We traipsed back to our office, and Alex contacted the health authority in charge of withholding medical information from national profiles. He and a health records guardian had a thirty-minute argument about confidentiality while I watched silently.
I was already familiar with the long-term impact bullying could have.
Eventually, the woman provided us with an access code. Alex keyed it into his tabphone, and we looked over Mary's medical record together.
It was massive: filled with notes from dozens of different doctors and therapists, although the summary at the top said that her depression was in remission. Still, she'd been fired from a staggering amount of jobs as an indirect consequence in earlier years. One doctor had recorded that in 2180, she'd turned up to work for less than half of the calendar year.
Her depression had not been diagnosed before she'd left Bright Light University. Back then, her medical record had been sparse.
"Bloody hell," I murmured. "They did a serious number on her. That's a motive, all right. And she was a very gifted student when she studied robotic science, according to Professor West."
Alex shut down the medical record. "Mary started working for Zed last year. Why? And why to kill him wait until now?"
I wiped my sweaty palms over my jeans. "Maybe she was working up her courage."
"Should we talk to her?"
"Not yet. Until we have solid evidence to scare her with, we'll gain nothing from it."
I woke up the touchglass wall instead. Staring at Mary's picture made me think of the photo in my bag. The big, red cross over my face. And...him.
Alex joined me, and I pulled myself together. "Okay. We've discussed motive a lot, so let's have a look at our suspects in terms of means. Who has the skills necessary to hack two robots without leaving a trace?"
Alex frowned. "Only Mary."
I circled her.
"But what if there's more than one person involved in this?" Alex asked. "Anyone could have hired someone to hack the robots for them."
"That's true." I looked at him narrowly. "You'd like to believe Ronan Lewis hired someone, wouldn't you? We're back to Ripley again."
"It just doesn't sit right." He returned my gaze. "You have to read the diary, Amber. You have to see how much thought she put into -- "
My earpiece buzzed. I shot him an apologetic glance as I tapped it. "Rames speaking."
"Ma'am, this is Laney. A gun's been found on Bright Light University's campus."
***
I kept my head down as we approached Bright Light's gates, remembering the photo Clyde had snapped of us last time. When we were in, we were met by a member of staff who took us to the particular triangular tower that was the crime scene. It was a block of student flats, and renovations were taking place across the entire ground floor. The rifle was in one of the empty dorm rooms.
The dorm was long and narrow like a deep prison cell, and all of the furniture had been stripped out of it. Bits of sawdust and old nails were littered across the floor. PRBs had already secured the scene with electro-tape and were dusting the rifle for prints. It was just like what the robots at Duty Bank used.
I turned to the woman who'd shown us in. "How did you find it?"
"The workmen found it when they came to start today's renovations," she said. "They told me it was lying in the middle of the room. It was your robots who moved it."
"That's all right. Was the door shut before the workmen came in?"
"Yes, but it wasn't locked. I made sure they were all unlocked yesterday morning when they started their work here."
I pursed my lips. That was undoubtedly how the murderer had dumped it -- but how had they got through the university's gates?
Alex turned to the woman. "We need a list of every student who's used this dorm since the university opened."
"And everyone who isn't a student who has access to campus," I added.
The woman's eyes widened. "I don't think I'd be allowed to give you that information. It's private -- "
"And we're conducting a murder inquiry," I said. "So, two lists, please."
The woman hesitated, but after taking another look at my face, she scuttled off. Five minutes later, two gigantic lists were delivered to our tabphones. We read them immediately, still standing beside the crime scene.
"No one of interest can get on campus now," I said eventually. "What the fuck?"
Alex lowered his tabphone. "This dorm was Zed Croft's in his first year."
"So this is all just a big slap in the face from the murderer. No clues. I bet there are no fingerprints on the gun, either."
The PRBs confirmed that I was right.
***
The rifle was sent off to be analysed by a ballistics expert, but I was confident that it was the murder weapon. Now we had the robot and the gun, but no murderer. And I still couldn't wrap my head around how they'd managed to enter Bright Light University.
When we eventually returned to our office, lunchtime had long since passed. Cassia was standing in the middle of our workspace, and two packaged sandwiches were on our desks.
"Thanks," I said as I pushed the door open.
