And a promised one to Alderique
"Oh, yeah, this guy, I knew this guy. Valeriant. You couldn't so much as pour a martini without him being there, like he was summoned by the smoke and glitz of whatever was the scene at the moment. Oh, he held himself well, let me tell you, but I couldn't peg him as a killer. No, not a killer, but something else. Somehow... I couldn't look at Valeriant without seeing him licking his lips, whether he actually did so or not. Behind that demeanor was a hunger, and not for olives. He wouldn't be the killer, but I was damned sure he'd know something."
"Oh, yeah, this guy, I knew this guy. Valeriant. You couldn't so much as pour a martini without him being there, like he was summoned by the smoke and glitz of whatever was the scene at the moment. Oh, he held himself well, let me tell you, but I couldn't peg him as a killer. No, not a killer, but something else. Somehow... I couldn't look at Valeriant without seeing him licking his lips, whether he actually did so or not. Behind that demeanor was a hunger, and not for olives. He wouldn't be the killer, but I was damned sure he'd know something."
"But in the laugh there was another voice. A clearer laugh, an ironic laugh. A laugh which laughs because it chooses not to weep."