Ashdown stepped through the door into the interrogation room with a steaming cup of Joe in one hand and the requisite MIX in the other. The scent of Arabica beans filled the tiny space.
The detective took the seat across from me and launched right into it. ‘Sorry to keep you waiting but I figured I’d hold off on the coffee until I had proof of life.’
‘Ha ha ha. Maybe you can tell me why I’m here instead of the comedy routine.’ I tested the java and scalded the tip of my tongue. Ashdown caught my recoil from the sip and grinned.
He then pulled something up on his tablet and passed it over to me.
‘What’s this?’
‘Just read.’
I stared at an MNN article about an industrial accident that had happened a few hours ago. I skimmed the page until I saw what Ashdown wanted me to see.
A spokesperson, for Revolve Systems Ltd, released the names of the three individuals: Sarah Oliver, Luther Dwerry and Henrietta Perez.
‘What the hell?’ I said without looking up. ‘Shouldn’t Dwerry be in lock-up and not getting skewered by a robotic welder?’
‘Porter didn’t press charges. We released all three of them on Friday.’
I looked up now. ‘All of them? Even his assistant?’
‘Yep. Free on Friday. Dead two days later.’
‘Wait, you’re telling me they are all dead?’
Ashdown took the MIX back from me. ‘Sorry. Only Dwerry – that we know of.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ I tested the coffee again; drinkable in very small quantities.
‘Keep in mind this is all happening in real time, but we only have the known whereabouts of two out of the three in the embezzlement case.’
‘I’m assuming Dwerry, who is now in the morgue. And?’
‘Lyric Voss. Cooper is in the wind. We have him going into his apartment on Friday and then nothing. We sent a unit over to investigate and there’s no sign of him. No sign of a struggle. No sign he took any of his possessions.’
‘Cooper is in the wind? How could he be in the wind? We live in domes. It isn’t like he could sneak away in the cover of night, never to be seen again.’
‘If he is still in New London, we’ll find him. Like I said, this only started to matter when we got a report of Dwerry’s death.’
‘Do you think Porter is involved?’
‘That’s the question of the day, Helm.’
‘Is HTS connected to Revolve in any way?’
‘Revolve make propulsion components for DRIVE, who build FTL systems. It all uses superconductors, and HTS is listed as a supplier to Revolve. HTS has purchased engines from DRIVE in the past, but so has just about every other corporation and government with enough credits to afford their high-end Space Fold technology. But that’s about as far as the connection goes. Nothing obvious. However, it doesn’t mean he couldn’t have orchestrated it somehow.’
I nursed my coffee and reflected on what Ashdown had told me. If Porter was behind this, he was playing a dangerous game.
‘I don’t understand. Why did Porter drop the charges?’
A question I could answer. He didn’t trust how the investigation would play out – he wanted to control the situation as much as possible – but I wanted Ashdown’s version.
‘He said that the recovery of the money was more important than ruining the lives of such talented young people.’
I nearly spat my coffee out. ‘What the hell? He said that??’
Ashdown nodded. ‘I think he referred to Ms Voss more than the other two. Still, it sounds like a ton of horse shit to me.’
‘Earlier, you said you knew the whereabouts of two of the three. The second being Voss, right?’
‘Yep, I contacted her at her known address.’
‘You actually spoke to her?’
‘We did. I asked her if she knew about what had happened to Dwerry. She hadn’t heard anything about him. I also asked her why she thought Porter didn’t press charges for her role in the embezzlement case. She confirmed what Porter had already told us. She said he told her that she had great potential but had fallen in with the wrong crowd.’
Porter’s butler accent floated through my mind. ‘I hate to say it, but it does sound like something he would say. The guy stepped right out of period drama and into our century.’
Ashdown continued. ‘Voss told me that not only did she not get sacked for her involvement in the plot but that Porter was transferring her to their Lares office. She called it a promotion of sorts.’
‘Do you believe her?’
