“So I guess I overheard wrong then.”
“What?” her face screwed up.
“The guys on the Cylin. I heard them say that Randy’s was the place to get neural tech.”
The girl gave an acidic laugh. “Nice try. Look, whatever you’re looking for, we don’t sell it. We got nothing to do with the tech that’s out there now on the streets. We’re legit.”
“Alright,” Salvi said calmly. “I guess I was mistaken then.”
“You were.”
“I’ll have to look elsewhere,” Salvi said.
“You do that.”
Salvi nodded slowly and cast her eyes around the store one more time. She looked over to the cabinets selling the DIY headwear again. The case file said that the owner – the girl’s father – was found lying on the ground before that cabinet, with a bullet in his brain. According to the file Riverton had shared with her, the cabinets had contained retro hardware. Nothing in the description mentioned the DIY headwear at all. Someone had swapped out the contents before Bronte and Hernandez had arrived on scene, and after they left, put it back.
“It’s time to leave,” the girl said, aiming a pepper gun at her through a hole in her glass box.
Salvi raised her hands peacefully, then turned and left.
She stepped out onto the street and walked away from the store. The girl’s attitude was troubling, and it made Salvi’s gut tighten with adrenaline. She also had the overwhelming urge to take a risk. She pulled her burner phone and contacted Riverton.
“Yes, Detective Brentt?” it answered.
“Riverton, get me a soundbite from my position outside of Randy’s Retrotech in the Transmission. Single out female teen voices.”
“Yes, detective.”
Salvi hung up and waited patiently while Riverton sent a drone down to hover over her position and record whatever sound it could. Ten minutes passed, then her burner phone rang.
“Get anything?” she answered it.
“I have three matches to your request,” Riverton answered.
“Go ahead,” she said, and Riverton played the first soundbite. Salvi heard two young girls talking about a guy who had been at a party with another girl who knew the arrested teen on the news. Salvi looked around the street and saw two teens walking along the street toward the Cylin station.
“Not them,” Salvi said. “Next.”
Salvi listened as the next conversation played. She recognized the voice of the girl from the store.
“I think a cop just came by!” she sounded panicked. “At least I hope it was a cop.”
“Relax,” a male voice said. “They’re going to ask questions, it doesn’t mean anything.”
“I don’t like it. It has to be related to Dancer. Why else would they keep coming here?”
“Dad was killed, Lennie. They’re going to ask questions until they know who did it. Dancer has a record but there’s no way they can connect him to dad’s death. Best they can do is connect him to a friendship with me. That’s all.”
“But what if they do?” she asked. “If they think we’re involved, if the cops draw attention to us, they’ll kill us.”
“They won’t. Just stay cool. Even if the cops somehow link Dancer to us, they can’t prove anything other than that we were friends. They’ll lose interest and go away.”
“You never should’ve hung out with him. If we lose the store because of you, I swear to God!”
“Relax. And give Dancer a break, alright? He’s got nothing to do with this shit on the streets, I’m sure of it. He’s a gamer, Lennie. He supplies gamer tech.”
“How do you know he hasn’t branched out? He’s the best at what he does. You know that. Everyone underground knows that.”
“I just don’t think he would, alright.”
“You need to call him and find out what’s going on.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“Because why?” she demanded.
“Because!” he yelled. “He’s not answering my calls!”
“He’s not?” her voice softened, frightened.
“He’s dropped off the grid,” he said equally quiet.
“Since when? How long?” Lennie asked.
“Since… just before dad died,” he answered hesitantly.
“Oh my God…” Lennie said. “It was him. He put the tech on the streets.”
“Lennie, he didn’t have the connections to put tech out like this. Not on this scale. If he’s involved then someone paid him for the design only.”
“Yeah, and now they’re cleaning up their evidence. Dancer’s dead. Just like dad! That’s why they killed him!”
“Shut your mouth, alright! Just shut it! Don’t you ever speak of this again, Lennie, or I swear to god!”
Silence filled the line, then, before it was broken by what Salvi assumed was Lennie’s soft cries.
Salvi stood there numb at what she’d just heard.
“Riverton?” she got her mouth to move in time with her brain, which was now racing. “Riverton!”
“Yes, detective?”
“Upload that recording to the Trident case file.”
“Yes, detective. Underway.”
“And see what you can find out about this Dancer guy. End request.”
“Yes, detective.”
Salvi knew the soundbite would not be admissible in court, nor was its use encouraged by the department – especially without the appropriate warrant, but that didn’t stop cops from using the tech every now and then to give them a helping hand with their investigations. Her move was risky, but her gut had been right, and now she had herself a very strong lead to follow: this neural tech designer known as Dancer.
Salvi stood at the windows of her temporary apartment and looked over the city as dusk fell and the lights began to glow below. Her lenses clouded silver as Ford filled her vision.
“Myki Natashi gave me nothing,” she said. “She just said they went to the club for drinks. She’s definitely scared. I did find out something of interest, however.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. When I went to her apartment, it was empty. Seems she’s moved out. Guess where she is now?”
“Where?”
“She’s back living with Francis Mellon.”
“No shit?” Salvi said turning away from the windows.
“No shit. You think she was in on Barker’s murder?”
Salvi exhaled heavily. “I don’t know… If she was, she was a good actress. I believed her.”
“But you
