Page 40 of The Lost Zone (Dark Water #3)

“Doing my best.” Reed grimaced, tapping away on his holopad.

“I’m counting on it.” Josiah placed a black coffee in front of his data tech. “By the way – I’ve sent Baumann out to check on a few things, if anyone asks for her.” Reed nodded absently, his eyes fixed on his screen.

Josiah strode along the hallway, then jogged up the stairs to Esther’s office, with Alex following along behind, his silent shadow.

Esther didn’t even spare him a smile when he entered. Josiah nodded to Alex to take a seat in the corner, which he did without a murmur. Then Josiah faced the music.

“I’ve had the lawyers look at the document you sent. It seems legit. Lytton’s contract still belongs to Tyler, even if the paperwork is a little irregular,” Esther said with no preamble.

“He’s not listed as Alex’s owner with the IS agency,” Josiah pointed out.

“Sometimes that happens. Big companies sometimes rent indies out to smaller ones, and the smaller one takes the responsibility while the indie is with them. It’s not common, and the lawyers think it’s odd in this case, but it’s not technically illegal.”

“I’m not handing Alex to him,” Josiah said firmly. “If you’re saying that’s our only option, then I’m walking out of here with him right now.”

“I haven’t decided what our options are yet,” she snapped. “I want to see what Tyler has to say first, but you’ve put me in a weak position and on shaky ground, Joe, so don’t expect me to automatically take your side on this.”

“You usually back me,” he said quietly.

“You usually don’t start investigations and interview potential witnesses without my authorisation first,” she retorted.

“Tyler broke into my house last night and tried to take Alex by force. Why would he do that unless he had something to hide?”

“Maybe he does, but it might not be murder. He might also be irritated by what he sees as your pursuit of him when he’s done nothing wrong.”

“Don’t automatically assume he’s innocent just because he’s powerful and I’ve pissed you off,” Josiah said. “All I ask is that you keep an open mind.”

She shot him a dark glance. “I always do.”

Tyler arrived, accompanied by three lawyers this time. Clearly, he’d brought out the big guns. He looked smooth and urbane, every inch the reasonable, successful businessman.

“I don’t want to cause any trouble, Director Lomax,” he told Esther pleasantly as he took the seat she offered. “I just want Alexander returned to me, and then I’ll leave.”

“I’ve reviewed the paperwork you sent – it’s an unusual arrangement,” she said, gazing at him sharply. “To all intents and purposes, it looked like Lytton’s contract belonged to Dacre.”

“I know.” Tyler shrugged. “It was expedient at the time. Dacre came to me with a business proposition. He was already a famous holophotographer, although his star had somewhat faded of late. He wanted Alex – he said he needed a muse, and Alex fit the bill – but he couldn’t afford him.

He assured me that with Alex as his model, his star would rise again, and when his fortunes recovered, he’d pay me ten per cent more than Alex was worth. ”

“That’s quite a gamble.”

“I didn’t get to be one of the wealthiest men in the country without taking risks.” Tyler smiled.

“A sale price is registered, but you’re saying he didn’t pay you?”

“Oh yes, he did. I simply lent him the money, and he used it to pay for Alex. That way it was all above board. Neat and tidy. Just a private loan that would be repaid as and when Elliot’s fortunes picked up.”

“It’s still odd.” Esther frowned. “Why didn’t you tell Investigator Raine that you still owned Alex when he visited your house a few days ago? You told him that you sold him because you needed money. Are you saying that was a lie?”

“A white one, maybe.” Tyler shrugged.

“I see.” She gave him a sharp look. “Then why did you sell him if not for the money?”

Tyler shifted uncomfortably. “I had personal reasons.”

“You lied to my senior investigator during a murder investigation,” Esther said briskly. “Come now, Mr Tyler, you must do better than that.

Tyler glanced at Alex. “Fine. If you must know… I was in love with him,” he said quietly, taking Josiah by surprise.

“I wanted Elliot to take him away so I wouldn’t be tempted by him anymore.

That’s a hard thing to admit to a stranger – that you fell in love with an indie half your age and had to send him away because your feelings for him were so intense. ”

Tyler spoke with a kind of quiet sincerity that Josiah found convincing. He glanced at Alex for confirmation, but found his mask firmly in place, his face unreadable.

“And now you want him back?” Esther raised an eyebrow.

