"Maybe she followed them," Janet said, and I felt a brief moment of panic as I wondered if she could read my mind.
"Maybe," I said. "But how did that come about? 'Excuse me, Mr. DeLeo, I know you're looking to bump uglies, but do you mind if I follow these idiots first? I'll meet you back at your quarters.'"
"Anderson," said Janet.
"What?"
"She would call him Mr. Anderson. He's incognito, remember."
I sighed, and ran my hand through my hair. My brain wasn't working the way I wanted it to.
"I'm starting to suffer from overload here," I said. "Too many questions, not enough answers."
"And you feel guilty about Speck and Fritz. I can see it in your face."
"Don't you? We led them to their deaths."
"We couldn't have known what was going to happen to them. And if they hadn't been such idiots in the bar last night, they wouldn't have ended up in the situation. They could have just gone about their business."
"I suppose I can't argue with you there. I don't know anything about Fritz, but Speck is a piece of work. And if he'd gotten the drop on me that night, I don't want to think about what might have happened."
"You're always safe with us," she said matter-of-factly.
Crazy thing was, I was starting to believe it.
"So what do we do now?" I asked.
"I had cargo droids take the bodies to the medical bay. I'll examine them further, and see what I can determine."
I stared at her blankly.
"You? What, you're a medical examiner, too?"
"Jon chose me for this job because I have many talents, Detective Dick," she said with a grin. "Plus there's technology available to me which can help."
"All right, I guess I'll leave you to it."
"What will you do while I'm gone?"
I leaned back in my chair, and tented my fingers under my chin.
"I'll sit here and think," I said. "For all the good that's going to do us. Hasn't been worth a pinch of shit so far."
Thirty
I was deep in thought when I heard Janet enter the security main office a couple of hours later.
Okay, I was asleep. But I was thinking before I drifted off.
"Find anything?" I blurted, springing forward in my chair.
As if I could fool her, my voice sounded like there was a jellyfish stuck in my throat.
"Quite a bit, actually."
She pulsed some info to the screen.
"Micro shavings detected throughout the bodies indicate the murder weapon was a blunt metal object of some sort. There's no shortage of them in there. Pipes, blocks, machinery parts, you name it."
"So the killer knew the perfect place to pull it off," I said. "This proves she's a pro. But how did she get them there?"
"That's not the most pertinent question, actually."
"No? What is?"
"Fritz's most memorable physical feature was the ridges on the top of his skull, surgically implanted below the skin."
"Yeah. What about it?"
"My examination of the second body showed no sign of any implants in what was left of the skull. Not bone, not synthetics, nothing."
My stomach dropped a few inches as that settled in my brain.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
She nodded.
"Someone beat the body into a pulp, and dressed it in Fritz's clothes to make us think he was the second victim. It's someone else entirely, which means Fritz is still out there somewhere. And he's not who we think he is."
Thirty One
"Hartley Fritz is dead," said Janet.
"Tell me something I don't know," I replied.
"I'm talking about the real Hartley Fritz, the one whose ID was stolen by our fake Fritz. He was killed in the civil war, and looked nothing like the man we know."
While she'd been searching for the real Fritz, I was trying to match a hollo of the fake one to any known databases, and failing miserably.
"Nothing in any police files I have access to," I sighed, after exhausting my resources. "Not that it means anything. If he had surgery to modify his skull, he could easily have done the rest of his features. It wouldn't have been cheap, but it's certainly possible."
"And taking over the credentials of one of the war dead would be a walk in the park," she said. "Especially when the Midgard War broke out right on its heels. It will take years to sort out the chaos left behind."
"So now we have to ask where the hell our fake Fritz is now, and what, if anything, he had to do with Speck's murder. Or what he might know." I squeezed the back of my neck. "This is giving me a headache."
"We have to assume he was complicit in the killing, and tried to cover it up," said Janet. "Otherwise, this makes no sense."
"A lot of this doesn't make sense," I growled. "But we don't have time to chase after all these rabbits right now. We need to find out where he is. And Thayer, of course. But we also have to figure out how DeLeo fits into all this, too."
Janet nodded.
"It's possible Thayer had an encounter with him, drugged him, then left and met up with the fake Fritz, killed the two victims, then returned to DeLeo later."
Not for the first time, Janet's analytical skills floored me. If it weren't for her and Jane, wherever she was, I would have been floundering on this case even more than I already was. Not that I'd ever admit it, of course.
"We need to pay a visit to DeLeo's suite, and ask some questions," I said. "Or would that be frowned upon here?"
"Not with an active murder investigation," she said. "As chief of security, I'd be well within my purview to investigate. I doubt I'd get any of our residents to give up information on anyone else, but they should be prepared to answer questions about themselves."
"There's only one problem with the whole thing."
She nodded.
"No murder weapons, at least not ones we can track."
I leaned back in my chair, and laced my fingers behind my head. After all the middle-of-the-night excitement, I was bone tired.
"We have to consider the possibility they can somehow baffle your scanners," I said. "That kind of tech would be useful to an assassin. Then again, you'd think that, if it did exist, everyone would have it. I mean, the inventor would be able to buy their own star system with what they could make off of it."
