plausible."
I nodded. "Sure."
"So, under the single Doyle theory, he meets Zoe at the next station with all of his back-up."
I said, "You're working mighty hard for this theory. There could be more altered copbots out there."
Blake shook her head. "Three copbots went missing around five p.m. today. One thing we're sure of is they're all accounted for."
The cat said, "Unless Doyle reprogrammed some that look like they're working normally."
Blake turned to Prof. "Can we run complete checks on every copbot in South California? Immediately?"
Prof said, "You've got it," and headed across the room for a phone.
Blake said, "Assuming there's one Doyle, any Trojan Horse copbots will need an activation code that'll never come. We should know in a few hours if any of them are infected."
I said, "What's the rest of your best-case scenario?"
"What you saw on the North Hollywood video. Doyle tries to get the earring from Zoe and fails. The only loose end is the earring itself."
"And evidence for the theory."
"There is that. Or should I say there isn't that?"
The cat said, "If Doc was working on a human-looking AI, why would she keep it secret?"
I said, "She must've had a non-disclosure agreement."
Blake added, "Most states have laws against making non-humans that can pass."
The cat said, "Sure. But if one escaped, she would've notified someone, law or no law. She wouldn't let something like that run around loose."
Blake said, "I know you'd like to think so. But our files are full of people who panicked and tried to cover up something they shouldn't have."
I said, "Gold said something about checking on a project with a friend. Finding the friend looks like the next step to me."
"Me, too." Blake looked at the cat. "Can you give us a list of the people you know she worked with?"
"As far as I know, none of them are in South California."
"Maybe one moved here." Blake indicated a computer terminal. "You can type it up there."
The cat nodded, took a seat, and began typing.
I asked Blake, "What's your worst-case scenario?"
"Absolute worst?"
I nodded.
"A private detective gets in the way and winds up dead while the bad guys escape."
"Ask Jody Frye in Missing Persons about me. I play fair, and I'm no glory hound."
"That's about all we can ask for."
"So what's your second-worst scenario?"
Blake glanced at the cat, bit her upper lip, then smiled and shook her head. "All right. Suppose there are more Doyles. Whoever built them might be changing their appearance as we speak. Maybe the bad guys are using them to remove anyone they see as a threat. If they think Zoe was Gold's partner, she just moved to the top of their list. And if they know you're working for her, you're just another loose end. I want her to have police protection. You should consider it, too."
"Ah, it's nice you care. But I can't."
"Why not?"
"It's part of the detective's code."
"Which part?"
"The part that says thou shalt not let the police hold thy hand when thou art frightened, lest those who would become thy clients think thee an utter wuss. Letting a client accept police protection is different, of course."
The cat glanced up from the computer. "Thanks, but no thanks."
Blake said, "Accept it, and you're pretty much free to go where you want. Refuse, and I'll have a judge lock you up for your own safety."
The cat frowned at Blake. "I thought people could take any stupid risk they wanted since the Libertarians got elected."
"Just about," Blake said. "But you're not people."
"You've got my records! I'm free!"
"In Minnesota, maybe. Here that just means you can't be picked up as a stray and claimed by whoever finds you."
The cat closed her eyes for a moment. "I see."
"You'll accept police protection?"
She looked at me. I said, "What can it hurt?"
The cat nodded. "Okay." She sat back from the computer. "That's the list."
"If you think of anyone else—"
"Yeah. I'll let you know."
Blake looked at the monitor, then at me. "What's your
I nodded. "Sure."
"So, under the single Doyle theory, he meets Zoe at the next station with all of his back-up."
I said, "You're working mighty hard for this theory. There could be more altered copbots out there."
Blake shook her head. "Three copbots went missing around five p.m. today. One thing we're sure of is they're all accounted for."
The cat said, "Unless Doyle reprogrammed some that look like they're working normally."
Blake turned to Prof. "Can we run complete checks on every copbot in South California? Immediately?"
Prof said, "You've got it," and headed across the room for a phone.
Blake said, "Assuming there's one Doyle, any Trojan Horse copbots will need an activation code that'll never come. We should know in a few hours if any of them are infected."
I said, "What's the rest of your best-case scenario?"
"What you saw on the North Hollywood video. Doyle tries to get the earring from Zoe and fails. The only loose end is the earring itself."
"And evidence for the theory."
"There is that. Or should I say there isn't that?"
The cat said, "If Doc was working on a human-looking AI, why would she keep it secret?"
I said, "She must've had a non-disclosure agreement."
Blake added, "Most states have laws against making non-humans that can pass."
The cat said, "Sure. But if one escaped, she would've notified someone, law or no law. She wouldn't let something like that run around loose."
Blake said, "I know you'd like to think so. But our files are full of people who panicked and tried to cover up something they shouldn't have."
I said, "Gold said something about checking on a project with a friend. Finding the friend looks like the next step to me."
"Me, too." Blake looked at the cat. "Can you give us a list of the people you know she worked with?"
"As far as I know, none of them are in South California."
"Maybe one moved here." Blake indicated a computer terminal. "You can type it up there."
The cat nodded, took a seat, and began typing.
I asked Blake, "What's your worst-case scenario?"
"Absolute worst?"
I nodded.
"A private detective gets in the way and winds up dead while the bad guys escape."
"Ask Jody Frye in Missing Persons about me. I play fair, and I'm no glory hound."
"That's about all we can ask for."
"So what's your second-worst scenario?"
Blake glanced at the cat, bit her upper lip, then smiled and shook her head. "All right. Suppose there are more Doyles. Whoever built them might be changing their appearance as we speak. Maybe the bad guys are using them to remove anyone they see as a threat. If they think Zoe was Gold's partner, she just moved to the top of their list. And if they know you're working for her, you're just another loose end. I want her to have police protection. You should consider it, too."
"Ah, it's nice you care. But I can't."
"Why not?"
"It's part of the detective's code."
"Which part?"
"The part that says thou shalt not let the police hold thy hand when thou art frightened, lest those who would become thy clients think thee an utter wuss. Letting a client accept police protection is different, of course."
The cat glanced up from the computer. "Thanks, but no thanks."
Blake said, "Accept it, and you're pretty much free to go where you want. Refuse, and I'll have a judge lock you up for your own safety."
The cat frowned at Blake. "I thought people could take any stupid risk they wanted since the Libertarians got elected."
"Just about," Blake said. "But you're not people."
"You've got my records! I'm free!"
"In Minnesota, maybe. Here that just means you can't be picked up as a stray and claimed by whoever finds you."
The cat closed her eyes for a moment. "I see."
"You'll accept police protection?"
She looked at me. I said, "What can it hurt?"
The cat nodded. "Okay." She sat back from the computer. "That's the list."
"If you think of anyone else—"
"Yeah. I'll let you know."
Blake looked at the monitor, then at me. "What's your
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