Dangerously Placed (19 page)

‘Alex's mother and I think it's important for Alex to
attend Mr Grody's funeral, but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to wait here to take her back to her Virk Room,' Dad told Budi as soon as they'd introduced themselves. ‘I'm afraid I have to be back at work by quarter to one. Do you happen to know how long the memorial service might take?'

‘Unfortunately, I'm not sure, Mr Thaler,' said Budi. ‘But all of the staff who've flown in to attend will be having lunch in a nearby restaurant after the service. We'd love it if Alex could join us, and I could personally escort her back to AU-3 afterwards. If that meets with your approval?'

My dad took another good, long look at Budi. For a moment I thought he was going to do something completely humiliating – like asking Budi how old he was or if he had any ID to prove he was really a senior employee at Simulcorp Marketing – but Budi's friendly, honest expression had obviously won him over.

‘Does that sound okay to you, Alex?' Dad asked.

‘Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Budi.'

Budi looked my dad in the eye.

‘I realise it must have been a difficult decision for you and your wife, allowing Alex to continue her placement after all she's been through, Mr Thaler. And I want you to know that I won't let her out of my sight for a moment – I give you my word.'

‘Thank you, son. I appreciate that.' He beamed at Budi, then kissed the top of my head and got back in the car.

‘Sorry about the whole “son” thing,' I said, as Dad drove off.

‘No need to apologise, Peaches. I liked it – it's got an affectionate ring to it.' He grinned down at me. ‘And before I forget, may I say how delightful it is to see you in realspace at last? The virtual you pales in comparison with the real one.'

I laughed.

‘Oh, yeah – I always look my best dressed for a funeral and covered in bruises! But I appreciate the sentiment.'

‘Come on,' said Budi, patting me on the back. ‘Everyone will be waiting for us.'

They were. The small crowd inside the garden was mostly made up of people I knew from Simulcorp Marketing. A couple of men I didn't recognise were chatting easily with Ricky and Sohalia, so I guessed that they were from other divisions. Only a handful of non-Simulcorp people were clustered silently around the other side of the long hole that had been dug in the soft, green turf. A polished black headstone stood at the head of the grave, the words
Pierce Brian Grody
engraved in plain, solemn letters on its face. Austere as it seemed, I couldn't help feeling the stone suited Grody. It made his final resting place look like a miniature AU-2.

There were smiles and nods from the Marketing staff as we walked up to the graveside. Budi spoke to a man and a woman, both dressed in white suits and
ties, who were standing beside a hearse – obviously the funeral directors. The woman stepped forward and stood next to Grody's black headstone.

‘Thank you all for gathering here today to honour the memory of Pierce Grody,' she began. ‘The loss of a friend, while always a time of sadness, is also a time for those left behind to come together, strengthening and supporting one another, and sharing the memories we cherish within us. Pierce had no immediate family, but the presence here of so many of his friends and colleagues is testament to how much he meant to those around him, and we can take comfort in the thought that, in life, he surely felt the same warmth and friendship that all of you have shown in assembling today to say your goodbyes to him.'

The white-suited lady smiled around at everyone, then nodded at Budi, who stepped up to take her spot.

‘Thank you, Lindy. Hi everyone.' Budi stood with his hands folded in front of him. ‘It really is good to see so many people here, especially when many of you have had to travel so far to attend. As most of you know, Pierce was my boss, and in some respects, my mentor. I first met him when I came to work for Simulcorp Marketing, but I'd known him by reputation for some time prior to that. Pierce was a brilliant man and a visionary in terms of both marketing and technology, and we were extremely fortunate to have him with us. I only wish now that I had known him better
person ally.' Budi's face clouded over. ‘And I really hope that he did feel that we were his friends, as Lindy suggested.'

