by Kevin Bragg
‘Such impertinence,’ she said with a voice dripping with venom. The comment earned me a love tap to the chest again by both goons. I started coughing again. Flecks of blood hit my hand as I covered my mouth. Once I regained some of my composure, I chuckled.
‘Is this how you win people over, Kitterman? Beat the hell out of them until they tell you what you want?’
‘Not usually, no. However, in cases where my guest proves difficult then, I am afraid to say, much more physical measures must be taken. You really should be more forthcoming when I ask you a question.’
‘Well, this approach doesn’t inspire cooperation. I’ll give you that one for free.’ I took a handkerchief out of my pocket and dabbed the blood away from my mouth.
‘You would be surprised at its efficiency. Now about today. What did you tell the police?’
‘Nothing,’ I replied, with an attempt at mock injury that probably looked like real injury. ‘I heard a scream. I pulled up, encountered the assailant who identified himself as James, incapacitated him, found your android, and then got KO’d by someone else.’
‘So you just happened to arrive at an abandoned warehouse in an isolated part of town? You weren’t following Charlotte or had some means of tracking her?’
‘Why would I have a tracking device on an android that I never met before?’
‘We have reason to think otherwise.’
By ‘we’ she meant ‘she’, no doubt about that. She must have been told about the earrings. This little morsel of information confirmed my belief that the guy who knocked me out and Mara Kitterman were connected. If she admitted knowledge of the earrings, she’d reveal that connection. I thought I would roll the dice and see what happened.
‘That’s nice. Really it is. But can you prove I had encountered your robot before today?’
‘Unfortunately, no.’
She held her breath slightly when she said that. A lie. It had to be, and spoke volumes as to her willingness to protect her relationship with a guy who looked like her dead father. Nevertheless, her response gave me the confidence to push my own lie a little further.
‘Like I said, I’ve never seen her before in my life.’
She narrowed her eyes again and I braced for impact. Instead, she checked her smartwatch – a MAX model I’d not yet seen – and then adjusted her suit jacket.
We drove in silence for a few minutes. I looked out the window and could make out the Res 1 dome on our left. Kitterman simply stared at me, waiting for me to spill the beans. I knew I needed to say something to escape her clutches.
‘Look,’ I said after I cleared my throat, ‘the only thing I can add to the conversation is that it looked like the James character had torn something out of your android – most likely a storage device. Then, if I am right, he transferred the information to an internal storage device that was later ripped out by the party-crasher. But I suspect that you knew that already.’
Her eyes narrowed and the two punks flanking her tensed again like coiled springs. I prepared for the worst but then she relaxed. As if on cue, the two guys did the same.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘That you’ve probably already got the female back in your lab and have seen the extent of the damage. Plus, since she is your property, whatever was inside of her, you put it there. I think what you should have asked me all along, Ms Kitterman is: “at any point did you look at the information on the storage device that was forcibly taken out of Ms Rennick?” To which I would answer, no.’
She laughed. It was – and I hate to admit this – a very charming laugh.
‘Perhaps you are right, Mr Helmqvist. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so enigmatic with my intentions today.’ She paused and whispered something to the driver. At the next roundabout, I glanced out the window and saw that we turned right again. We were heading back to RD1. I might just make it through this after all.
‘The information carried by Charlotte is of a sensitive nature. In the hands of the wrong person, it could pose a serious risk to my company. I do apologise for all the theatrics of our little meeting but I had to be certain that you didn’t steal the device for the purpose of selling my secrets to the highest bidder.’
I folded my handkerchief and put it back in my pocket.
‘That’s rich. I don’t ever remember going to the theatre and getting my ribs broken. At least you believe me so that’s something I guess.’
‘Make no mistakes, I don’t believe you… not completely,’ she replied with a smile, bordering on the sinister. ‘But I have no evidence to prove otherwise. So I think it best we part ways for now.’
The Baker entered the dome proper and pulled over at first opportunity. No need to keep me in the car any longer than was necessary. My usefulness had run its course.
‘It’s the other assailant,’ I said as I climbed out.
‘I’m sorry?’ she replied as she leaned forward to address me.
‘The other guy. The one that clocked me. He’s the one with the goods now, or at least that’s my theory. He’s the one that you should be driving around in your car beating the crap out of until he tells you what you want to know.’ I left out the part of him looking like Nolan Kitterman because she probably already knew that as well.
‘Of course, Mr Helmqvist. I shall look into the matter more fully. Good day to you,’ she said as bodyguard No. 1 closed the door and the limo sped off.
*
Watching them go, I thanked my lucky stars to still be in one piece. Once they’d left my field of vision, I hailed the first available LTI and rode in peace to the nearest health clinic.
X-rays confirmed that I had two fractured ribs. The doc gave me this girdle-thing to help align the ribs, a prescription for some more painkillers and a lollipop for my troubles. I didn’t really care too much about the girdle, but the pills would definitely help me through another pain-filled episode of my life.
I hopped into another taxi to Theo’s shop in order to retrieve my gym bag from the trunk. En route, we swung by a drug store and I choked down a handful of pills in one gulp. On the ride back to my place, I gave Erica a quick call to see if she wanted to stop by my place when she finished her shift. We agreed on 8pm.
