Page 19 of Circle of Death
CHAPTER 21
MOE DROPS ME off by the front door and pulls the car around back. Margo is waiting for me in the kitchen. She seems impatient, distracted.
“Where have you been?” she asks.
“We went to check out the World’s Fair. I wanted to see the spectacle for myself.” I pour myself a glass of water and sit down at the kitchen table. “Don’t tell Jessica—but I think it shows promise. They have a Ferris wheel design that…”
The look on Margo’s face stops me in midsentence.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I hate to throw cold water on your fantasy,” says Margo, “but the World’s Fair happens to be a murder scene.”
Margo has a way of getting straight to the point. She sits down across from me at the table. I look around to make sure we’re alone, then lower my voice, just in case. “Murder? Murderhow? Was it the drones? Did they hit somebody on the way in?”
“Not the drones,” says Margo. “The killer is a stalker. Strikes at night. The victims are high school and college kids. Maddy’s age.”
“Victims?Plural?How many?”
“Four so far.”
“The fair’s not even open yet. What were they doing there?”
“Who knows? Whatever kids do at that age,” says Margo. “Drinking. Partying. Having sex. Or maybe just trying to get a sneak peek at the attractions—like you.”
“So why isn’t this big news?” I ask. Broadcast and social media haven’t come back yet, but the underground city grapevine is alive and well. When something important happens—good or bad—word gets around. But nothing about this?
“The city fathers know,” says Margo. “But they’re keeping a tight lid on it. They don’t want to spook people before the fair opens. They’re afraid of spoiling the city’s image—the big comeback and all.”
Of course. The world changes. Politicians don’t.
“How did you learn all this?” I ask.
Margo raises her eyebrows. “Do you need reminding? I was a pretty fair detective before I met you.”
She’s right. In fact, she was my biggest competition before we decided to join forces. At first, all I knew about her was that she was smart and gorgeous. But I was selling her short. I had no idea how resourceful she was and good she was at cultivating contacts and informants. Maybe this is her way of telling me that she hasn’t lost it—that she’s still in the game just as much as I am.
“Are the police on it?” I ask.
“Sure,” says Margo. “But they’ll never crack it.” She leans toward me across the table. “Not without help.”
At this point, I realize that my brilliant wife is playing me like a fiddle. She knows we’ve got bigger problems to solve, and bigger battles to fight. The Command. The Destroyer of Worlds. Threats to ourownlives, for God’s sake.
But she understands me better than anybody. A murderer is stalking the World’s Fair. Margo knows that this is a case the Shadow can’t possibly resist.
CHAPTER 22
MADDY LOVES THURSDAYS. Because on Thursdays she only has one class, Dilner’s Economics of Crime. Even better, it’s alectureclass. No active participation required. And it’s over by 11:30 a.m. Which leaves the whole afternoon free. As soon as the lecture wraps up, Maddy grabs Deva and they head for the main campus gate.
“So what did you think?” asks Maddy.
“About what?”
“About what Dilner was saying—about street crime being a rational choice. A financial calculation. A business decision.”
“Sorry,” says Deva. “I nodded off after two minutes. You take notes?”
“Don’t I always?”
