Duplicate Effort Part 32

"You're an investigator, right?" Wagner said. "I mean, you make your money finding people, but you've taken on stranger a.s.signments, not quite specific ones. What if we team up? My resources, your skills, and we find who killed Bowles. Someone is trying to frame us both, and we shouldn't allow it."

Flint froze. Talia was staring at Wagner in disbelief. Flint wondered if he was, too.

"Team up up?" Flint asked.

"We're both businessmen," Wagner said. "We have similar interests. I know you dislike me and I'm not real fond of you, but we could work something out-"

"You're serious," Flint said.

"Of course I am," Wagner said. "Occasionally a man must ally with someone he dislikes to get a job done. We need to know what's going on in the Bowles case. I think that by doing it together-"

"You actually think I'd work with you?" Flint asked.

"Of course," Wagner said. "You're a smart man. It's in both of our interests-"

"I don't work with murderers," Flint said.

"I told you," Wagner said. "I didn't kill Ki Bowles. Weren't you paying attention? I-"

"Or kidnappers," Talia said with so much anger that for a moment, Flint thought she was going to jump on Wagner like she'd jumped on that thug.

"Child," Wagner said, "your-father-and I are having a discussion. It doesn't concern you."

"It concerns her," Flint said. "Because if I were a man unethical enough to tie myself to you, then she would have to deal with that. And she knows better. I I know better. I want you to pay for Paloma's murder. I'm not going to help you out of this mess." know better. I want you to pay for Paloma's murder. I'm not going to help you out of this mess."

"But I have nothing to do with it," Wagner said.

"Even if that's true," Flint said, "I don't care. You can't bring us in here at gunpoint and a.s.sume we'll help you."

"Surely-"

"Surely you're not that stupid," Flint said. "Surely you understand that I'll make sure someone pays for Paloma's murder."

"The Bixian a.s.sa.s.sins are dead. The Bixian government can't be charged." "And neither can the man who tipped them off," Flint said. "But I stopped working for the police, remember?"

At that moment, the door to the office slammed open. Bartholomew Nyquist stood there, with a group of officers in uniform behind him.

Some a.s.sociate-a man-waved his hands. "I tried to stop them, sir. They say there's a kidnapping in progress."

"There is," Flint said. "Wagner brought me and Talia here at gunpoint."

"I recorded it all," Talia said, holding up a fist. She pointed to a chip on her knuckle. "You want it?" Nyquist's eyes were sparkling. But his expression was serious. "Are you injured?"

"No-" Talia started, but Flint put a hand on her arm.

"We'll have to have someone make sure," he said. "My daughter is probably badly bruised." "It's not a kidnapping," Wagner said. "I invited Mr. Flint here to discuss business."

"He took us," Talia said. "I have proof."

"And witnesses," Flint said. "Ask anyone in the law school cafeteria."

"We already are." Nyquist walked deeper into the office. He looked jaunty. "Justinian Wagner, you are under arrest for the kidnapping of Miles Flint and Talia Shindo. Other charges, including attempted murder or murder by hire, might be added later. Have you anything to say?"

"I'm one of the most respected lawyers in Armstrong. You have no right-"

"You know the law, sir. Do you contend the charges or accept them?"

Wagner's lips thinned. He looked like he wanted to punch Nyquist. Instead he said tightly, "Contend." "Excellent." Nyquist removed the lightlocks from his pocket. "Turn around."

"Surely that's not necessary."

"You're being charged with a felony, sir," Nyquist said. "It's necessary."

Then he grinned at Flint over Wagner's shoulder. Flint grinned back.

"Took you long enough," Flint said softly.

"Came as soon as I heard." Nyquist finished attaching the locks, then roughly turned Wagner around and shoved him forward. "Figured this was one arrest I didn't want to miss."

51.

It had only been a half hour since the images of Gulliver Illiyitch were displayed all over Armstrong, but sighting reports had already overwhelmed the police station.

Romey had examined a dozen herself. The most credible seemed to come from the area around the port, but she couldn't get confirmation. And she didn't want to go in, weapons drawn, without it. "Savita." Gumiela had come out of her office. She stood in the hallway just outside Romey's small cubicle.

Gumiela looked even more put together than usual. She had probably refreshed her clothes several times during the day and reapplied her hair gel, all because she had known this was going to be a media kind of day.

Romey looked up from her desk. She was using the scratched screen to make a map of the city, trying to trace a trajectory of a possible Illiyitch path.

"You need to come see this." Gumiela moved away from Romey's line of sight.

Romey suppressed a sigh and stood. Her sons would be doing their homework or watching some vids. Maybe they'd even left the house, knowing their mom wouldn't be back until long after their bedtime.

She stepped into the hallway. Gumiela had turned on a wall screen.

There, in the middle of a throng of people, stood Gulliver Illiyitch.

He looked just like the identification photos that Whitford Security had. He hadn't even changed out of his black suit.

"Where's this?" Romey asked.

"The port, just like we thought. The media tracked him down. They're questioning him right now. I'm having s.p.a.ce Traffic Control pick him up. You want to go down there and cap off the arrest?"

Gumiela was actually being kind. She wanted to know whether Romey would like to make a high-profile arrest, the kind that would launch a career-turn Romey from a detective into an a.s.sistant chief or a media coordinator.

Into a junior Gumiela.

