Lionel continued his way between the archive shelves, while Cornelius tried to ignore him but couldn't. Cornelius sat at the wide wooden table in front of him, leaned back, then began reading the files in his hands. Lionel climbed the tall ladder, took a group of files, then came down quietly and sat directly opposite him, opened one of the records and began reading.
Silence filled the place; there was nothing but the sound of turning pages and the squeak of Lionel's chair. Cornelius would raise his head from time to time, looking at the young man in front of him sharply before returning to his papers, but the silence lasted longer than he could bear. He slammed one of the files onto the table and looked directly at Lionel, speaking in a low sharp voice:
"What are you doing here?"
Lionel didn't lower the file from his face; he turned a new page and said simply without lifting his eyes:
"I'm reading case records, Inspector Cornelius."
Cornelius pressed his lips together:
