by Gini Koch
“He did,” Siler waved the sheathed knife at me. “The blade was drenched in it. I nicked him several times to ensure that the virus got into his bloodstream. Something they’ve been working on in Dulce at the P.T.C.U.’s request. It’s a parasitic virus that will attach to his internal organs. Trevor can only get rid of it by taking the antidote.”
“What’s the antidote?”
Siler grinned. “Alcohol.”
“Wow. We can all be really nasty when we want to be, can’t we? I approve. If it works.”
“It’s working,” Chuckie said, looking at his phone. “He’s heading for the airport. In a car, as near as I can tell.”
“He called for a cab,” Siler said. “Conveniently, there was one really nearby. Melville would appreciate it if you’d take Prince home tonight, Kitty. You’re getting Duke and Riley, too, because their owners are shadowing Melville, just in case.”
“I have never complained, nor will I ever complain, about K-9 companionship. They can sleep on the bed with us tonight, since all the other animals will be with the kids, I’m sure.” Like they always were.
“Oh good,” Jeff said, though he patted Prince’s head again. “Thank God it’s a big bed. Oh, by the way, Thomas called while you were up here. They found one security tape that had an image on it. It was brief, but we were able to get a good image. Guess who broke into Titan?”
“Stephanie for the win.”
“Got it in one,” Buchanan said. “Though I never had a doubt.”
“Yep.” Jeff ran his hand through his hair. “So Trevor might not know.”
“He knows,” White said. “I paid attention to what he was saying, since Missus Martini has pointed out so often how we’re able to lie by not telling the entire truth, or by using specific words that mean we’re not speaking an untruth. I’m certain Stephanie stole those because they want them. And I’m equally certain that there’s a kill switch in all the cyborgs.”
“But he said there wasn’t.”
“No. He said there was no zombie switch. As in, they can’t take control of the cyborgs. But they can flip the remote-destruct switch and destroy them.”
“Why steal the miniaturization stuff if he already knows how to make it all, though?”
Chuckie jerked. “Because if we could look at them, someone—Serene, me, Thomas, any of the scientists at Dulce or NASA Base—might be able to determine how to make them even smaller. And, if that’s the case, then the self-destructs are microscopic or smaller.”
“Or he’s telling the truth about it,” Siler said. “It’s possible, after all.”
“Anything is,” Jeff agreed. “Let’s get going. I think we’re done here.”
“Actually, we still need to find the DJ.”
Siler grinned. “That was me. The sound and lighting area is up here, and it has an excellent view of the entire ballroom, meaning it’s an assassin’s perfect spot.” He looked right into my eyes. “I just played the tape that was there already. It should be done soon, I think.”
Sure enough, the last song ended and there was silence. Siler and I clearly needed to have a chat, but not right now. “Ah . . . got it. Um, did Richard find you when he went looking? Because Trevor thought he was alone.”
“I blended when I heard Trevor coming up here. Did it again when Richard came in, but talked to him.”
“Oh, Mister White, you said you didn’t see anyone. You didn’t say that you didn’t talk to anyone. You are a sly boots.”
“I am, Missus Martini. Now, let’s get these boots home.”
Jeff offered me his arm, which I happily took. “I never got to dance with you.”
Joseph held the door and Rob took point, then Evalyne, Jeff, and I walked out, and everyone else trailed behind us.
“James picked up your slack.”
“So I saw. I’ll be jealous about it later.”
“Oh good, I’ll schedule it in. So, how’d you know to come up?”
“I’m an empath. Try to keep up.”
“I point to your blocks and say you haven’t felt much recently.”
He sighed. “Kitty, it was only our people left. I turned the blocking device off, meaning I can and did feel you. And even if I hadn’t, you were gone too long.”
“Plus Ben sent me the signal that he’d found Trevor,” Buchanan added, as we reached the ballroom. “You know we can’t stay away from you for too long, Missus Executive Chief.”
