'The King's a leader, not a follower. You said they were bigger than the Businessmen; yet the King would be happy with a tail, and only a tail?'
'Maybe Adrian…' He took a deep drag.
'Adrian was involved because he was lucky, or unlucky seeing how things turned out-same with Van Reydner. Besides he had his people with him at the Penthouse, and the Enforcers coming through the roof weren't playing any favorites. They fired at everyone. You included. Adrian stumbled on Cotton at the Morocco Hotel, the same night he was there to kill Billings and collect himself another client. I think his luck finally turned on him and he got squashed between bigger players.'
'Maybe Van Reydner turned on him.' Willieboy's eyes were evasive.
'Sold him out? No, I don't think so. Like every loser who thinks he's a winner, Adrian had to gloat. He talked before he passed away. He had a deal worked out with her, and she was a solo artist. I can't see her commanding the party that came through the roof. Adrian would have known. He was a paranoid man, kept all of his phones tapped. He knew how much Van Reydner had on him so he wasn't going to let her go anywhere without keeping tabs on her. Also, if she had wanted a double-cross she could have done that right at the start. Adrian lost track of her for a while after the Billings' murder. She could have walked-peacefully.' I pulled on my cigarette studying Willieboy's face. Emotions tightened the muscle on his jaws.
'I guess it wouldn't be Cane,' he said lamely.
'Come on Willieboy, you already accounted for Cane's people! There was another invasion force, but it wasn't the King's. Cane could turn Cotton into soup, but he didn't have the motive. He needed the scientist because he didn't have the research. Whoever pureed Cotton already had everything they could get out of his head. And Cane worked for the Twelve Stars Group. They wanted the Regenerics Secret for their own reasons. I'm sure they believed that Cotton was hiding something that somehow fit into their religion. Cotton was killed and mutilated by someone who either had the Regenerics Secret or he had Cotton's research to fall back on. Cotton was not needed.' Willieboy shifted his eyes. 'You gave me far too much direction for someone who was a small player. The King had to be represented, but I never saw his people. Who was the one recurring character in this nightmare?' I paused, then crushed my cigarette on the floor. 'I called the King just like I called you and hinted that I might have some interesting things for him, Regenerics, for example. Then, when I was ready to move I called him back, told his secretary about some action at the Galaxy Tower.' Willieboy's smile broadened. 'Well, Inspector Willieboy, I never did call you back.'
Willieboy pointed a finger. 'I've got other methods of collecting information-I sure as shit don't need you to hand it to me. Anyway, that just proves that the force coming through the roof could have been his.'
'No. I know whose force that was. And it wasn't the King's.' I was playing a hunch, and I hoped he wouldn't notice. 'Mr. Willieboy. You're working for the King of the Dead. That was his helicopter. And this is his transport.'
Willieboy scowled and studied his shirt cuffs. Then, a smile spread over his face. He produced another cigarette, offered me one.
I continued. 'I wasn't even convinced of it at first. I actually tried to hang the King of the Dead's involvement on those three dead arsonists who torched the Morocco. Then I realized whoever had the Regenerics Secret was the only individual that needed to cover his tracks. Those arsonists were hired by Adrian to clear away any evidence. He was the only one who had something to hide, since the other players were Authority. Adrian was the only one who could be harmed by evidence.'
'That proves fuck all!' Willieboy's face held genuine ire.
'Oh, I'm aware of that. Believe me. I know the thin tissue of a case I have. It's just that I don't see myself surviving the next couple of hours, so I wanted to get these things off my chest.' I puffed on my new cigarette. It hurt.
'Anything's possible, Wildclown.' Willieboy's smile was an admission.
'You were there too often to be linked to a group like the Businessmen.' I decided to accept another drink. 'I've never heard of them, but I have heard of the Twelve Stars, and the King of the Dead. Cane was all over me like a bad rash. But I didn't see the King, though you admitted he had people in Authority. The King paid for Cotton's research. He owned the results and could personally benefit from Regenerics if it worked. But he was nowhere to be found. Odd. I was surprised I kept waking up without a foot on the back of my head.' I glared, then smirked. 'You gave it away completely though when you killed Cane.'
