Acolyte (11 page)

‘Getting back to the question you asked first,' said Bob, ‘yes, revival is damn near automatic for murder, but we can't even demonstrate that this
was
murder. The initial coroner's report was clutching at straws. It speculated the injuries were road drag, that maybe she fell under a truck and was pulled along unnoticed.'

‘What?' said Never, dismissive. ‘Then the truck drove up the alley and she was left behind?'

Bob frowned. ‘Like I said, clutching at straws. Road drag just doesn't do that. You get an uneven result, flesh stripped raggedly, irregular wear on the bone. There was no CCTV covering the alley, though. We just don't know what happened down there. There was one witness, the man who found the body, and his statement – let's just say it didn't clarify things for the judge.'

‘The upshot of all this,' said Ray, ‘is that the coroner wouldn't classify Mary's death as homicide. It was put down as “unexplained”. Wouldn't even rule out accidental and go to “suspicious”. The Afterlifers considered this as an unnecessary revival of one of their own, and they saw a chance to make legal precedent.'

Jonah shook his head. ‘Surely there's a clear public interest here? That should take priority, so you have good grounds to appeal the decision.'

‘We did appeal,' said Bob. He took out a piece of paper and handed it to Jonah. ‘Here's the judgement. It didn't go our way. The decision was considered borderline. A judge needs a damn good reason to overrule a fellow judge.'

Jonah scanned the judgement and looked up. ‘The ruling of accidental death and the victim's Afterlifer membership were the two primary reasons given by the judge, but he also said he wasn't willing to put the victim through the trauma of a revival given the severity of the injuries. That traditional investigative methods
should be sufficient to explain her death.' Mary Connart's horrific wounds were still visible on Bob's phone. ‘Maybe the judge had a point,' said Jonah. Everyone turned to look at him, surprised. He could understand. Even he was surprised to hear it from his own lips; surprised to feel distaste at the thought of forcing a revival subject to confront the terror that had led to their death, considering how many times he'd done exactly that.

‘Come on, Jonah,' said Ray. ‘Imagine if she'd somehow survived. Do you really think we'd even
consider
not getting her side of things, just because it might distress her? The question wouldn't be whether we talk to her or not. The question would be how we go about it. We'd do it with people who are trained for that. People who could help her through the process. People like you.'

Jonah said nothing at first, and the silence was an uneasy one. ‘Tell me why I'm here.'

‘My apologies, Jonah,' said Bob. ‘I know I'm taking the long route, but I just want you to know how we got to this position. You see, if we challenge again it'll go to the Court of Appeal, then maybe to the Supreme Court. We might not get a final decision for six weeks. What do you honestly think the chances of a successful revival would be?'

Jonah thought for a moment. ‘Injuries that extensive? If you did it now, you'd be very lucky to get thirty per cent. Every additional week the chances will drop by a third or more. In another six weeks … even being generous, it'd be one per cent or less.' An ominously low figure, for a specific reason: ‘That's below the FRS threshold.'

‘See?' said Bob. ‘The Supreme Court probably wouldn't overturn the decision because even if they did, FRS guidelines would force it to decline the revival.'

‘So there's no point challenging,' said Ray. ‘And the Afterlifers know it. They've won.'

Jonah frowned, confused. ‘I don't understand. Are you asking
me to be ready, just in case the court overturns the decision? You want me to attempt it if the FRS declines?'

Bob gave a sly smile and shook his head. ‘We'd run out of options, Jonah, but when I heard you'd left the FRS, I realized we have one last throw of the dice. You see, all of this legal argument is related to the new laws the Afterlifers pushed through, and those are explicitly directed at forensic revival. Private revival is covered under separate legislation, which wasn't changed.'

‘Yeah,' Never nodded. ‘It was part of the deal between the insurance people and the Afterlifers: don't touch our stuff and we won't fight you.'

‘So …' said Ray. He paused, looking like he was waiting for the penny to drop. It didn't happen. ‘Guys, private revivals only need a relative's permission. The denial that was issued just covers a forensic revival. It doesn't prevent a private one from taking place.'