Romey made herself smile. "I think s.p.a.ce Traffic can handle it. I'll take care of him in interview." Gumiela studied her for a moment, as if trying to figure her out. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Romey said.

"Are you worried that he's not your killer? Because I'm convinced he is. I've looked at the reports. No one else could have gotten close to Bowles. And certainly no one else could have taken out the other guard so easily."

Gumiela was being so nice that Romey wanted to ask why.

But she had a hunch she knew why. If this case got resolved today, then the department would get kudos, and the media would be grateful.

The longer this thing went on, the harder it would be for the department to take any credit-even if that credit was deserved.

"I agree," Romey said. "But I've looked at this guy's record. He's got a suspicious history, and it looks phony to me. I'm reasonably sure he's a hired killer. I'd rather get the person who paid for the murder than the murderer himself."

"Interesting," Gumiela said. "You know, sometimes we just have to be satisfied with the shooter." "Yeah," Romey said, feeling almost like she was admitting defeat before she'd even started to fight. "I know."

52.

After some argument, Flint got Nyquist to drop him and Talia at Van Alen's. Nyquist wanted to take them first to a hospital and then to the precinct. To make the charges against Wagner even harsher, Nyquist wanted doctors to declare Talia injured. Then he wanted to take a statement from both of them.

"You got a statement," Flint said. "We made them at the crime scene. And you have Talia's recordings. That should be plenty."

Besides, he wanted to say, but didn't, charges against Wagner wouldn't stick. Or if they did, they'd be reduced significantly. Wagner had too many judges in his pocket. He had worked for half the city government and most of the people who ran the United Domes of the Moon as well.

He would get out of this.

Although his law firm might not survive the negative publicity.

But Flint had other things to do and he wasn't going to tell Nyquist what they were. Flint wanted to check the name of that corporation that had Wagner so upset-the one Talia recognized. And he wanted to make sure his daughter was protected.

But mostly, he wanted Van Alen to initiate a civil suit against Wagner. If the criminal case died-and it probably would-the civil suit would ensure that WSX and its shady senior partner would remain in the news, at least until Flint could decide what to do with the remaining files.

Van Alen's office was still in an uproar. People were examining networks, talking excitedly, and double-checking everything from their computer screens to their backups.

No one questioned Flint's entry, and no one asked how Talia was, even though she was leaning heavily on Flint. He knew she wasn't injured-he'd checked himself-but she was frightened deeper than she had been since Rhonda died.

In fact, the whole incident had probably brought Rhonda's death back. Flint was going to have to get Talia home soon.

But he knew this place, at least, would make her feel protected while he worked.

"Miles, thank G.o.d." Van Alen hurried toward him, wobbling on her heels. Her feet clearly hurt again. She only wobbled when she was tired.

She stopped just a few meters from him, frowning. "What happened?" she asked.

He looked up at her. He didn't want to go through the whole story of the kidnapping and the arrest, but he didn't see a choice.

He told it as quickly as he could, as tersely as he could. And to her credit, Van Alen didn't gloat that Wagner was arrested or even mention the shocking fact that Wagner probably wasn't involved in Bowles's death.

Instead, she walked over to Talia and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on," she said, glaring at Flint over Talia's shoulder, "let's take you to my office. It's quiet there. You can clean up, put on some comfortable clothes, and get something to eat."

"I don't have any clothes here," Talia said, and in that tone, Flint heard I want to go home. I want to go home. But he also knew she didn't think of his apartment as home. To her, the house she'd left on Callisto was the only home she'd ever had. But he also knew she didn't think of his apartment as home. To her, the house she'd left on Callisto was the only home she'd ever had.

"I have some things that'll fit you," Van Alen said. "I also have a full bathroom so you can shower, and a lot of hot water, so you don't have to worry about it running out."

"Not to mention the fluffiest towels I've ever used," Flint said.

His daughter looked at him in shock and he realized she suddenly thought he was having an affair with Van Alen.

"Maxine let me hide out here back when Paloma died," Flint said. "I think I lived in her office for an entire day."

"More like two," Van Alen said. "Or three. I forget."

"I need to use your nonnetworked machines," Flint said.

"Before you do, I need you to back-trace that glitch," Van Alen said. "Particularly now that we know Wagner wasn't involved."

"I'll back-trace it," Flint said. "After I check the files."

"Dad, let's just go," Talia said.

He looked at her. He did need to take her home.

But he couldn't do that yet.

He'd actually believed Wagner. And if Wagner hadn't ordered Bowles's death, then someone else had. And Flint was beginning to wonder if it wasn't one of the corporations that Wagner had mentioned. Corporations could easily hire a killer and then deny it. Or slough it off on a lower-level employee. "I'd love to go," he said to Talia. "But I can't. Not yet. We don't know everything that's going on." "Mr. Wagner's been arrested," Talia said. "The news says they found Ki Bowles's killer. We can go."

"They found the killer?" Flint asked Van Alen. He hadn't been monitoring his links. He hated listening to news while trying to concentrate on other things.

"The shooter," Van Alen said. "They think someone hired him."

She gave Talia a pointed look.

Talia's eyes filled with tears. "I'm really tired."

"I know," Flint said. "Go with Maxine. I'll be working in the same office, which is right near the bathroom. We'll have food ready by the time you get out of the shower."

"I don't want to sleep here," Talia said.

Flint nodded. "I know."

But he didn't promise her that she would be able to go home. He couldn't, not yet.

He needed answers before he could do that.