Page 147 of Crocodile Tears

“We’ll soon find out,” Mel said. “I’ll take it to the ballistics lab, and they can run some tests.”

“What about the envelope it came in – any clues?” Josiah held it up to the light. “There’s a standard tracking chip on it. Mel – find out where it was posted. Take the lightbox, too. I don’t think you’ll find prints on anything, but it’s worth a try. I need anything you can get off it.”

She nodded and bounced away, humming happily to herself.

“What the hell does it mean?” Reed asked. “Why would Dacre’s killer send us the murder weapon, if that’s what it is?”

“Not just the murder weapon – also a holovid from a news site,” Esther said. “Which means Alexander Lytton didn’t send it. He was in our custody all day yesterday. He never left our sight, which means…”

“That Dacre’s killer is trying to clear Alexander’s name without implicating themselves,” Josiah said slowly. “The gun is Pre-R, so we can probably rule out a professional hit. Nobody who did this for a living would choose a firearm like this. Someone picked it up on the black market, probably in the Quarterlands; it’s unlikely we’ll be able to trace its origins.”

“We can try,” Esther said firmly.

“Of course – I’ll get one of my confidential informants on it immediately, but Pre-R guns are two a penny out there.”

“I wonder if this was a spur of the moment thing, maybe an impulse decision – giving the killer enough time to buy this weapon but not think the consequences through,” Esther suggested.

“What makes you say that?” Josiah asked.

“Well, let’s suppose that whoever killed Dacre waited until Alexander left for his gym session and then went to the house. Dacre let him or her in – we know that. They killed him, wiped the data from the house system, and then took off. They covered their tracks pretty well, but they hadn’t anticipated that Alexander would be arrested. That wasn’t their plan, so they’ve been panicking since it hit the news. They came up with this – send us the gun, wiped clean ofany evidence that could lead back to the shooter, and wait for us to release him.”

“Why not let Alexander take the rap for it?” Josiah questioned. “Why do they care if he’s charged with Elliot’s murder? Doesn’t it get them off the hook?”

“Guilt?” Reed suggested.

“Not necessarily.” Josiah grabbed his holopad and checked back over his notes. “Dacre’s solicitor, Isaac Juniper, said that Dacre had received two offers to buy Alexander’s contract recently but turned them down. Supposing one of those prospective purchasers didn’t want to take no for an answer?”

“With Dacre dead, Alexander would go into the probate system and then his contract would be put back on the market for sale,” Esther said slowly.

“The murderer didn’t want Alexander to be our prime suspect, so they set up this holopic to arrive here today and make it clear it couldn’t have been him,” Josiah said. “You know, I don’t think Dacre’s murder was a hasty decision at all. In fact, I think it was carefully planned.”

“There is another possibility,” Reed ventured quietly. Josiah and Esther both turned to look at him.

“Alexander killed Dacre, then changed out of his bloodstained clothes, shoved them in a plastic bag with the gun, and took them to the gym. He did his regular session and then left – and during the missing time where we can’t account for his movements, he gave them to an accomplice. Alexander anticipated he’d be the prime suspect, so he arranged for the accomplice to send us the gun and date-stamped holoimage while he was safely locked up in custody.”

“That relies on Alexander knowing someone who would risk a hell of a lot for him,” Josiah stated flatly.

“Yeah, but if someone else shot Dacre in order to buy Alexander, then they also risked a hell of a lot for him,” Reed pointed out. “One way or another, someone out there clearly likes him.”

“Or wants him – which isn’t quite the same thing,” Josiah retorted.

“It’s hard to prove either hypothesis without more information,” Esther said. “Let’s hope that gun talks to us. I want to know theminute we have any more information.” She spun her wheelchair around and wheeled away.

Josiah turned back to Reed. “We need to find out who wanted to buy Alexander’s contract and why.”

Reed made a face. “Look, sir, I know you don’t want to hear it, but I think that my accomplice theory makes more sense than your lone gunman idea.”

“You just don’t want to believe Alexander is innocent.”

“And you don’t want to believe he’s guilty.”

They glared at each other for a moment. Then Josiah nodded. “We’ll investigate both theories. Either way, we’re looking for someone else – instead of Alexander, or in addition to him. If we go with the accomplice hypothesis – who would Alexander trust to cover for him?”

“And if we go with your thwarted-buyer supposition – who would want Alexander so much that they’d kill for him?” Reed asked.

Josiah thought back to the news report he’d watched with Alexander earlier. “I can think of someone who fits both profiles,” he said. “Do we have blood spatter analysis of the crime scene?”

“Not yet – I’m expecting it later today or tomorrow. Why?”

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