‘Think about it,' said Bob. ‘The moment we accept defeat and withdraw the request for a forensic revival, the autopsy can go ahead within twenty-four hours. And as the only close relative, the sister has the right to have the body released for a private revival in advance of an autopsy, at the discretion of the senior investigating officer.' He raised his coffee. ‘That'd be me.'

‘Christ,' said Never. ‘A private revival for a murder investigation.' He scowled. ‘You should either be very proud or deeply ashamed of yourselves.'

‘We're not proud,' said Ray. ‘It's unfair to get you here and ask you like this, Jonah, but that's how desperate we are.'

Jonah shook his head again. ‘I'm not going to do a private revival on an Afterlifer, Bob. I want to keep my head down.' And not run roughshod over the victim's wishes, he thought, certain now that he'd been suppressing that kind of concern for far longer than he was willing to admit.

‘I understand,' said Bob, ‘but it's not as simple as that. Mary's sister said they both joined the Afterlifers as teenagers, over a
decade ago. They only paid for one year and didn't even update their addresses, but the Afterlifers keep you on the system unless you explicitly request to be removed. Calling her an Afterlifer is stretching the truth somewhat. If they'd not gone to a sympathetic judge, we would already have had our revival.'

Jonah was still uneasy. ‘But is there any reason to think she changed her mind?'

‘Yes,' said Ray. ‘The sister took out revival insurance for herself a few years ago and said that Mary had expressed interest, but that wasn't enough for the judge. Turns out the sisters weren't
that
close, so he didn't put too much stock by it. Also, none of the victim's friends thought she was an Afterlifer supporter, and a few were adamant that she wasn't. But again, it's not hard evidence.'

Jonah said nothing.

‘Please, Jonah,' said Bob. ‘Trust me. You're the only person I can ask for this. We don't have the money to hire someone, and the victim wasn't insured. Even then, I doubt any private reviver would have the guts to take it on. But this is our only chance to hear what she has to say. You understand what that means. You can talk to her, you can help her through it. I believe she was murdered, but the investigation has stalled. You're the only one who can make sure that what was done to her doesn't go unanswered. Promise me you'll think about it.'

‘Look at her, Bob,' said Jonah, pointing to the image of her injuries. ‘Look at what she went through.'

Bob nodded. ‘I know. But too much about this case doesn't make sense, Jonah. The guy who found the body said things that gave me the creeps, and I'm convinced this was murder. It'll happen again unless we stop it. I'm certain of that.'

‘The coroner called it
accidental
,' said Jonah. ‘Why are you so sure it was murder?'

Bob looked him in the eye. ‘Because I don't think Mary was the first.'

‘The day after Mary's body was found I spoke to a friend,' said Bob. ‘A homicide detective in Denver. I told her the nature of the injuries Mary had, just to see if she'd ever come across anything similar. Turned out she'd heard of one locally, a young woman in an apparent suicide. Fell from a highway overpass around three a.m. and was run over by a truck. The only CCTV was too far away to record why she fell. The fall and the vehicle meant that she'd died immediately, but she had injuries to her hands they couldn't quite explain. Flesh stripped from the palm, bones damaged. She was missing several fingertips on both hands. Those injuries weren't made with a blade. They were described as abrasive wounds. Not cut, not sawn. Like she'd grasped a coarse sanding belt. They were also described as cauterized, just like Mary's wounds.'

‘Nothing else implied foul play,' said Ray. ‘At first the injuries were put down to road drag, even though the vehicle that hit her stopped immediately.'

‘This was thirteen weeks ago,' said Bob. ‘Three weeks after that, the body of another young woman was found in a park in Minneapolis. Strangled. This time the fingertips of the right hand were gone, but the whole left hand was missing. Again, no CCTV, but a definite homicide this time. The damage to the hands was put down to an abandoned attempt to hide the identity of the victim, but again the injuries resembled severe abrasive wounds.
Again, they seemed cauterized. They arrested an ex-boyfriend, but the case against him is weak.'

‘Were there revival attempts?' asked Never.