'Oh, you noticed that.' Some of Willieboy's easygoing manner was returning.
'He was going to say that he wasn't the first Authority at the scene at all. That he got to the Morocco Hotel, after Cotton had been butchered.' I watched Willieboy. He had a formidable poker face. 'You see, you both missed the mark because Cotton never talked to either of you. I think Cane was waiting for years for the opportunity to get what Cotton offered-it was his religion. But you, you were just trying to reclaim what your boss already owned.'
The transport took a sudden lurch, there followed the sensation of turning. Willieboy shook his head then said: 'Why don't you tell me all about it. Of course, you know, the more you talk the more difficult it will be for you to live through this. It's your funeral.'
'Just over two years ago, the King of the Dead read about some scientist of little renown and his new theory, Regenerics. The King, being a dead man, is understandably excited by the notion of life. He contacts Cotton and sets him up in a lab. The only thing missing now is a woman who can ovulate and a man who can produce sperm.
'It just so happens, and I don't know what sort of luck was working against her, but sure enough, Julie Hawksbridge just happens to be able to conceive, and she happens to be dating a nobody named Victor Davis. Davis happens to be able to produce viable sperm, so he and his girlfriend soon surprise themselves and the family doctor by conceiving a child. Now three times this happens, and three miscarriages follow. The family doctor seems to be one of the few men left with scruples, so he doesn't tell anyone about it while its happening. But I envision Davis hanging around the lunchroom at Speedy Prescriptions bragging about his masculine prowess.
'In any other lunchroom, he would be laughed at. It just so happens that Speedy Prescriptions is a subsidiary of King Industries owned by your boss, the King of the Dead.'
Willieboy nodded, feeding me lots of rope.
I continued. 'So Davis happens to brag in the hearing of someone who does deliveries or is connected to Cotton's lab. He in turn brags at Cotton's lab. Soon Davis is approached by one of the King's men and I don't know why Davis went along but with his assistance Julie Hawksbridge gets kidnapped. She disappears. Then Davis disappears. I'm sure if you were to sift the Landfill you might find an arm with his watch on it.' The transport roared and lurched again. I struggled into a sitting position, took more whiskey. 'Alan Cotton now. He's really just a scientist. It is possible that he was duped all of the way through the operation, but I find that difficult to believe. He must have talked to the girl, after all. She must have let him know she was being held against her will. Cotton, maybe he goes a little mad scientist at this point. I don't know. Maybe he doesn't have a choice. Whatever, he incorporates this young woman into his project. Now, I know that Cotton had some frozen sperm, in case he and his wife ever could have had a baby, and I believe he used this to fertilize Julie Hawksbridge's viable ovum. She was pregnant when she was kidnapped, but I expect she lost that one. Her doctor believed she would.' I levered myself onto the bench opposite Willieboy. 'Cotton attempts to inseminate Hawksbridge. I don't know how many times. Whatever, nothing happens for at least a year. Eventually Cotton-with Hawksbridge's unwilling participation-meets with success, and produces a bouncing baby. A real live bawling infant in a world where there just aren't such things. I have a feeling at this point that Julie Hawksbridge had to be taken out of the picture. It's not likely that she would cheerfully hand away her child, no matter how it was conceived. I'm sure being the world's only fertile female must have made some impact on her. It's more likely she was drugged or controlled in some way. You may still have her.' I sensed new tension in Willieboy. 'You drug her, and then the truth hits the fan. Cotton sees that the realization of his dream, Regenerics, has changed entirely for him. It is his child after all. He takes a good hard look at the King of the Dead. Not a pretty sight, so the rumor goes. And Cotton decides that the King will not return to life using his baby for raw materials. So late one night, Cotton bundles up his child, and disappears.'
'Why did he phone my people then, if I'm with the King? How did I find out? Or Cane?' Willieboy's expression was bruised.
'He had to talk to someone in Authority. It was just his bad luck that unscrupulous men who abuse their positions work there. I think Cotton was trying to call someone in Authority who could help. And he got filth like you
