Cold Case Part 2

"What did Walter G. have to say?"

"When the cops finally talked to him-he was in a private hospital for shock or a hangover or something-Walter G. wasn't very helpful. He said he and Silly made out a little-they were a semicouple, as I recall-then they split up, and young master Callivant drove home."

"He didn't take Silly-the girl-home first?" Matt felt silly, using that upper-crust nickname. And he couldn't believe that any boy would leave a girl stranded at a party, no matter how ritzy.

"Apparently, she wanted to stay." Leif turned to his friend with an odd expression on his face. "You've never been to that kind of party-and you should probably be glad. The rich really are different, in one way especially. They're very fond of getting their own way. The two kids may have had an argument, and one or the other went storming off. It could even have happened the way young Callivant told it. The girl could have dismissed him. 'Run along, now. I've got other fish to fry.'"

"You make it sound-so unpleasant," Matt couldn't help saying. unpleasant," Matt couldn't help saying.

"I told you," Leif said, his mocking smile completely gone. "Being rich is no bowl of cherries."

He lounged back on his uncomfortable-looking seat. "So, now that you've gotten some of the gory details-and a whole lot of conjecture-what are you going to do with the information?"

Now it was Matt's turn to shrug. "I have no idea," he confessed. He held up his hand. "No. One thing I do know. I won't be detecting very much in that sim, unless the player who's been snooping around confesses to Ed Saunders."

"I hope you're not holding your breath on that possibility," Leif told him. "Otherwise, you'll end up looking like this." He frowned for a moment in thought, then his face turned bright blue. It was one of the joys of being on the Net-virtual special effects on command.

"You don't think the hacking will stop?" Matt asked.

"Oh, it may stop," Leif replied. "But I can't see anyone admitting to it. After seeing what happened to your pal Saunders, do you think these guys are going to nominate themselves as targets for the Callivant lawyers' brigade?"

Leif had almost forgotten Matt's visit as he wrestled with the intricacies of tying a black silk bow tie. The Delmarva Club was strictly old-fashioned. Formal events meant black tie and tuxedo-even if it was an event for the "young people."

Looking in his mirror, Leif had to smile. He looked good in a monkey suit-although, he also had to admit, that was true enough for most males. His formal suit had been hand-tailored to make the most of his slim frame, and the red hair above his slightly sharp features glowed like a flame. The effect was that of a very well-dressed fox.

Leif bared his teeth at his reflection as the internal phone system sounded. It was the doorman, reporting that his ride had arrived.

Arriving downstairs from the penthouse, Leif stood for a second in disbelief. His pal Charlie Dysart had gone all-out for tonight's little excursion. The car was a cla.s.sic, a beautiful vintage Dodge gleaming as if it had just come out of the showroom.

"Charlie, you've definitely outdone yourself," Leif said, shaking his head. "I know your dad collects cars, but how did you-"

"What Father doesn't know won't hurt him," replied young Dysart, in a rig even more resplendent than Leif's. His dark hair was slicked back in the manner of some long-forgotten flatfilm personality. "At least it won't hurt until he happens to check the odometer on this baby."

The trip from Washington to the Wilmington suburb of Haddington was about ninety miles. Yeah, that would put a sizable change on the mint car's mileage.

Leif got in. "By the way," Charlie said as they pulled away, "did I mention that you're paying for the gas?"

The winding country road made for a welcome relief from the interstate, where Charlie Dysart had done everything but play b.u.mper cars with his father's valuable collector's item. Leif hoped he hadn't sweat through his tux.

The Dysarts were an old-money family who had invested well. Their family fortune had recently enlarged nicely, thanks to Leif's father. They spent their time on charity, hobbies, counting their money, and-in Charlie's case-being outrageous.

That was part of the reason Charlie'd invited Leif along for this road trip. The Delmarva Club was a fortress for the old, privileged families of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, as the club name suggested. Members' families were expected to have fought prominently at least in the Civil War, if not in the Revolution. It was not a place where the firstborn son of an immigrant billionaire would be warmly welcomed.