That was when, for the very first time, Janet actually frowned. I felt a tiny bit of triumph, knowing maybe, just maybe, she was as stumped as I was. Yeah, I know, it's petty. Sue me.
"I'm not willing to go down that road," she said. "It's virtually impossible any tech on this station can be fooled. And even if it were possible, Jon would be far more concerned about the fact our security can be compromised than he is about our assassin, so I'm not going to present the theory without evidence. We'll keep proceeding on the assumption all weapons on this station are accounted for."
"Makes sense. But I'm going to keep my theory on the back burner while we do. So you're going to head to DeLeo's?"
"Right now. I'll link my PC, so you can virtually tag along. I already know Lindsay Thayer left DeLeo's suite at around 0130 hours, went to the shops, and returned. If she lies about it, I'll know, and we can go from there."
Once again, I felt like I was missing a page in the book I was reading.
"You know she spent the night, and she left, and came back?"
Janet nodded, a hint of a smile on the corners of her lips.
"How?"
"I'm always aware of what the cams on this station see, Dick. Trust me, nothing gets past me."
She left, and headed for DeLeo's suite, leaving me again to look at the screen through someone else's eyes. I almost pointed out to her she'd missed whatever had happened to Speck, and whoever was killed in Fritz's place, but I told myself it would probably be a very bad idea.
I watched Janet approach DeLeo's door, wishing I was the one doing it. But, Earth cops had no authority here. I could hand him a warrant, and he
could wipe his ass with it, and there'd be nothing I could legally do about it. Janet on the other hand, didn't need a warrant.
She tapped a fingertip on the screen next to the door to indicate she was outside. About thirty seconds later, DeLeo's mug, sleep-rumpled and bleary-eyed, appeared on the monitor.
"Yeah?" he muttered.
She put on a thousand-watt smile.
"Mr. Anderson, its Janet, the station commander and acting security chief. I'm very sorry to bother you at this hour, but I'm afraid I have a few questions I need to ask you."
The door slid open a few seconds later to reveal DeLeo, wearing a thin dressing gown covering a portion of his rippling frame.
"Of course," he yawned. "Anything I can do to help Admiral Hunter. This station has been very good to me."
No doubt, I thought acidly from my vantage point in the office. Sure beats the inside of a prison cell, doesn't it, asshole?
"I just need to ascertain your whereabouts after 2300 hours last night," said Janet. "And whether you were alone."
A smug grin crept across DeLeo's face.
"I left The Bridge at right around that time, and no, I wasn't alone."
"Who is it, lover?" called a voice from inside the suite. "Tell them to go away."
"May I speak to your companion, please?"
Janet's look was all professional courtesy. He turned into the suite.
"C'mere!" he yelled. "Security wants you."
"Honestly," the voice said as it approached the door. "I didn't know what we were doing last night was illegal in this sector. I didn't think anything was illegal here."
"All the usual is," said Janet. "The station operates under a version of Australian law at the moment, pending a review. Murder, of course, is still very illegal."
I watched Thayer and DeLeo closely as Janet said it, looking for a tell of some sort, such as a sudden rush of blood to the cheeks, or a widening of the eyes. Maybe a quick intake of breath.
All I saw was bland indifference.
"Sorry," said DeLeo. "Can't help you. We were here all night."
Janet turned to Thayer.
"And that goes for you, too, Ms…?"
Good work. She remembered not to show her hand that we'd watched the whole thing unfold in real time last night, or there was any investigation other than this one going on.
"Lindsay Thayer," the woman said without a hint of discomfort. If she was lying, she was very good at it. "I've got a small freighter waiting for cargo. Stevie and I met at the club last night."
"And you were here all night?"
"Yes," she said. "All night."
"So neither of you left. Do you have any idea when you might have gone to sleep?"
They shared a glance.
"Around 0300 hours," said Anderson, dropping a wink at Janet which made me want to retch. "I'm not as young as I used to be."
"So if I was to check the security footage of the station, I wouldn't see either of you in the corridors past 2300 hours?" asked Janet.
That was when I saw it, Thayer's pupils dilated.
"She's nervous," I said in Janet's ear. "Press her on it."
"Ms. Thayer?" she asked. "You never left the suite?"
Thayer glanced at DeLeo, who shrugged.
"Tell her," he said.
Blood was rising in Thayer's cheeks, and I allowed myself to get my hopes up. Stupidly, as it turned out.
"Well," said Thayer, "I did sneak out around 0130 to the shops."
Janet tilted her head.
"The shops?"
"We needed some, uh, help." She glanced down at her waist. "Down there. After the first few, um, sessions."
Shit.
Janet seemed puzzled by the response, so I whispered in her ear.
"She went for lube."
"Ah," said Janet. "And the security footage will back this up?"
"It will," said Thayer, back to being free and easy, now the embarrassing part was out of the way.
"Good," I said. "She's at ease. Now let's hit her with the big one."
Janet responded by holding up a pad, with a security vid of Fritz from the night of the fracas in the bar.
