“Neither was Sharon Gleamer,” Salvi said, as a sudden thought struck her. “I bet if we look harder into Rebecca Carson, we might find that she wasn’t so pure either.”
Mitch locked eyes with her and nodded.
“I’ll process the scene,” she said carefully, wanting Mitch away from it. “You go make sure Holt’s canvassing our witnesses correctly.”
Mitch gave a silent nod, face still pale, then left.
Chapter Thirteen
U-Stasis
Salvi sat in the passenger seat of the Raider, eyes fixed on the road ahead, willing the car to get them to their city hub as soon as possible so she could get out. Her body still felt frozen. She kept seeing the prostitute’s yellow dress, kept seeing the woman get inside Mitch’s car.
Sitting right where she was now.
Salvi subtly glanced down at the leather seats, wondered if he’d had sex with her in this very car. Wondered if he’d killed her in this very car. Was there evidence? Blood?
She recalled taking Mitch home when he was drunk. Remembered that he had BioLume lighting. And the morning the second vic had been reported, when she’d woken him at the motel, he’d had that long scratch down his back.
Could she really be sitting next to the Bountiful Killer?
She pulled up her iPort, engaged her lenses and called Kim Weston, whom they’d left at the scene.
“Detective Brentt,” she answered.
“Dr Weston, any traces of BioLume yet?”
“Not yet, but I’m looking. I’ll let you know if something comes up.”
“Thanks. Did you find out how long the BioLume lasts outside of the globes?”
“I’m still waiting on the Solme Complex to get back to me on that. I’ll follow them up again.”
“Thanks,” Salvi said and hung up. She noticed Mitch was staring at her.
“I want to see if he left his footprints again.” She recalled Mitch comparing his shoe to the prints in the Gleamer house. They were a similar size.
Mitch nodded and looked back at the road. His face was still a little pale, his jaw clenching and unclenching. His knuckles white as they gripped the steering wheel. He looked nervous. On edge.
But as Salvi thought about it, she realized this reaction from him was new…
He hadn’t acted like this after any of the other vics. If he had killed all of them, why would his reaction to this one be so different?
And what possible connection could he have with them? He didn’t go to church, wasn’t religious in any way. As far as she could tell he had nothing against those who practiced religion, nor women who liked to have sex. Wasn’t he always telling her to live a little? And if he was going to rape and murder women, wouldn’t he just do it in the city? Why drive all the way out here?
Unless he caught the SlingShot.
But the SlingShot had cameras. Mitch wouldn’t be that stupid.
She suddenly wondered if he had a personal vehicle. She’d only ever seen him in the Raider, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have another car to drive around in.
But still, why Bountiful? Here in Bountiful, Mitch would be a stranger in a small community with less anonymity. The city would be safer to stalk victims.
Or would it? Bountiful didn’t have drones watching the streets. And Mitch was a cop. He would know how to get away with murder.
She glanced over at him again. His eyes were still staring at the road ahead, his knuckles still white as they gripped the steering wheel. He was freaking out but trying to hide it. That much was clear. If he’d actually killed Fresner, would he be acting like this? She’d seen the look on his face when he saw the body. This had come as a surprise to him. A shock.
Or was he just surprised by what he’d done? Some killers claimed to have blackouts, to not remember the things they’d done. Was this happening to Mitch now?
Maybe he’d had sex with her, then he’d gotten drunk and attacked her. Maybe his mind had blanked out what he’d done. But there would be defensive wounds. She glanced subtly at his neck, his hands. Nothing.
She looked back at the road ahead, Stan’s words swirling about in her mind, telling her to trust her instinct.
And the truth was she was finding it hard to believe that Mitch had done this.
But was that just because he was her partner? Was it just because she didn’t want to believe that she’d missed the signs? That these women’s deaths had been her fault because she couldn’t tell it was her own partner?
Or was it something else.