The detective tapped his chin in thought. ‘I dunno. Her voice carried a nervous energy and she seemed distracted during our interview. However, a simultaneous chat with Porter at his home by another detective supported her story. He said he thought she would do well outside the influence of a bad egg like Cooper. Voss confirmed it independently.’
I ran the heel of my palm and my fingers back and forth over my forehead, trying to make sense of this. For the moment, I’d forgotten all about my involvement in this little caper.
‘So let me get this straight – Voss plays a critical role in the theft of three million credits from HTS and not only is she not facing prison but she’s getting a promotion?’
‘Looks that way, Helm.’
‘Where is Lares?’
Ashdown jabbed at the MIX’s touchscreen. ‘Gliese 667 C system.’
‘And HTS has an office there.’
More jabbing. ‘Umm, yeah. They have a partnership with a local government on a solar farm project.’
We sat there for a moment, looking at each other. I still had no idea why the detective had called me in.
‘He said “bad egg”?’ I asked finally.
‘What’s that?’
‘You said Porter called Cooper a “bad egg”.’
‘Oh, right. Yeah. A bad egg.’
‘From anyone other than him, I’d be surprised to hear that dusty old phrase.’
‘What can you tell me about Porter?’
Ah ha! Now his calling me in started to make sense. Information.
‘I doubt I can tell you more than you already now. CEO of HTS for some time now. Immigrated to Mars with the job. He has some high-level political connections within the city. Plays golf with the DA at one of those ridiculous virtual country clubs. A weakness for misguided employees apparently.’ I shrugged. ‘That’s about it. The guy hired me to do a job and I did it.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Afraid so.’
Ashdown shut off the MIX and stood. I took it as my cue and stood as well.
‘Thanks for coming in Dan.’ We headed to the door of the interview room.
I stepped through first. ‘No problem. Sorry I couldn’t be more help.’
Ashdown and I headed to the elevators.
‘Do you think he did it?’ I asked as I entered the first available carriage and held the door open.
He stepped in beside me.
‘Hard to say. The investigation is young but nothing directly connects Porter to the accident. I doubt we will find anything. One more question before we part ways.’
‘Fire away.’
He jammed the Emergency Stop button. A computerised voice filled the space.
The Emergency Stop button has been activated. If this is an actual emergency, please say ‘Emergency’ in a clear, audible voice and someone will be with your shortly. Thank you and have a nice day.
‘Why did Porter hire you for an embezzlement case? Why not keep it in-house? Use his own people?’
I shrugged again. ‘Beats me, Ash. Maybe he didn’t know who to trust within the organisation. Everything pointed to an inside job when he came to me with it. He went outside HTS to a person he trusted, who in turn recommended me. I took the case and, because of it, get to keep the lights on for a little while longer.’
Ashdown pressed the Ground Floor button again and the elevator resumed its slow descent.
‘Fair enough,’ he said as the doors opened.
I hopped out. He didn’t.
‘Stay out of trouble, Helm.’
‘Always do, Detective.’
Given my slight paranoia of being killed, or abducted, or abducted and then killed, using public transportation may not have been considered smart, but the proliferation of commuters and security cameras made an untimely death improbable at the very least.
I jumped off near Tireman, swung by my office. From my perch on the corner of Pam’s desk, I updated her on my day.
‘Do you believe Mr Porter killed Luther Dwerry?’ she asked when I had finished.
‘I honestly don’t know. The obvious answer is yes. However, I can’t imagine why he’d risk it. He’d have to know he’d be a suspect given the fact that Dwerry had just been arrested for stealing from him.’
‘If he did have Mr Dwerry killed, do you think Detective Ashdown will find evidence that leads to Porter’s involvement?’
I dropped my trilby on my knee. ‘He didn’t seem too sure when I left but the accident only just happened. Something might turn up, but I’d be surprised.’
‘Perhaps his ego forced him into a reckless action.’
‘I don’t see it, Pam. Porter is definitely an arrogant bastard but killing Dwerry days after he’d been released is too careless.’
