DeathWeb (Fox Meridian Book 3) (13 page)

‘I like Alice.’

‘So do I,’ Marie said, ‘but boy does she have a temper. I’ve never got on her bad side, thank God.’

‘She’s naturally a little timid. Annoy her and she gets over it. I expect her staff think she’s a pushover until she turns around and bites off chunks, and then they never do it again.’

Sam gave a shrug. ‘Redhead.’

‘I’m a redhead!’ Marie pointed out, looking a little affronted.

‘Precisely,’ Fox replied.

~~~

‘Our subject,’ Kit said, pacing before the sofa, ‘is likely a physically fit individual, possibly obsessively so. His choice of victims would require a degree of physical strength to overcome them, and their apparent selection from among the ranks of LifeFit users would seem to indicate a similar interest.’

Fox watched Kit as she paced. The AI had dressed in her formal outfit and glasses, even though they were alone; she was taking this profile
very
seriously.

‘He is likely older than his victims, perhaps in his forties, though that flies against the normal run of this kind of psychopathy. They normally begin their career far younger. Indeed, early indicators would have appeared in childhood. He likely harmed and killed animals before graduating to people.’

‘That’s typical, yes.’

Kit broke her pacing to give Fox a smile. ‘I’m telling you things you already know.’

‘Some, but keep going. This is a learning exercise
and
talking it through will show up holes in the profile. Two heads are better than one. Supposedly anyway.’

‘Yes. It’s likely that he holds, or has held, a good job and was successful at it. I would suggest that he is part of a multinational company, probably a large one. The changes in venue suggest assignment overseas.’

‘Would that not suggest someone younger? Older people typically have families and uprooting them to another country is often difficult.’

‘No, because our subject is unlikely to be married. He has difficulty forming long-term relationships. He is likely to be sexually functional and may use prostitutes. This negates the need for emotional ties, which he understands logically but is unable to really grasp. To most, he is likely to seem like a well-adjusted, if solitary, man. He probably states that he “has never met the right girl” if asked, and since he would not know the right girl if she walked up and kissed him, that is true. The relationships he has are cultivated for his benefit. He uses people, friends and strangers alike, to meet his needs. He clearly enjoys inflicting pain. I believe that he has managed to assuage this need through the application of psychological torment until something triggered him to make his first kill.’

‘That is an interesting theorem. I like that. He could even be older than you think.’

Kit’s smile brightened. ‘I had considered the possibility that his career has taken him to the point where he can retire. He finds himself bored, idle, and decides to spice things up with murder.’

‘Let’s say forty to sixty then. A successful businessman who retired in fifty-five or fifty-six, likely to be wealthy because he’s maintaining good health so he can afford the healthcare. He lives alone… But then why the move to South Africa?’

‘Perhaps he simply wished to travel.’

‘It’s possible. Put that aside for a minute and go on.’

‘He plans carefully. His first victim likely required considerable planning. He makes sure that nothing can go wrong. He is skilled at risk assessment and management. He is meticulous, but he is prone to poor impulse control, bursts of anger. Perhaps he knows Mister August and disliked him for some reason, hence the choice of his granddaughter as the first target.’

‘Possible. Maybe you should widen your profile on Patricia Randall, include her grandfather, and see if anyone comes up who fits that pattern.’

Kit beamed. ‘I
am
glad you suggested that because I have already set about doing so.’

Fox returned the smile with a grin. ‘I’m not sure what you need me for. I’m sure you can solve this case by yourself.’

‘But, Fox, I would find it
very
difficult to actually arrest someone, not having a body to do it with.’

‘Oh well, as long as I’m useful for something.’

24
^th
June.

A glimpse of copper hair out of the corner of her eye was the only notice Fox had that her parents had arrived at the stand. She turned, saw that Vaughn was on her way to meet them, and time did that weird slowing down thing that it does sometimes when all your attention suddenly focuses on details and the rest of the world fades into a background blur.

