When John came out of the room, he looked somewhat exhausted. But Schiller knew that reading a little girl's mind would not tire him out that badly. He had probably just been reminded of some unpleasant memories.
Back then, his wife and daughter had died in his arms, while Betty's mother had died right in front of him. The fear buried in Betty's mind was all too familiar. Having to sift through those emotions for the truth was a dreadful torment for John.
"Professor Rodriguez, I think we need to talk." John glanced at Schiller, then turned and headed for his office.
Schiller followed him inside. He saw the letter of appointment and medals hanging on the office wall.
He was the Sheriff of the village where the Yoden family lived, under the jurisdiction of the town Police Department, though he had a certain degree of independent authority. Most of the time, he enforced the law on his own, but when a major case like this arose, he still had to answer to the Police Commissioner.
John sat down behind his desk, while Schiller looked toward the coffee machine nearby. John took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. "Help yourself if you want coffee, but I should warn you, there's nothing fancy here."
Schiller took two paper cups from the side and filled them with hot water from the coffee machine, placing one before John and one before himself.
"I won't hide it from you," Schiller said. "Mr. M'rz, I'm the Director of the KGB Eleventh Bureau. I came to see you this time on both official and personal business."
Though John had been prepared, the words still clearly shocked him. He stared blankly at Schiller. "You're KGB? I mean... that Soviet Union intelligence organization?"
Schiller