‘Thus far it has achieved a desirable end.’
‘Explain.’
‘Ms Voss is leaving Mars of her own volition—’
‘I’m certain this isn’t because of her own volition,’ I cut in. Pam glared. She hated being interrupted.
‘Of her professed own volition, then. Alvin Cooper cannot be found. And, Luther Dwerry’s death served two purposes. One, he no longer poses a threat to Mr Porter. Two, the fear that they might be next has probably contributed to Ms Voss’s willingness to leave the planet and Mr Cooper’s disappearance.’
‘Cooper might be dead in a cave somewhere outside the domes for all we know.’
‘Unlikely. Discovery of the body would throw even more suspicion on Porter.’
‘True.’
‘My guess is that he used his IT talents to sneak out of his apartment and secure passage off Mars. Possibly to Earth, where he could vanish into the teeming mass of humanity who call that planet “home”.’ She said that last part with a tinge of revulsion. Such a strange robot.
‘Well it doesn’t really matter now. It’s out of our hands.’
Pam started to respond but checked herself.
‘What?’
‘Nothing, sir.’ To ensure I didn’t persist, she started typing the notes of our conversation on her keyboard at a furious pace.
‘Easy or I’ll have to replace that keyboard by the day’s end.’
She didn’t stop.
I hopped off her desk and made for the entrance.
‘Where are you going?’ she asked over the sound of rattling keys.
I held the door open but looked back at my assistant, who did not look at me.
‘To pick up a car and watch MARA Corporation. Maybe something will happen with that case. Maybe not, but it’s the only play I have at the moment.’
‘Be careful.’
‘It’s just sitting in a car.’
Her expression darkened a split second and the chatter from her keyboard stopped.
‘My concern for your safety still holds. Probability dictates that she will try to kill you at some point.’
‘Gee, thanks.’ Unease crept up my spine. ‘You have such a way with words.’
‘Just be careful, sir.’
‘I’ll do my best. If it helps, I’ll check in at the end of the day.’
I caught the door before it closed and poked my head back into the office. ‘I nearly forgot! Arrange a meeting with Porter for Wednesday. Tell him we need to talk and that he should have my credits ready.’
She replied with a ‘yes, sir’ and more typing.
As I drove Theo’s LTI from the CD to RD1, Pam’s parting comments hung in the air and led to uncomfortable questions.
Would Kitterman try to kill me?
A fleeting image of Nolan Kitterman and two visits from Mara in as many days had to do. He could have done the job but didn’t. However, I had no idea what his purpose was in this story.
And the concerned look on Pam’s face a few minutes ago. What was that all about?
The unsettling realisation that I was the only loose end in the HTS case hit me. Dwerry was dead. Accident or otherwise. Voss had been turned. Cooper had vanished. That left me. Pam wanted to say something to this effect but didn’t. Another question.
New London began to feel very small. I gripped the wheel and hit the accelerator.
The rearview and side cameras revealed nothing but my anxiety. Still, it felt good to zip through town. The cab handled like a brand new car and the seats had enough padding to make sitting on my ass for stretches at a time not too unpleasant a prospect. By the time I hit the heart of downtown, my nerves settled down. I needed to be smart, not scared. If I could do that, I’d be okay.
After cruising around RD1 and the four streets framing MARA Corporation for a couple of hours, I started to get a sense for the rhythms of the district. I soon found a few places where I could stop with a good view of the main entrance.
Tiny cameras installed on the roof by the ‘New London Taxi’ sign, plus the cameras that came as standard equipment, gave me nearly 360 coverage from inside the car. The video feeds filled small boxes on the left and right side of my MIX12 screen. I sat parked kerbside with baseball highlights taking up the centre of the area of my tablet, ignoring the world outside as much as possible. The duffle bag with my super-suit lay on the front passenger floorboard. I kept the NEEDLE in a shoulder holster, hidden by the same jacket I wore to Cooper’s place. In fact, as I took a quick glance in the mirror, my ‘taxi driver’ disguise looked a lot like my ‘pizza delivery guy’ disguise.