“He’s my responsibility. It’s not right that he should be in the custody of an investigation agency when he has a houder.

When I first heard of Dacre’s shocking murder, I didn’t want to interfere with the investigation, because obviously it’s important that his killer is caught.

However, after speaking to my lawyers, we feel Alex should be returned to my custody if he’s not a suspect, which I gather he isn’t? ”

Esther glanced at Josiah, who shook his head.

“Isn’t it true that you only assigned him to Raine’s temporary custody because you believed he was without a houder?” Tyler didn’t even acknowledge Josiah’s presence and spoke only to Esther. “That’s clearly not the case.”

“Lytton is a potential witness, and we have concerns about his safety until Dacre’s killer is caught,” Esther said.

“He will be quite safe with me.” Tyler smiled. “I looked after him perfectly well for several years. He came to no harm.”

Josiah snorted. “He still has the scars on his back from a beating you gave him that almost killed him.”

“I believe he was in a serious duck accident when he was seventeen? I think you’ll find that’s when he came by those scars.

” Tyler seemed to have an answer for everything.

“Look, I’m a businessman, Director Lomax – let me offer you a deal.

You return Alex to me, where he belongs, and I won’t press charges over the fact that your senior investigator has opened an unauthorised investigation into me and is behaving in a way bordering on harassment. ”

“Harassment?” Esther raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Look at the cut on his head.” Tyler gestured. “Did he tell you how he came by it?”

“He said you broke into his house last night and tried to take Lytton by force,” Esther replied. “He could just as well press charges against you.”

“I did no such thing. I did go to his house to present him with the paperwork showing Alex’s contract still belonged to me, but I did not break in, and he started the altercation.

He has an anger problem, which I’m sure you know.

” Tyler shot Josiah a vicious smile. “In fact, I suspect you’ve covered for him for a very long time.

Did you know he was an illegal prize fighter before he left the Quarterlands?

And that his distinguished military record was nothing more than state-sanctioned thuggery?

He’s addicted to fighting and spends his nights in a squalid boxing gym where he’ll take on all-comers to get his fix.

You must have noticed all the unexplained bruising.

Your best investigator might have left the Quarterlands behind, but I fear he still lives by its rules. ”

Josiah rocked back on his heels, surprised not because Tyler had done his homework but by the speed of it. He was now very relieved that he’d shut down the Kathleen Line yesterday.

Esther glanced at him, looking mildly amused. “A boxing gym?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m an investigator. It’s a dangerous job.” Josiah shrugged. “I’m not getting any younger – I have to stay in shape to fight the bad guys you pay me to track down. I did once fight for money, though – he’s right about that.”

“You didn’t put that on your CV.”

“I was fifteen. My dad had just died. I had to find a way to eat.”

Tyler looked annoyed. He had just trumped his ace. It was hard to blame a bereaved teenager for finding a way to survive in the dog-eat-dog world of the Quarterlands. “I didn’t do it for long – my best friend died in the ring, and I knew I’d go the same way if I kept at it.”

“All of this is beside the point,” Tyler interjected. “Raine has a history of violent behaviour, and last night, he was the aggressor in an altercation with my security team. They’ve all signed witness statements to that effect.”

One of the lawyers clicked on his holopad and several documents hovered in the air over Esther’s desk.

“One of them is in hospital with a broken wrist and concussion,” Tyler continued.

“I could sue you for the cost of his treatment. This harassment of me and my staff has to stop, Director Lomax. Call your rogue investigator to heel, or I’ll report you to the Home Secretary – we play golf regularly, and I’m sure he’ll take a dim view of this when Inquisitus’s homicide contract comes up for renewal. ”

Esther flicked through the documents, saying nothing.

“I’m taking out an injunction, preventing Raine from coming near me, or my staff, or any of my properties or businesses.”

The lawyer clicked on his holopad again, and yet more documents appeared in the air above her desk.

“My investigators must be allowed to follow any line of enquiry necessary in the course of their work,” Esther said without much conviction. Josiah could feel Tyler’s leash tightening around his neck; he was most definitely being brought to heel.

“In the course of their work, yes, but Raine’s harassment of me has not been in the course of an official investigation, has it?” Tyler accused.

Esther was silent as she perused the documents.

“Well? Have you authorised an investigation into me, Director Lomax?”

“No,” Esther said quietly.

“No.” Tyler glared at her. “Call him off, Director Lomax, or this won’t end well.”