At the same time, Trion was speaking with Arevalo, who was elsewhere, in the Governor's office.
He sat in the old Governor's leather chair, leisurely propping his feet on the desk. The long telephone cord stretched to his ear as he lowered his gaze and bit down on a cigar with a faint, ambiguous smile.
"I understand. Why would I need you to remind me? I've been watching..." Trion muttered, then had no choice but to fall silent for a while and listen to the instruction. "Yes, yes, of course..."
On the other end of the line, Arevalo explained every last detail. Such thoroughness seemed like a sign that he did not trust Trion, which irritated him all the more.
"Speaking of Kendall," Trion seized on an opening, "there is something I wanted to ask what you planned to do about. Ms. Hesta has sent people to my residence several times asking to see me, and someone came again today. But to avoid suspicion, I haven't gone out to meet her. This time, her representative made two requests. First, she wants to meet you—she made that request the first time she came to my estate for a banquet. I clearly told her it was impossible for now, but she keeps asking to see you. I think that is a signal as well.
"The second request is that she wants the full list of candidates who applied for the District 12 Inspector position. Last time, I showed her Kendall's file separately. I can give her the materials on the remaining candidates right now, but what do you think?"
Arevalo's answer from the other end made Trion frown. He gradually straightened up and slowly lowered his feet to the floor.
"...Uh, she didn't say what she needed them for, and I didn't