The Courbet Connection (Book 5) (Genevieve Lenard) Read Free

forty-three.”
    “Lower than mine.”
    “I know. You are considered the most proficient in nonverbal communication analysis. Every paper you’ve ever written on the topic is an academic achievement and used in most universities in the world. There are also three Facebook pages dedicated to your lectures and articles.”
    “I have Facebook pages?”
    “Three.”
    “Oh.”
    It was silent in the conference room for a while.
    “It is because of your achievements that I’m here. I know that you are working in a team supervised by the president of France. I know that the old guy is Colonel Manfred Millard, an Interpol agent. The big, scarred dude is your criminal liaison, and you have a thief and a hacker working for you as well.”
    Manny’s muscle tension increased significantly, Vinnie’s posture became more threatening. After two years, I no longer noticed the long, ragged scar running down the left side of Vinnie’s face. Francine had told me it made Vinnie look more dangerous and intimidating to most people.
    “How do you know this?” I kept my tone low, even though tension tightened my vocal cords.
    Caelan pressed his lips together. People on the spectrum were seldom good liars. Unless I used my in-depth knowledge on deception, I was a remarkably unsuccessful liar. Telling the truth was a strong compulsion I often had to control in order to not give offence.
    I was watching these typical autistic traits in Caelan. The expression on his face led me to believe he was finding it hard not to give in to his need to tell the truth. For some reason he didn’t want to share how he knew so much about us.
    “If your IQ is what you claim it to be, you’ll see the dilemma you’re in.” I ignored his quick intake of breath when I questioned his IQ. “You came to us for some reason. I can only assume that you want or need some help. Yet you insist on being rude, on not co-operating.”
    “I wasn’t being rude. I just didn’t answer.”
    “Which is rude.” Vinnie folded his arms, his top lip slightly curled.
    I pointed at Vinnie’s bulging arms. “See his posture? Vinnie’s nonverbal cues tell me that he doesn’t trust you, he would like to get the truth from you in some aggressive manner, and he sees you as a threat to our team.”
    “You can’t make me talk!” Caelan pulled his legs up and hugged his knees tightly against his chest. “I won’t tell you anything.”
    Phillip lifted one hand when both Vinnie and Manny inhaled to question Caelan. He leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. “You came to us, Caelan. Unless you offer something worth our time and attention, your side of the negotiation doesn’t carry much power.”
    Caelan looked at Phillip’s shoulder for a few seconds. I watched his expression alter slightly to one of respect. As he inhaled to speak, Vinnie stepped forward. I was used to his tall, muscular frame and sometimes forgot how frightening he could appear. The fear flooding Caelan’s face was a strong reminder of Vinnie’s intimidation skills.
    “Listen, you little twerp. You think you’re so smart, but I’m beginning to think that you lied about your IQ.” It wasn’t only Vinnie’s tone, but this outrageous statement that made me look at him in surprise. I registered his modified shrug and his hand rubbing his neck. Vinnie was lying. “I also think that you pretend to be older than you really are. I reckon you’re a fourteen-year-old loser who’s been kicked out of school for missing too many classes, not showering and failing a few exams. Your teachers know what you don’t seem to accept. That you’re average. An average little kid with average grades and a bad attitude.”
    My masseter muscles slackened, causing my bottom jaw to drop slightly. Vinnie was manipulating Caelan with worrying success. The young man’s distress was reaching levels high enough to make him utter an involuntary keen. His eyes were growing wider, he was chewing his bottom lip and he