“Idle flattery gets you nowhere, but keep it up, I love it. At least we learned a lot.”
“We’ll see how much of it is actionable,” Chuckie said.
“Peace of mind, however rare and slight, is always welcome,” White said.
“Truer words and all that. You know what we still don’t know? Why did Robert Cordell call to tell me that robots were going to try to kill me?” Was going to say something else but my phone took this moment to ring. Stopped walking and got it out of my clutch. “Hello?”
“Madam First Lady? It’s Detective Beckett.”
“Hey there, Detective, it’s been so long.”
Buchanan passed some signals and suddenly a lot more people were with us, Mom included. But not the kids. Presumed Dad was riding herd on them somewhere.
“It has. I thought you’d be interested to know that your lead about the delivery trucks paid off.”
“Great. Let me put you on speaker.” Did so, and Buchanan shoved in his tracking device thingy. Actively chose not to ask why. “What did you find?”
“The place where Robert Cordell was actually murdered. Along with three other dead people. You were correct—he was moved to alter the jurisdiction. If the body had been found here, Sawyer and I wouldn’t have been assigned the case.”
“Good on the first, horrible on the second, go team on the third. So, are there other detectives there with you, then?”
“Yes. They’re investigating the murders of the truck drivers. I followed a lead and wound up here.”
“Really? What lead?” Hey, I liked cop shows just like the next girl, and as long as I wasn’t being accused of the murders, this was kind of interesting.
“The chef at your party said that Missus Cordell had suggested that Mister Cordell ‘backtrack’ the drivers’ route, to see if the trucks were in difficulty. From what we can tell, it appears he did just that.”
“Well, that’s interesting.”
“Yes, it is. One of the drivers was an off-duty cop.”
“Oh, wow, I’m so sorry. Was it someone you knew?”
“Not well. He was a uniformed officer. However, he was diligent and dedicated. Apparently, when he drove on the side he had his cell phone videotaping so that, in case of an altercation, he had proof of what had happened.”
“So, did he do that tonight?”
“He did. Because of that, we have a confirmation of what happened and who killed everyone.”
“That’s wonderful! Who?”
“Well, it looks like you did.”
CHAPTER 80
LET THAT ONE SIT on the air for a moment, while everyone stared at each other. “Okay, since you’re not here trying to arrest me, you want to say that again?”
“I said, it looks like you’re the one who killed Robert Cordell and the three drivers. However, we know it wasn’t you.”
“I know it wasn’t me, too. How do you know?”
“There were two of you.”
“I’m sorry. I’m getting confused. What the hell?”
“There were two of what appeared to be you at the scene. Here’s the timeline as we know it. All six trucks left at the same time. Three of them went through a traffic light. The other three caught the red. Then a car accident happened in the intersection in front of them, a very minor fender bender. People claiming to be cops were there immediately, though, and held them up as witnesses.�
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“Only they weren’t cops.”
“Correct. We’ve found them. They were all actors hired to do one of those stupid impromptu performances. They were told that it was for a D.C.P.D. charity fundraiser. And they were paid in cash and have no description of who paid them because it was all done by phone and the number that called them was a burner.”
“Weird. But effective.” Meaning this was likely being orchestrated by the Shadow. Because Trevor and Stephanie wouldn’t have wanted the cops at our event—he was there recruiting, and Kramer and Charmaine had not impressed as examples of the Fine Cyborg Lifestyle. Plus, he had to have been in on Cordell’s murder, meaning he wanted the police at the event possibly less than Kramer and Charmaine did. The Shadow, however, had cut ties with them, at least as far as we’d guessed during Operation Madhouse. Or, maybe not.
“Yes,” Beckett went on. “So that accounts for the delay between the first three trucks and these three. Once they were able to take off again, they continued on. Part of their route here was through a business district that was closed down by the time they got there, so there weren’t really any people around at the time. In this area, a woman stepped into the street in front of the trucks, signaling for help. They stopped, because, again, there wouldn’t be anyone else to help her and the lead driver was the off-duty cop. The drivers got out to help, the woman was joined by another woman who looked just like her—enough to be twins—and those two women proceeded to break the necks of all three drivers, despite those drivers putting up a fight and the off-duty officer shooting both of them several times.”