All told, it was around seven when I finally walked through my front door. I made myself a double whisky, neat. Only after the sour mash mingled in my gullet for a few minutes did I dare to have a look in the bathroom mirror. I had bruises in too many places to care about or enumerate. Suffice it to say, I looked like Rocky at the, well, at the end of most of those pictures.
I went back to the living room, drained my glass and had set myself up with another one when an image on my MAX smartwatch showed Erica’s gorgeous face looking into a tiny camera.
22
I buzzed Erica in from my MAX and waited for her by the door to my apartment. The smell of delicious greasy food preceded her entrance. Sure enough, she greeted me with a hello and a takeaway carton.
‘I thought you might be hungry,’ she said as she handed me the container. I peeked in. A Reuben. It looked messy and heavenly.
‘Bless you, Erica. I am starving.’
She slipped past me. ‘Good. You eat and I’ll shower if that’s okay with you. I reek of the diner.’
‘Help yourself. Towels are in a closet next to the bathroom.’
While Erica showered, I demolished the sandwich and washed it down with a pale ale I found in the fridge. I had just finished when she stepped out of the bathroom clothed in nothing but a towel. Her thick mane of straight, black hair up in a ponytail. Her toned, light brown legs glistening with oil. Transfixed, I watched her head towards the bedroom.
‘I thought I’d go in here.’ The towel hit the floor when she passed through the doorway. She pulled her hair out of its ponytail and it cascaded down her shoulders. I completely forgot about what few crumbs remained of the sandwich, the beer, the shitty day, everything.
*
Erica sat on her knees
on the bed as I struggled out of my clothes. She guided me down to the mattress. We took it nice and easy. She knew I’d taken a beating today. We hadn’t discussed it in any amount of detail, but my body showed all the marks. As before, she took command and we made love with her on top. Gentle. Soft, rhythmic motions. Tender yet powerful. The two of us lost in a moment.
When we finished, she laid down next to me. Her right leg draped over my left. Her right hand caressing my chest. Minutes passed with nothing but the sound of our breathing.
‘Was that too rough on you?’ she asked.
‘No. No. It was fine.’ I turned my head and kissed the top of hers. ‘Better than fine, actually.’
‘So what happened to you, Danny? You’re covered in bruises.’
‘Wrong place at the wrong time. Twice, if you can believe it.’
She looked up at me. ‘Not really. But I guess you won’t go into too much detail.’
It wasn’t a question, but I answered it. ‘I can’t. I’m sorry, Erica. It’s related to this case I’ve been working on.’
‘The same case as the one I was questioned on?’
I resisted the urge to apologise again. ‘That’s the one. Did you want to talk about what happened at the police station?’
Her eyes drifted back down to my chest. ‘Not really. There isn’t too much to tell. The detective asked where I was Saturday night. I told him the truth. He asked if I was with you the entire night. I told him a lie and stuck to it. I figured if they had something on you, it would come out pretty quick but it never did.’
‘I admire your confidence and your smarts. Not many people could pull that off.’
She smiled. ‘Lucky for you, I’m not most people.’
We kissed and fooled around until I was ready to go again. We made love the same as before; however, with more intensity. Neither one of us cared about my bruises, cracked ribs or banged-up knee. We rode a wave of passion and endorphins.
*
The next morning, we stood outside Erica’s apartment building once again. I spun my trilby around my right hand on the inner headband.
‘We should do this again, Danny. Soon.’
I glanced up at her building and then back into those almond pools of hers. ‘I’d like that.’
‘Call me later then?’
Unexpectedly, an image of Kitterman and those goons flashed through my thoughts. What they might do to Erica, if Mara felt she needed leverage against me.
‘Let me finish this case up, first. I promised my client two weeks and I intend to give them two weeks.’ I stopped spinning my hat and twirled a few locks of her hair into my fingers instead. ‘And you are far too distracting for me to give them an earnest two weeks.’
Erica grinned. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment. But I dunno, Danny.’ She took my hat from me and looked down at it briefly. ‘First you injure your knee. Then get used as a punching bag—’
‘Hey!’ I interjected. ‘I dished out a little, too.’
‘I’m sure you did. All I’m saying is that at this rate, there may not be much left of you by the end of two weeks.’
She was having fun with me now.
‘I’ll do my best to be in one piece at the end of this.’
‘Promise?’
‘Promise.’
Erica set my hat atop my head at an angle that I wouldn’t normally wear it. I imagined it made me look a bit like Blaine at the end of Casablanca but I have no idea.
‘Good. Because I like you, Danny, and we’re just getting started.’ With that, she planted a kiss on my cheek and pushed through the door to her building.
23
The beep of a garbage truck backing down the alley behind my building echoed dimly in my mind as I sat at my desk plotting my next move. The business at the Verne Bottling Company had brought my investigation to a complete standstill. Prudence dictated that I should leave it alone. I no longer had a client, and therefore no longer had a case. Sure, I had told Erica something completely contradictory a few hours earlier, but I didn’t think she’d understand my need to chase a theory about the storage device and a ghost who had snatched it out of my grasp.