She smiled wanly. Instead of scrubs, she was wearing a grey duffel coat and jeans, and her blonde hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders. She was holding her work tablet, but she'd put more make-up on than she usually did to go to the mortuary.
Alex made a beeline for the sandwich on his desk. I raised an eyebrow at my sister. "Going somewhere nice, Cassia?"
"No. But I was only working a half-day at the mortuary." She held the tablet out. "I've been trying to send you the preliminary post-mortem reports, but it's not working. You'll just have to read them on there."
I ignored her offering. "You were going somewhere nice."
"Just The Silver Star for lunch."
"With Miles?"
She glared at the tablet. "Are you going to take this off me or not?"
I took it without looking, examining the hint of redness around her eyes. "He blew you off again. He's busy again."
"He's just found out he can't take his half-day holiday after all. It's fine. We don't have to go out all the time."
"But he's never at home with you lately, either."
Her face contorted, and she turned away. "I don't need this. He's just a workaholic, Amber. Like you."
"Yeah, but, Cassia -- "
She left, slamming the door behind her.
I turned and threw the tablet on my desk, raking my hands through my hair. "Oh, shit. That's not what I was supposed to say, was it? I just want to help. I'm worried."
"Give her some space," Alex said. "I'll see if I can fix the tablet's messaging problem."
I reluctantly sat down behind my desk. God, I had too many problems to solve. Cassia's marriage, Clyde's threats, finding Mitzy, and solving this damn murder.
Alex dragged his chair over and faffed around with the tablet for a few minutes. He managed to send the post-mortem reports to our tabphones as copies, but we chose to read it on the big screen while we had it.
The only finding that helped us was the bullet in Zed's chest -- it was the same type of bullet the rifle fired. That, too, had gone to be analysed by a ballistics expert.
"But we're still not getting anywhere," I murmured.
***
The end of the day arrived far too quickly. As Alex and I shrugged our coats on, I watched him from the corner of my eye. He still looked exhausted.
"Don't do any more bedtime reading," I said. "You need to catch up on some sleep."
He glanced at me. "Are you going to read Ripley's diary?"
"Yeah. You take the evening off."
"Do you want me to walk you home? I'm worried about Clyde."
My heart leapt as I picked up my bag. "That would be nice."
We left our office and almost ran straight into Dixon. He raised his eyebrows and gave me an odd smile as he walked past.
"What's he thinking?" Alex muttered, glancing at me sharply. "He isn't -- ?"
"He's amazed I've accepted your manly protection, that's all," I replied, but my mouth was dry. "He worries about Clyde hanging around, too."
We said nothing else until we'd reached the front of the station. I ducked under the main door as soon as it was at half my height, while Alex waited patiently for it to rise above six feet.
"So," he said once he'd caught up with me outside. "If I'm supposed to be sleeping, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to read this diary and go on a neighbourhood hunt for Mitzy."
"She's missing?"
"She went out yesterday evening and hasn't come back. She's missed dinner and breakfast." I bit my lip. "I'm worried."
"I'll help you look for her."
"You're scared of cats."
He looked away. "Cats are fine."
"You're fooling no one. Anyway, thanks, but no thanks. I can cat hunt on my own."
"What about Clyde?"
"I'll punch him in the face. Or set Mitzy on him if I find her."
Alex sighed. "Amber, be serious. You need to do something about him. This can't go on."
"It's fine. He'll get bored of chasing me soon enough."
Alex stared at the road ahead of us, his brow furrowed.
When we eventually reached my block, we stepped off the street and into the alcove of the brownstone building. As the automatic doors opened, I saw something huddled in the shadows before them. "Mitzy! Thank God."
Light spilled out of the lobby, suddenly illuminating her. Blood and pus seeped out of a deep tear in her ear. Another wound stretched across her side, and she moved nothing but her sad eyes to look up at me.
"Shit," I said. "Mitzy, what have you done? I need to take her to the vet. It looks like she's been in a fight and I'm not quite on top of this year's boosters -- "
Alex shrugged his coat off and moved past me, scooping Mitzy up. She snuggled inside while he turned around. "Where's the vets?"
I gaped at him. "You don't have to -- "
"But I am. So, which way are we going?"
I led him numbly in the general direction of the train station. "Fuck, I feel like such a terrible owner. I should have looked for her last night, but I thought she'd be fine. She always is."
"She will be fine," Alex said. "They'll just clean her up or something."