“Okay, I’m not a triplet, so those were likely Fem-Bots and we can explain that later. But, trust me, they aren’t women as you and I know the term.”
“Yes, I imagine you can, and I’ll want that explanation. The, ah, Fem-Bots blocked off the street behind the trucks using the road hazard equipment the trucks carry standard. Cordell arrived soon after, and the Fem-Bots did it again—one hid, the other signaled for help. He got out to help, the one that had been hidden took the off-duty cop’s gun and shot Cordell three times in the gut. She’d have shot him more, but the gun was out of ammunition.”
“That’s why he lived long enough to call me.”
“Yes. They left immediately after killing him, though they took the gun with them. The video ended shortly thereafter. And not because it ran out of battery. Someone turned it off, but that person was never in view.”
“Evan. I can almost promise it was Evan the Limo Driver.” Who was smarter than a Fem-Bot. Which was likely a low bar, as I thought about it.
“Maybe. We’ll see if he has an alibi.”
“I’m sure he will, but he’d be number one on my suspects list. So, what now?”
“Now someone tells me what the hell these Fem-Bots are and what’s going on.”
“This is the Director of the CIA. I’ll meet you at your precinct and fill you in. After I verify that you can meet the security requirements.” Chuckie rubbed the back of his neck. “Anything else you haven’t shared?”
“No,” Beckett said. “But it certainly looks like whoever did this wanted the First Lady to be a suspect.”
“Or those were the only Fem-Bots they had available.” Everyone looked at me.
“Huh?” Beckett asked, speaking for everyone around me.
“It’s part of the long story the Director of the CIA will tell you if you get the clearance. So, I can’t tell you, but again, Evan, Kramer’s limo driver, is where you need to start.”
Beckett heaved a sigh. “Yes, got it. Mister Director, you’ll meet me when?”
“Name the time,” Chuckie replied. They set their fun date, Beckett promised to keep me apprised of all that they learned as they learned it, and we hung up. “Now, Kitty, tell us what you meant.”
“How quickly we all forget. The Fem-Bots from the Factory use diamonds for their brains. Trevor was upset about that, remember? Because no one was supposed to have access to those plans anymore. However, during Operation Madhouse, Malcolm made the point that we all agreed with—that there’s been a schism of some kind between Janelle Gardiner and Zachary Kramer.”
“I did,” Buchanan agreed. “And Missus Executive Chief felt that Evan and Marion Villanova now have two bosses, as in, they’re supporting the Kramers and possibly Gardiner and her group, too.”
“I can see it,” Mom said slowly. “And this Shadow might be running both.”
“I’m willing to bet on it, Mom. So, the Kramers and their small team scrounged enough diamonds to fuel, we figured, no more than two Fem-Bots. And if they were snagging Fem-Bots, let’s be real—they were snagging Kitty-Bots for a whole variety of reasons.”
“So, following that line of reasoning,” Reader said, “the Kitty-Bots who murdered all these people were doing so on Zachary Kramer’s order.”
“Most likely on Charmaine Cordell’s order. I’m betting she’s the new brains of the Kramer Operation. Marcia seems clueless, but we need to question her in a nice but severe way.”
“Already on it,” Reader said. “I’ve been sending Vance questions, he’s been asking them in a way that works with her, and we’re getting answers. Right now, Marcia wants to be on Team Kitty more than, possibly, anyone else in this world.”
“I’m touched. How dirty is she?”
“Not as bad as you’d think. She had to give up her diamonds because her husband told her they were making a special investment in his political prospects and she’d reap a much greater reward in the future. Mossad is with Vance, remember, and Leah’s helping with the questioning. Nicely, she said to tell you. At any rate, Marcia appears to have been kept in the dark.”