Before his exciting ride, Leif had expected the evening to be deadly dull. Still, if Charlie wanted to rile the old-line members, the least Leif could do was go along with the plan.

Charlie had finally slowed down on the pitch-black country lane. Leif could barely make out the fieldstone wall to one side. Then, suddenly, he spotted light ahead, streaming through a pair of open iron gates. Charlie piloted the Dodge into a turn.

Gravel crunched under their wheels as they moved toward a pillared house that would have made a perfect set for a Civil War movie. They swept round a circular drive, where Charlie turned the car over to a valet parking attendent.

A moment later, they were inside the house, and sober-faced servants removed their overcoats as Charlie produced his invitation. Then they were heading into a ballroom.

The glittering crystal chandeliers were from another age, contrasting with the slightly shabby carpeting-typical of any WASP enclave-and the sedate clothing of the Delmarva Club's younger generation.

There was a band that managed to make any music it played seem twenty years older than it really was. And through some subtle magic-Leif's father called it "the cursed Society Beat"-there was no way to dance to the tunes.

The refreshments were, in finest Anglo-Saxon tradition, tasteless and also nonalcoholic. Leif was sure there was some spot outside, away from the eyes of the chaperones, where discreet hip flasks appeared.

Those chaperones, by the way, were congregated against the rear wall of the large room, looking about as bored as Leif felt-except for one older woman. She stood ramrod stiff, her short white hair in striking contrast to the black dress she wore. Her eyes seemed to glitter as she greedily took in the sight of the dancing teenagers.

Charlie Dysart followed Leif's gaze. "Creepy, huh? That's old Felicia Hadding. The town's named after her family. For more than forty years, they tell me, she's turned up at every youth party. Always the same. Dressed in black, and ready to jump on anyone who does anything out of line."

Leif stood very still as a couple of other facts came swimming up from his memory-bits of the long-ago case that he hadn't told Matt. Priscilla Hadding had died on a back-country road in the society hamlet of Haddington, Delaware. And her mother had been a widow named Felicia Hadding.

"Any reason for that?" Leif asked through suddenly dry lips.

Charlie shrugged. "She lost her pride and joy in some accident after a party. I don't know why she doesn't join one of those groups against drunk drivers instead of ruining everyone's fun."

"Maybe she wouldn't like the publicity," Leif said. Old-line society types felt the only times their name should appear in the papers were when they were born, when they were married, and when they died.

He paused, hit by a sudden notion. Matt automatically a.s.sumed-and so had he-that the cease-and-desist letters came from the Callivants. What if those lawyers were instead working for Felicia Hadding? Maybe she didn't want anyone nosing around in the facts about her daughter's death.

"Whoa!" Charlie Dysart's boisterous comment cut through Leif's thoughts. "Looks like we get to party with the rich and famous famous tonight! That's Nikki Callivant coming off the dance floor." tonight! That's Nikki Callivant coming off the dance floor."

Talk about your coincidences, Leif thought. After talking about that old case with Matt, I come to Haddington and meet a Callivant After talking about that old case with Matt, I come to Haddington and meet a Callivant.

On second thought, it might not be such a big coincidence after all. The Callivant compound wasn't all that far from Haddington. And this was probably the sort of society affair that the young Callivants were encouraged to attend.

He knew the name Nicola Callivant. She was Walter G.'s granddaughter, about the same age as Leif and Matt. Either she wasn't interested or wasn't old enough for the splashier affairs attended by her older cousins. Somehow, she'd managed to keep away from the lenses of the press and HoloNews.

The few pictures Leif had seen of her made Nicola look fragile, like an overly nervous thoroughbred horse. In holos her features seemed too delicate, her expression too refined.

The word you're looking for, Leif told himself, is effete is effete.

