Knowing Kirchner, he would. He'd be glad to dump it on me. He'd even smile. "That all, Captain?"
"Isn't that enough, Lieutenant?"
It was.
Cannizaro had to have told Kirchner before I met with her, because Sarao was waiting. She had an amused smile. "Lieutenant Kirchner brought by some files and some datablocs. Your desk is under them.”
She was right. A pile of files, and a large stack of datablocs. Probably wasn't much on each bloc, but that meant they came from different sources. I started to sift through them. I had an hour. Forty minutes later, I was more worried. Homicide had been thorough. They'd gotten permission to search all of McCall's files. Ostensibly for suicide indicators. Nothing. Except the tech suspected that certain of his office files had been recently blanked. But selectively. There were files on all clients. There was a list of clients—marked "privacy protected.” KC Constructors was listed, as was Brazelton, and a number of other individuals and firms. Some I'd heard of. Most I hadn't. Nothing was missing, according to the statements by Hildeo and Oler, his associates. No way to tell to what client the missing files had been attached.
All the statements… all the recsat shots… everything indicated to me that McCall and his wife had been murdered. Not one bit, not one statement, could point toward anyone. Had a decent case for murder. But unless I could find a suspect, the whole thing would go as either suicide or unsolved. Could probably push for unsolved murder, but that would hurt DPS and upset Cannizaro, and probably give Alredd a club of some sort.
The key was nanites. Dewey, McCall, and McCall's wife all had nanite system malfunctions or manipulations involved. Would have bet that Brazelton's hand was in it, pushed there by Kemal. Finding proof was another matter.
Lieutenant… there's a Mr. Kugeler here to see you. Sarao's link broke through my speculations.
Thanks. I went out.
Kugeler was a small and very dapper solicitor. Had a narrow face, dreamy eyes, kind that would have hidden behind spectacles centuries earlier.
"I am Hans Kugeler, Lieutenant Chiang. Captain Cannizaro has indicated that you have been assigned to provide a full report on the unfortunate deaths of Evan McCall and Nanette Iveson. Is that your understanding?"
I nodded, gestured for him to enter the office. Pulsed the door shut and triggered the privacy locks, and the scramblers. Nothing would record around us. Not within the misty gray wall.
His eyebrows lifted. The dreamy eyes hardened, but he didn't speak. Just settled onto the front edge of the ergochair.
I sat in my chair. "You've been retained by their children. Hope you can provide insight and some hard evidence as well.”
"Evidence appears rather difficult to discover.”
"Hard evidence, yes. We don't have much time.”
"You don't have much time, Lieutenant.”
Looked straight at him. "We want the same thing. You don't have any more time than I do. If I can't prove it was murder, with hard evidence, no one else will, either.”
Kugeler laughed softly. "You think it was murder?"
"Know it was murder, both of them. Proving it is something else.”
"Would you mind telling me why you think that is so?"
Leaned forward. "McCall loved his wife. Too much evidence of that. Someone planted a divorce story, in advance. McCall was a technical idiot…” Went on to explain all I knew and why and how McCall couldn't have committed either the murder of his wife and then killed himself. "… but almost none of that is hard evidence.”
"If you can't discover this 'hard' evidence, what will you do, Lieutenant?"
"We have three weeks.” I smiled. "If I don't… we'll see, then.”
Kugeler nodded. "You have a reputation for honesty and tenacity. We will hope it is sufficient.”
Hoped I had survivability on my side also. "So do I.”
"What do you want from me?"
"First, you tell no one what I've just said. Not even the McCall children. I'll deny it. Second, need to go over the McCall house again, for starters.” I gestured to the pile of datablocs. "Also need to go over these. Could we do the house in the morning? By then, I'll know what else I might need from you.”
"I would assume that the children would agree.”
"And you?"
"I will say nothing until three weeks is up—and nothing after that if I am satisfied that your report is accurate and as complete as possible.”
"Eleven hundred tomorrow morning?"
He nodded once more.
I stood. So did he.
After Kugeler left, just stared at everything for a few minutes. Still had to run trendside, and still had questions about the suicides and ODS. Just hoped nothing else came up in the next few days. Especially not something else with a filch slick angle.
Chapter 24
Cannon
By Tuesday noon, right after lunch, I still hadn't gotten anything back from the feelers I'd put out about MMSystems. I had the committee staff asking all the space contractors for information on PDF-related contracts funded by the Legislature, and I'd had a few friends making inquiries. The fact that I hadn't heard anything was unsettling. People always wanted to hand over dirt about competitors or big government contracts—unless someone had a laser focused at their head.
Other matters were going far more smoothly. The appropriations bills were moving, and there'd only been token opposition to my immigrant repayment amendment. A few of the more isolationistic types were shocked, but I'd just smiled. Once the precedent was set, later, a year or two, we could see about ratcheting up the repayment rates for future immigrants. We'd get there, just a bit more slowly. That was another beautiful aspect of politics—there was always another way to get there.
Ciella linked in. Senator, Mr. Christensen is here. He says he doesn't have an appointment, but he'll only be a minute.
Tell him that's about what he'll get. I've got to go to committee. But send him in.