"Just one more thing," she said. "Do either of you know this man? His name is Hartley Fritz."
DeLeo's eyes narrowed for a moment before he shook his head.
"Never seen him before."
Janet turned to Thayer.
"And you, ma'am?"
There was a lot more going on than pupil dilation now, and I leaned forward in my chair, my pulse quickening. Thayer's face confirmed what it had told me in that brief second in the vid from the night before. She did know Fritz.
Come on, I thought. Deny it. I dare you.
"Did you catch him?" she gasped. "I don't know how pressing charges works on this station, but I'll definitely testify against that bastard!"
Which was not what I'd expected to hear.
"No, ma'am," Janet said without missing a beat. "Mr. Fritz was murdered last night, along with one Ronald Speck."
Relief washed over Thayer's face, and while I didn't have a mirror to check, I'm sure frustration crept over mine.
"Well, I can't say I'm sorry to hear that," she said defiantly.
"Really?" asked Janet. "Why is that?"
"He assaulted me."
What?
Janet paused, and it took me a moment to realize she was waiting for my input.
"Ask her for details," I said finally, trying to fend off the thought my entire theory had just been blown out of the water.
"And when was that?" Janet asked.
"The night before last," said Thayer. "He came up to my table at the White Dwarf diner, and just sat down. Started coming on to me."
"You can't blame him," DeLeo said, with a leer.
"What else happened?" asked Janet.
"I told him I wasn't interested, but he wouldn't give up." She shivered. "He even ran his hand down the back of my neck. I told him to stop, but he said he was going to show me a magic trick."
A magic trick?
"A magic trick?" asked Janet, apparently reading my mind.
Thayer nodded.
"He pulled his hand away, and then told me to check my necklace. It was gone."
"Not much of a trick," said Janet.
"Actually, it wasn't bad. He pointed to an overturned cup on the table, and told me to lift it up. I did, and there was my necklace."
This was getting more ridiculous by the minute.
"And then what?"
"He laughed, and said something like 'ta-da!', and I told him yes, it was a good trick, but I wasn't interested."
"And?"
She shook her head.
"That was the weird part. Once the trick was over, he just gave me a little salute, and said 'Your loss'. Then he walked away like he'd already forgotten about me."
I scratched my chin as I tried to process what I was hearing. Meanwhile, Janet continued the questioning.
"Was that the last time you saw Mr. Fritz, then?"
"No," said Thayer. "He was in the club last night. I saw him right before we left. He gave me the creeps."
DeLeo slid an arm around her shoulders.
"You should have pointed him out to me, baby. I would have dealt with him for you."
"My big, strong man," she purred. "I was in a hurry to get back here."
Their eyes met, and my stomach turned, as DeLeo's hands grabbed her rear end under her dressing gown and squeezed.
"All right, then," said Janet. "I think that's all I need for now. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Anytime," said DeLeo. "Give the admiral my best the next time you see him, will you?"
"He'll be here tomorrow," said Thayer. "There's a big celebration happening. I saw a media blast about it a couple days ago."
My heart did a little jog as I remembered Jane putting out the false info on our flight here from Avon. Thayer had obviously picked up on it. But what did that mean, if anything?
&nbs
p; "I'll make sure he sends you invitations," Janet said with a wide smile. "Thanks again."
The door slid shut in front of her, and she turned to head back into the corridor.
"Thoughts?" she asked as she walked.
"Yeah," I sighed. "I'm thinking if I'd stayed retired the first time around, I wouldn't have this headache right now."
"Thayer didn't lie," she said. "And that story about fake Fritz and the necklace magic trick, was just plain weird."
"Agreed. It's possible it doesn't have anything to do with this, but it's much more probable it's a clue, and we can't see the significance yet."
"At least we know where Thayer was last night, which takes her out of the list of suspects for the murders, if not for the attempt on Jon's life."
"If it is an attempt on Jon's life," I corrected. "I'm still not convinced of that."
"I know," she sighed. "And I think your headache is contagious, even though I know that's not physically possible. I'll talk to you when I get back."
It didn't occur to me then, to ask why she couldn't get a headache, because I was too preoccupied with trying to figure out what the hell was going on, and what was going to happen next.
Thirty Two
Janet stalked through the doors of the office, and dropped into the chair beside me.
"All right," she snapped. "What the hell is going on?"
"I think better with a couple of beers in me," I suggested, despite the early hour.
She consulted her PC.
"On their way. And some food."
"You're a lifesaver."
I hadn't thought about it until that moment, but now that I did, my stomach was growling.
"So just in case things made too much sense before now, we have to deal with Lindsay Thayer's alibi for last night, and her story about Fritz."
I nodded.
"Not to mention figuring out who Fritz really is, and where he is."
"I've already put up an alert with facial recognition. If he shows his face near a cam, we'll know it."
"I wouldn't count on that happening. If he knew to avoid the cams last night, I doubt he'll risk going near them today, when the heat is on."
Janet turned to me, her green eyes bright.
Burnside's Killer: Extended Version (The Hunter Legacy Book 6) Page 14