Could she not believe it was Mitch because she felt sympathy for him? For his girlfriend’s murder? For him being so screwed up? Because Salvi identified and understood what it was like to be so screwed up and yet somehow functioning. Because the sympathy she felt was actually empathy.
Or did it run even deeper than that?
She pictured Mitch running his hand over her cheek again, his thumb parting her lips. Did she have feelings for Mitch that went past partners? Past friends even? Is that why she didn’t want to believe it was him? Was she letting her hormones get in the way of her gut? Was she letting an attraction to Mitch cloud her judgment?
Had she been fooled, seduced, just like the victims of Edward Moses had been?
She closed her eyes and turned her face to the passenger window.
No, it couldn’t be Mitch. He’d just slept with the prostitute and now he was in a panic because his DNA might be found on the body. That’s it. It had to be.
Didn’t it?
Could she be so certain about a man she hardly knew?
She remembered their argument the night before, of him grabbing her and dragging her into the alley. He said he was just trying to make a point, but what would he have done if she hadn’t pulled her gun on him?
Was he really just being a control freak, concerned for her safety? Was he really just trying to prove a point? Or was it something else? Was he trying to prove dominance over her? Had he been jealous at seeing her at the club with Levan Bander? Had he taken it out on the prostitute?
She recalled seeing the prostitute walk out of the SlingShot, saw Mitch waiting on the hood of his car for her.
The SlingShot … that silvery snake of sin, luring the devil to Bountiful.
“Stop!” Salvi said. “Turn around.”
“What?” he said.
“We need to go to the SlingShot station.”
“Why?”
“Riverton just confirmed Fresner was spotted on the Slingshot last night,” she lied.
“When did Riverton tell you this?” he asked.
“Just now.”
“I never heard a message come through.”
“Well it did. So turn around and let’s go to the SlingShot.” She stared out at the road ahead. “Besides, I want to know what Tobias and Sharon were really doing down there.”
They pulled up at the SlingShot station in virtually the same location Mitch had the previous evening. She saw him eye the security camera on the platform nervously as they approached it. From the positioning, it would’ve captured Fresner getting into the Raider. That would not bode well for Mitch.
A large digital clock told them the time until the next train into the city. In five minutes a southbound SlingShot would arrive.
Salvi walked along the platform until she reached the arcade game outlet. She stepped inside and began walking along the rows of retro games in the form of pinball machines and racing cars.
“Can I help you?” a thin man, maybe 5’10 and 80 pounds, with a crucifix pin on his lapel asked.
Salvi glanced around the store again. “Can I access any connected games or sites from here?”
“Oh, no.” He shook his head. “We don’t allow that in here. The station is still in the community limits of Bountiful, so no connectivity games are allowed. We just have good old-fashioned isolated, clean, games here.”
Salvi heard the warning signal of the SlingShot on approach. “Thank you.”
When she stepped
back outside, Mitch’s eyes were silver. He glanced at her, then quickly ended his call.
“Anything?” he asked.
Salvi shook her head. “No. There’s no connectivity here. Sharon and Tobias must’ve accessed U-Stasis on the SlingShot or in the city.”
They watched as the SlingShot pulled into the station. No one exited, but they stepped aboard and flashed their badges to the SlingShot’s AI driver console, requesting access to the cabin security footage. They got their clearance to watch the footage, but the SlingShot AI would not halt the train while they did so. The SlingShot system prided itself on a fast and reliable service, so they would not delay things now. Salvi and Mitch were going to have to ride into the city and jump the next SlingShot back to Bountiful whether they liked it or not.
As the SlingShot pulled out from Bountiful station, they had Riverton lock into the footage and they watched on their lenses. They located Fresner and watched her journey. She stepped aboard at the city station and rode the twenty-minute journey alone reading an old paperback book.
“Riverton?” Salvi asked.
“Yes, Detective?” it answered.
“Find out where in the city she was working. It must’ve been at a proper establishment. She didn’t look like a street walker.”
“Yes, Detective. Would you like me to obtain access to the station footage also?”