Seeing Nikki in real life changed that impression. Yes, her face was delicate, more delicate even than portraits of her mother, a famed beauty. Her hair was light brown and fine, floating like a cloud around her face. But those deep blue, almost violet, eyes were far from delicate. They glittered with pride, and with intelligence Leif could feel even halfway across the room.

Without even discussing it, Leif and Charlie began heading toward the girl. Nicola gave the guy she'd been dancing with a cool smile and began turning away.

"Hey! Nikki!" Charlie Dysart called, grabbing Leif by the arm. "I didn't think you'd be out slumming tonight."

Nikki Callivant's lips retained the same smile, but Leif noticed a brief flicker in her eyes. He recognized the look. Sometimes it pa.s.sed between his Net Force friends when Andy Moore got a little too boisterous.

"h.e.l.lo, Dysart," she said, her voice flat.

"I want you to meet a friend of mine," Charlie said, drowning out her words. "Leif, say h.e.l.lo to Nikki."

Dysart's crude introduction left Leif no choice. He'd just have to make the best of an embarra.s.sing situation. "Ms. Callivant, how do you do. I'm Leif Anderson-"

Those incredible eyes suddenly went cold. "I've heard about you, Anderson."

Leif almost physically stumbled. "Excuse me?" You'd think he'd broken wind instead of trying to break the ice.

"You pestered a friend of mine," Nicola Callivant spoke remorselessly on. "Forced your company on her. Embarra.s.sed her. Do you speak French, Mr. Anderson? Maybe you'll understand a few of the words she had to say about you. Parvenu. Arriviste Parvenu. Arriviste."

As she spoke, Leif couldn't help noticing the fine-boned sculpting of Nikki Callivant's nose-even though she was looking down it at him.

"Decla.s.se," she finally concluded her insulting list.

Leif's French was impeccable, better than hers was if the accent was anything to go by. He understood each painful word. Social climber. Upstart. Lower cla.s.s.

"So who had all these nice things to say about me?" he asked in a carefully level tone of voice.

Nikki Callivant's right eyebrow rose in a perfect arch. "Is it a hobby of yours? Are there so many women who might say such things that you can't guess? Do you push yourself on every woman you meet?"

"It's an exercise in masochism."

The girl's lips twisted in disgust. "A friend of mine from New York. Courtney Hardaway."

Leif spread his hands. "Well, there you go. Courtney did did have to put up with me. Just as I had to put up with her. We were forced together by my parents-and by hers. Hardaway Industries was getting a big cash transfusion from my dad's company." He made a modest, waving-away gesture. "Yes, I know. Crude. New money. Not like yours. But then, my father had certain handicaps. His family was busy being oppressed while your family was busily war profiteering during World War Two." have to put up with me. Just as I had to put up with her. We were forced together by my parents-and by hers. Hardaway Industries was getting a big cash transfusion from my dad's company." He made a modest, waving-away gesture. "Yes, I know. Crude. New money. Not like yours. But then, my father had certain handicaps. His family was busy being oppressed while your family was busily war profiteering during World War Two."

Beside him, Leif heard Charlie Dysart make a noise somewhere between a gasp and a gulp.

Nicola Callivant showed her breeding, however. First, her perfect face went pale as marble. Then her cheeks burned bright red. "How dare you!" she grated. "I am a Callivant!"

"And I'm an Anderson," Leif replied. "Thanks for teaching me an important lesson. I wouldn't have believed it. But there are worse sn.o.bs on this earth than Courtney Hardaway."

Spinning on his heel, he stalked away.

4.

The moons of Jupiter continued their stately orbital dance around the swollen bulk of their mother planet. Megan O'Malley took a long minute to study the view from her seat in the stone amphitheater cut into the crust of Ganymede. This was her personal virtual s.p.a.ce, big enough to hold the largest crowd-like all her friends from the Net Force Explorers.

She finally brought her eyes down to stare at the guest of honor in disbelief. "You actually dissed a Callivant-and lived?"

"There were a couple of tight moments," Leif Anderson admitted. "But I managed to get out of there before the lynch mob was able to find a rope."