Jonathan Meridian was looking older than the still she had seen suggested. There were more lines on his face, his brow was furrowed as though stress was taking its toll, and his hair was receding more than the picture had shown, but there was no more grey in it. He was dressed in a brown and grey sweatshirt, cargo pants, and work boots; that was just like him: always the working man. She thought his face looked more gaunt than it had, but his body still had a solid, strongly built nature to it. Fox was not sure if he still worked fields, but he did work at something. No one had sculpted that body aside from Jonathan Meridian.

Andrea was a different matter. There was little age in her face, and her eyes were a clear green, the lids slightly hooded, a feature her father had always loved. He called them ‘come hither’ eyes and said they were the first thing that had struck him on first sight. Her face was narrower than Fox’s, but there was the same full mouth, a longer, narrower nose. Andrea had always said that Fox had a better figure, but you would be hard-pressed to tell now, and Fox had always said that it was simply a matter of height: Andrea was two inches shorter than her daughter. In truth, Fox had bigger breasts which her mother had said she envied: Fox had never understood why. Fox had always envied Andrea’s hair, long and bright copper. The cornrow braids suited her face, falling to the upper slopes of her breasts where each braid was capped off with a long, pale brown bead. Andrea was dressed in a short, cap-sleeved dress, red gingham at the top with a blue, high-waisted skirt, and that showed off long, slim legs. She was in beige heeled pumps which added to her height, which she had always been a little self-conscious about. Around her throat was a red scarf, tied as a choker. Fox the homicide detective thought it made her look as though her throat had been slit.

Time decided enough was enough and Fox moved. ‘Alice, I’ll take those two. I know them.’

Vaughn looked around, a little perplexed, but she smiled and nodded. ‘Okay, Fox.’

‘People still call you Fox then?’ Jonathan asked, his face lighting up a little as he smiled. The smile was welcome.

‘I like it, Dad. I got over punching people for using it a long time ago.’ Fox could almost feel the sudden attention from her friends at the use of the word ‘dad.’

‘True, I guess you did. Surprised you kept it through the Army though.’

‘They called me First Lieutenant, eventually. Have you got shorter?’

‘Huh, age can do that, but you’ve grown a little since I last saw you. We caught your presentation.’

‘I know. I looked for you at the end, but I guess you had places to be.’

‘We have had a busy week,’ Andrea said. ‘I heard your little speech at the end. Still in favour of government intervening in local matters, it seems.’

The slight smile Fox had been wearing faded. Fox saw Jonathan stiffen. ‘Yeah, that’s why I left NAPA and joined Palladium. Look, did you just come by to open old wounds or was there something I can show you?’

Andrea’s smile did not reach her eyes. ‘Yes, to business.
When
the resolution passes, we’ll be in need of equipment to assist our
local
law enforcers. I’m not so sure about some of the things you showed in the presentation, but the harness your girl demonstrated and the forensic equipment seemed exceptionally useful.’

‘Come and meet Marie.’ Fox stepped back, leading her parents to where Marie was standing. Now back on the stand, she was dressed in the outfit Vaughn had decided would work for the assistants, which was basically the same uniform as the Palladium security personnel wore on duty: sharply pressed slacks and a tunic, all in dark blue with white, high-visibility epaulettes. Normally there was a bullet-resistant undersuit beneath, but that was missing, and Marie was wearing the harness over her tunic, of course. Glancing back, Fox checked her parents were in tow. ‘This is a prototype, hence the loose wires, but all the functions are there and it does work, as Marie demonstrated. Marie, this is Jonathan and Andrea Meridian. They’re interested in the harness.’

Marie was pretty good; her face shifted into a smile with barely a flicker of surprise registering. ‘Of course, pleased to meet you, ma’am, sir.’

‘Is it heavy?’ Jonathan asked, peering at the hardware.

‘It’s a bit under three kilos and the weight is pretty distributed. It sits on your shoulders and hips so it’s easy enough to carry. I’m told the finished version will have fixing points for equipment around the waist.’

‘Battery life?’

‘It’ll manage eight hours before it needs a recharge.’

Fox was watching the same feed from the little AI they had all been supplied with, which was listening to the conversation and supplying context-sensitive data as needed. She did not need it just now. ‘And that’s plenty of time for a typical crime scene analysis. We do recommend some training in its use and in basic police operations. As Marie showed us, anyone can use it, but it’s really designed to