Salvi saw Mitch tense up.
“Why don’t you do that?” Salvi told Mitch. After all, she’d already seen it, and she didn’t want to give her hand away just yet. “I’m going to take a look around the SlingShot.
Mitch gave a nod. However, the tension in his body didn’t dissipate, and he kept his eyes fixed on her as she walked away.
Salvi passed through several seated cabins until she found the recreation cabins: a small bar cabin, a silent reading cabin, and a gamer cabin where Salvi spotted AR consoles – the kind required to enter something like U-Stasis. But they were out in the open among the other consoles. From what she’d heard about these sex rooms, private AR console enclosures would be required. She couldn’t see Tobias and Sharon openly doing something like that here. Not when someone from town could witness them.
When Salvi found Mitch again, he looked agitated.
“See anything of interest?” she asked him, watching him carefully.
He shook his head.
“Riverton didn’t pick up anyone using facial scans?” she asked.
Again he shook his head. “No. I had Riverton focus on locating Fresner’s place of work and trying to identify a client list. I checked the footage. It was clear.” He locked eyes a moment, then averted his gaze. “We need to see if anyone from Bountiful was on her client list.”
Salvi nodded as the SlingShot began to pull into the city. She looked out the window, trying to wrap her head around the fact that Mitch had just blatantly lied to her. How long did he think he could hide the fact that he had been with Fresner the night before she died? It was only a matter of time before Riverton would scan the footage out of procedure anyway and make notations in their case file. She knew too well that circumstantial evidence did not mean guilt but lying about it only complicated matters. Mitch knew this too, so why was he doing it?
She watched the people moving about on the city platform, scurrying like ants, rushing to their next destination. The stores along the platform all seemed to be doing well from the commuter trade. She saw a Kittson’s drugstore, a whole chain grocery store, a couple of cafés and bars, a gift store specializing in games … and right there next to it, was a specialist store for tech experiences, called AdventureLand. It was basically a nice name for a tech-sex store. She noticed a sign in the window advertising private AR lounges.
“Mitch,” she straightened. “We need to get off.”
“What?” he asked, the edginess still clear on his face.
“Private lounge.” She pointed. “I bet that’s where Tobias and Sharon were going. Come on.” She turned for the exit.
“What about the Raider?”
“We’ll get it afterwards.”
Salvi stepped off the SlingShot and made her way toward the store, zigging and zagging among the commuters as the smell of coffee and spiced croissants filled her senses, making her stomach rumble.
“Salvi,” Mitch said, jogging to catch up, though his words were drowned out by a station announcement. “We don’t have time for this now.”
“We need to see what they were doing in there,” she called over her shoulder.
“What Sharon and Tobias were doing in there is irrelevant if we can’t tie it to the others.”
“So, have Riverton do a search.” She turned to him as the neon pink lights of AdventureLand bathed them both, blinking in time with her heartbeat. “See if the others had accounts on U-Stasis.”
Salvi stepped inside the store and approached the counter, where a short, tubby guy wore a full VR headpiece and held his hand out in the air, swishing it this way and that, as though he were painting a masterpiece.
“I’m interested in your private AR lounge,” she said interrupting him.
The guy flipped the lens part of his headpiece up and pointed to a second counter at the back of the building. Salvi gave him a nod as Mitch entered the store, silver sheen fading from his eyes as he ended the call with Riverton.
“It’s working on the warrants we need to access the information,” he told her.
“Good,” she said and moved to the second counter at the back of the store where an older woman with several face piercings sat reading a 3D book. Salvi saw galloping unicorns and some warrior charging its sword. The woman behind the counter looked up as they approached and closed the book down, making the unicorns and warrior disappear.
“What can I do you for?” she asked with a voice that suggested she vaped too much.
“What have you got?” Salvi said.
“Just about everything,” she said, bringing up a clear screen that displayed the menu of services in bright orange text.
“Salvi,” Mitch said coming to stand beside her and looking back at the door eager to leave.
