Natasha wasn’t one to give up, I’d say that for her. She placed a hand against my chest to halt my stride.
“I told you not to treat me like a child, Mick. I think I deserve to know what’s behind that gloomy expression you’re wearing. I can handle it.”
My heart broke a little when I looked at her. She was a rose in a concrete world, ignorant of the likelihood of being trampled by crowds of indifferent feet. A large part of me wanted to do as her parents tried to: protect her from the cruelties of that world, shield her from its filth and corruption. But the rest of me knew it wouldn’t make a difference in the long run. Sooner or later the world shows you its ugly side, and when it does you’d better be ready to face it.
“Know what a Glasgow Smile is?”
She shook her head.
“It’s when someone takes a razor blade or a knife, puts it in the corner of your mouth—” I traced a line across her face with my finger. “—and slashes. Then they beat you in the face or continue cutting until the muscles contract, causing the cut to spread from ear to ear. Sometimes the victims bleed out enough to die. Those who survive the trauma are left with a permanent scar as a memento.”
Natasha cringed and took a step back. “Is that what—?”
“—happened to Desiree? Yeah. That’s what the killer did to her face. Afterward she slit Desiree’s throat, the same as Scarlett’s. That’s what you wanted to know, right? Maybe I should take you back there, like Esmeralda said. You wanna get a close look, see what death looks like? That it?”
“I’ve seen what death looks like.” Natasha’s voice lowered to a near-whisper, but she never dropped her gaze. “How my parents were slaughtered was even worse. Don’t ever forget that, Mick.”
I stared at her, shocked by the sting in her words. “I can’t forget that. I’ll never forget that as long as I live.”
Benny cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt this tender scene and all, but whaddya saying: you’re connected to the girl that was snuffed here?”
I turned, relieved at the interruption. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Whoever this killer is, she’s toying with me. She wants me to know she can smoke me anytime, but she wants me to suffer first. Well, it’s working. I’m suffering all right, so much I can barely breathe. All I wanna do is shoot someone right now, but I still don’t even have a target.”
“Maybe you outta take that Sinn fox up on her offer, Mick. ‘Cause it looks like you’re gonna need all the help you can get.”
I scrubbed a hand across my chin. “Maybe you’re right, Benny. Can’t hurt at this point.” I tapped on my holoband and pulled up the number she gave me. Her face appeared on the screen instantly, alluring even in thumbnail size.
“I’ve been waiting for your call, Mick.”
“Is that so? I figured you’d have a thousand other things to occupy your digitally enhanced mind.”
Her lips curved. “Fortunately I multi-task with ease. What can I help you with?”
“Surveillance footage of who’s been through here in the last twenty-four hours.”
“I’m afraid the blackout was professionally done. Your hidden enemy is either jacked into the system or has some highly skilled assistance.”
“Great news. If that’s the case they can track my every move. If I’m gonna pull this off you have to get me off the grid.”
“Not a problem, Mick. I can tag your holoband with a cloning signal. Anytime someone tries to lock on to you the signal will produce thousands of duplicate signals, making it impossible to track you. From here on out you’re a ghost in the machine.”
“Not a bad trick. Thing is, I let you do that and you’ll be able to track me anywhere. How do I know I can trust you?”
“You don’t understand. I can override your holoband in a second and install spyware you’ll never detect if I wanted to. But I won’t. I want you to be able to trust me, but it’s your choice. Just keep in mind that the alternative is allowing your enemies to continue tracking your every move. You’re a gambler, Mick. Toss the dice.”
“All right, do it. But don’t think this means I’m working with you, Ms. Sinn. I’m just in your debt, is all.”
Her smile was sly. “Not to worry. Consider this is an advance on a friendship. Call me when you need me again.”
The screen winked off. My holoband gave no indication of any changes, but I knew Sinn had already inserted her unique modification. My holoband was tricked out with the best security in the business, but it may as well have been unlocked and undefended when it came to bioroid superiority. I just hoped Sinn would stay true to her word and not hack my entire network, but it didn’t look as if I had a choice in the matter.
We strode across the parking lot where Maxine waited. Her doors slid open as I approached. Natasha stopped in mid-stride. “Wait. Were there any others?”
“Other what?”
She stared at me like I was the stupidest man alive. “Other women, Mick. Were there any more you’ve been—” She blushed.
“—familiar with? Not really. Desiree was the only working girl I dealt with.” I paused. “And there was Scarlett, of course. Oh, and Ming Li, but that was only one time. She stole my winnings and put me in debt with the Russians before skipping town. And uh, let’s see…there was a singer in that flophouse on the Southside, what was her name…?”
Natasha’s lip curled. “Do you need a minute to write them all down? Let’s start with the ones you had at least some type of relationship with.” She shook her head. “Geez, maybe Angel was right about you, Mick.”
I froze. “Angel.” My heart went into overdrive as the realization hit me.
“What about her?” Natasha’s eyes widened. “No, Mick. Are you saying—?”
“Get in the ride. She’s the next hit on the list.”
Chapter 13: A Familiar Face
“Maxine, call Angel.”
“Calling.”
Maxine squealed across the damp streets, weaving in and out of morning traffic. Buildings and shifting crowds became blurs of movement and lights as we roared past. The buzzing sound of the outgoing call seemed unnaturally loud in the silent interior as we held a collective breath.
“The call went to her voicemail, Mr. Trubble. Would you like to leave a message?”
“No. Scan the wire for any recent shootings or fatal accidents.”
“I’ve picked up seventy-six reports of gunfire, twenty-six arsons, two drownings, and seventeen reports of vehicular manslaughter in the last twenty-four hours.”
I looked at Benny, who shrugged. “Hey, this is New Haven.”
My teeth ground together. “All right. They were supposed to be on their way to Customs. Maxine, centralize your search to the route they most likely would have taken.”
“Right away. You have a new call coming through. Do you want to take it?”
“Put it on screen.”
The heads up display fizzled on, morphing into an image of a shadowed figure. It was the same silhouette I saw earlier right before she pumped me full of lead. The wide brim of her Bogart still hid her features. It was hard to see her surroundings, but I guessed she was laying dormy in some cheap flophouse.
“I left you a little present at the brothel. Did you enjoy it?” The tone was wickedly playful, but just like before her actual voice was electronically garbled, leaving me no clues to tickle my memory.
I fought to control the rage that clawed at my throat. Purposely keeping my voice casual, I shrugged. “Not my type of gift. Why don’t we arrange a face to face so I can show you what I really enjoy?”
“Things didn’t go so well for you the last time we were face to face. How does it feel, knowing at any moment I could do the same? This time I wouldn’t count on your healing system to save you. I’m pretty sure it overtaxed itself knitting you back together.”