First Time in Paperback

Summary

She's got a mind like Miss Marple and the memory of an elephant. She's a speed-reader and a whiz at math. She's "irresistible" (Midwest Book Review) and "a true original." (Margaret Maron) She's Turing Hopper, Artificial Intelligence Personality—an almost-sentient computer. And lately, with the aid of her human friends Tim and Maude, she's been doing some sleuthing...

If Turing Hopper had a nose, she would smell something fishy. The AIP has been monitoring crimal-at-large Nestor Garcia's credit card, which has been gathering dust. Then, out of the blue, several thousand dollars' worth of purchases show up. After some research, Turing learns that dozens of packages have been ordered on Garcia's credit card—and, for some reason, sent to a vacant house. She's sure that some other criminal has stolen the plastic and is racking up these charges. Because for Garcia, using his own, old, traceable credit card would be like clapping on his own handcuffs and hanging outside the police station...

So Turing and her friends, of both the bionic and biped varieties, make plans to stake out the empty house's vicinity (minus, of course, the immobile mainframes). Of the group, Tim is chosen to watch any activity on the strangely deserted street. But just when he finds something he wishes he hadn't, Tim's charged with murder. Now, Turing and her friends have to clear his name. The only way to do it is to find the guilty party—by luring him to attack them. But doing so might very well get them "accidentally" deleted...