“Can we get access to U-Stasis?” Salvi asked the woman. “The sex rooms.”
“Sure,” the woman said, and motioned to Mitch, “you want a twofer?”
Salvi held still a moment, then looked at her partner. Mitch was looking around the store, but his eyes came back to her, questioning.
“Yes,” Salvi told the woman. “Access for both of us. Together.” She wanted to take Mitch inside U-Stasis, and she wanted to watch him like a hawk.
“Sure thing,” the woman tapped the screen. “You want to get in on the action or just voyeur mode?”
“Will voyeur mode allow us to see in all rooms?” Salvi asked.
“Some of ’em. But it depends on the other users. If they’ve marked their activity as no voyeur, then you can’t see ’em. I’d suggest you take one of our action packages. We got four modes. Straight action, will be you and your man here, getting it on alone in a room of your choice. High Voltage action will be you and your man getting it on and people stopping by to watch. XXX action will be you and your man getting it on and other people joining in. And the fourth level is an all-access action pass, which means you can do what you want to anyone else with the same access.”
“Anything we want?” Salvi asked.
The woman nodded. “Depends what floats your boat. The only thing that’s illegal is doing children or animals. We don’t have programs for that. Although if you really want that, if you look hard enough there’s places out there that will cater for that. Under the counter, you know what I mean.”
“I’m good,” Salvi said holding up her hand to stop the woman, glad their coats covered their badges. She made a mental note to report that to the cyber unit later. “When you say anything goes… could you rape and murder someone in there?”
The woman looked at her, then at Mitch. “Murder, no. As for the rest, it’s anything goes. When you set up y
our avatar you can set the rules. There’s no ‘don’t rape me’ option, but there is a ‘I like it rough option.’ Read into that what you will.”
“So, you can beat someone around in there?” Mitch asked, stepping closer, suddenly more interested.
The woman nodded, looking between the two. “If that’s what you want. You just get an all-access pass, set your parameters, which would be you,” she looked at Salvi, “selecting ‘I like it rough’,” then she looked at Mitch, “and you selecting ‘I like to dominate’.” She shrugged. “Then you go for it.”
Salvi and Mitch stared at her.
“Sorry,” the woman said. “Unless you want it around the other way where she beats the shit out of you and gives it to you rough. Then you’d make the reverse selections.”
Salvi and Mitch stared at her again a moment, then glanced at each other.
“Is that what you want?” the woman asked.
“Voyeur will be f–” Mitch said.
“All-access,” Salvi cut him off. “We want all-access. No restrictions.” Salvi looked at Mitch. “We want to see everything that goes on in there.”
He stared back at her. “Then voyeur should suffice.”
“Such a good little boy, Mitch,” Salvi said, throwing the words he’d once spoken to her back at him. “Take a risk once in a while.”
His brow furrowed, then he looked back at the woman who was staring at them. “All-access, please.”
They paid the account, and the woman led them through to a small room where two AR chairs sat side by side and began running them through the procedure. Curved in the shape of a crescent moon, soft joints in the spine of the chair enabled various movements – stretching out and retracting, and twisting and turning, etc. They were to each wear haptic suits made of a thin, delicate material, which covered their bodies from head to toe. Once dressed they lay back in the chair and plugged themselves, their suits, into the chair’s console and placed their skull caps on and goggles down over their eyes.
Once they were both locked into their chairs and ready to go, the woman enabled their access and left them to it.
When Salvi’s suit connected to U-Stasis, she found herself standing in a lavish hotel reception. White marble floors and gold fixtures abounded as she looked around; the vision was pristine, and it looked and felt very real. She glanced at Mitch’s avatar standing beside her. He’d opted for a tall, blond guy with blue eyes and a muscular torso called “Billy”, and it too looked very real. Salvi had opted for a curvaceous, busty, redhead wearing head to toe shiny black spandex called “Sindy”.
The Subjugate Page 25
