Inquisitor Read Online Free PDF Page B

ask?”
    “You learn not to. There are other subjects to talk about.”
    “Like how you arrived here on the same day?”
    Jessica paused in the motion of reaching for her glass again; then her hand resumed its path. She brought the drink to her lips and took a sip. “Yes. Quite a coincidence.”
    “Quite.”
    Angel let the silence grow. An old and effective technique. Jessica was steeling herself to tell her something, information crucial to breaking this case open.
    Jessica brushed at her eye, as if wiping away a tear, then raised her face to the ceiling. She sniffed.
    “We… we were both surprised when we found out. Our stories were so similar, yet we ended up in different districts for a few years.”
    “It must make for an interesting story at parties.”
    “Ah… yes.”
    Angel didn’t buy her account for a nanosecond. If anything, she was too uninterested in her husband’s death. By this time, people were usually asking her for answers, requesting details, wanting to know what happened next, where she was with her investigation. This woman was sending out the right signals but not asking the right questions. She searched her memory. Yes, Jessica hadn’t asked a single question. It was as if she were doing what was expected from her but wanted the interview to end as soon as possible.
    Angel decided to press the issue. “So, you and Harry never met before moving to the same district?”
    Jessica shook her head. “No. We arrived on different ships and, as I said, lived in different districts before we met each other.”
    “Where were you both originally from?”
    “Isn’t there something you want to ask me about the case?” A note of exasperation had crept into Jessica’s voice.
    “Isn’t there something you want to ask me?”
    Jessica’s eyes narrowed, and she licked her lips. Her expression went blank. “Am I under suspicion?” The timid widow had all but disappeared.
    “Actually, everyone is, until we clear them. Where were you when Harry died?”
    “Are you serious?”
    “Yes.”
    “I was in bed. I didn’t wake when he got up. I don’t know why he wanted something to eat that late.” She licked her lips. “He wasn’t just working on AI’s for military tech, but something far more dangerous.”
    Here it is, thought Angel.
    “He wasn’t allowed to talk about classified tech,” continued Jessica, “but he couldn’t stay quiet about something with such devastating potential.”
    Something disrupted the noise-reduction field, and the background hubbub rose considerably. Angel looked around in annoyance. A number of patrons took the opportunity to hoot and jeer, raising the clamor to an uncomfortable level.
    There was a flash of light. A pop and a thump sounded behind her.
    She turned back. Jessica was slumped over the table. The back of her head sported a small red hole, from which rose a thin plume of steam. Blood leaked from underneath blonde hair and oozed across the table.
    “Shit!” Angel yelled, and threw herself to the floor, rolling away from her booth to avoid any speculative shots.
    Finding herself still breathing, she raised her head and looked around. None of the patrons had noticed anything untoward, and some were still yammering as loudly as they could while the reduction field was off.
    Angel triggered a Rank 4 Emergency Protocol through her implants, overriding the café’s operating system. Almost immediately, the lights brightened. A message blared through a speaker, drowning out the patrons’ racket.
    “THIS IS A COMMUNITY SAFETY MESSAGE.”
    She drew her hand-cannon in one smooth motion.
    “CALMLY EXIT THE BUILDING IN AN ORDERLY FASHION.”
    She stood and raised her gun, aiming in the direction the shot had come from.
    “THIS IS NOW A CRIME SCENE.”
    A few patrons noticed her weapon. A woman screamed.
    “CALMLY EXIT, PLEASE.”
    Angel ignored the screams and frantic stares, and took a slow deliberate look around the room, searching faces for anyone