Nightmare - A Novel Part 28

"An expensive vice," he said, "especially on a station. But someone in my position is allowed a few indulgences. Would you like to try one?"

"Thank you, no," Ara said.

"It's not Thursday," Tan murmured, and Ara shot her a hard look.

Rashid took his seat again and tapped the ash into a crystal receptacle. Cigarettes, Ara remembered. They were called cigarettes. "Shall I begin or should you?"

"Let's start with our end," Tan said. "Then you can tell us what you know and we can examine each other's files."

Rashid waved his cigarette, leaving a trail of smoke in a.s.sent.

"A little over two years ago," Tan began, "a Silent Sister named Prinna Meg was found dead. Levels of psytonin in her brain indicated she was in the Dream when she died. Her body was found with bruises and abrasions-indications of psychosomatic trauma. Her left little finger was cut off. Sewn to the stump was the finger of another woman, someone we still haven't identified. There were no witnesses to Meg's death in the Dream or in the solid world. A search of her house uncovered no significant clues. We took pictures and holographic images of everything anyway."

Rashid blew out a cloud of smoke. Ara found the smell dry and cloying but didn't feel it was proper to say anything. She tried to breathe shallowly.

"About a year after that-I can give you an exact number of days, if you like-Sister Wren Hamil was also found dead. Circ.u.mstances were the exactly same. Killer cut off her left little finger post-mortem and sewed Meg's finger on in its place. Eleven months later, Sister Iris Temm turned up dead in her home. Hamil's finger was sewn to her left hand. At this point, we knew what we were dealing with and we brought in Mother Ara here."

"To what end?" Rashid tapped his cigarette ash into the crystal receptacle again. "My sources-and yes, I did check up on you both-indicate that you, Mother Ara, are not an investigator."

"I was brought in as a consultant in morphic Dream theory," Ara said. "I can sometimes recreate other people's scenes in the Dream."

Rashid's dark eyes glittered and he leaned forward. "Ah! So you recreated the murder, then. Did you see the killer?"

"Yes and no," Ara said. "I saw the murderer do his work. He killed Iris by bringing her Dream landscape to life. He appeared to her as a man dressed in black with a wide-brimmed hat that left his face in shadow. I wasn't able to see his face."

"So his Dream form is different from his solid one," Rashid mused.

"After he killed Iris," Ara continued, "he cut off her finger and used it to write the number twelve on her forehead. We're a.s.suming he's numbering his victims." Ara's stomach began to churn. Memories of all the corpses she had seen, both Dream and solid, swirled through her mind and combined with the cigarette smoke to nauseating affect. She forced herself to go on. "We know the killer is powerful in the Dream. Not only does his mind overpower those of his victims, he also recreates their landscapes and their corpses, keeping the scene 'alive' even after the originating Silent is dead. I didn't even notice a transitional waver between Iris's death and the killer's recreation." She stood up. "I think I need something to drink."

Rashid started to rise. "What would you like?"

"If that's the bar over there, I can get it," Ara said almost shortly. "Inspector Tan can continue."

"Things get a little more complicated after this," Tan began as Ara headed for the bar and Rashid resumed his seat. "About nine months after Iris Temm died, the killer murdered Mother Diane Giday. But we didn't find the body until after he took another victim-Vera Cheel. So we found them out of order. That confused us for a while because Cheel was wearing a finger we couldn't identify. Only two weeks had gone by between the murders of Giday and Cheel."

"So the killer is escalating," Rashid said. He ground his cigarette out.

"Looks that way," Tan agreed. "We weren't able to recreate Giday's murder in the Dream, but with Vera Cheel we got a break."

Ara sniffed the contents of three decanters before she found the brandy. She sloshed a healthy dollop into a gla.s.s and started back toward the trio of chairs. On the way, she impulsively hooked a small plate of canapes. Did Rashid always have this sort of thing just sitting out, or was it there because he knew Ara and Tan were coming?

"What sort of break?" Rashid asked.

"A witness."

Rashid bolted upright. "Someone who saw the actual murder in the Dream? Who?"

"One of my students happened on it by sheer chance." Ara settled in her chair and took a sip of brandy. It was light and dry, and it burned pleasantly all the way down until it outlined her stomach in warmth. She let it settle a moment before describing what Kendi had experienced. During the retelling she had to pause for two more sips of brandy.

