The Ghost in the Doll (Fox Meridian Book 6) (6 page)

‘Crap, Mom. Dad’s drooling.’

‘I am not,’ Jonathan responded, wiping at the corner of his mouth. ‘Could we, perhaps, call it a draw?’

‘I think I’d accept that,’ Andrea said.

‘Yup,’ Fox agreed.

‘Good. Though… Fox, I just need to borrow your mother for… a couple of hours. You don’t mind, do–’

‘Nuh-huh. Guests will be arriving in ten minutes and I barely know half of them. You can just keep your unnatural lusts in check until the party’s over.’

‘
Unnatural
lusts?’

‘Yeah. You’re a man. All your lusts are unnatural.’

~~~

With all the people Fox had to say hello to before she could rush on to the next, it took a good forty minutes before she could settle down on the arm of Bart Wade’s chair with a glass of wine and a sigh.

‘Hard work,’ Bart said, ‘all this socialising.’

‘I’d rather be in a firefight,’ Fox replied. ‘Though… Mom hasn’t invited anyone I actually dislike to this one. How are you doing?’

‘Oh… Can’t complain, though I could’ve wished for a different day for this. I was at a funeral yesterday afternoon.’ Bart frowned. ‘Maybe that’s a good reason to be at a party today.’

‘Anyone I’d know?’

‘Doubt it. Old friend. We went to school together. His heart gave out, though, which was unexpected since he had a new one put in less than a month ago. They say there was a rejection problem.’

Fox frowned this time. ‘Seriously? That just doesn’t happen these days. The materials are biologically inert, and if there’s going to be a problem with cybernetic rejection syndrome, they can usually tell
before
they put something in.’

‘Tell that to Sam. Funny thing is, I’ve been to a couple of funerals recently where people have died from implant complications. Anyway, this is a pretty poor topic for a party. Your father tells me you’ve joined the Sisters of Corruption and that’s why you’ve got your boobs hanging out all over the place.’

‘I said no such thing,’ Jonathan said.

‘I didn’t join; I was inducted,’ Fox said.

‘Something else not to tell Danny Berkewitz about then,’ Bart said, grinning.

‘And anyway,
Mom’s
boobs are hanging out. Mine are just making an appearance. Dirty old man.’

‘Less of the old, young lady. I remember seeing something about some ceremony in New York after those murders. So I knew about your Sister Protector thing. That was a bad case.’

‘It certainly was, and I am not going to go into details because people will be tossing up the cocktail wieners. Anyway, the killer’s toast, and the Sisters gave me a lay membership in recognition. It was partially just spin. They wanted to make sure people didn’t forget what happened.’

‘I’d love to say that no one is ever going to forget that many women… murdered, but…’

‘They were all sex workers in the largest city in America. Some of them were sprawlers. They’ll be forgotten. Sad, but true. Not by me, and not by the Sisters, but normal, decent people, they’ll forget. Hell, they forget about a lot of things that don’t directly affect them. Everyone does.’

‘Some of us more than others,’ Jonathan said. ‘Us aging types, eh, Bart?’

‘Speak for yourself,’ Bart replied. ‘I remember everything as well as I always have, Joshua.’

‘Smart Alec.’

‘Now, see, Joshua can’t even remember my name. It’s terrible when the mind goes.’

~~~

‘Hey, Crystal, how’s life treating you?’ Fox smiled at the woman as she circulated once more through the crowd with slightly more selective stops.

‘Life’s about average,’ Crystal said. ‘Though, thinking about it, that’s a huge improvement.
Ray
is treating me very well.’

Fox grinned. ‘He told me you were dating. I think he felt he had to give full disclosure, seeing as I’m his boss.’

Crystal giggled. ‘He was a little doubtful. You know he hasn’t had a girlfriend in three years? I didn’t realise NAPA worked them that hard.’

‘It can do. Some people don’t want to start anything too fixed because of the job. Others can’t seem to find the time. Some only seem to find partners who can’t stand the job. I’m glad you’re getting on, otherwise I’d have to assign him to Luna City or something.’ Fox gave a little shrug. ‘Or get his
current
boss to. Technically, that’s not me right now. I’m on medical leave.’

‘I heard. I mean,
everyone
heard. It was pretty big news around here. Not on the news channels so much, but everyone was digging around looking for any little details we could find out. Someone said you were in a coma for a while.’

