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Authors: Malcolm Rose
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made them feel important and secretive. Like spies.’
‘What was your nickname?’
‘Mine?’ For a moment, the undercover officer seemed taken aback by an unexpected question. ‘Gritty – because of my stamina.’
‘No doubt, it helps to be gritty in your line of work. You must have to learn a whole heap of stuff for every assignment.’
‘That’s right.’
‘Have you ever had a job in science?’ Troy asked.
‘About a year ago. A pharmaceutical company that was shipping some illegal pills.’
‘Did you have to get to grips with chemistry?’
‘Yes. A nightmare. Not the most exciting topic.’
Troy laughed. ‘I’m with you on that. But sorry, I’ve strayed. Back to TRAPT. Where do they meet?’
‘The community centre in Shepford’s second quarter. The one dominated by majors. It was always booked under a variety of names. Never TRAPT, of course. Sometimes it was the Shepford Political Debating Society. Not a name that got people queuing at the door.’
‘And you definitely didn’t come across anyone thinking about atrocities against outers?’
‘No.’
‘Not even someone saying, “I could murder the lot of them,” as a sort of joke?’
‘Not that I heard.’
‘Okay. Thanks for your help. Enjoy the rest of your holiday.’
As soon as Dominic pounded towards the park exit, Troy murmured, ‘Slippery customer.’
Troy wasn’t sure if Dominic Varney was a hero or a villain. Had he sacrificed a normal life for the public good? Had he ventured so far undercover that he was no longer a functioning police officer? Had he gone rogue?
‘He made the TRAPT people sound harmless,’ said Lexi.
‘Yes. Like little angels with strange ideas.’
‘Are real people like that? Me, I’ve threatened to throttle every major.’
Troy nodded as they got up and trudged back to the car. ‘When they’re having a strop, young majors say they could murder their parents, brother or sister. Everyone lets off steam now and again. That’s another reason I don’t know what to make of him.’
SCENE 20
Wednesday 16th April, Evening
The journey from the park to Shallow End Laboratories took fifteen minutes. The perfect time for Lexi to refresh her mind by turning off and meditating. Troy stared out of the window and wondered. Later, he would sleep while Lexi kept going.
In the technical supplies department, Lexi picked up some cardboard packaging and said, ‘Does a lot of your glassware arrive wrapped in this?’
‘Not all of it, but quite a bit, yes.’
Scanning the speckled card with her life-logger and using pattern recognition software, Lexi came upwith a ninety per cent match with the roll that Precious Austin used in her smoker and the background for the words in the video.
‘You must have an awful lot to get rid of. What happens to it?’
‘We leave it out for recycling – in the big bin at the back – but the staff who’ve got a use for it take it home.’ He shrugged. ‘Re-using is better than recycling.’
‘Who takes it?’ Lexi asked.
The technician shrugged again. ‘I’m just pleased to see the pile’s smaller in the morning.’
‘Have you seen Precious Austin recently?’
‘Not for a while, no. But, now you mention it, she used to take quite a lot. Building up a stock of it for some reason.’
SCENE 21
Wednesday 16th April, Night
Back at Crime Central, Lexi said, ‘Okay. Time to pull together all the information we’ve got into a spreadsheet. I can tidy it up overnight while you’re dreaming about sausages or whatever.’
Troy smiled. ‘You get itchy without an orderly gathering of the facts.’
‘I get itchy when someone’s threatening every outer with imminent death. So, let’s lay it all out properly. That way, I can see where we are much more clearly. And I’ve got all the facts at my fingertips.’
Outers did not have fingerprints so Troy could notresist saying, ‘No jokes about you not having anything else at your fingertips.’
‘Huh. No one
‘What was your nickname?’
‘Mine?’ For a moment, the undercover officer seemed taken aback by an unexpected question. ‘Gritty – because of my stamina.’
‘No doubt, it helps to be gritty in your line of work. You must have to learn a whole heap of stuff for every assignment.’
‘That’s right.’
‘Have you ever had a job in science?’ Troy asked.
‘About a year ago. A pharmaceutical company that was shipping some illegal pills.’
‘Did you have to get to grips with chemistry?’
‘Yes. A nightmare. Not the most exciting topic.’
Troy laughed. ‘I’m with you on that. But sorry, I’ve strayed. Back to TRAPT. Where do they meet?’
‘The community centre in Shepford’s second quarter. The one dominated by majors. It was always booked under a variety of names. Never TRAPT, of course. Sometimes it was the Shepford Political Debating Society. Not a name that got people queuing at the door.’
‘And you definitely didn’t come across anyone thinking about atrocities against outers?’
‘No.’
‘Not even someone saying, “I could murder the lot of them,” as a sort of joke?’
‘Not that I heard.’
‘Okay. Thanks for your help. Enjoy the rest of your holiday.’
As soon as Dominic pounded towards the park exit, Troy murmured, ‘Slippery customer.’
Troy wasn’t sure if Dominic Varney was a hero or a villain. Had he sacrificed a normal life for the public good? Had he ventured so far undercover that he was no longer a functioning police officer? Had he gone rogue?
‘He made the TRAPT people sound harmless,’ said Lexi.
‘Yes. Like little angels with strange ideas.’
‘Are real people like that? Me, I’ve threatened to throttle every major.’
Troy nodded as they got up and trudged back to the car. ‘When they’re having a strop, young majors say they could murder their parents, brother or sister. Everyone lets off steam now and again. That’s another reason I don’t know what to make of him.’
SCENE 20
Wednesday 16th April, Evening
The journey from the park to Shallow End Laboratories took fifteen minutes. The perfect time for Lexi to refresh her mind by turning off and meditating. Troy stared out of the window and wondered. Later, he would sleep while Lexi kept going.
In the technical supplies department, Lexi picked up some cardboard packaging and said, ‘Does a lot of your glassware arrive wrapped in this?’
‘Not all of it, but quite a bit, yes.’
Scanning the speckled card with her life-logger and using pattern recognition software, Lexi came upwith a ninety per cent match with the roll that Precious Austin used in her smoker and the background for the words in the video.
‘You must have an awful lot to get rid of. What happens to it?’
‘We leave it out for recycling – in the big bin at the back – but the staff who’ve got a use for it take it home.’ He shrugged. ‘Re-using is better than recycling.’
‘Who takes it?’ Lexi asked.
The technician shrugged again. ‘I’m just pleased to see the pile’s smaller in the morning.’
‘Have you seen Precious Austin recently?’
‘Not for a while, no. But, now you mention it, she used to take quite a lot. Building up a stock of it for some reason.’
SCENE 21
Wednesday 16th April, Night
Back at Crime Central, Lexi said, ‘Okay. Time to pull together all the information we’ve got into a spreadsheet. I can tidy it up overnight while you’re dreaming about sausages or whatever.’
Troy smiled. ‘You get itchy without an orderly gathering of the facts.’
‘I get itchy when someone’s threatening every outer with imminent death. So, let’s lay it all out properly. That way, I can see where we are much more clearly. And I’ve got all the facts at my fingertips.’
Outers did not have fingerprints so Troy could notresist saying, ‘No jokes about you not having anything else at your fingertips.’
‘Huh. No one
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