"Unfortunately," she concluded, "none of this gave us a clue to the killer's true ident.i.ty."

"At first," Tan put in, and Ara thankfully let her take over the narrative again. She settled back into her chair and popped a salmon-cream cheese puff into her mouth. It was delicately and perfectly seasoned.

"After Mother Ara had a chance to investigate the solid-world murder scenes," Tan continued, "she noticed something. Each of the victims had received a gift before she died. We a.s.sume it came from the killer. The gifts were always some sort of love token that came in a set that matched the victim's number. Iris Temm, the twelfth victim, received a box of twelve chocolates. Vera Cheel, victim number thirteen, received thirteen roses, and so on. After the killer did his work, he took a single token back, so Temm's chocolate box had one missing, for example."

"Strange," Rashid murmured. Ara tried to read his expression and found she couldn't.

"But that's not all he took," Tan said. "He also took some sort of intimate object-a pair of panties, an earring, a shoe."

"A finger," Rashid said grimly.

"Until recently we also had no suspects, but then things changed." Tan remained still and upright in her chair, reciting the story as if she were a recording. "A student at the monastery recently exhibited strange behavior-irrationality, wide behavioral changes, alterations in word use-and then she attacked another student."

"My son," Ara put in.

"After the attack, she disappeared," Tan said. "When we searched her room, we found a shirt with Diane Giday's blood on the sleeve. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to locate this student."

"She," Rashid said. Ara had expected him to get excited that they had a suspect, but he seemed perfectly calm. "You think the killer is a woman? The one you showed me in the Dream?"

"We aren't sure," Tan admitted. "Her disappearance is highly suspect, of course. So is the blood on her shirt cuff. But as Mother Ara once pointed out, a smart killer-as this one seems to be-wouldn't keep a shirt that might have picked up the victim's blood. She may have disappeared because she was murdered by our real killer, who's trying to throw us off the trail. In any case, we're still trying to find her so we can have a chat."

"I see," Rashid said. "I think it's obvious we're both looking for the same person, in any case. I notice that your victims are all Silent women connected to your organization. Since some carried the t.i.tle 'Mother' and others the t.i.tle 'Sister,' I a.s.sume their ages varied. This fits the profile of our victims as well-females of varying ages connected with our organization. Did your victims have any connections with each other? Common friends or people they knew on the job?"

Tan shook her head, making her long braid whisk back and forth like a broom. "We checked extensively. Nothing came up. What about yours?"

"Only one," Rashid said. "Polly Garvin, the first victim, was an acquaintance of Riann Keller, the third victim. But we weren't able to draw any other connections. Perhaps we should trade files and see what we find."

Computer pads came out and the transfers were made. Ara nibbled on more salmon-cream cheese canapes and glanced about the luxurious office before opening anything.

What a place this would be to work, she thought. A view of the universe and people to make you little dainties. A view of the universe and people to make you little dainties. Then she remembered the dark, narrow warrens that probably made up the majority of the residences and workplaces on Dream Station. Slavery was perfectly legal here, and Dreamers, Inc., owned many thousand of them, some Silent, some not. It might be fine here for the people on top, but the ones holding up the bottom had a hard time of it. Then she remembered the dark, narrow warrens that probably made up the majority of the residences and workplaces on Dream Station. Slavery was perfectly legal here, and Dreamers, Inc., owned many thousand of them, some Silent, some not. It might be fine here for the people on top, but the ones holding up the bottom had a hard time of it.

With a sigh, Ara opened the file on Riann Keller's death. Tan and Rashid were already reading silently, pictures and text mixing on their holographic screens. Tan pointed to one part of a picture and it magnified. Ara caught a glimpse of a pair of dead, filmy eyes staring at nothing. She shuddered. Someone-Dorna?-had left a trail of death and sorrow across an entire galaxy.

A pile of text appeared on Ara's screen and she found she couldn't bring herself to read closely. Too much pain, too much sorrow, too much death. How did Tan deal with this? Although the Dream stalker was Bellerophon's first recorded serial killer, Treetop City and the other city-states had their share of violent crime. Otherwise the Guardians wouldn't exist.

Ara's eye wandered across the text, not lighting long enough to read more than a word here or a phrase there.

