Free Serafina and the Virtual Man by Marie Treanor

worktops, and one long shelf was lined with well-thumbed cookery books with food crusted onto them.
    “Did he live here alone?” Jilly asked.
    “Lacks a woman’s touch, doesn’t it?” Emma said, running one disapproving finger along the knife marks on the worktop.
    “I like it.”
    Emma brightened. “It is a gorgeous flat, isn’t it? And you haven’t seen the best bit yet. There’s a huge attic upstairs!”
    The attic was reached by a spiral stair. It was completely floored, and windows had been installed with clear views of the sky. But it was empty. No furniture, no junk, nothing except a lot of power points.
    “Such a versatile space,” Emma enthused.
    This was his work area, Jilly realised. But his computer, all his computers, presumably, plus all the other equipment he used, had been removed. And as she walked back downstairs and took a last glance around the rest of the flat, she realised something else: he’d never meant to come home from Australia, and yet he’d left all this stuff behind.
    “So what do you think?” Emma asked brightly.
    “I’m definitely interested,” Jilly said. “Very interested indeed.” Unfortunately not in buying it. The price on the schedule was more than she’d earn in her whole life. For the first time ever, she regretted that.
    ****
     
    On impulse, Jilly caught a bus along to the West End and walked round to the registered address of Genesis Gaming. They had another sales office in London, but the Edinburgh premises were where the serious work was done. Since it was heading for midday, Jilly strolled up and down as if waiting for someone. A smartly dressed woman came out of the Genesis doorway and walked away with swift purpose. Jilly let her go. A few moments later, a bunch of four young men emerged, deep in conversation, and meandered in the general direction of the pub across the square. Jilly followed them.
    She had time to wonder, as she slid onto a bar stool and ordered an orange juice and a toastie, if she was wasting her time here. But it seemed important to know who Genesis Adam really was, if there was any way Exodus could really be his spirit. His home had given her a fascinating glimpse of who he’d been, and now she wanted more detail. Who better to learn from than always critical employees?
    The employees on her radar were sitting at the table behind her, discussing a mixture of jokes, office gossip, and technical issues.
    “Even if you’re right,” one of them said—a curly-haired youth in a loud shirt and no tie— “there’s still no way this will be ready by March. The demo would be crap because it wouldn’t do half the things it’s capable of.”
    “And all the so-called launch would do is give competitors the heads-up to rush something out first,” another said gloomily into his pint.
    “Don’t be so pessimistic!” another exclaimed. “It’s always like this before a launch—seems like chaos and the deadlines impossible, but it always comes together in time. Trust me.”
    “No point in trusting you,” the curly youth said rudely. “We all know it was Adam who drove the launches, and he isn’t here anymore.”
    “No, but there are people who learned from him. And Dale’s in today.”
    Shite, Jilly thought, glancing toward the door. She really didn’t want to be seen skulking so close to his office as if she was checking up on him. Which she supposed she was, indirectly…
    Behind her was a brief, speaking silence, and she had to prevent herself quite forcefully from turning to see their expressions. Then someone launched into another technical problem, and they all joined in.
    Jilly nodded thanks to the barman for her toastie and bit into it. Eventually, the curly youth came up to the bar to order another round of drinks—all soft ones, she noticed. No lunchtime drunks on the Genesis staff. Even the gloomy man with the pint of beer had stuck at one.
    As he waited for his order, Jilly waited to be noticed. She knew from