Read Online ARM by Larry Niven - Free Book Online Page A

ideas.”
    “Go ahead.” I punched for two coffees.
    “Ordaz thinks Janice did it, doesn't he?”
    “Probably. I'm not good at reading Ordaz's mind. But it seems to narrow down to two distinct groups of possible killers: Janice and everyone else. Here's your coffee.”
    “Janice didn't do it.” He took the cup from me, gulped at it, set it down on my desk, and forgot about it.
    “Janice and X,” I said. “But X couldn't have left. In fact, X couldn't have left even if he'd had the machine he came for. And we still don't know why he didn't just take the elevator.”
    He scowled as he thought that through. “Say he had a way to leave,” he said. “He wanted to take the machine—he had to want that, because he tried to use the machine to set up an alibi. But even if he couldn't take the machine he'd still use his alternative way out.”
    “Why?”
    “It'd leave Janice holding the bag if he knew Janice coming home. If he didn't know that, he'd be leaving the police with a locked room.”
    “Locked room mysteries are good clean fun, but I never heard of one happening in real life. In fiction they usually happen by accident.” I waved aside his protest. “Never mind. How did he get out?”
    Porter didn't answer.
    “Would you care to look at the case against Janice Sinclair?”
    “She's the only one who could have done it,” he said bitterly. “But she didn't. She couldn't kill anyone, not in that cold-blooded, prepackaged way, with an alibi all set up and a weird machine at the heart of it. Look, that machine is too complicated for Janice.”
    “No, she isn't the type. But—no offense intended—you are.”
    He grinned at that. “Me? Well, maybe I am. But why would I want to?”
    “You're in love with her. I think you'd do anything for her. Aside from that, you might enjoy setting up a perfect murder. And there's the money.”
    “You've got a funny idea of a perfect murder.”
    “Say I was being tactful.”
    He laughed at that. “All right. Say I set up a murder for the love of Janice. Damn it, if she had that much hate in her, I wouldn't love her! Why would she want to kill Uncle Ray?”
    I dithered about whether to drop that on him. Decided yes. “Do you know anything about Edward Sinclair's exemption?”
    “Yah. Janice told me something about...” He trailed off.
    “Just what did she tell you?”
    “I don't have to say.”
    That was probably intelligent. “All right,” I said. “For the sake of argument, let's assume it was Raymond Sinclair who worked out the math for the new ramrobot scoops, and Edward took the credit, with Raymond's connivance. It was probably Raymond's idea. How would that sit with Edward?”
    “I'd think he'd be grateful forever,” Porter said. “Janice says he is.”
    “Maybe. But people are funny, aren't they? Being grateful for fifty years could get on a man's nerves. It's not a natural emotion.”
    “You're so young to be so cynical,” Porter said pityingly.
    “I'm trying to think this out like a prosecution lawyer. If these brothers saw each other too often, Edward might get to feeling embarrassed around Raymond. He'd have a hard time relaxing with him. The rumors wouldn't help ... Oh, yes, there are rumors. I've been told that Edward couldn't have worked out those equations because he doesn't have the ability. If that kind of thing got back to Edward, how would he like it? He might even start avoiding his brother. Then Ray might remind brother Edward of just how much he owed him ... and that's the kiss of death.”
    “Janice says no.”
    “Janice could have picked up the hate from her father. Or she might have started worrying about what would happen if Uncle Ray changed his mind one day. It could happen any time if things were getting strained between the elder Sinclairs. So one day she shut his mouth—”
    Porter growled in his throat.
    “I'm just trying to show you what you're up against. One more thing: the killer may have wiped the tapes in Sinclair's