Of Broken Things

Chapter 1 - scene 3.

Aiden left his gravicar a block from the precinct and decided to walk the rest of the way. There was no particular reason for this, since there were plenty of visitor parking spaces on the roof of the precinct, but Aiden told himself that a walk would do him some good.

Then the five minute walk somehow stretched to a full twenty minutes because, for some reason, he had to stop and look at every 3D billboard along the way. So far he had learned that voting for Chairman Oloro was a smart choice for everyone who loved their region; that the new FreeViz retina implants could change color at will; and that the department of Space exploration was looking for volunteers for their first terra-forming mission on Eden. And the closer he came to the precinct, the more he seemed to drag his feet. He came to a complete stop under a Space Corp recruitment billboard and looked at the familiar doors right across the street.

He didn’t want to go in there, he realized with a start. Not that he had bad memories about the place. On the contrary, most of the people working there had been his colleagues and friends. In fact, the whole precinct had showed up at Mary Ann’s and Jasmine’s funeral to show their support. And that was the problem - last thing he needed right now were pitying glances and empty condolences.

So he turned on his heels and went to the little old-style cafe a few blocks down instead. The holographic menu at the door claimed that all the products were organic and Earth-grown, and there was a live barista behind the counter instead of the usual automated ordering screen. Aiden ordered a double espresso and called Ricky, hoping that he was at the precinct and relatively free.

Thankfully, senior detective Richard Benson was indeed at his desk and had a few hours to spare, so about fifteen minutes later he plopped on the chair across from Aiden and ordered a late.

“Am I right to guess that you read the file?” he asked, taking a big gulp of coffee.

Aiden nodded.

“So, what do you think? Will you take it?”

“Well, I have a question for you and my involvement with the case rather depends on your answer.”

“What do you want to know?”

“The case is closed. If you feel like you got the wrong guy, why not go to your commanding officer and reopen it? Why give it to an outside source, one that will be hired by the victim’s family to boot?”

“Because I think that somebody higher up on the food chain made very sure the case was closed as swiftly as possible.”

“What makes you say that?”

Ricky ran his hand through his short hair, messing it up.

“This whole deal with the second account, it stinks, Aiden. It was way too easy to find. I didn’t even have to dig deep. It’s like, I don’t know, somebody wanted me to find it. And I talked to Fortworth’s colleagues and friends - none of them had the slightest clue that Steven had such an extensive gambling problem, not even his wife.”

“Well, we have had similar cases in the past. Some people are just very good at hiding their vices.”

Ricky winced. “Don’t I know that. But I had sent the data to the forensic accounting department at the Regional Hub, just in case.”

“And?”

“And nothing. Nothing much has changed since you retired. Heck, I think Waters is using your old datapad, the one you had inherited from Hewey what, fifteen years ago? And you’ve seen the piece of junk they call my service vehicle. Spaceport non-withstanding, our city is still considered the middle of nowhere.”

“What does that have to do with forensic accounting?”

“Just that they are swamped with requests back at Regional, so technically they are supposed to process them in the order they were received, but in reality, big cities always take precedence. Unless it’s a highly mediatized case, or a serial killer, and Fortworth’s murder is neither. So my request is probably still gathering virtual dust at the bottom of their pile. If I’m lucky, I might get the results before I retire.” 

 Ricky sounded tired and a bit irritated, and Aiden thought with a pang of guilt that he hadn’t even bothered asking how his friend had been doing this past seven months. Ricky had always been like family. Mary Ann had adopted him as a slightly dysfunctional little brother (even though he was three years older than her), and Jasmine adored her Uncle Wicky. He had spent more time at Aiden’s home than in his own tiny apartment. And after the accident, Ricky had been there for him, like a beacon of safety in the middle of the interstellar vacuum. He had helped Aiden during his investigation into the accident. He had done everything in his power to bring Black Dragon to Justice. And he had been there to pick Aiden up when the bastard walked free and Aiden fell apart about a month ago. It couldn’t have been easy for Ricky either, Mary Ann and Jasmine being the closest he ever had to a family, but he had found the strength to move on. So now it was Aiden’s turn to help his friend and partner.

“You know, Ricky,” he said, “I think I will take this job.”

He was rewarded with a genuine smile.

“Thank you, man! Marjory Fortworth is a first class lady, and she is desperate for answers that I just cannot give her.”

“But if I am to start digging, I’ll need full access to your case file.” Aiden tapped the datachip Ricky had given him with his finger. “I will need all the financial data as well. I’m pretty sure one of the forensic accountants at Regional still owes me a favor. I bet he won’t mind bypassing the queue and taking a look at the data for me. And I might need to speak to his colleagues and students again. I will definitely need to speak to the spouse. Especially if she is going to be my client.”

“I’ll forward you everything I have. As to Marjory, I can call her right now and see if she can meet with us.”

“That would be perfect.”

Aiden watched Ricky dial a number on his transmitter and talk to somebody, probably Mrs. Fortworth, about coming by with the private detective he had told her about. He had to admit that he was thrilled at the prospect of working this case, and not only because it was intriguing. Sitting at the cafe like that, discussing a case with is partner, brought back good memories of a time when he had worn a badge and Mary Ann was still alive…

At that thought his mood soured again. No amount of wishing would bring the past or his family back.

This particular train of thought was thankfully interrupted when Ricky finished his call.

“Alright, Marjory will see us at 2pm, which leaves us a little bit over two hours to kill. Fancy eating something a bit more filling than a coffee?”

Aiden nodded enthusiastically. When Ricky mentioned lunch, he became aware of just how hungry he was. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had had a decent meal.

“Excellent!” Ricky said. “Then let’s go to Illiano’s for old times’ sake.”