Origin in Death (In Death 21)

"Lots of references to the 'nurseries,' but no location or locations given. I've got a lot to go through yet."

"I've got to meet with Whitney, take him what we've got. The schools are secure?"

"Droids on that. Droids guarding clones. It's a fucked-up world. We got legal guardians starting to push. We're not going to be able to keep a net over it for long."

"Oh yeah, we are." She picked up the discs. "Holidays just bog everything up. By the time they get debogged, international law's com­ing into it. Those 'legal guardians' are in for a world of hurt."

"You got that. Thing is, you got close to two hundred minors be­tween the two schools. So far, only six guardians have made contact. Most are going to turn out to be ghosts."

Eve nodded, added her report disc to the carry file. "How are they going to mix in the mainstream, Feeney? Who's going to take them?"

"That's a problem for a bigger brain than mine."

"You got plans for tomorrow?" she asked him when he rose.

"Whole family's heading over to my son's new house. Did I tell you he upped and moved to New Jersey?" Feeney shook his head. "What're you gonna do. You gotta let them live their lives."

She hit Whitney's office at precisely noon. Her carefully written re­port was put into his hands, and she gave her oral rundown standing.

"The information on the schools, and all updates pertaining to them, were just given to me by Captain Feeney and are not included in my written, to date. I have his report, sir, and copies of discs containing the data he extracted from Brookhollow's records."

She laid those on his desk.

"There's no progress on locating Deena?"

"None, sir. With the records Feeney located, we'll be able to identify and locate all graduates, excluding those who've left their positions."

"And these nurseries referred to are not, to our knowledge, located on Brookhollow's ground."

"There was no evidence of artificial twinning areas, cell preserva­tion, or the equipment needed found in that location. Sir, by law, the implants carried inside any minor must be removed."

He sat back, folded his hands. "Getting ahead of yourself, Lieu­tenant."

"I don't think so, Commander." And she'd thought it through very carefully. "Internal implants are in direct violation of privacy laws. In addition, with the evidence in our hands, the law demands that any and all legal guardians or any and all students be investigated and ver­ified. We cannot, legally, turn over any minor to what evidence clearly ind

icates are individuals who are-or have participated in-falsifying identification records in order to claim false guardianship over said minor or minors."

"You've thought this through."

"They're entitled to protection. Brookhollow can be shut down. Ev­idence that purports violations of RICO and tax evasion gives local au­thorities this right until such time as federal authorities review. Sir, when that happens some of those involved in this are going to scatter, and some are going to circle the wagons. Those students are caught in the cross fire, particularly when the government moves into it."

"The government is going to want this handled quietly. The stu­dents will be debriefed, and ..."

And, Eve thought. It was the and that worried her. "Quiet may not be an option, sir. I've had multiple contacts from Nadine Furst. She's asking me to confirm or deny several aspects of this investigation, which include the connection of the school, the murder of Evelyn Samuels. To this point, I've refused, given her the standard line about compromising an ongoing investigation, but she's got her ear to the ground."

Whitney kept his eyes level on hers. "How much does she have?"

"Sir, she's already looked hard at the school, from what I can ascer­tain. She's accessed student records. She's putting it together. Previously, she had done extensive research on Wilfred Icove, Sr., as part of her as­signment to cover his death and memorial. At that time she made the connection to Jonah Wilson and Eva Samuels. In fact, sir, she made it before I did. She has resources, and she's got her teeth into this."

He steepled his fingers, tapped them together. "We know that cir­cumspectly leaking information to media sources can and does aid an investigation, preserve public relations, and has its rewards."

"Yes, sir. But Code Blue expressly forbids any and all such leaks."

"Yes, it does. And if any member of this department should violate Code Blue status, for any reason, I would have to assume this individ­ual would be smart enough to cover his or her ass."

"I couldn't say, sir."

"Best you don't. I note, Lieutenant, you did not elect to rescind De­tective Peabody's holiday leave."