Places in the Darkness by Chris Brookmyre

Author:Chris Brookmyre
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction / Science Fiction / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Science Fiction / Hard Science Fiction, Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2017-11-07T05:00:00+00:00

HUMAN INTEREST

An hour later Alice is still standing in Nikki’s tiny hallway, but now she has been joined by Boutsikari, Captain Jaganathan, medical examiner Dr. Samira Hussein and a Seguridad officer named Phil Lito. Lito is looking vertiginously apprehensive from finding himself in a situation as high above his pay grade as Heinlein Station is above the Pacific Ocean. With her lens and comms system still inoperative, Alice needed somebody to call in the situation and he was the first officer she encountered out on Mullane.

Boutsikari’s first action upon arriving at the scene was to stress to Lito how imperative it was that he keep his mouth shut, while Alice’s first words to Boutsikari were to convey how this would be pointless.

She could see the impact as she described her encounter with the startled witness. It was a kick to the gut, but he went from dismay to acceptance with practised speed. Like most political animals, Boutsikari’s primary survival skill was adaptability. His agenda turns on a dime, and he is already formulating new strategies, altering priorities. Right now it’s all about information, getting the details clear in his own mind.

“Nikki brought you back here?” he asks. “Knowing what you were likely to see?”

“It wasn’t her idea. She was backed into a corner but I think she reckoned she could get me in and out without seeing what was in the bedroom. Nonetheless, I saw what I saw, and she ran.”

“As innocent people always do,” says Jaganathan.

“So what do we know about the victim?”

“Her name is Gillian Selby,” Lito responds redundantly, drawing a glare from Boutsikari. He knows that much from his lens.

“I’d estimate she was killed sometime in the last six to eight hours,” Dr. Hussein replies. “Death by strangulation, chokehold with bare hands rather than any kind of ligature. Beaten about the face, defensive abrasions on the hands. Looks like she put up a fight, or maybe it started as a fight and she lost.”

Six to eight hours, Alice calculates. It most likely happened while she was unconscious, and definitely during the window while she and Nikki were separated.

“The files say she worked automated production maintenance at a multi-purpose fabrication outfit,” Boutsikari observes. “But I doubt that’s what got her killed. Is she connected to Ben Haim or Martinez?” he asks Jaganathan.

“Not that I’m aware of.”

Boutsikari’s expression indicates a deep scepticism as to whether Jaganathan would be aware of it either way. Alice can imagine Nikki scoffing at how far the captain is from both his jurisdiction and his comfort zone.

Boutsikari fixes Lito with a piercing stare, impaling him to the spot.

“You work Mullane. You know her face?”

Lito swallows, mouth dry. He doesn’t look like he’s used to speaking truth to power, or speaking anything to power for that matter.

“I think she was a prostitute,” he answers apologetically, his cringing fear of being the shot messenger indicating that he fully understands the ramifications.

“Fuck me. A dead hooker, found in the home of, and most likely killed by, Seedee’s dirtiest cop, and someone’s probably got a grab of the body.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.