‘Uh-huh. Cerebral haemorrhage.’

Crystal gave an empathic wince. ‘And that your spine was broken. Did they have to use a
lot
of cybernetics?’

‘Let’s put it this way, I have Bart Wade beaten hands down now.’

‘Oh…’ Crystal reached out and put a hand on Fox’s arm. ‘It must have been horrible for you. Uh, but you’re looking good, very good. Picture of health.’

‘Yeah, I feel good, but there are a few… side effects which I’m still getting used to. I have power cells I need to charge every night now. That’s a chore.’

‘Wow,’ Crystal’s eyes widened. ‘They had to put in
that
much?’

‘It’s not ideal, but the alternative’s worse and electricity is fairly ubiquitous.’

‘Yes, but I’ve heard a few stories recently. People getting sick after new implants.’

Fox frowned. ‘Really? Bart said something similar. Uh, but no need to worry about me. Jackson Martins supervised the work on me. You might say I’m a MarTech girl through and through.’ Which was certainly true; Fox had entertained the idea of getting them to tattoo the MarTech Technologies logo on her butt.

Crystal giggled. ‘Well, it’s nice to know the man behind the company is looking out for you. I think I’ll go find Ray. He went for some drinks and hasn’t come back.’

Fox turned her head a little, listening. ‘He’s over by the fireplace, talking to Bart and my father.’

‘How on Earth could you hear that through all this?’

‘Good hearing, and some audio-analysis software. Comes in useful at times.’

‘Fox,’ Kit said as Crystal walked away, ‘I did a quick search of the local LifeWeb sources and private pages.’

‘We’re on holiday, Kit.’

‘Yes, but… Just listen. I found eleven cases of unusual infections and deaths in the past six months, all of them concerning people who had recently had implant surgery.’

‘Okay. It’s weird, but medical facilities out here aren’t quite up to the standard of–’

‘I found two, none of them fatal, in the previous eighteen months.’

Fox started across the lounge to the door, heading for the kitchen where the drinks were laid out. ‘Kit, are you trying to persuade me to investigate this to push me out of my funk or something?’

‘Yes.’

‘Uh… Oh. I was expecting you to be a bit more equivocal about it.’

‘I see no point in doing so. This could be a serious public health issue and I can find no evidence of anyone investigating it.’