I hung around, fending off potential fares and trying to keep my movements as random as possible. About 10 minutes past 11pm, an all too familiar Baker Electric rolled through MARA Corp’s security checkpoint and hung a left. I followed until I knew it was heading towards Res 1. A return to her robot empire confirmed little to no activity.
Between Monday and Wednesday, I’d gotten pretty good at sitting in a car and moving around just enough to keep New Londoners out of my taxi. The benefit of a few days of inactivity was that I started to heal. Bruises became less tender and I could breathe easier with each passing day.
Somewhere in all of that, Porter and I agreed to meet at HTS on Wednesday afternoon. At 4.30am, I left RD1 through the north tunnel connecting it to Research District 2 and prayed for nothing to happen at MARA Corp in my absence.
When I arrived at HTS, I told the tasty dish behind the counter I had an appointment with Porter. A few minutes later he stepped out the elevator and motioned for me to follow him. Like an obedient child, I did as instructed.
He stopped in front of a glass display with a model of a mag-lev train racing around a round track with a map of Europe in the centre. I sidled up beside Porter and watched as the train made circuit after circuit. Going nowhere. Every minute of every day.
‘Did you know that this model is a replica of our very first project, Mr Helmqvist?’ he asked, also staring at it.
I could see the reflection in the glass of me shaking my head. ‘I didn’t.’ I didn’t really care, either, but I let it stand at that.
‘A high-speed rail system from London to Rome and all points Continental. The network spread like a spider’s web and our superconductors made fast, safe travel to virtually any major city in Europe possible. From there, HTS expanded to become the galactic success that it is today.’
The motion of the train was hypnotic. ‘HTS got its hands pretty dirty along the way.’
‘Humph. All organisations of importance have skeletons in their closet. It’s the price of doing business. The key is to ensure that either no one opens the door to that closet, or they cannot even find it in the first place. My complacency nearly cost us a great deal. A mistake I will not make in the future.’
‘Is that why you didn’t press charges on Voss, Cooper and Dwerry? To ensure your secrets remained secret? To control the situation as much as possible?’
‘I couldn’t be certain your tactics would survive an investigation, Mr Helmqvist. No offence to your ability, but I could not risk it. I do believe I was quite clear in the beginning that this was never about the money. It was about controlling information. Any quibbling I may have done about money was merely posturing. Others need to believe it is about money and nothing else.’
‘I know your secret too. Does that make me a liability? Am I due for an accident?’
His laugh seemed forced to me and he turned his head to look at me for the first time. ‘Don’t be preposterous, you came highly recommended to me by a friend. In fact, you are one of the few people I trust with this secret.’
I noticed he neither confirmed nor denied any involvement in Dwerry’s death, but I let that slide too. ‘I’ll remember to pass my gratitude along to Han the next time I see him.’ The DA and I had fallen out of contact soon after I left his office. It’s why his vouching for me seemed so strange.
Porter turned to face me. I followed suit. ‘Right. Well, you held up your end of the bargain. I believe all that is left to conclude our business is your fee. If you could provide me with a routing number, I can deposit the funds into your account at this very moment.’
He produced a mini MIX5 from his breast pocket, and I provided a routing number to my business account. He pecked away on the touchscreen with a stylus. ‘Done and done,’ he announced after a few seconds.
I pulled up my account on my MAX smartwatch. The balance increased by 30 grand. ‘You’ve overpaid,’ I said as I looked from the watch to him.
‘Nonsense, Mr Helmqvist. You have done HTS and myself a great service. Consider it a bonus based on performance.’
In other words, a bribe. Unlike Kitterman’s earlier, I decided I didn’t mind taking this one.
Porter extended his hand. I hesitated a second before shaking it.
‘Good day to you, Mr Helmqvist.’
‘Yeah. See you around, Porter.’
Walking back down the carpet and through the set of glass double doors felt like an escape. Like I had just cheated death.