Inspector Rames

Chapter 3

Alex and I left Terra Road and went in search of the nearest tram stop. The city was beginning to get brighter, but rain was falling again from the concrete sky. I would never understand why we bothered with the seasons, or why we had a weather simulator. The government insisted that it was important to remember what life had been like above ground, but at school I'd learned about thunder and lightning, ice and snow, hail and hurricanes... Our simulator only did rain or no rain.

Alex snapped his fingers, and the hood on his trench coat drew itself up. I raised my eyebrows.

He smiled. "What? Not a fan of tech-coats?"

"Having your hood up is a bit casual, don't you think? For a sergeant on duty."

"Going by your example, I assumed casual was okay on Socrico's police force."

"This is smart."

"If you say so."

We turned the corner. I stuck to the edge of the road again, and Alex stuck with me.

I cleared my throat. "So, I have to confess, I don't know anything about you. Dixon sent me a file before Christmas, but I couldn't make it open on my tabphone."

Alex's smile grew. "Ah, he warned me about your relationship with electronics. He said I might have to work everything for you."

"I'm not that bad!" I chewed my lip. "But can you work things?"

My old sergeant, Nina Howell, had been able to work my electronics for me when I'd struggled -- although she hadn't managed to solve the recent problem regarding my earpiece's refusal to communicate with the PRBs.

"Yes," Alex said. "I can probably make that file open for you."

"I won't have time to read it now that we're leading a high-profile murder inquiry. Give me the basics while we walk."

"I spent ten years working on Rosek's force before I came here."

"Why did you move?"

He took his time choosing his words. "I wanted to try working in a different city."

Obviously not the full answer, but never mind. He didn't know me from Adam yet.

"How old are you?" I asked instead.

"Twenty-nine. And you?"

"Thirty."

His gaze fastened on my face, taking in the details again. I wasn't very interesting. My eyes were a muddy blue, my hair thick and dark, my face pale and plain. I wondered what age he'd initially pegged me for, then decided I didn't want to know.

Around us, dark buildings spiked into the sky. We joined a road carved with tramlines, dodging around a handful of pedestrians. Their chatter was muted, but the smells of the city assaulted us: pastry, soldering smoke, and beer.

And coffee, I thought bitterly as we paused beside a tram stop.

***

"It's a strange coincidence that Zoe Ackerman was murdered right outside her ex-fiancé's shop," Alex said on the tram.

I curled my lip. "I don't like coincidences."

"And a strange coincidence -- or not-coincidence -- that Ryker James was the first one on the scene."

"I wonder what Zoe was even doing down there," I mused. "That isn't the kind of neighbourhood you wander around in just to clear your head. Especially not with a husband and five-week-old baby waiting at home."