‘Of course I followed up,’ Terabyte replied, as if insulted by her question. ‘I couldn’t get any personal information but — here’s the big news — two of them logged on from Foreditch Homeless Centre. No idea what they posted or when they did it, but the place is about forty kilometres away from where you are right now.’
‘Thanks, Terabyte,’ Lexi said. ‘We’re onto it.’
SCENE 18
‘Chapulines?’ Troy turned up his nose. ‘What are they?’
‘Grasshoppers toasted with garlic and lime. Want to try?’
‘Er … No, thanks. I’ll stick with sausages.’
‘Any scorpions in them?’ Lexi asked with a grin.
‘It’s a mystery. No one’s quite sure what they’re made of. Pork, offal, horse?’
‘You don’t even know what you’re eating!’
‘I know they taste nice, especially when they’re swimming in brown sauce.’
Lexi tried to imitate her new partner. ‘Weird.’
Under a darkening sky, she was still licking her dessert — an ant lollipop — when they arrived at the homeless centre.
The building was at the edge of Foreditch’s commercial hub, next to the temple, in the grounds of the cemetery. It had probably once belonged to the temple but now it was dedicated to helping the displaced. The manager was not much older than Troy and Lexi. She introduced herself as Skye and she showed them around, pushing open doors so they could see inside every part.
‘We provide hot meals and drinks,’ she said in the main room, which was a modest self-service canteen and seating area. ‘Our most important function.’ She opened another door on a small dormitory. ‘And a few beds. On a first-come, first-served basis. Never enough in winter but okay at this time of year.’ She flung back another door, revealing an office. ‘My bit of space for getting things organized. It’s open, though. No secrets here.’ There were a couple of phones and three desktop computers. A homeless woman was seated at one of them. ‘They can go online here, if they want. I encourage it.’
‘Why?’
Skye sniffed. ‘A connection to the rest of the world. Makes them feel part of the community. Less alone.’
‘Have you come across The Solitude Network?’ Troy asked.
‘Sure. I recommend it. Very comforting. Nothing wrong with that, is there?’
‘I’m just not sure it’s as safe as it looks. But you’re not to know that.’ Troy nodded towards Lexi’s life-logger. ‘We want to show you a picture of someone. I warn you, it’s not very pleasant because he’s dead, I’m afraid. But I want to know if you recognize him.’
Skye peered at the cleaned-up image of L4G#1, screwed up her face and sighed. ‘Jerome Eleven. Think so anyway. Pretty sure.’
‘One of your clients?’
Skye nodded. ‘A regular. Then he stopped.’ She turned away momentarily, obviously upset.
‘Weren’t you suspicious?’
‘No. It’s normal in this game. People come in a lot and then they don’t. Remember, they’re drifters.’
‘Did he use The Solitude Network?’
‘Think so. Yes.’
‘When did you last see him?’
Skye shrugged. ‘Weeks ago.’
Taken aback, Troy glanced at Lexi. The decomposition of the body wasn’t consistent with death that long ago. ‘Are you sure it was weeks?’
‘Couldn’t put my finger on a date.’
‘But weeks rather than days?’
‘Definitely.’
‘Did he tell you anything about his online browsing?’
‘I don’t ask. It’s private.’
‘Before he left, did he tell you what he intended to do?’
‘No.’
Disappointed, Troy switched his attention to the heart from L4G#4. ‘Can you think of an outer — man or woman — who used The Solitude Network near the end of last month and then didn’t come back?’
Skye frowned. ‘That’s not enough to go on. Maybe, but … I wouldn’t be able to suggest any names.’
Afterwards, Lexi sat beside Troy on a bench in the cemetery as overhead threatening clouds thickened. In the gloom, she looked at her partner and said, ‘We don’t know anything about the outer heart, but we’ve got names for all the bodies now. That’ll make you a happy major.’
Troy’s face remained creased. ‘Happier, but south of happy.’
‘I know what’s bothering you. The timing doesn’t add up, does it? Samaritan 999 got kicked off The Solitude Network around the time Olga died. The last week of March. I’m convinced Jerome Eleven was murdered on 4th April, so how did Samaritan 999 arrange to meet him?’
‘Exactly. Even if Samaritan 999 logged on under a different username, Jerome was drifting, probably nowhere near a computer.’
‘Maggots aren’t like humans. They don’t lie. Jerome died last Friday.’
Suddenly, Troy’s face lit up. ‘Unless … Yes. It’s obvious.’
‘Don’t tell me. He fixed up a meeting with Samaritan 999 weeks ago. They got together a few times. Days, weeks went by before Samaritan 999 smacked him on the back of the head and stole his organs.’
‘No. That wasn’t what I was going to say. They had their meeting ages ago and that’s when Jerome disappeared.’
‘But …’
‘Suspended animation.’
‘What?’
‘Any hospital or clinic can chill a patient. They slow the body chemistry right down,’ Troy said. ‘Cryonics. He’d be as good as dead but the organs would be preserved, ready for use.’
‘That’s a tidy explanation,’ Lexi admitted. ‘But I’m puzzled. Why didn’t I think of it?’
‘Why should you?’
‘Because he’s an outer like me and outers have been known to hibernate — in a way.’
‘Really?’
‘It’s not an everyday event. It’s halfway between myth and fact. Some outers have dropped their heart rates to ten or fifteen beats a minute in life-threatening situations. It helps them to survive critical injuries or illnesses. Gives doctors more time to sort out a treatment, like going into slow motion. Something you majors can’t do.’
Troy nodded. ‘Some rogue clinic kept him on ice till they harvested what they wanted. Then they disposed of his body last Friday. It all fits.’
‘Maybe that’s why we’re drawing a blank on the outer heart. L4G#4 could have been put in hibernation ages ago.’
‘True.’
Lexi turned towards him and said, ‘Pretty good reasoning for someone who’s not clever.’
Troy smiled. ‘Once a heart, lungs, kidney or whatever are removed from a body, how long do they last? I’m not clever enough to know.’
‘They start going downhill straightaway so it’s best to operate as soon as possible. I think they’re still okay after a few hours in a chiller. That’s what Gianna Humble said. Something about chilling an organ till the recipient’s ready. I’ll do some research and firm it up.’
Almost at once, Troy jolted upright.
‘What …?’
Jumping to his feet and pointing at a figure heading for the homeless centre through the increasing darkness, Troy exclaimed, ‘That’s Huw!’
As soon as the two detectives began to move towards him, Huw spotted them, turned and ran in the opposite direction, making for a gate from the cemetery onto a riverside path. A rucksack bounced up and down on his back.
Within seconds, Lexi was strides ahead of Troy and hail began to pelt them. The sudden storm distorted Troy’s vision and the vicious balls of ice stung his skin. He screwed up his face so the hail had less chance of hitting his eyes.