Pam’s voice brought me back into the office.
‘You have a visitor, sir.’
‘Who?’
‘Mara Kitterman.’
I rubbed my eyes and patted my cheek to shake the cobwebs loose. ‘Alright.’
In she walked and I struggled to stand.
‘Don’t bother,’ she said as she took a seat. Relief washed over me when her goons didn’t appear behind her. She must’ve left them in the car.
I settled back into my chair. ‘What a pleasant surprise. I was just thinking about you, Ms Kitterman.’
She gave the room an appraising once over. She didn’t look too impressed. ‘You have an outdated android assistant and a shabby office. Life as a PI must be disappointing, Mr Helmqvist.’
‘I like what I do well enough and I wouldn’t trade Pam in for a dozen ’bots straight off the assembly line. Anyway, I doubt you came all this way to give me career advice.’
‘Indeed not. I am here to pay you a reward for finding my android yesterday.’
‘Which one? I seem to recall finding two.’ A pretty good shot, I thought, and her reaction confirmed it.
‘I had also intended to apologise for the way that you were treated yesterday,’ she said with eyes narrowed after a few seconds. ‘However, I am starting to think that your behaviour does not warrant one.’
My chair groaned loudly on ageing springs as I rocked back in it. ‘I’m glad you didn’t bring those two meatheads with you today. I’m not sure I like the way they play.’
‘Must you make everything so difficult? I am trying to extend an olive branch and you continue to insult me with your glibness.’
I leaned forward, elbows landing on the desk.
‘Your type annoys the hell out of me. You think that you can buy off anyone who gets in your way and make them forget about everything else that doesn’t concern you, and you alone. I don’t want your money or your goddamn branch.’
She sat there for a moment, seething. I doubt anyone spoke to her with my level of candour. Rich, successful, brilliant people like her usually get what they want. They also find themselves surrounded by a chorus of yes-men and women who sing their praises and bolster an illusion of infallibility.
‘Very well, Mr Helmqvist,’ she said with strained civility as she stood up. ‘If that is how you feel, then I shall bid you good day.’
On her way out, she looked back one last time. ‘I wish you success in all of your future endeavours.’
‘Yeah. Sure. See you around, Ms Kitterman.’
As soon as I heard the outer door close, I returned to my position of staring out the window and stewing in my own thoughts. The creak of tired upholstery alerted me to the presence of another in the room. I spun around to find Pam sitting in the same seat Kitterman had vacated.
‘Sir? If I may ask, what was that about?’
‘Kitterman offered to pay me a reward for finding her androids.’
‘Androids, sir?’
‘Well, she said it was money for finding Rennick’s body but I do not doubt the other one, James, has a MARA Corporation stamp on him somewhere.’
‘Did you accept the money?’
‘No. I didn’t. She may have called it a reward, but it was a bribe… another fishing expedition. Maybe she thought some credits would buy her the truth about what I know. I will say she’s far more intuitive than I would’ve guessed.’
‘I am worried about your safety.’
‘Worried? What?’ On cue, I winced from a jolt of pain.
‘If your summations have been accurate, sir, threat of death is the next logical step. Mara Kitterman has tried to intimidate you, followed by an offer of monetary compensation. In both instances, you have frustrated her attempt by your refusal. If she suspects you know something about her past, putting you down for a dirt nap would ensu
re your silence.’
‘A dirt nap?’ I tried to laugh but gave up.
‘Did I use the colloquialism incorrectly?’ Her concern seemed genuine.
‘No. I just didn’t expect to hear it coming outta your mouth.’
‘It seemed appropriate within the context.’
The gravity of her worry for my safety didn’t sit well and I shifted in my seat. Pam was right. Kitterman might resort to more drastic means. By all accounts, the murder of one person would barely register on her moral radar. The bitch had killed thousands.
‘I appreciate you telling me this, Pam, but I doubt she’d risk anything so drastic. She probably already knows I don’t have anything on her or the police would be involved. Not to mention the late-comer to the old Verne plant could have left me on the ground in a state far worse than unconscious.’
‘Agreed. I am merely expressing my position on the current situation.’
‘It means a lot to me, Pam. It does… even if it’s a tad strange.’
She tilted her head down in a quick nod, stood, and returned to her desk without another word. The only change to this routine: she did not start banging on her keyboard with determination. She just stared at it.
Left alone in my office again, I couldn’t shake off what Pam had said. I felt broken and vulnerable. I wanted nothing more than the feel of a gun against my damaged ribs and the company of faces I trusted. To that end, I made two phone calls. The first to Theo, telling him I was on my way. The second to Steve, for a ride across the district. He told me he’d be outside in 10.
‘I’m done for the day. If anyone calls, take a message. I’ll call you later to check in,’ I told Pam as I hobbled by her desk.
She watched me leave through quiet, expressionless eyes. Any amount of concern she did have for my safety was hidden deep inside her electronic circuitry. The tap-tap-tap of her keyboard filled the silence as I stepped into the hallway.