Andy Moore laughed. "Even so, word will get out. I mean, what you did is like taking a whiz on the Washington Monument. Aren't you afraid your folks will get deported or something?"

Leif rolled his eyes. "Please."

Megan figured the subject of parents was probably a painful one for Leif right now. The Andersons had returned late last night to find Leif not at home, long after he was expected back from the party. They'd tried to contact him on his wallet-phone-and had gotten no answer. So they'd called around to Leif's Washington friends, waking up a lot of people, not finding their wandering son...and, in the end, leading to this virtual meeting of the crew, who had finally tracked Leif down, at home, just before dawn. Everybody wanted to find out what really really happened. happened.

So far, Megan had to admit, the story had been pretty entertaining.

"So how come your folks couldn't get through to you?" Maj Greene demanded.

Leif smiled, but his eyes moved just a little too much. "My phone c.r.a.pped out."

The needle on Megan's mental BS meter flicked. Leif was not not being honest. "How could that be? I thought you had the top-of-the-line, latest-model, most expensive wallet-phone known to humankind." being honest. "How could that be? I thought you had the top-of-the-line, latest-model, most expensive wallet-phone known to humankind."

"Yeah. Maybe." Leif really didn't want to answer this. "You'd think it would be waterproof."

"Water-resistant. It is. How'd you let it get wet enough to kill it?" Megan hooted in derision.

"Can I help it if I ended up in a fountain, thanks to some of Nikki's Neanderthal male friends? Do you know how long it took for me to dry out?

"How could you let that happen?" David Gray asked in disbelief. "Didn't you have any warning?"

Leif wouldn't meet their eyes. "Oh, I saw them coming. I just figured I could talk my way out of it."

"Yeah," Megan repeated, "like you did with Nikki Callivant, you silver-tongued devil." She shook her head. "I'm beginning to believe that study on HoloNews-the one that says ninety percent of problems result from human error."

"Forget about your folks being deported," Andy said with a malicious grin. "How long would you last in the Net Force Explorers if word of this got out?"

His tone was somewhere along the line of "Hey, rich boy, how much is our silence worth to you?"

Megan gave Andy a sharp look. "This from the genius who dragged a virus into the system for last month's meeting."

"How did you-" Andy began. He quickly shut up under the glares of everyone in the virtual hangout. "It was supposed to be a joke."

"Very funny, Moore," Maj Greene growled. "I wasted hours making sure nothing had infiltrated my system."

Matt Hunter, who'd been very quiet up to now, suddenly leaned forward. "What was this Nicola Callivant like?"

"Pretty snotty, it sounds like," Maj said flatly.

"Not a good first impression-on either of our parts, that's for sure," Leif agreed. Then he was looking up at the planetarium show overhead. "But she was surprising, too. Pictures don't do Nikki Callivant justice. They make her look like some kind of starved waif doll. But when you see her in person, there's something else...something more."

"Right," Andy Moore joked. "There's that rotten personality."

Megan didn't pay attention. She was giving silent commands to her computer. An instant later, Nicola Callivant's image floated in front of Megan, for her eyes only.

Leif had been surprisingly careful, not calling the girl pretty. But seeing her in a formal gown, that was exactly the word that came to Megan's mind. Nikki Callivant did look like a doll-a high-fashion model doll.

Megan struggled to keep her face still as she vented a sigh of frustration. Looks like Leif's off on another wild chick chase Looks like Leif's off on another wild chick chase, she thought. Boys and their hormones. What can you do with them? Even a thorough dunking didn't cool him off Boys and their hormones. What can you do with them? Even a thorough dunking didn't cool him off.

Sooner or later, she was sure, Leif would come back to earth again-probably with a thud. She had seen the pattern often enough. The only problem was that the Callivant clan was tightly knit, not terribly kind to outsiders, and all too powerful.

If Leif decides to make a fool of himself over her, I hope he doesn't get any of the other guys involved.