For lunch, the two young couples walked up together again. In the kitchen they greeted Marieke. The atmosphere was immediately convivial, friendly, as if Marieke was an old friend.

During dinner, Marieke explained what her plans were. She asked questions and made notes of some of the answers.

"And for me the most important question to you, Simon: do you know your employees well enough to be sure you can trust them?"

Simon thought for a moment before answering accurately, "As far as I can tell, I can trust every one of them. To what extent they can be bribed, I have no idea, but I promise you that I will keep an eye on them, and if I have any doubts about anything, I will take action, and inform you. And if you have any tips for me, I'd love to hear them!"

Marieke smiled at him, "That sounds good. If you start to have doubts about someone, don't consult with them or the security guards, but with me directly. Otherwise you run the risk of making the employee in question to raise suspicions. Conversely, I, and this applies to all of you, will also contact you immediately if I have questions or doubts. Do you have any questions for the moment?"

Quietly she looked around the circle. Everyone answered her question with a slight no shake of the head. Marieke grabbed her cell phone, having sensed she was getting a message. She blushed when she read it, then put her cell phone back in her pocket.

"A message came from Ellen, your lawyer," she addressed mostly to Lisa. "She just had lunch with that judge I proposed her to yesterday. He has responded well, sympathetic and thoughtful. He too had been reading a lot lately about sexual abuse and satanic rituals. Probably not by accident! He'll let her and you know when he knows if he gets to do your case. At any rate, he looks like he'd love to get started on it!"

"It would be nice if he could do it," Lisa said, "from what you've told me, I have a good feeling about him."

"And I think that's totally justified. As I got to know him during our studies, he's someone who really wants the best, who really wants to do justice, and follows his heart in that. You can't have it any better!"

To chapter 181. Interplay

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