Bone Wires by Michael Shean

Bone Wires: Chapter 3

Bone Wires by Michael Shean

Published by Curiosity Quills Press

(www.curiosityquills.com)

All Rights Reserved. 

“So it appears that our vic was selling information.”

“What kind of information? That’s possibly the vaguest thing you’ve said to me all week, Dan. I don’t know if that should disturb me or give me hope.”

Gray snorted faintly from the inside of the Vectra. It was still parked outside the Hilton, where he leaned back in the driver’s seat talking to Carter through the car’s mobile link. He’d decided to call Carter before leaving, in case the senior detective wanted him to go back into Angie’s club and interrogate her further. He had also taken the time to have Central put a trace on Miss Velasquez’s movements in the event she decided to skip. No plane rides for you, missy, he thought as he’d sent the order down the line. He doubted a stripper had the resources to secure travel through unofficial channels, so this act effectively secured her.

Now Gray was talking to Carter about what the two of them had spoken about. “According to Miss Velasquez,” he continued, as if he hadn’t heard the other man’s quip at all, “She and Anderson had been involved in a sexual relationship.”

“You buying that?”

“I’m not buying that it was just sexual,” Gray replied.

“Good man,” said Carter. “Go on.”

“So according to her, the vic had been talking to her about some big score he was working on. Turns out that he’s been selling access to captured feeds from the Nexus to various people, or so he’d told her.”

Carter grunted. “All right,” he said. “Do you have any confirmation of this?”

“I wanted to get your go-ahead before I had Central conduct a probe,” said Gray. “He could have just been trying to impress her.”

“Maybe,” said Carter, “But with a wad that size on him I’m not going to take any bets. Have Security check for any holes in the network that might be attached to him. She have any idea who he might have been selling this information to?”

“No names. She said that it might have been the Koreans, but…”

“It’s Seattle, Dan. Everybody thinks it’s the Koreans.”

This was, of course, true.  The jopoks, Korean organized crime outfits that came up from California early in the century had blossomed from splinters of thugs into full-fledged syndicates here in the city.  Most of them operated in the Verge – in areas like White Center, in fact – but they were hardly the only players in the local game.  The Russians were up there, after all, as well as the Japanese and the proto-First Nations outfit known as the Duwamish Sons.    The Koreans, however, had become sort of the local Bogeymen; they were almost always involved in something.  You just never knew what, or how much exactly.  Thus, everyone tended to wonder if the Koreans might have been into whatever work of criminal mischief carried the day.  “All right, fair enough,” Gray conceded with a chuckle.  “So it might not be the Koreans.  But he was killed in White Center.  They have pretty serious holdings out that way.”

But Carter wasn’t convinced.  “So do the Sons,” he replied.  “You know, they killed a guy a few years back by cutting him open, one side to the other, with an industrial waterknife.  Damned strangest thing I’d ever seen.”

“Yeah, but these wounds were caused by something hot,” Gray countered.

“No reason it couldn’t be a heated cutting blade,” Carter said.  “Anyway, get a hold of Central and see if they can’t run down those leaks.  After that, run down to headquarters and see if the M.E.’s had time to look him over at all.  He’s an employee and in Administration, so he should take priority over whatever they’ve got now.”