‘Well, check. Ask Palladium to look for any open cases on the deaths. If there’s nothing… I’ll think about it.’

~~~

‘Negotiations,’ Ross Runyard said, ‘are ongoing. Miss Hoarsen has been most accommodating.’

Fox smiled. ‘You mean she’s answered your mail and hasn’t said no yet, right?’

The local politician smiled back. ‘It’s strange. You clearly dislike politics, but I can see you’ve inherited a little of both your parents’ attitudes to it.’

‘I feel like I should be insulted by that, and yet it feels like a compliment.’ Fox considered it something of a sign of their improved relationship that, while Andrea was standing beside her, she was not
hovering
in anticipation of trouble.

Runyard’s smile shifted to a grin. ‘It’s not an insult. Your mother is a little more perceptive regarding the language, and your father is more direct about using it. You cut right to the chase.’

‘Mariel’s a busy woman. Seriously busy. Jackson’s the nominal head of the company, but he’s more concerned with direction and research. Mariel
runs
MarTech and Jackson will tell you he couldn’t do it without her. Cutting to the chase, she probably gets a lot of approaches like yours and the best way to winnow out the good ones is to string them along for a while and see if they keep at it.’

‘I said as much, Ross,’ Andrea said.

‘You did, Andrea,’ Runyard agreed. ‘To be honest, some delay right now is not an issue. There has been something of a statistical anomaly in medical problems associated with cybernetics and biomods recently. It hasn’t
really
entered the public consciousness, but it will, and it could suppress public confidence. It will be easier to get this through once the numbers even out.’

Fox frowned. ‘A “statistical anomaly?”’

‘A rise in the number of random infections and rejections following operations. Of course, the hospital has and is conducting an investigation to see whether there’s a medical cause, but so far they’ve found nothing. The statistics seem to suggest it’s nothing more than an unlikely blip.’ Runyard shrugged. ‘That’s what I’m told anyway. I’m no doctor and statistics don’t mean much to me unless they’re related to voting.’

‘Huh, me neither, but I do know people tend to see more in odd numbers than is actually there.’

‘I don’t,’ Kit said into Fox’s mind.

‘Yeah, well, do a check on the statistics too, since you seem to be so concerned.’

‘That’s true,’ Runyard said, ‘and they will as soon as they notice.’

‘I’ve been hearing a few stories. It’ll probably break soon.’

‘I have no doubt. However, handling that will be down to the hospital’s PR department.’

‘Huh, sometimes I think the formalisation of memetics was the worst idea anyone ever had.’

Runyard grinned. ‘Possibly, but it certainly makes politics more interesting.’

2
^nd
April.

Waking up was weird in the confines of the portable unit. At home, in her server, Fox awoke in a viron which copied her apartment. The same had been true on the Moon. Here, there was no sensory information until she sought it out. The unit had video and audio systems, but they did not automatically sync with Fox’s mind and she was left with nothing but her thoughts while her data was uploaded to her body. Two minutes of mildly claustrophobic isolation which was hard to get used to.

‘I checked the statistics,’ Kit said into the silence. ‘It is theoretically possible that this is a random coincidence of unrelated events, if a highly unlikely one.’

‘And good morning to you, Kit,’ Fox responded. ‘How do you deal with this… floating existence?’

‘Good morning, Fox. I have never had to adapt. Being alone with my thoughts is more of a natural state for me.’

‘Makes me feel like I’m shut in a box. Which, I suppose, I am. Okay, so the statistical anomaly idea is valid, but you think it’s still worth chasing.’

‘That would sum up my feelings on the matter. Mister Alton’s death – Samuel Alton was Mister Wade’s friend – was put down as the result of an undiagnosed CRS condition. However, his liver was replaced without incident three years earlier.’

‘Bart said the heart was cybernetic. The liver would likely have been a biomod.’

‘Yes, that could explain the discrepancy.’

‘Have you had anything back from Palladium?’

‘Yes. There is no investigation other than the one Mister Runyard mentioned. Neither the Watch nor NAPA have been involved in the cases.’

‘NAPA still provides medical forensic services. They should’ve–’

‘Autopsies were not required since the subjects died of diagnosable causes following recent hospital visits. Frequently, death occurred in hospital as the subjects became sick prior to their demise.’

Fox sighed. ‘Hang on, I’m switching to my body.’ There was a second of discontinuity and then Fox opened her eyes, sat up in bed, and began disconnecting herself. ‘Kit?’

‘I am here.’

‘Okay. Do you have addresses for the people involved in this?’

‘Several of them, yes.’

‘Then we’ll go talk to some of them. Maybe there’s some connection no one’s noticed.’

‘We are investigating?’

Fox could hear the burst of enthusiasm in Kit’s voice. ‘Yes, we’re investigating. Happy now?’

Kit appeared beside the bed, beaming. ‘Very happy.’

‘Yeah, well, we’ll see how happy you are after we’ve talked to a few grieving relatives.’

~~~

‘He was only eighty-five.’ Samuel Alton’s daughter was about the same age as Fox’s mother, but she had not had much cosmetic work done and looked more like her real age. Recent circumstances had, in all probability, made her look older: she had taken her father’s death quite badly. ‘We expected him to be telling us how easy we had it these days for at least another couple of decades and then…’

‘It’s true,’ Bart said, nodding sadly. ‘Sam could be a real grump about the old days.’ Fox had figured that her neighbour might be able to introduce her a little more easily than just turning up on the doorstep. Despite the deference generally given to the old man, he had handled sitting on the back of Fox’s Q-bug perfectly well. Possibly a little
too
happily, actually.

‘Could you tell me precisely what happened, Mrs Crabtree?’ Fox asked.

‘Well… Dad had been having some trouble. Shortness of breath, chest pains. We had him move in here… My husband’s in investments so we can afford a fairly big place. Having Dad here was no big thing, but it made me feel a little better, knowing he was close in case anything happened.’

‘Of course.’ They certainly did have a fairly large house. Not huge, but it was a four-bedroom ranch-style place on the northern side of the city, and it had a pool. The latter was something of an extravagance in the Kansas Belt.

‘Anyway, he was eventually diagnosed with a heart condition and they recommended a replacement. We paid for it. Dad didn’t have insurance to cover that. Uh, so we made sure he got the best and we got Mister Napier to do the surgery. He’s one of the best cybernetics surgeons in Topeka.’