‘Not with the apparent suicide,' said Bob. ‘The fact that the wounds to the hands were inconsistent with the vehicle having stopped quickly was only noted after the autopsy, so it was too late for revival. With the strangling, there was an attempt at revival but no success. It was considered a fifty per cent chance, so they were unlucky.'

‘Have you told those involved about your suspicions?' asked Never.

Bob shook his head. ‘It'd be dismissed out of hand. There's nothing else to link them. This is pure gut, but I
know
it's connected to Mary somehow. Please, Jonah. I need your help.'

Jonah looked at Bob. He was about to turn him down when the detective spoke again. ‘Look, you know I mentioned the man who found the body?'

‘You mentioned he'd given you the creeps,' said Jonah.

‘I think you should hear what he told me. Directly from him.'

‘Can't you just tell me now?'

Bob shook his head. ‘I can see it in your eyes, Jonah. You're on the verge of saying no. We're heading back to DC. Come with us and hear the guy out. If you still don't want to do it, then I'll understand.'

‘I'll think about it,' said Jonah. ‘If I decide to come, I'll drive up there myself. That's all I can promise.'

‘OK,' said Bob. He stood, and so did Ray. ‘Third District Police Station. We'll be there all day.'

The detectives left, and Jonah turned to Never. ‘Do you think they really had any police business in Richmond, or were they here just for me?'

‘Oh, you
were
the police business, Jonah. Did you notice how vague they kept some things, just to pique your interest?
Wait till you hear what the eyewitness said
… Asking you to go to DC is
an old trick, too. If you want people to do something big, get them to agree to smaller stuff first. In for a penny, you know? Uh, are you OK?'

Jonah was staring at the exit, only half paying attention. He turned to Never. ‘What about what Mary wants? Bringing her back, asking her to go through it again. What will that cost her?'

‘Justice always comes at a price,' said Never. ‘You of all people should know that.'

*

Jonah sent Never home and got himself another coffee so that he could sit quietly and fret.

Bob Crenner had played things well, he thought. For a moment he wondered if the other cases Bob had mentioned could have been entirely invented, just to give him that extra push.
No
, he thought. There was a simple reason he wanted to think that way: the possibility of a killer out there, poised to do it again, left him with no real choice.

He didn't know if he was starting to agree with the Afterlifers about Mary's right to be left undisturbed, but even if he was, it was a right that had limits. Justice did carry costs, as Never had pointed out. The cost to Mary was far lower than the cost of there being another victim.

He finished his coffee and took the ten-minute walk home from the cafe. Marmite, as ever, pestered him for food and a fuss. Jonah did it quickly, wanting to set off for DC as soon as he could. He wouldn't call ahead to the detectives, though. In case he changed his mind on the way.

As he was about to leave, an email came through from Annabel.

I'm sorry
, she'd written.
Things are busy and my head is a mess.

That was it, as far as anything personal went. The rest was a summary of bits and pieces of information she'd gathered, a clear attempt to demonstrate that she was making some progress.
Encouragingly, her fears that Andreas Biotech was ramping up revival work seemed to have been misplaced, the money being spent instead on cryogenics. Attached to the email were scans of some documents she'd managed to get hold of relating to an Andreas Biotech site in Nevada.

Hearing from her at all was positive, he hoped. Still. It had been almost two weeks without a word, and all she could say was
Things are busy and my head is a mess.

Join the club, thought Jonah.

*

The drive to Washington DC gave him plenty of time to think, but when he parked in the Third District lot he wasn't much closer to knowing how he felt.

Bob and Ray were pleased to see him, though. ‘Can't tell you how much this means to me,' said Bob, rising from his seat as Jonah walked over. His desk was overloaded with junk, his monitor half hidden in Post-its; Ray was sitting behind the adjacent desk, which was pristine.

‘OK, but don't get your hopes up,' said Jonah. ‘I'm here to listen to your eyewitness, that's all.'

‘I've already set up a meeting,' said Bob. ‘Well, I know his delivery schedule for the rest of the day. Same thing. We can go now, if you like. You want to tag along, Ray?'