Yes, sir.
I was glad Ciella was back. I'd been worried that she might have been one of those affected by the ebol4 virus, but she'd said it had been a reaction to the nanomeds she'd gotten. It would have been a shame to have lost her. She was a truly beautiful girl.
Eric walked into the office, and I pulsed the door shut behind him. His face was tight. He'd never have made it in politics. I could read him like a blown-up holo screen, and so could any good politician.
"I see you've got more good news.” I offered a smile, the ironic one.
Eric looked around. I understood what he wanted, and punched the hidden stud for the privacy cone projector. We were surrounded by a cone of silence, and a gray misty field. Nothing short of military equipment mounted just outside it could have made out what we said. There were some aspects of technology where I kept very current.
He sat down in the black leather chair across the desk from me. "Have you heard? Dewey died in an accident. It wasn't an accident.”
I hadn't heard, but I'd been in committee meetings all morning. "How? Where?"
Eric snorted. "On the Elletch Bridge. His electral swerved through the guideway and rail. That's impossible, and we both know it. The electral hit one of the retaining walls below, and the fuel cells ignited. Not much left. Especially of the control systems.”
"Those district cars have restraint systems and redundant safety systems. That does lend some credence to your observation.”
Eric nodded. "By tomorrow, KC Constructors will be complaining that you killed him. The charge will be that you used politics to take the maintenance away from the company that built the system, and poor Coordinator Dewey died.”
"An investigation will be inconclusive, I'm sure.” I could hear the dryness in my voice. I doubted that it would be as direct as Eric predicted. Directness contains the danger of backfiring. Subtlety doesn't.
"No. It will show that the maintenance on the electral was poor. That won't be laid to you, but used in Alredd's campaign to point out the need for chan
ge in the coordinator's office. Also, someone high in the DPS might be in on this. Or at least the commissioner.”
"Why do you think that?"
"The DPS apologized for the handling of the McCall case, and some of the nets are suggesting now that McCall committed suicide because of his wife's accident and because he was distraught over the unfounded charges.”
I thought about that. "Someone doesn't want McCall's death investigated too closely.”
"Has to be Kemal,” Eric suggested.
"Kemal's too smart for that. There won't be a track to him.”
"No,” Eric agreed, "but there might be to someone who knew, someone like Brazelton or Sandoval.”
"Two or three steps removed. It's suggestive, and you're probably right, but if anyone made the charge without proof, and there won't be any, Kemal would gut their assets under the protections of the privacy laws, and any DPS officer who pushed it would be suspended or involuntarily retired.” I found myself pulling at my chin. "Have you found out any more about the MMSystems takeover?"
"You think it's related?"
"It could be. Or it could be coincidence.” I frowned. "I've got some inquiries out, but no answers. I don't like it when I don't get answers.”
"Most senators don't,” Eric pointed out.
"That's not what I meant. When I don't get answers, it's trouble. If they don't want to tell me, I get well-formulated nonsense and placating platitudes. If it's a pain in the ass, but not a real problem, I get more detail than anyone could ever want. If it's something I have the right to know, but is classified for security reasons, I get an invitation to a briefing and more cautions about the sensitive nature of the information than you could imagine. Here… there's nothing.”
Eric looked skeptical.
"I know. You have your doubts. But I'm getting answers on all my other inquiries. If I'd lost my office or my authority, I'd be stonewalled on everything. Everyone would decide I'm not a player. What all this means is something is about to happen, and no one wants to jump off the fence in either direction until they know which side to jump to.”
"You think it's the MMSystems business?"
"It has to be, but you have to know something to ask the right questions or look for the right signs. Or bluff.” It was still too early to bluff. That I could sense, and I've always been good at knowing that.
"Why don't you just call Rafael Martini and feel him out?" suggested Eric.
I laughed. There was no point in telling Eric I'd already decided to do that. Let him think it was his idea. "There is a certain beauty to the direct approach. He won't tell me anything, not directly.” When I did call Martini, I'd have to handle it right, so that he'd reveal something by any reaction, or at least that he was hiding something.
"You'll find out,” Eric said.
"If he'll talk to me.”
"He will, if only to find out why you're calling.”
"Could be. I'll think about it. In the meantime, I've got a committee meeting.” I stood and flicked off the privacy screen.
With the smile of a man who knew something others didn't, Eric inclined his head, then turned and left.
Once the door shut, I linked. Ciella… put through a call to a Mr. Rafael Martini, the chairman and president of MMSystems. Tell Mr. Martini—or his simmie or secretary—that Senator Cannon will be calling shortly on a secure connection. Then tell me what the response is.
Yes, sir.
Then I pushed a link through to Steven Pagel, my committee counsel. Senator Cannon here. I'm going to be a little late. Would you give my office a link if a vote or an amendment I'm interested in is coming up?
I'd be happy to do that, Senator.
In the past people had speculated that legislative voting would be done remotely, with VR conferencing or multi-holo projections. It didn't work out that way because the projections were too good and any remote access system could be counterfeited or overridden. The only way to be certain someone was really that person was to have that person show up and pass a GIL scan on the way into the committee room or the Senate floor. Anything else could be and had been feited.