There was a rustle of cloth as the people around me shifted uncomfortably. I could see from their faces that just about everyone was thinking what Budi had left unsaid: that Pierce had been nobody's friend, and had probably never shown any desire to be so. Suddenly it seemed unbearably sad to me that anyone could die like that, to all intents and purposes alone in the world despite his success, mourned only as a duty by his employees.
You saw what he was like
, I tried to tell myself.
Maybe he really never wanted anyone's affection. Maybe power was enough for him
. But what if it hadn't been? Even though I didn't really believe that Grody was looking down on his own farewell, somehow I couldn't stop myself from wondering how much it might have hurt him if he could. In a way, his demise had been just as lonely as poor Yasuo's.

I swallowed hard, trying to force away the tears gathering in my eyes. Budi's eulogy continued, but I couldn't concentrate on it. Taking deep breaths to steady myself, I let my gaze wander over the strangers in the small crowd. If Grody had no family, who were they? Neighbours, perhaps? The elderly couple with solemnly bowed heads might be. Or were they distant relatives? The man with the cheap, shiny suit and scuffed shoes looked more likely to be someone Grody had owed money to, or maybe an old schoolmate who
hadn't done as well for himself as Pierce had. And the woman in the big dark sunglasses …

I stared. The pointed chin, the high cheekbones, the thin straight nose … surely it couldn't be? The woman gazing down at the grave had short, spiky hair of a dull blonde, but that would be easy enough to change. My heart began to thud loudly in my chest. The more I looked at her, the more certain I became that the woman standing only a few metres away was the one in Dale's video footage. The question was: could it have been sheer coincidence that she was near AU-2 on the day Grody died? I supposed it was possible that she had some connection to Grody that no one had known about. If she'd been a friend of his – a girlfriend, even – it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to have been near his work when he returned from lunch, as well as here at his funeral.
But
, I thought,
if she was the same woman who attacked me …

I looked over at Budi, who was asking if anyone else would like to share a few words about Grody. It seemed that no one had anything to say. As he stepped away from the headstone to let the funeral directors bring the coffin to the graveside, I slid quietly back from my spot and began to work my way around the mourners to Budi's side, keeping the unknown woman in sight all the time. She raised her chin as Grody's coffin was wheeled to the side of the hole, her lips compressed. If I'd never seen her before, I would have thought she was trying not to give in to grief. Now, however, I wondered
what darker emotions she might be striving not to show on that thin, haughty face.

‘So we return to the earth the body of our friend, Pierce Brian Grody,' intoned the male funeral director. Harp music issued from the back of the open hearse as Ricky, Stefan, Hannah and Frankie took hold of the tapes supporting the coffin and began to lower it into the grave.

I slipped in beside Budi. He didn't seem to notice me – his eyes were fixed sombrely on Grody's coffin. I glanced at the unknown woman again. She was staring down too, as cold and motionless as a statue. So far, so good.

‘Budi,' I murmured.

Budi turned his head, startled.

‘Don't look this way!' I whispered urgently.

Budi obediently faced the grave again. ‘Shh, Alex! You're supposed to be silent for this part!' he hissed, looking scandalised.

‘There's no time for that,' I muttered as quietly as I could. Fortunately, the harp music seemed to be loud enough to cover my voice – Jorge, standing a couple of steps away, gave no sign of hearing me. ‘This is urgent. Look at the woman with the short blonde hair on the other side of the grave and tell me if you know her.'

Budi looked up quickly and I elbowed him in the ribs.

‘Discreetly!' I rolled my eyes. Honestly, he was as bad as Sky.

Lowering his head a little, Budi blinked around at the mourners until he spotted her. He frowned for a moment, looking her up and down, and then I saw his eyes widen.

‘Yes, I do know her – although I wouldn't have expected to see her here,' he whispered. ‘She used to work with us. I think I told you about her – Christina, the one who was fired? I didn't recognise her at first – she had dark hair in those days – but she used to program 1940s-style skirts on herself for the office, just like the one she's wearing.' He shot another glance at her, just as Grody's coffin hit the bottom of the grave with a gentle thud. ‘I never forget a hemline.'