"You almost sound like you know what you're saying. Do you want me to carry her? You don't -- "
"It's fine. She's comfortable and warm here."
"But -- "
He clenched his jaw. "I am not scared of cats, Amber."
Unconvinced, I shrugged at him.
A few minutes later, we reached a skyscraper with neon paw prints stuck to the ground floor windows. I pushed the door open. "Welcome to Iron Paws Vets. I have to warn you that it's small and not very techy."
We entered a cramped waiting room filled with old classroom chairs and the strong smell of antiseptic. A wonky table stood near the back, cluttered with headsets, tablets, and someone's tabphone, which was connected to a pop radio station. The room was empty, but there was a mop and bucket present which suggested the last patients had not long dramatically vacated their seats.
Alex glanced around. "Is someone supposed to be on duty behind that desk?"
"Yes," I said, "but there isn't an actual receptionist. The vet nurses take it in turns because the surgery's so small. They've probably gone to help with other things while it's quiet."
There was a buzzer on the desk, so I pressed it. The noise resonated through the ground floor.
Two seconds later, someone clattered down the hallway at the opposite end of the room. We turned around to see my mother pushing through the double doors, dressed in green scrubs. Her long, blonde hair was pulled away from her flushed face. "Amber! Hello. Is that Mitzy?"
Alex shifted my cat so that her head was visible above his coat.
"Yes." I almost smiled as she crossed the distance between us to inspect her patient. It was unusual to see someone barely give Alex a glance. "Mom, this is my sergeant, Alex Sullivan. Alex, this is Elizabeth."
My mother turned on her heel and pushed back through the double doors. "Call me Liz, and come this way."
We followed her into the last room, where a blue-haired vet nurse was tidying up an examination table. She smiled at me. "Hi, Amber."
"Hi, Carla. How are you?"
"Better than Mitzy, by the looks of it. What's happened?"
"I think she must have been fighting. She left the flat last night and didn't come home until this evening."
Alex put Mitzy on the examination table and took his bloodied coat back, folding it over one arm. Mother washed her hands and joined us. "I haven't seen you for a while, Mitz. Have you been getting yourself into trouble?"
She and Carla cleaned Mitzy up quickly and gave her some antibiotics, before taking blood to test for the viruses that could be transmitted through cat bites.
"If the blood tests come back okay, we'll do her boosters," Mother said. "We'll keep her in overnight while we wait for the results."
So we settled Mitzy in a large cage in a room that contained a few other sorry-looking occupants. I blew her a kiss as we followed my mother back into the waiting room, feeling guilty.
"I'll pay," I said, as always.
"I'm not having my daughter pay me." She went behind the desk and made a record of our visit on the tablet there. Only when she was finished did she look up and examine Alex properly. Her acknowledgement of his handsomeness was one raised eyebrow. "It's nice to meet you, Sergeant Sullivan. How's the murder inquiry going?"
"It's all right," he said evasively.
"I've seen Clyde's article on Xplora." She frowned at me. "He hasn't been bothering you lately, has he?"
"No," I lied. "How's Dad?"
"He's all right. I'll get him to call you later so you can talk properly." A tactic equally as evasive as Alex's. "Will you be okay walking home in the dark?"
I sighed. "I'm always okay."
"I'm walking back with her," Alex said.
"Oh, good." She gave him a properly appreciative glance this time. "Look after her."
I cleared my throat. "Mom, I'm a police officer and I'm armed -- "
"I will," Alex said. "It was nice to meet you, Liz."
"You too, Sergeant Sullivan. Amber, come and have dinner with us when you get the time, okay?"
"Okay," I said as we pushed through the door, wondering when the hell that time would ever come. "Thanks, Mom. Bye!"
We stepped into the cold night air and followed the shadows back to my flat. When we reached the building, I let Alex follow me all the way up to the fourth floor. At my door, I stopped and turned around. "Thank you for walking me back. And thank you for helping with Mitzy. I'm sorry about your coat."
"It's fine."
I pressed the doorbell and let the camera scan my face. "I'd invite you in, but..."
"You really want me to get some sleep." His mouth quirked upwards. "I know." He hesitated, then pressed a gentle kiss against my forehead. "Goodnight."
A zing of electricity passed over my skin. I caught his hand before he could pull away. "Wait -- I was hoping for a bit more than that."
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his lips.