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him?’
    ‘Her.’
    ‘
Her?
’ Straining, she let out a grunt as she bent down to lift a large shepherd’s pie from the oven.
    Removing his jacket, Troy entered the kitchen with a smile on his face. ‘Yes,
her
.’
    ‘Oh, well. And is she … you know … an
outer
?’
    ‘Yes. Lexi. She’s cool.’ He draped his coat over the back of a chair. ‘Smells good,’ he said. He hesitated and then added, ‘The dinner, not Lexi.’
    Grandma put the large dish down on the table and began to smother the meal in brown sauce. ‘I’ve always thought it’s best not to mix with outers.’
    ‘They’re just like us, Gran. Give or take the cooked cockroaches. Anyway,’ he added, ‘it’s policy to pair up major and outer.’
    ‘They commit most of the crime – and a lot of it’s aimed at us,’ said Grandma.
    Troy had heard her opinion many times. It was a widely held view in the major community. He guessed that Lexi knew many outers who believed the exact opposite. ‘It’s not true, Gran. The figures say majors commit crimes against outers just as much as the other way round. Major-on-major and outer-on-outer crimes aren’t exactly rare, either.’
    ‘So you say.’
    ‘That’s why a major/outer pair looks into all serious crime,’ Troy said. ‘Better to form a duo than sing solo. And there’s something else.’
    ‘What’s that, honey?’
    ‘Sorry, but I’ve already eaten. With Lexi.’
    ‘With Lexi, eh?’ she replied, glancing at him. She didn’t quite manage to disguise the hurt in her expression. ‘I dread to think what was on the menu. Never mind. You can have your share tomorrow. It’ll keep.’

SCENE 9
    Wednesday 9th April, Morning
    A counsellor had already broken the news to the Backhouse family that Dmitri’s body had been found. Now, Troy wanted to talk to Dmitri’s daughter, Coral. He felt that he could extract a clearer picture of Dmitri Backhouse from someone not far from his own age. But Coral was not at home. The counsellor had advised her to go into school as normal, because he believed that routine and lessons would take her mind off the terrible news about her father.
    Shepford was laid out like most other cities. It had a commercial hub and concentric rings ofneighbourhoods. At the city’s heart were shops, the entertainment complex, industry, Crime Central, the temple, the sports centre and schools. Separated by strips of parkland, there were six zones of housing. Four were dominated by majors and two by outers.
    Approaching Coral’s school, it was clear to Troy and Lexi that there was a scuffle taking place between students on the playing field. When they were close enough to see what was going on, they realized that Coral Backhouse was at the heart of the punch-up. They both raced towards the brawl.
    Blessed with superior fast-twitch muscles, outers were better sprinters, even if they didn’t have the strength of majors. Lexi got to the fight first and waded in straightaway. Inside a circle of students, Coral was facing three outer girls and putting up a good fight, despite being outnumbered. Lexi grabbed the leading outer, locking her arms expertly behind her back. At the same time, she yelled, ‘Oi! Stop. Detective!’
    Troy arrived and grasped Coral in the same way, defusing the situation. ‘Show over!’ he shouted. ‘Go on. Back to classes.’
    ‘Except for you three,’ Lexi said to the outer girls.
    ‘And you, Coral,’ Troy added.
    Coral twisted round. ‘How come you know me?’
    ‘Photographs,’ Troy said.
    A teacher flew out of the nearest building and dashed towards the group. ‘What’s going on? Who are you? You can’t just walk in here and …’ Glancing at Lexi and Troy, he noticed their life-loggers and his protest faded away.
    With a wry smile, Troy said, ‘Oh, yes, we can.’ He paused before adding, ‘We need to talk to Coral. You can take the other three and get their side of the story.’
    The teacher marched back towards the school building,