Senator. Ciella linked through, Mr. Martini will be available for your call in fifteen minutes. He's in transit.
Thank you.
Transit? I had my doubts. He probably wanted to record every word and gesture. That was fine. I was more than used to that.
Since there was little sense in leaving the office—it would take nearly five minutes to get to the committee room—I spent the time going through some of the briefing backgrounders Ted had prepared.
Exactly sixteen minutes later, I pushed through the holo call to MMSystems.
The holo image of Martini showed a dark-haired man with deep blue eyes and fair skin, who still looked in first youth, as opposed to nanite-prolonged youth. He smiled, but didn't speak.
"Mr. Martini,” I offered.
"Senator Cannon. What can I do for you?"
"Perhaps I can do something for you, Mr. Martini.” I smiled warmly, paternally. "You may know, or perhaps you don't, that I was a great admirer of your father, and what he had managed to accomplish with MMSystems.”
"He did a great deal, but I have my doubts that admiration prompted your call.”
"Oh, but it does, Mr. Martini. It does. I was distressed at the reports about the dealings with the Martian Republic.” Another smile, this one understanding. "But even in the best of organizations, especially in transition, such things can occur. We all understand that.” I could tell he knew I was about to drop something on him, and that meant there was something to drop.
"As I recall, the Executory's investigation cleared the company of any illegality.” Martini tried his own smile. It wasn't bad. "But I do appreciate your concerns.”
"Part of that might well be attributed to, shall we say, good will? And to your father's reputation. If anything else were to occur, not that I'm suggesting it will in any way, it might well be handled with…” I paused just briefly, "less delicacy.”
"Senator, I do appreciate your courtesy, but someone must have misinformed you, and I would hate to have you spend your valuable time in an election year with concerns over such misinformation.”
"Well… if that's the case, I certainly won't give it another thought.” I smiled again, this time falsely, falsely enough that he could see it. "And I wish you the very best in continuing the family traditions. I'm most sorry to have bothered you.”
"Senator, we all appreciate your concern for both NorAm and your constituents, and no one would ever consider a call from you a bother.”
"Thank you very much, Mr. Martini.” Still smiling, I broke the connection.
I couldn't prove it in the conventional way, but Martini was up to something, and I had the feeling that Eric had been right and that Martini was selling. The odds were that, somehow, either Kemal, or someone like him, was doing the buying, because MMSystems' capitalization was so large that it had to be someone who could marshal the credits without selling stock or other assets, and there were only a handful of people in NorAm who could do that. It wouldn't hurt to check, if I could figure out a way that wouldn't break the privacy restrictions.
Ted?
Yes, sir?
Have Alicia do some research. We need to know if anyone has been selling large positions in any equities over the past three months. Just have her run a search program on bloc equity volumes, say one percent or more of any major cap issues.
Yes, sir.
Either way, the results would tell me something.
I got up and straightened my coat. I was already late for the committee meeting, but Pagel would have linked if there had been a vote coming up. Later, I'd have to talk with Gilligan and Canthrop about the campaign. While they didn't need to know the in-depth background, we'd need to think about anticipating the attack ads that would be coming from both Hansen and Alredd.
Chapter 25
Parsfal
By Tuesday morning, I was tire
d of finding angles on another tragic ebol4 death, or spinning out the stats to show that the epidemic was nowhere near as bad as the CDC had predicted, because only two hundred thousand had died in NorAm, and merely twice that in EurCom, while deaths were trailing off as containment and nanomeds took effect. Donne may have told death not to be proud, but so far as I was concerned death had done himself proud enough, and that didn't include the continuing and rising death toll in Afrique and SudAm.
Nor did it include the continuing deaths in Denv from the mysterious ODs.
Then, while I had finished another weather piece and more on the Southern Diversion, I was still dithering around with stuff on McCall, and getting nowhere. I should let go of old stories, but old stories didn't always let go of me. I'd put in another link to Marc Oler and gotten the same simmie message. I'd also left a message with Kerras, asking for contact suggestions, but he was link-blocked.
So I called John Ashbaugh. He wasn't in either.
With that, I prepared another stat update on ebol4 and fed it to Metesta, and then started on some temperature and weather stats as a favor to Istancya to repay her for helping dig me out when I'd been buried in the flurry around the ebol4 outbreak and the Russean orbiter destruction, now largely forgotten little more than a week later. The silence was truly amazing. Nothing had emerged. Nothing at all, unless you bought the Talibanate's story that despite the components being traced to the Agkhanate, no one there had anything to do with it.
Parsfal? Bimstein again.
I'm here. What do you need?
Some quick numbers to go with the Dewey death piece…
Dewey? The District Coordinator? When did that happen?
Where have you been? Less than a half hour ago…
Doing weather and temp stats…
Drop those… Dewey's electral went off the Elletch Bridge… get something quick on electral fatalities, and also anything you can on the costs of guideway maintenance in the Denv District… and anything else linked to that. Rehm's doing the personal background. Need that in a half hour.
I'll do what I can.
Once you feed that to Metesta, need some more backup on those education and nanomed stats. On the African immigrants.
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