assist
a cop, not replace one.’

‘But Marie here is an actress?’ Jonathan asked.

‘I’m working on that, sir,’ Marie replied, smiling. ‘Currently I do housework. I get a little woozy at the sight of a real dead body.’

‘Keeps her head, though,’ Fox said. ‘She was involved in an incident at my apartment block in May.’

‘We don’t really get that kind of thing happening in our region,’ Andrea said. ‘It’s not like New York or Chicago.’

‘No,’ Fox said as Kit provided her with crime statistics for the Topeka Agri-Zone. ‘On a per capita basis, Topeka has around four times as many murders, five times the rapes, and three times the burglaries. Obviously the region has a far lower population than the metros so the absolute numbers tend to be smaller, but we both know crime is an issue out there, Mom. We both know part of that is resources. NAPA doesn’t have enough to do the job properly outside the metros.’

‘Precisely. If we are allowed to police ourselves, we can commit the kind of resources we need to bring those figures down. We already have a local watch unit who provide patrols, but they don’t get the backup they need from NAPA.’

‘You still have a basic problem. You have a population made up of independent, strong-willed people with a dislike of authority. They’re used to self-reliance, going out and making the world do as they wish, despite the odds. They
love
guns and, given the anarchist biomod gangs who come in from the protectorates, I can’t blame them. These people aren’t going to like
any
police force that can actually be effective, Mom.’

‘The Watch–’

‘Has had no effect on your crime rates
and
has resulted in an increase in assault cases. Usually the complaints are against your watchmen.’

Andrea’s eyes flashed and she opened her mouth, but Jonathan said, ‘Andy, this is not the place,’ and his wife calmed herself. The anger was still there though. ‘How much are they planning to charge for this?’ Jonathan asked.

‘We don’t have a final figure yet,’ Marie supplied, looking grateful. ‘I’ve been told to quote a figure of thirty to forty thousand per unit. Detailed forensic analysis swarms and some of the other equipment are available, but extra. And we can contract to provide training.’

Jonathan nodded. ‘Thank you, Marie. Fox, we’ll see you again before we head home.’

‘I’m sure,’ Fox replied.

‘This afternoon,’ Andrea said. ‘I’m on stage for the debate. And there’s the banquet tonight, of course. You’ll be there?’

Fox ignored the immediate question of her mother being on the stage in the afternoon: that could wait. ‘Yes, we’ll both be there, as it happens.’

‘We’ll see you later then.’ And Andrea turned and started away. Jonathan flashed Fox a quick smile and then went after his wife.

‘So… those were your parents,’ Marie said.

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Your mom is kind of hot.’

‘Yeah. She’s had a little work done since I last saw her.’

‘Bit of a bitch though.’

‘I’m not going to argue.’

~~~

Fox scanned the audience, taking in a few faces she knew, a few that Kit was able to provide data on though Fox did not immediately recognise, and many more who would have to have their badges scanned if she wanted to know who they were. The same would have applied to the people up on stage were it not for knowing who they were going to be beforehand.

General David Graves was in the seat next to Fox’s, looking grim. The big man was a hero, of sorts, noted for a number of actions in his career which had resulted in the saving of innocent lives. He viewed collateral damage as something no one should consider necessary and he had a strong belief in checks and balances, which he was good at arguing. Justice, he thought, was something which needed to be constantly watched and strived for. The problem was that the ‘debate’ was stacked against him and those who thought like him.

Most of the people on the stage were either so politically minded that they refused to take a real position, or they were determined to see the resolution pass. There were people like Fox’s mother there, effusive believers in the freedom of the private individual to govern themselves. Raffinton from Wayden was there, agreeing with anything which was likely to bring in votes for passage. Canter and Malton were making non-committal mutterings and trying to stay hidden while the other three senators were vehement about passing the resolution. Graves was the only one who seemed to be applying any logic to the discussion and Fox watched events, not sure what to say, and getting more and more annoyed.