The Engine What Runs the World: Chapter 2, Page 5 (Unedited)

“I’m sure we can shed some light and give you an idea as to where to begin.” Row said with a smile.

“Alright,” Smoke began, “I understand you have had a chance to go over your daughter’s possessions before they had been delivered to me.”

“Of course mister Callahan,” Mullholland said as she poured herself a whiskey, “We needed to be sure nothing sensitive left the house.”

“So you know of the job offer Blue had received?” Smoke asked as more of a statement.

“Yes we know,” Row said as he hung his head, “We didn’t know until we went through her stuff, but we know now. We don’t know what the job is though.”

Smoke watched their reactions to his questions to see if they were hiding anything. There were excellent liars in the world; he didn’t imagine the Lang family were among them, although a slight itch in the back of his head told him otherwise. “She talked about a family secret,” he said unwilling to stop himself. They had been forthcoming about all the information so far; he figured he’d give it a shot.

Mullholland laughed slightly, “Honey, when you’re an old family like ours there’s always going to be skeletons in the closet. It’s inevitable.”

“I hope you understand if we don’t disclose what that secret is, it’d cause quite the embarrassment,” Row said quickly.
Smoke nodded, he didn’t need to know some ancient secret to find their daughter. He’d learned enough to know he’d have to start from the surface down. The real trick would be finding out where she had been going. “I’ll take a look at her room now,” he said quietly as he finished writing his notes.

Marla stood straight and led him out of the study and through several winding hallways. He knew the tower had been wide, but he didn’t expect it to be this expansive, especially on the inside. She eventually led him to a large empty room. The bed was large and looked comfortable; a few dressers and a bookshelf filled with teen romance books and other pieces of fiction lined the walls, the room was bare otherwise.

Smoke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “I expected more,” he removed his fingers and entered the room, “There’s next to nothing here. I don’t know what I’ll find, but I’ll try.”

Smoke pulled out his closeglass and removed the cloth covering. He inspected the immaculately clean dresser and perfectly made bed, “have the servants been in here cleaning?”

“Not since she’d disappeared.”

“There’s not a speck of dust on this dresser. She’s been missing for what, a week now right? There should be dust here.”
“The air filters remove the dust from the air. It prevents us from breathing it in and getting sick.”