Starbase Human by Kristine Kathryn Rusch Read Free Book Online Page B

would have believed it, if she hadn’t known his history.
    The building itself added to his charm. The lobby was impressive, designed to distract—art rotating on the walls, showing the history of ancient Earth art on one wall, Frontier art on another. The high ceilings made the place feel cavernous, and the small furniture groupings allowed anyone who was feeling overwhelmed to find a cozy place to sit down.
    DeRicci was determined not to let the lobby distract her. She watched the employees work or walk through, all with that vaguely I’m-so-happy-to-be-here expression many corporations required of their staff.
    A woman approached DeRicci. The woman was enhancement-thin, with hints of the fat she didn’t want lurking in her arms. She was dressed in a black suit that made her seem even thinner.
    The woman extended a hand covered with gold rings. “If you’ll come this way, Detective DeRicci…”
    DeRicci shook her head. “Mr. Deshin promised me a chip. I’m staying here until I get it.”
    The woman opened her other hand. In it was a chip case the size of a thumbnail. The case was clear, and inside, DeRicci saw another case—blue, with a filament thinner than an eyelash.
    “Here is your chip, Detective,” the woman said. “I’ve been instructed to escort you—”
    “I don’t care,” DeRicci said. “I’ll take the chip, and I’ll wait right here. You have my word that I won’t open either case, and I won’t watch anything until I get the okay.”
    The woman’s eyes glazed slightly. Clearly, she was seeing if that was all right.
    Then she focused on DeRicci, and bowed her head slightly.
    “As you wish, Detective.”
    She handed DeRicci the case. It was heavier than it looked. It probably had a lot of protections built in, so that she couldn’t activate anything through the case.
    Not that she had the technical ability to do any of that, even if she wanted to.
    She sighed. She had a fluttery feeling that she had just been outmaneuvered.
    Then she made herself watch Deshin. He was standing several meters away from her, clearly having a discussion through his links.
    He seemed truly distressed at the news of Sonja Mycenae’s death. If DeRicci had to put money on it, she would say that he hadn’t known she was dead and he hadn’t ordered the death.
    But DeRicci had already let him charm her once. She wasn’t going to trust her gut when it came to him. She was going to assume this man was guilty until he proved himself innocent.
    She closed her fist around the chip case, clasped her hands behind her back, and waited, watching Luc Deshin the entire time.

 
     
     
     
    EIGHT
     
     
    DESHIN STOPPED BY a grouping of couches, next to some tall, leafy plants. He wanted to keep an eye on the detective. He’d learned in the past that police officers had a tendency to wander and observe things they shouldn’t.
    He had staff in various parts of the lobby to prevent the detective from doing just that.
    Through private, encoded links, he had contacted his favorite attorney, Martin Oberholst. For eight years, Oberholst had managed the most delicate cases for Deshin—always knowing how far the law could bend before it broke.
    Before I tell you what to do, Oberholst was saying on their link, I want to see the footage.
    It’ll take time, Deshin paced slightly as he worked the links. He hated standing still.
    Ach, Oberholst sent. I’ll just bill you for it. Send it to me.
    I already have, Deshin sent.
    I’ll be in contact shortly, Oberholst sent, and signed off.
    Deshin walked to the other side of the lobby. He didn’t want to vanish because he didn’t want the detective to think he was doing something nefarious.
    But he was unsettled. That meeting with Sonja had not gone as he expected.
    Over the years, Deshin had probably fired two hundred people personally, and his staff had fired even more. And that didn’t count the business relationships he had terminated.
    Doing unpleasant things didn’t bother him.