...psytonin levels indicate . . .

...complete loss of . . .

...suspect must have attacked the victim . . .

...named Dorna, and a son . . .

...found approximately two hours after . . .

Ara gasped and scrolled frantically backward. Had she seen-yes, there it was. The victim had two children, a daughter named Dorna and a son named Cole. The victim had two children, a daughter named Dorna and a son named Cole.

It suddenly occurred to Ara that she and Tan had never mentioned Dorna's name to Rashid. There was so much information to trade, it was easy to leave things out, even obvious facts. Ara called for Tan and Rashid's attention and quickly explained.

"I remember the daughter," Rashid said excitedly. "Is there an image of her in your files? The image you showed me in the Dream was too wavery for a good identification."

Tan called it up for him. Dorna's head and shoulders appeared, her identification holo for the monastery. Rashid studied it a moment, then addressed the computer. "Reverse aging on this holograph ten years."

Dorna's face changed. Her cheeks became rounder, her features larger, until she looked to be fifteen or sixteen. Rashid's eyes glittered. "That's her! That's Rhiann Keller's daughter."

"So she is is the killer," Ara murmured. She should have been glad, even excited, at the confirmation, but all she felt was a lingering disappointment. the killer," Ara murmured. She should have been glad, even excited, at the confirmation, but all she felt was a lingering disappointment.

"Who was the father?" Tan asked.

"None on record," Rashid said. "We do know, however, that Rhiann Keller was known for having many ...casual male acquaintances."

"Let's draw a scenario, then." Tan cracked her knuckles, the first time Ara had seen her do such a thing. "According to my sources, serial murderers and people with multiple personalities are always abused-even tortured-as children. That's why some of them kill, displacing anger from their parents to innocent bystanders. Dorna Keller was one of these, abused by her mother. As she grew older, she took Polly Garvin-a friend of her mother's-as her first victim because Garvin was available, easy to get to. Then she stalked and killed Minn Araq before getting up the courage to kill her mother Riann Keller. But naturally that didn't satisfy her. It never does. So she killed Liss Padel. But then what happened to her?"

Rashid was holding himself rigid in his chair, clearly controlling both pain and anger. Ara wanted to say something to him, but something made her hold back. She suspected Rashid no longer wanted sympathy. He was seeking justice-or revenge.

"It's in the file," Rashid said. "Riann Keller had a gambling problem and a history of petty theft and larceny. We were about to fire her, even though she was Silent. She signed a contract with Silent Acquisitions."

"Slavers?" Ara said incredulously. "What for?"

"Her children," Rashid said in a flat voice. "Dorna and her brother Cole were both Silent. It's legal here to sell yourself or your underage children into slavery, and it appears that Riann Keller needed to clear a few debts with some ...unsavory moneylenders."

Ara's blood chilled. Her mind wouldn't quite accept the idea. Selling your children into slavery to cover your own mistakes? She tried to imagine fastening a shackle on Ben's wrist and ankle before handing him over to a total stranger. The picture wouldn't come.

"Riann was killed two days after signing the contract," Rashid concluded. "At first we thought her death might be connected to the local underworld, but the missing and reappearing finger belayed that."

"Why didn't she try to sell them to Dreamers, Inc.?" Tan asked.

"I'm not sure," Rashid said. "There's no record of her making an offer. It may be that their continued presence on Dream Station would remind her of what she had done, or perhaps she thought she would get more from Silent Acquisitions."

Ara took another sip of brandy, trying to push away the images of a woman coolly selling her own flesh and blood.

"So if we add this to our working scenario," Tan said, "it may explain how Dorna got up the courage to kill her mother-she was spurred by the news of her sale. Chief Rashid, when did your wife die in relation to Riann Keller?"

Rashid's face looked carved from stone. "Five days. We wondered about that. Several months pa.s.sed between the other murders, but Liss was killed less than a week after Riann."

"More rage," Ara murmured. "She killed her mother, but was still too angry to hold off killing again. She slowed down after that, you'll notice. Liss was the fourth victim, and Prinna Meg was the tenth, if the numbering is accurate. That means that in the last ten years, she 'only' killed five other people."

Tan toyed with her braid. "This doesn't help us find Dorna. And none of it-except maybe the blood-is hard proof. Any decent defense lawyer would serve our heads to the judge. Chief Rashid, are there any files on Dorna? School records and such things? We might get an idea from them."

