everything. Add in the LifeScenes, and
you now have their deepest fantasies.’
Killkenny lets out a low whistle. ‘That’s a little frightening.’
‘That’s why the system is designed the way it is. No one – including the company – knows anything other than what a user wants to tell us about themselves, and
there’s no way to match that up with anything else. It’s the safest way.’
‘So what good is this information you’ve got about this guy’s fantasy? We can’t even use it to find him.’
I shrug. ‘Maybe it’s no good at all, but I felt like I should tell someone. Like you say, it may just be a coincidence.’
‘Probably. Either way, without anything more, I’m not sure there’s anything I can do. I’ll mention it to my guy, and maybe if he gets desperate he’ll follow
up.’
‘Thanks. I just wanted to make sure that someone had the information, in case it turns out to be important.’
He finishes his drink. I’d finished mine a few minutes before. I reach into my pocket to grab my wallet, but he stops me. ‘Don’t bother,’ he says.
‘I’ll expense it,’ I say. ‘I asked you to come here. I’m not gonna let you pay.’
He shakes his head. ‘You don’t understand. I don’t pay for drinks in here.’ I look up at the bartender and notice that he’s still casting furtive glances our way.
Killkenny follows my gaze and nods at the bartender, who looks at the ground. ‘I helped him out with something a couple years back,’ Killkenny says. ‘He won’t let me pay
now. It’s like that at a bunch of places around here.’
I look at him and I can see that he’s studying me, gauging my reaction. ‘Must be nice,’ I say.
‘One of the few perks.’ I put my wallet away and we start toward the door. ‘By the way,’ he says, ‘how’d he do her?’
‘What?’
‘The guy on the computer with the feathers. You said he killed the girl, but you didn’t say how? Did he shoot her? Stab her? What?’
I look at him. ‘Why?’
‘Professional curiosity.’
‘I didn’t see it; it was one of my employees watching. She said he wrapped her face in cellophane.’ I am walking through the door, headed out onto the street. Truth be told,
I’d like to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible. There’s a part of me that is sorry I decided to bring this up.
I feel Killkenny’s hand on my arm. He’s strong. I’m not a small guy, but his fingers feel like a vice-grip. I turn and look at him, and I can see the mixture of surprise and
excitement in his eyes.
‘What the fuck did you say?’
‘He put cellophane over her face,’ I repeat. ‘Suffocated her.’
He looks like a shark with the taste of fresh blood in the water. ‘Are you serious?’ he demands.
‘Yeah. Why?’ I ask the question, but I already know the answer just from the look on his face, and it makes me feel sick to my stomach. ‘It’s him,’ I say.
‘It’s the same guy, isn’t it?’
He holds my gaze for a moment. Then finally he says, ‘I’ll get back to you.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘He’s looking into it.’
Yvette and I are sitting in my office in the bunker in Cambridge. It’s a strictly utilitarian space with a steel desk and three chairs. There is nothing on the walls; I’ve never
viewed the place as an extension of my personality, the way some do. It simply provides the privacy that is occasionally required by the responsibilities of management. Yvette is hunched over, her
elbows on her knees, looking like she might get sick. I don’t blame her; I’ve been feeling the same since my conversation with Paul Killkenny.
‘When is he going to get back to you?’ she asks.
‘He didn’t say. It should be soon. It’s a murder investigation, after all.’
She is staring at the floor. ‘Do you think they’ll want to talk to me?’
‘I’d think so. I didn’t GhostWalk the Scene with the feathers. I can tell them about the other scene, but that doesn’t really help them
you now have their deepest fantasies.’
Killkenny lets out a low whistle. ‘That’s a little frightening.’
‘That’s why the system is designed the way it is. No one – including the company – knows anything other than what a user wants to tell us about themselves, and
there’s no way to match that up with anything else. It’s the safest way.’
‘So what good is this information you’ve got about this guy’s fantasy? We can’t even use it to find him.’
I shrug. ‘Maybe it’s no good at all, but I felt like I should tell someone. Like you say, it may just be a coincidence.’
‘Probably. Either way, without anything more, I’m not sure there’s anything I can do. I’ll mention it to my guy, and maybe if he gets desperate he’ll follow
up.’
‘Thanks. I just wanted to make sure that someone had the information, in case it turns out to be important.’
He finishes his drink. I’d finished mine a few minutes before. I reach into my pocket to grab my wallet, but he stops me. ‘Don’t bother,’ he says.
‘I’ll expense it,’ I say. ‘I asked you to come here. I’m not gonna let you pay.’
He shakes his head. ‘You don’t understand. I don’t pay for drinks in here.’ I look up at the bartender and notice that he’s still casting furtive glances our way.
Killkenny follows my gaze and nods at the bartender, who looks at the ground. ‘I helped him out with something a couple years back,’ Killkenny says. ‘He won’t let me pay
now. It’s like that at a bunch of places around here.’
I look at him and I can see that he’s studying me, gauging my reaction. ‘Must be nice,’ I say.
‘One of the few perks.’ I put my wallet away and we start toward the door. ‘By the way,’ he says, ‘how’d he do her?’
‘What?’
‘The guy on the computer with the feathers. You said he killed the girl, but you didn’t say how? Did he shoot her? Stab her? What?’
I look at him. ‘Why?’
‘Professional curiosity.’
‘I didn’t see it; it was one of my employees watching. She said he wrapped her face in cellophane.’ I am walking through the door, headed out onto the street. Truth be told,
I’d like to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible. There’s a part of me that is sorry I decided to bring this up.
I feel Killkenny’s hand on my arm. He’s strong. I’m not a small guy, but his fingers feel like a vice-grip. I turn and look at him, and I can see the mixture of surprise and
excitement in his eyes.
‘What the fuck did you say?’
‘He put cellophane over her face,’ I repeat. ‘Suffocated her.’
He looks like a shark with the taste of fresh blood in the water. ‘Are you serious?’ he demands.
‘Yeah. Why?’ I ask the question, but I already know the answer just from the look on his face, and it makes me feel sick to my stomach. ‘It’s him,’ I say.
‘It’s the same guy, isn’t it?’
He holds my gaze for a moment. Then finally he says, ‘I’ll get back to you.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘He’s looking into it.’
Yvette and I are sitting in my office in the bunker in Cambridge. It’s a strictly utilitarian space with a steel desk and three chairs. There is nothing on the walls; I’ve never
viewed the place as an extension of my personality, the way some do. It simply provides the privacy that is occasionally required by the responsibilities of management. Yvette is hunched over, her
elbows on her knees, looking like she might get sick. I don’t blame her; I’ve been feeling the same since my conversation with Paul Killkenny.
‘When is he going to get back to you?’ she asks.
‘He didn’t say. It should be soon. It’s a murder investigation, after all.’
She is staring at the floor. ‘Do you think they’ll want to talk to me?’
‘I’d think so. I didn’t GhostWalk the Scene with the feathers. I can tell them about the other scene, but that doesn’t really help them
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