[ kovacs can hear the heavy rainfall outside, even more audible against the wood structure of the buildings here, hardly surprised to catch marta somewhat drenched by it once she comes in, but if she leaves puddles of evidence around their office, he's the last person to criticize a few wet spots around (to her credit, it isn't blood, which is the kind of mess he typically leaves around when he enters a room).

the topic of conversation seems more worthy of his attention, relieved when it seems like the townspeople aren't any more fazed by the new arrivals than they had been when their own initial group had first arrived. but having already been here two weeks to settle in, it's strange to imagine a whole other set of their team suddenly piling in.

(is clara in this group or the next? for plenty of reasons at the time, he hadn't asked.)

when the private question lingers in his mind, he's shaken out of it by the one marta asks out loud, turning to look at her to find her leaning against the desk, the way he's come to see her do a number of times now to the point where the image is one of the more familiar things he's come to find in this town. ]

Not yet. [ he plucks the cigarette that's been hanging almost forgotten from his lips, frowning when he sees nearly half of it already burnt off. holding it off the edge of the chair, he taps it to let the ash fall, joining the wet floor to just dirty it further. ] Much as we got a good cover here for snooping, we should keep a low head. We'll check out the saloons later to start counting heads. Pretend we're going out for a drink or something.