The Gabble

‘A murder I take it. I think you should be aware that I know the victim.’

‘Who don’t? We know whose toes she stepped on,’ said the cop, turning to inspect the corpse.

‘So we can be expecting an arrest soon then?’ said Salind.

The cop snorted then glanced over as another car pulled up. ‘Yeah, there’ll be an arrest.

Some other toe-stepper’ll get shat on. And here comes the biggest shitter of ‘em all.’

Salind also watched as Callus and two of his thugs climbed from the car. Behind the car a van pulled up. He supposed that this must be Banjer’s equivalent of a medical examiner or some such. He started to move in their direction, but Geoff caught hold of his shoulder.

‘Not a good idea. Best to just watch,’ he said.

‘I only want to ask a reasonable question or two,’ said Salind.

‘Don’t,’ said Geoff. ‘Callus is never in his best mood when he’s clearing up after Soper. It won’t just be a slap next time. It’ll be a stiletto in your back followed by polite enquiries after your health for the benefit of your aug recording.’

Salind desisted. He turned to the uniformed cop. ‘You realize her augmentation will have recorded everything she saw?’

The cop glanced at him and shook his head. ‘That won’t be much then.’

The man walked back to join his companions. On closer inspection Salind saw Merril’s eyes had been gouged out. A treel worked its way out of one socket. Salind took out his pill container, clicked out a pill, and swallowed it dry.

From the van, two overalled figures bearing a stretcher approached the banoak. They conducted no forensic examination of the area, no careful search for evidence. After they deposited the stretcher on the ground, one of them took a crowbar from his belt and levered out the nails pinning the corpse to the tree. When it slid to the ground the two rolled it in a plastic sheet then passed a heating unit over this wrapping to shrink and seal it. As they carried the neat parcel back to the van Salind could still see treels moving about inside. While they loaded into the van he noted Callus spot him and start walking over with his thugs and two uniformed policemen in tow.

‘We better be leaving,’ said Geoff.

‘I don’t think so,’ said Salind.

‘I’ve warned you. That’s all I can do.’

‘Fine,’ said Salind, but he did step back to put himself up against the car.

Callus came up before him and his two thugs moved round to either side of the inspector.

They stood with their hands clasped before them. Salind had seen that pose before from other people who served the same purpose on other worlds — immediate testicle protection.

‘Well, well, Mr Salind, what do you have to say for yourself?’

Salind was momentarily distracted from replying, for another car had pulled up. The third plain-clothes cop who stepped out seemed familiar. Someone in the Tronad probably — someone about whom Salind had read a file. Was this one of Soper’s associates? He looked the part — a shaven-headed thug with slightly more muscle than necessary.

‘Sorry. . what?’

Callus went on, ‘I suppose it was professional jealousy that made you do it.’

‘Oh shit,’ said Geoff.

Callus glanced at him. ‘I imagine your accomplice will be able to tell us.’

‘You have got to be kidding,’ said Salind.

‘I’ll need your aug for evidence of course.’

Now the two thugs moved up on either side of Salind.

‘My aug is internal and backs up to the Tarjen AI every four minutes. It doesn’t retain a recording itself, but that backed-up information will prove I was nothing to do with this.’

Shit, get me some help out here. This fucker is going to kill me.

Message received: the legal department is onto it right now.

I don’t need the legal department! I need Polity monitors!

Polity monitors do not have jurisdiction here.

Callus smiled. ‘Here on Banjer we are aware how it is possible to interfere with computer-stored information.’

‘Argus is encryption-sealed! Nothing less than a major AI could interfere with it! And it’s internal — you haven’t got the facilities here to remove it!’

Callus gave the nod to his two thugs. ‘Mr Gem Salind, in the name of the Banjer Council I arrest you for the murder of Merril Torson, and with the powers vested in me by said Council, seize all evidential material. Please do not resist arrest.’

A fist like the bony end of a ham crashed into the side of Salind’s head. He slid along the car and the second thug hook-punched him twice in the gut.

‘I said “Please do not resist arrest” Mr Salind.’

Hazily he realized just what they intended. He would either die whilst resisting arrest or when they attempted to remove Argus. Case closed.