Blue Genes - By Val McDermid Page 0,17

I could raise the cash to buy out Bill's sixty-five percent at the prices of four years ago, never mind what the agency would now be worth, given the new clients we'd both brought in since then. I was going to be the victim of anyone who decided a two-thirds share in a profitable detective agency was a good investment.

A second cup clattered onto the table in front of me. Startled, I looked up and found myself staring into Shel¬ley's amber eyes. "I thought I'd find you here," she said, tossing her mac over a chair and sitting down opposite me. Her face looked like one of those carved African cer¬emonial masks, all polished planes and immobility, especially now she'd abandoned the beads she used to wear plaited in her hair and moved on to neat cornrows. I couldn't tell from looking at her if she'd come to sympa¬thize or to tell me off for my tantrum and plead Bill's case.

"And we thought Lincoln freed the slaves," I said bit¬terly. "How do you feel about being bought and sold?"

"It's not as bad for me as it is for you," Shelley said. "I don't like the new boss, I just walk out the door and get me another job. But you're tied to whoever Bill sells his share to, am I right?"

"As usual. Back on the chain gang, Shell, that's what I am. Like the song says, circumstance beyond our control."

Shelley's eyebrows flickered. "Doesn't have to be that way, does it?"

"I'm not with you."

"This behavior from Bill is not what we're used to."

"Of course it's bloody not," I interrupted petulantly. "It's this Sheila, isn't it? Like the man said, when you've got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow. And there's no doubting which part of Bill's anatomy Sheila's got a grip on."

"Doesn't matter who's behind it, the end result is the same," Shelley pointed out. "Bottom line is, Bill is not behaving like your friend, and in my book that absolves you of behaving like his friend."

"And?"

"You own thirty-five percent of the business, don't you?"

I nodded. "Free and clear."

"So you put your share on the market. Either as an independent entity, or as part of the whole package."

I frowned. "But that would devalue the business quite a lot. It's a different kettle of fish buying into an established agency where one of the partners is staying on to main¬tain the existing clients and another thing altogether to go for something that's nothing more really than a name and a bunch of office equipment."

"My point exactly," Shelley said.

"But I'd lose a lot of the money I've put in," I said.

"But Bill would stand to lose a hell of a lot more," Shel¬ley said. "And he needs the cash a lot more than you do right now. What it would do is buy you a bit of time and a lot of say-so on the deal. It gives you a bargaining chip."

Slowly, I nodded. "Shelley, you are one mean mother," I said, admiration in my voice. "And I thought Bill was your blue-eyed boy."

Shelley's lips tightened. I noticed that between her nose and mouth, a couple of creases were graduating to lines. "Listen, Kate, when I was growing up, I saw a lot of women doing the 'my kids, right or wrong' routine with teachers, with cops. And I see their kids now, running drugs, living behind bars. I've seen the funerals when another one gets shot in some stupid gang war. I don't like the end result of blind loyalty. Bill has been my friend and my boss a long time, but he's behaving like an asshole to us both, and that's how he deserves to be treated."

I admired her cold determination to get the best result for both of us. I just didn't know if I could carry it through as ruthlessly as Shelley would doubtless demand. "You're right," I said. "I'll tell him I want to sell too."

Shelley smiled. "I bet you feel better already," she said shrewdly. She wasn't wrong. "So, haven't you got any work to do?"

I told her about the previous evening's adventures, and, predictably enough, she had a good laugh at my expense. "So now I need to see Dennis," I finished up. "Richard

might know all there is to know about the music side of the rock business, but when it comes to the criminal side, he thinks seedy is something you listen to on your stereo. Whereas Dennis might not know