TEN

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WHEN IMARA ARRIVED AT THE NAIROBI Gallery, Safiya called to her from behind a column. The woman’s afro bobbed as she greeted Imara with a warm smile.

“Imara,” she said. “I’m so glad you could find time to discuss Imamu’s case again. Your insight was invaluable. I’m excited to work with you more.”

“Uh,” Imara said. The message didn’t mention anything about Imamu. In truth, she didn’t even remember who Imamu was. She opened her mouth to explain but stopped when she noticed Safiya’s pursed lips.

Safiya covered her mouth as if she was coughing. In a voice lower than a whisper, she said, “We’re being watched. Follow me, and I’ll explain everything.”

With a gulp, Imara arranged her face into a look she hoped wasn’t too suspicious. Safiya started chattering about the expertise of the Kenyan police force and how they were receiving another global award.

Soon, they ducked into an alley and rushed past abandoned buildings. The whole thing felt like one of the missions with Abe, and she didn’t know what to make of it.

At the end of the alley, Imara panted trying to keep up. Safiya glanced back and stopped with a start. “Sorry,” she said. “My hila is speed. I forget that’s too fast for most people.”

They rounded the corner and jogged through a few more alleys. Finally, they arrived at the back of an abandoned building. Safiya looked both ways before she used a digital key on her hologram ring to open the door. Once inside, Imara saw pictures plastered all over the walls, a few chairs positioned about the room, and several food wrappers littering the floor.

She sat in the chair Safiya pointed out until they directly faced one another. “I’m sorry for all the secrecy,” Safiya said. “I wouldn’t have come to you, but I’m extremely desperate.”

Imara scanned the room again, but it didn’t help her anymore than it had the first time. “You need my help?” she asked.

Safiya’s afro bobbed as she nodded. “I need someone who can read lies.”

Imara frowned before she dropped her chin to her chest. “I still don’t have my hila. They say eraserfalls can’t be healed.”

Safiya nodded and bit her lip. “I know, but I was hoping...” She stopped and looked to the side for a moment. “I know you don’t have your hila, but in her recommendation, your professor was highly complimentary of your skills. She suggested you might know enough simply about body language to tell when people are lying. Even without your hila.”

“That’s...” Imara trailed off, unable to continue. The reminder of Professor Santini sent a familiar shock through her. She tried to ignore it as she swallowed over the lump in her throat. “I don’t know. I can try, but I relied a lot on my hila.” She looked down. “More than I realized.”

Safiya’s eyebrows lowered as she tilted her head to the side. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine the pain you’re going through. I know each day must still be a challenge, and I promise I wouldn’t have come to you at all. Except... like I said before, I’m desperate. Extremely desperate.”

Imara gulped and reached up to tug the hair on the back of her neck. She looked at Safiya, considering her words, but didn’t promise anything yet.

Safiya went on undeterred. “Here’s the thing. Funny things started happening a few weeks ago. Criminals have been getting away while innocent citizens are framed. Half the people I arrest these days don’t feel like the right guy. I used to be one of the most efficient detectives, and now I don’t know if we’re catching the right people.”

Safiya looked into Imara’s eyes. “I think there’s someone in our department who’s being bribed or blackmailed to give out bad information.”

Imara’s mouth dropped. She couldn’t help it. The Kenyan police force hadn’t always been efficient or trustworthy. But one hundred years ago, when Nairobi became home to the first hila, everything changed. Almost overnight, Kenya became the most important place in the world. Everyone wanted to move there.

Things changed, and for the most part, Kenya got better. A lot better. Now it was home to one of the most efficient, trustworthy, and well-respected police forces in all the world. But if what Safiya said was true, that could be gone in a matter of months.

Imara yanked a small tuft of hair on the back of her neck. “I’ll try to help,” she said. “I don’t know how much I can do without my hila, but I’ll try.”

Safiya smiled. “That’s fine. I want you to watch some videos. I already have a guess about who is involved. I just need someone who is unbiased to watch the videos and form an opinion. If it’s the same as I what I think, I’ll move forward to step two of my plan.”

Imara nodded.

Safiya tapped her ring and used her fingers to enlarge the screen. Then, she moved it so Imara could have a clear view.

Imara leaned forward to watch, every muscle in her body attentive. The video showed a press conference for some big police case that had just been closed.

Four members of the Kenyan police force took turns answering questions about the case. Imara watched, still looking for glowy or dulling skin, even though she knew she would never see it. But then, something caught her eye. One of the policemen scratched his nose and deflected his eyes as he answered a question.

Imara narrowed her eyes and watched more carefully. She couldn’t see his skin dull, but it felt like he was lying. She felt it in her gut, just like she had before her hila manifested when she was young. She watched for a few more minutes and noticed his breathing kept changing. And every time he had to answer a question, he would turn his head to look the other way.

No one else exhibited deceptive behavior until the very end. A policewoman covered her mouth while she explained that they didn’t have help solving the case. It wasn’t necessarily incriminating, but Imara could tell it was a lie.

The video ended and Safiya held up her pointer finger before Imara could speak. “Don’t say anything yet. I have two more videos. I want to know if you see a pattern.”

Imara nodded as Safiya started the next video. In this one, the woman from the other video was lying left and right. But her body language demonstrating the lies was almost too pronounced. Almost as if she wanted to look like she was lying. The man who had lied before looked more truthful in this video, but Imara knew in her gut he also lied.

The last video was similar to the first. At the end, Safiya looked at her expectantly. Imara pointed to the man and said, “He’s lying. In all three videos.”

Safiya quirked an eyebrow up with a satisfied grin. “Thought so.”

Imara then pointed to the woman. “I don’t know for sure about her, but something funny is definitely going on.”

Safiya’s eyebrows rose before she looked carefully at her hologram screen. “Interesting,” she said.

Imara continued. “She only lied a little, but it was really strange. In the second video she acted like she was lying, but her body language seemed deliberate. It was like someone had instructed her to do those things, not like they were happening naturally.”

“That’s very interesting.” Safiya as she tapped her chin in thought. Without warning, she turned off her ring. “That is tremendously helpful. You have no idea.”

Imara sat up straighter with a growing smile.

“I hear the taggers are back,” Safiya said. “I saw a few news feeds about it, and Naki told me you’ve been working in Egypt where they are.”

All the pride, Imara felt a moment earlier came crashing down. “Yes,” she said, glowering at the ground. “We’re trying to recruit new employees so we can hopefully get rid of the taggers.”

Safiya patted her on the shoulder. “If anyone can convince people of something, it’s you. I wish you the best of luck.”

“Thanks,” she said with a tiny smile.

Safiya strolled to the door to let them both out. At the last second, she turned and said, “Oh, and Imara? Don’t tell anyone about what happened here today.”