‘Off you go then,’ said Jack. ‘Play nice.’
‘I’m not a toy,’ muttered Fist, but he stood up quickly enough, and with a little jump was next to Issie. She shifted in her seat, letting him sit down next to her – one face carved from wood, one from bone. Indulgence and concern mingled on Lestak’s face. Stifled giggles and little whispered words rose up.
‘Are you sharing secrets, Issie?’ asked Lestak.
‘Oh yes!’
‘That’s what we’re going to be doing, too. You and Fist should make sure nobody can hear.’
‘You said that was rude!’
‘Not when you’re sharing secrets.’
A moment of silence, then the puppet and fetch voices combined to say ‘We’re firewalled.’ The giggling and whispering continued. Lestak relaxed.
‘Her eyes are full of weaveware,’ said Jack. ‘You use her for security?’
‘It’s about keeping her safe, as much as me. You make powerful enemies doing what I do.’
‘Yes, must be very handy having a little friend like that.’
‘Now listen, Jack. Corazon was starting to take you seriously, and she had good judgement. That’s why you’re here, now. And that’s why nobody can hear us talk. But don’t push it.’
There was a snorting laugh from the passenger seat.
‘I’m sorry about Corazon. She was a good policewoman.’
‘East said she gave you the news.’
Memories of Corazon’s last minutes jostled at the edge of Jack’s mind. They had started to lose their sharp, unintegrated edge. They were almost bearable. ‘Yes,’ he said.
‘We found out about your meeting with Corazon. We thought you’d killed her.’
‘I had nothing to do with it.’
‘East confirmed that. I wish she’d come to us before we tried to arrest you.’
‘She’s a playful one,’ sighed Jack. ‘Does she know who did shoot Corazon?’
‘No. She’s more upset by that than by the death.’ Jack remembered how outraged East had been not to have known instantly that Corazon was dead. ‘Sandal came to me too,’ continued Lestak. ‘The guards you broke were his. He was furious. Two Pantheon manifestations in one day, and both about you. If Grey hadn’t been sequestered, I’m sure he’d have popped up as well. What have you done to get this much attention, Jack?’
‘I’m trying to find out the truth about the Penderville murder. About Aud Yamata, and her patron. And now about Corazon.’
‘Those are truths that kill, and that makes you dangerous.’
‘I can’t help that.’
‘Sandal wanted me to arrest you and hold you until Fist – well, you know. East wanted me to give you full Wart and Homelands access.’
‘There’s a war in Heaven.’
‘So it seems. And someone needs to try and referee it.’
‘That’s won’t be easy.’
‘No. And that’s why we need to talk. With Corazon dead, I think you are on to something after all. But I’m not going to let you chase around after it, putting more people at risk. And I’ve got to please East and Sandal.’
‘So what are you going to do?’
‘When it comes to you, nothing. I’m not going to change your Station access rights. I’m not going to let you go onweave, or visit Homelands, or the Wart. But I’m not going to restrict you anymore or imprison you, either.’
‘That’ll piss both of them off. And it doesn’t help me.’
‘It’ll piss them both off equally, so they’ll take it up with each other, not me. And I’m not in the business of helping you. I’m in the business of protecting Station. Like you, once.’
‘I still am. There’s something rotten here. Seven years ago, a man was murdered with full Pantheon knowledge. The person that did it has been hidden, with full Pantheon involvement. Others have been silenced at fetch level. Corazon’s been killed.’
‘So why haven’t they shut you down too?’
‘Friends in high places,’ said Jack bitterly.
Sudden shrieks of joy exploded from the front seat.
‘Hush, you two,’ scolded Lestak. There was muffled giggling, then Fist and Issie muted themselves again.
‘I’m not going to beg,’ said Jack. ‘But I do need access to Homelands. I have to try and find Aud Yamata.’
‘You know where she might be?’ Lestak’s attention was suddenly entirely focused on Jack, the professional investigator in her cutting through to the front of her mind. ‘You’re going to share whatever you know with me, aren’t you?’
Jack paused for a moment, wondering how much to tell Lestak, how much she would record, how secure InSec was. It was clear that East didn’t trust her – or at least, didn’t trust the organisation that surrounded her. Corazon’s death had made him wary, too.
A low whine filled the car – a tug passing by, trailing chainship containers, moving towards the Wart. Jack imagined the wonders it would be carrying to the twin malls of Homelands. He thought of containers, perhaps entire chainships, loaded with sweat, made invisible by adapted sweathead avoidance code. He reached a decision.
‘I don’t know anything more than I did back then, Lestak.’
‘If you do run into anything new, you will let us know. You won’t go looking into it yourself.’
‘You’ve got Corazon’s records, that’s more data than I’ll ever have. She was tracking Yamata. I think Yamata realised that and killed her. If you go to the files, you’ll find all you need.’
Lestak wearily massaged her forehead, hiding her eyes. ‘There’s a problem with that.’
‘You have looked at them?’ Lestak said nothing. ‘That’s why they killed her, for gods’ sake! For whatever she’d found out!’
‘There was a chromacode virus. We traced it back to a weave sigil sprayed on the sidewalk outside her apartment. It penetrated her InSec weavespace and shredded all her data.’
‘You think that’s coincidence? You think some script bunny could have planted something like that?’
‘No, I don’t.’ Lestak’s voice became an urgent whisper, as if quieter words were somehow more secret. ‘No, I don’t think that. I agree with you – there’s something wrong here, and it goes all the way to the top. But I can’t let you investigate it. You were taken out of play seven years ago and you’re still out of play now.’
‘Listen to yourself, Lestak. You’re running scared.’
‘Of course I am. This is terrifying. Criminals – I lock them up, or throw them off the weave. Corrupt InSec ops – we find them, we break them. But this – if one of the Pantheon is broken, what am I meant to do? How am I meant to stop that? I have to be so fucking careful even thinking about it. And I am going to investigate it, Jack, but I am going to tread so lightly. And you – there’s nothing light about you, nothing subtle about that creature. You were never even a proper policeman, and now you’re just damaged goods, not realising who you’re hurting until it’s too late. You’re not safe to be around. Corazon proved that.’
‘And whatever you find out? Will that disappear too?’
‘I’ve been around a lot longer than Corazon, and my patron is a lot tougher than hers was. East, bless her, gives good weathergirl, and her flash mobs are second to none when it comes to stalking weave stars. But she’s not a fighter. Not like the Rose.’
‘So you won’t help me?’
‘No. And I’ll be watching you. If you do anything at all that makes me think you’re investigating all this on your own, I will land on you so fucking hard you won’t even know what year it is. And don’t think you’ll be dealing with lightweights like the boys this morning. I know what East’s done to you. We’ll send the castrati after you, and you won’t be able to stop them.’
‘The castrati? I thought—’
‘They’re not just a rumour, Jack. We’ve had to deal with people East’s touched before. The Rose has developed solutions to her charms. Take a step back. You were never really a professional to start with, and you’re certainly not one now. If you keep digging you’ll be dangerous to yourself and to everyone you touch.’