust your feelings, I don't know exactly how I knew, but I knew that my parents were dead before I got confirmation. That being said, there are also times you have to trust the ones you love. You won't always be able to help; people need to figure their problems out by themselves at times."
Cole closed his eyes, searching for some sign that would key him into the status of his family. All he could find was uncertainness. Normally that would frighten him, but Jan's words were powerful, he had to trust his family. Even though he was not with them, they would be able to figure out whatever was keeping them from contacting him.
'If I ever feel a flicker of danger in that doubt, I will drop everything and go home.' Cole promised himself. Unfortunately, it was not a simple task to travel between cities, and Cole could not afford the expensive trip. The only reason he made it to the city was because of the government program, which funded his move.
"Thanks Jan, I needed that. Can you tell me about your parents now?" Cole sincerely wanted to know more about the parents that gave Jan so much pride.
"Of course. The reason I am so happy to be their son is because they gave their lives to a cause that they believed would improve humanity. I am sure you heard about the attacks on the robotic factories that kept companies from replacing us with robots. Well my parents were two who fell, fighting for that cause." Jan paused, taking a breath to gather himself.
"Whenever I feel sorrow, I also feel proud of the tangible change that they played a part in creating. All I can do is honor their memory by sharing their story of the great sacrifice they made for all of us." Jan smiled softly. "I believe their tale is not a tool for inciting rebellion, but a triumph of the human spirit that allowed me and everyone else to find a way to support themselves."
Cole listened to Jan's words, understanding the origin of the man's pride. He learned about the robotic riots, but he had never understood how fully people had committed to improve the lives of the later generations.
"Well that should be long enough, let's check the logs." Jan could tell that Cole was trying to process everything he had been told, but he had work to do that day. Jan closed the door, and the two walked over to his desk.
After a few seconds, Cole was staring at the door logs. Just as he had expected, there was only one entry on Jan's log.
"Thank you." Cole said to Jan as he rushed out of the office. His theory had borne fruit, and from speaking to Jan he felt inspired to get back to work. The logs only recorded when a door was opened. Likely because everyone would close their door as soon as it was opened.
*Knock. Knock. Knock.* Cole firmly rapped on Sinje's door. Even though the rooms were soundproofed, they would still let their inhabitant know if someone was trying to enter.
Sinje opened the door in a daze, and Cole could tell that she had been lost in her work. Her eyes held a hint of annoyance at being interrupted, and her hair was wild, racing in all directions.
"Sorry to bother you, I have a few more questions about Mr. Jenkins. Can I come in?" Cole did not wait for a response as he gently brushed past Sinje. The woman let her door close slowly, before sitting behind her desk looking at Cole expectantly.
"Tell me about the details of your affair with Mr. Jenkins." Cole did not hesitate, he wasn't sure what he was feeling, but he was not going to be subtle. "Don't bother denying it. I have all the evidence I need from the door logs, and his wife."
Cole effortlessly wove a lie into his words, Mr. Jenkins' widow had no idea of the affair, but he thought that she might be an anger point for Sinje.
Sinje paused for a moment, her face shifting between different expressions. Eventually, her face set in a look of disdain. "Is there anything wrong about being with the one you love? Frankly, I don't see how this has any relevance with your work, please stop harassing me."
Cole chuckled at her response. "You don't see how your affair with the victim is relevant to the case? I am not here to judge the morality of your actions, I just want to know more about your relationship."
"Fine. What details do you want?" Sinje asked. "How about, the start and duration." Cole decided that it was a good idea to start with the basics.
"We had been seeing each other for four months, so you can do the math if you want the start date." Sinje spoke defensively, as if she was not ready to accept that she was doing anything wrong.
"Ok. How did it start?" Cole tried not to be too aggressive, he wasn't sure how Sinje would respond.
"It was unintentional, and just happened one day. Neither of us tried to start the relationship, but our feelings burst out during a private meeting." Sinje looked past Cole with a slight smile.
"Alright. What were the rules of your relationship? I assume you knew that he was married, so there must have been some stipulations."
Sinje looked on the verge of protest, but she rolled eyes and answered the question. "It only existed at work, until he could figure out how to fix his personal life."
"How did you feel about his wife?" Cole continued on. "I don't know… Jealousy… pity. At first I wanted to be her, but then I felt bad for her, because Jake said he was finding the best way to leave her."
Cole did his best to control his expression, it was a classic. The mistress was told that she would replace the wife soon. "Did you have any disagreements with Mr. Jenkins that you can remember?"
"I guess. There was nothing that serious. Mostly just about expanding our relationship faster." Sinje let her head sink into her hands.
"Last question, did you plan to meet with Mr. Jenkins on the day of his death?" Cole stared at Sinje.
"Yes. And I assume you have access to my door logs, you should know the arranged time. I went in and out of my office many times, waiting for his call. Which never came because he was dead."
Cole remembered that Sinje's logs had been strange, and they matched with her statement. From 4:00 to 4:12 pm she had left her office multiple times. It was a good alibi. Why would she do that if she knew that he was dead. Maybe she knew that the affair would be uncovered?
There was also the fact that she knew he would have access to the door logs. Could that mean she knew how to manipulate and change them?
Cole stopped himself from delving further into the affair. He would have more time later to consider it. With a brief farewell, Cole walked out of the office.
He was certain that he had ruined two of his relationships in Resource Management that day. Both Jam and Sinje were unlikely to forgive him. Such was the job.