Part 3 (1/2)

Angelo decided to just do what came naturally. If he didn't come up with any clues in the next couple of days, then he'd go home.

Statistically, it's about twelve times more likely that you'll be killed by someone close to you than by a complete stranger. So the logical course of investigation was to dig into Randi's close family.

That meant John Marlowe primarily.

Angelo turned to the computer in the hotel room. It was a generic model that the hotel provided so that businessmen could generate more reports, hold more teleconferences and look at more dirty pictures from the net. Angelo turned it on and logged into the network. Then he tried to contact his computer at the Vista City Police Station. He had powerful search engines in it, and heavy duty network access.

The hotel computer beeped and complained at him. There was an incompatibility somewhere. Both computers used the wildly popular Geos operating system. It wasn't as though they had much choice. Geos dominated the market. Technically the Geos system was mediocre, but it was powered by a marketing juggernaut. More technically apt systems never developed the following or the number of applications that piled up behind the Geos system.

The problem was in the networking. In Vista City they used the generic GeosNetwork, the widespread companion to the Geos system. Again it was technically mediocre, but widespread and convenient to use.

The Century Hilton used the Los Angeles Business Network, the company owned and run by John Marlowe.

The problem seemed to be in convincing the two compet.i.tor networks to exchange data cooperatively. Eventually Angelo had to agree to pay a service fee to both networks before he could access his working computer.

A quick search showed that Randi's parents lived in Minnesota. A whereabouts search authorized by Angelo's police status turned up the data that Randi's father was checked into Minneapolis General Hospital. Mrs. Aiken had used her ATM card in the hospital within eight hours. The reason Mr. Aiken was in the hospital was listed as treatment for prostate cancer. Angelo shelved Randi's parents. He would return to them if anything seemed to warrant it.

Then Angelo turned to John Marlowe. The LABN had glowing biographies and the happy opinion that Marlowe was a visionary. The GeosNetwork didn't even want to admit that he existed. It took Angelo a good deal of effort and riding his Vista City Police status pretty heavily before he got into any serious data.

The Los Angeles Business Network was the only serious compet.i.tor to the GeosNetwork in Los Angeles. Other compet.i.tors had been forced out of the market or out of business altogether years ago. GeosNetwork used it's huge profit margin from other areas to finance cut-throat tactics in Los Angeles. John Marlowe survived by owning a cable television company and turning it into an electronic powerhouse. With the equipment inherited, modified and invented by Zox Cable, the Los Angeles Business Network reached everywhere in Los Angeles like an octopus. In order to build and buy all of this equipment, John Marlowe and his companies were all in hock up to their eyebrows. Multimillionaire John Marlowe was close to being broke. If things kept going the same way, Marlowe and the LABN had another eighteen months at best before GeosNetwork won the battle for the hearts, minds and computers of Los Angeles.

The next morning Angelo walked into the downtown precinct of the LAPD. His Vista City badge was once again prominently displayed. Again, no one gave it a second look and he had total access to the building.

Angelo took the elevator up to the fourth floor and walked down the hallway to the far side of the building. That was where the Investigations department of the downtown precinct was housed. Not too much had changed there since Angelo and Marcus last stepped through the doors on their way out. It was Angelo's first visit in two and a half years.

Angelo walked onto the old office work floor and saw Anderson and Franks hard at work at their desks.

Angelo walked up to them and said ”Good morning.”

Anderson looked up and became very serious. Franks started to grin merrily.

”Well, Detective, what brings you down here?” Franks smirked.

Angelo put his file of photocopies on her desk. ”I was digging around and I came up with a couple of things that might interest you.”

Anderson said ”I thought I asked you to lay off this thing.”

”He's not the type.” Franks said.

”Sorry, I'm not.” Angelo admitted.

”Okay,” Anderson conceded. ”One thing. You're a visitor, here. This is our case. You are a.s.sisting us, not the other way around. Do you read me, Detective?”

”Sure.” Angelo said. ”I don't want to cause any trouble.”

Franks snickered. ”Sure you don't.”

”What have you got?” Anderson asked.

Angelo gave them a run down on his data.