I followed his gaze … and gasped so loudly that Jorge looked round to see what was wrong. I made myself give him an apologetic smile and wave to show that I was okay, but my mind was working feverishly. Images and sounds crashed together in my head: the second pair of power cords hanging from the ceiling in AU-2; Budi telling me they never found the guy Christina was fired over, that it was before they installed a lot of the login protocols; a dark narrow skirt glimpsed through the open door of the Mainframe Room …

‘It all fits together,' I whispered, staring wide-eyed at the woman I now knew was Christina. Her face seemed to thaw slightly as she watched spadefuls of dirt spatter down over the coffin. Her lips twitched briefly and tightened again. It was impossible to say whether her
momentary lapse of control had been the beginnings of a smile or a fleeting urge to cry.

Suddenly she seemed to wake from her trance, glancing around at the other mourners and smoothing down her clothes. She looked as if she was about to leave.

‘Budi, I have to go,' I murmured.

Budi swivelled to face me.

‘Now? Alex, the service isn't over. It won't be much longer … are you finding it too hard, emotionally?' His eyes were full of concern.

‘It's not that!' I tried to put all the urgency I could into my voice, willing him to believe me. ‘Budi, I know who the murderer is. And she's getting away!' I pointed to where Christina had already turned her back on the funeral group and was walking briskly towards the gates.

‘
Christina?
' Budi looked so incredulous, I actually thought he might fall over. I grabbed hold of his black shirt to steady him. ‘Christina murdered Pierce?'

Several of the mourners closest to us looked up, startled.

‘Shh!' I hissed from behind a fixed smile. ‘Do you want everyone to panic? Just think up some excuse for me – I'm going after her. I'll ring the police as soon as I know where she's heading.'

Budi blinked a few times. ‘No' he said suddenly. ‘I gave your father my word that I wouldn't let you out of my sight.'

Christina disappeared through the gates.

‘Budi! If we lose her now, they may never catch her!' I made to run after her, but Budi caught my wrist.

‘All right,' he muttered. ‘But I'm coming with you.'

He looked around at the Simulcorp employees, many of whom were giving us strange looks by now.

‘Uh … sorry, everyone …' he stage-whispered. ‘Alex isn't feeling well. I'll just take her out to get some fresh air. Back soon!'

And he darted off with me at his heels, leaving the entire funeral group gaping after us.

‘Take me out for some fresh air?' I panted as we ran for the gates. ‘We're in a park, Budi! I thought you were the master of putting a good spin on things!'

‘You can hardly expect me to do my best work under these conditions!' Budi puffed as we dashed through the gates and out into the street. We stopped, looking all around for Christina. I spotted her heading west at a rapid pace. Clearly she had somewhere else to be, and the sooner the better. At the far end of the road I could just make out a bus stop.

‘Let's go,' I said, pulling out my phone as I led the way.

‘I thought I was the boss around here,' complained Budi, following me. ‘Are you phoning the police?'

‘First things first,' I said. ‘If she gets on a bus, we're not going to be able to follow her on foot. We need transport, and fast.'

‘Alex?' said a voice from my phone. ‘Why're you calling me at work?'

‘Sky! I need your help – please tell me you can get to Kennedy Road in the next three minutes.'

‘The Brighton end of it? Maybe, if I leave right now and don't hit any red lights. But –'

‘Do it. It's a matter of life and death. Watch for me on the south side of the road.' I shut the phone. Christina was still ahead, but at least she wasn't getting any further away. ‘My friend's going to pick us up in her car,' I explained to Budi.

‘Excellent. Now perhaps you could explain to me how you came to the conclusion that it was Christina who killed our former Head of Marketing?'

‘It was you who made me think of it,' I told him, keeping my eyes on the slim, black-clad figure of Christina half a block ahead of us. ‘When you mentioned her skirt. I remembered that when I went to get my draft proposal back from Mr Grody's desk that afternoon, I went to check the Mainframe Room for a saved copy first, like you told me to. But I never went in, because there was someone in there – a woman in a dark, knee-length skirt, the same style as Christina's wearing now. I didn't see all of her. She was …' I tried to find a suitable way to put it. ‘Well, it sounded like she was making out with someone. So I shut the door and went to Mr Grody's office instead. And I guess with all the shock of finding him dead, I forgot about the little Mainframe Room incident altogether.'