“Meaning that Kramer’s been planning to dump her and move to Charmaine for at least as long as Jeff’s been President. Which makes sense for those in the Megalomaniac League.”
“And that means this murder was always planned,” Tim added. “Meaning that’s why Charmaine both sprang this fundraiser on Marcia when she did and why she wouldn’t allow you to take it over.”
“Confirmed that Kramer told Marcia who to order food from,” Reader said, looking at his phone. “So I agree with Tim.”
“Megalomaniac Lad is rarely wrong.”
“Megalomaniac Lad would like to know what we do next.”
“I think we all go home or, in my case, to the police precinct,” Chuckie said. “It seems over for now. We’ll keep eyes on Kramer and Charmaine, but only the truly stupid would try something right now.”
“I’m having Van Dyke brought in for questioning,” Mom said. “From what Charles was funneling to me while you were interrogating the Tinkerer, though, I’m betting the bastard is safe because he’s going to merely claim that he was supporting his church and that he can’t control what the church does with his money.”
“The other Dealers of Death are up to things, too, but I’m with you, Mom, probably nothing we can prove yet.”
“We and the FBI have these people under surveillance, so no. Frankly, I’m far more upset about the fact that Janelle Gardiner and Amos Tobin are running things using Christopher and Amy than whatever these others are up to.”
“We’ll handle it,” Amy said confidently. “Now that we know, it’s simple for us to run whatever we get by you and Chuck, Angela. We’ll catch them at it sooner as opposed to later.”
“So who attacked the Intergalactic School, then?” I asked. “Janelle’s team, the True Believers, or the Shadow?”
“Assume the Shadow is playing the same Sith game as the Mastermind was,” Chuckie said. “Chernobog feels that the Bots were ordered via the Dark Web. She’s researching, but her preliminary is that Van Dyke sent the money, Pecker transferred it to Gutermuth, and he ordered his attacking forces from the Fem-Bot Factory but via the Dark Web, not face-to-face. They might not even know who’s running the Factory.”
“I’d like to know what they wanted to achieve,” Joseph said. “Aside from chaos.”
Considered this. “The True Believers decided to attack the school where all the alien kids are going to be most of every day. Away from their families and species. How fast would those aliens take off if, on the very first day of school, their children were harmed or worse? I’d have to think pretty fast.”
“Makes sense,” Jeff said. “Too much sense.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Speaking of kids, can we get all of ours home?”
“Yes,” Mom said. “Other than the cleanup, it all appears to be over for now.”
We gathered up Dad, the kids, the flyboys and remainder of the K-9 squad who were with them and the Good Day USA! camera crew, figured out where anyone else still here was and got them, too, and headed back for the cars. Amazingly enough, the parking garage did not collapse on us, the cars did not explode, and the rides were uneventful.
Fortunately, Wasim and Naveed were with Marcia and that team, because the three German Shepherds were in the Beast with us, Prince and Duke in the back, Riley riding up front between Len and Kyle. Filled the boys, Dad, Lizzie, and Gadhavi in on all they’d missed during our ride home. Everyone expressed disappointment for not getting to meet the Tinkerer, dismay over the dead truck drivers, and otherwise all seemed normal. For us, anyway.
All the P.T.C.U. folks and Chuckie went to their various fun locations. The rest of us went to wherever we were sleeping. Another day of total insanity over.
We got all the kids into their various beds, ensured that Wasim and Naveed were safely back in the White House, and settled the K-9 dogs into our room. Jeff and I chose to shower and have sexy times there so that the dogs wouldn’t make Jeff feel like we were being watched, since the dogs totally would do that, seeing as they felt it was their job to protect me from all things.
Got the rewards I felt I’d earned and then some, which was by far the nicest part of this day. Then we collapsed into bed.
“What do you think tomorrow’s going to bring?” I asked Jeff as I snuggled up next to him and rubbed my face into the hair on his awesome chest.