Rashid was tapping at his pad when Ara felt something brush her mind.

~Ara,~ came a familiar voice. came a familiar voice. ~Ara, can you hear me?~ ~Ara, can you hear me?~ Startled, Ara sat upright. ~Ched-Hisak? What's going on?~ ~Ched-Hisak? What's going on?~ ~Your student Kendi wants to see you in the Dream. He asked me to contact you because he has not yet learned to do so. According to him, the matter is urgent, and I agree. Can you come?~ Ara glanced at Rashid. Tan was peering over his shoulder at the data on his pad. Her first instinct was to dismiss Kendi, but another, more reasonable, voice told her she should listen.

~Give me a few moments,~ she said. Ched-Hisak's presence left her mind and Ara got up. she said. Ched-Hisak's presence left her mind and Ara got up.

"I need to go into the Dream," she said. "My student-the one who witnessed the murder-wants to talk to me. May I use that couch over there?"

"Please," Rashid said absently, eyes glued to the display.

"What's going on?" Tan asked.

"I'll tell you as soon as I find out," Ara replied. She crossed to the sofa, lay down, and drew out her dermospray. After a moment, colors swirled behind her eyelids. Tan and Rashid's conversation dwindled into the distance. The last thing she heard was Tan's puzzled voice.

"Look here," she said. "Cole Keller got in trouble twice for setting the school restroom on fire. That's also a symptom of ..."

The fountain sprayed high into the air, which was delicately scented with orange blossoms. Ara perched on the lip of her fountain and a moment later she felt another knock, this one infused with a question.

"Of course," she said aloud. "Please come."

Ched-Hisak and Kendi appeared before her in a rush of Dream energy. Kendi instantly fell retching to hands and knees. Ara knelt beside him. She had forgotten that he hadn't yet learned to adjust to instant transport within the Dream.

"It's all right," she soothed in her best mother voice. "Just try to breathe."

Eventually the heaving subsided and Kendi let Ara help him to his feet. Ched-Hisak waited patiently as Ara conjured up a gla.s.s of water for Kendi. He accepted it gratefully, face pale.

"We still have to work on that," she said. "Now-what's so important?"

Excited color returned to Kendi's face and tossed the gla.s.s over his shoulder. It vanished before it hit the gra.s.s. "It's Dorna," he said. "She didn't do. I have proof."

Ara thought about what she and Tan had learned in Rashid's office. "Kendi, I'm sorry, but I just don't have time for this. I'm sitting in the office of the station's Security Chief, and his time is-"

"Just listen, will you?" Kendi pleaded. "I have evidence."

"He is correct," Ched-Hisak put in. "I would listen."

That checked Ara. "All right," she said. "Go."

"Okay, the drug that gets us each into the Dream," Kendi said. "It's tailored, right? Each person has their own mixture, and no one else can use it. One Child's drug won't work for another."

"I know this, Kendi," Ara said. "What does it-"

"I'm just setting the stage," Kendi insisted. "Okay, we don't have to pay for the drug, but the Children do keep track of how much you use, and for students they do more than that. A student dermospray has a microtransmitter that alerts the dispensary whenever we use a dose so our teachers can keep track of how often we practice in the Dream."

"Right, right," Ara said, barely concealing her impatience.

"Just before Vera Cheel was killed," Kendi said triumphantly, "Dorna didn't use her dermospray."

Ara blinked but didn't answer.

"I know this," Kendi went on, "because she was between fill-ups. I remember she mentioned it when she and the others came over to play hide and seek. She said she'd been out for two days but kept forgetting to go down the dispensary for more, and it was during those two days that Vera was killed. When I remembered this, I asked the clerk at the dispensary to look up Dorna's record, but he wouldn't do it until Father Ched-Hisak and Inspector Gray got permission. That took a whole day. Otherwise I would have tried to talk to you earlier."

"And the records confirmed that Dorna hadn't used her dermospray?"

Kendi shook his head. "She hadn't. And she hadn't used it anytime before Iris and Prinna were killed, either. We checked. And there's no way she could enter the Dream without using her drugs."

"She could have gotten them from somewhere else," Ara said doubtfully, "or used a different dermospray."