Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (96 page)

A servo came
with a note asking him to go to room 2B12 so he stood and nodded to
Flish and went out. The weather was a bit worse than earlier as the
ship sluiced and slid about. Nord was lucky to have the tail or he
might have ended up tossed all over the place. He was impressed
with the ease with which the Swaz and the Kheth adjusted to the
ship's movements. They were almost as good as the Feach captain and
her Acnians who lived aboard this ship.

He entered the
designated room where he was asked to sit on a bench designed for
those with tails. He was offered gincha and sweetcakes.

"We understand
you found the body," Tab said after introducing himself and Kit.
"How long would you estimate he had been dead when you first saw
him?"

"He wasn't
dead," Nord replied. "He was sort of on his knees when I first saw
him and partly stood against the wall. I thought perhaps he had
been thrown by the pitch of the ship and asked if he was all right.
He turned toward me and I saw the knife.

"I'll never
forget his eyes. They had a sort of glaze on them. He fell forward
and I hit the emergency switch."

"Did he say
anything?" Tab asked.

"No," Nord
said. "Well, he tried, but it was only a gurgle. The knife...." he
shuddered.

"Please," Kit
requested. "Try to repeat the sounds. It may be important. Was he
trying to say a name?"

"It could be,"
Nord answered. "It was a sort of 'guhh' sound, then a buzz like
'Miirrrrr', then 'ahhhhhg'. He didn't say anything else or do
anything else."

"Mirahg?" Tab
said. "He could have been trying to say a name. That fact is
important even if we can't discover what name it was."

"It means he
knew who his murderer was," Nord agreed. "I would think most people
who are murdered know their killer's name."

"But this is on
a ship on a vacation world," Kit argued. "It would narrow the field
to a very few people if he were saying a name."

"I see what you
mean," Nord said. "I could see he was somewhat predatory around
females so I can easily imagine someone would take great offense.
Not everyone considers the same act in the same way and what is
proper to one might not be to another. Some things aren't proper to
anyone."

"What do you
mean?" Tab asked.

"It's nothing!"
Nord cried. "I'm speaking out of turn! I'm a doctor and should know
better than to let personal prejudices influence my words."

"This is a
murder investigation," Tab said. "You could save a life. Don't hold
anything back, Nord. I assure you we aren't interested in little
scandals or such and I swear we won't try to build a case on such
things, but we MUST know. They may mean nothing or they may solve
the case."

"Well, that Zia
Tor fellow banged the dead man's head against the wall earlier,"
Nord said. "He, er, said, well, that Bo had better leave his mate
alone or he would, uh, break his, er, his goddamned neck. He said
that, uh, Bo was, er, saying lies about, uh, the girl. Mai."

"Probably
doesn't mean anything," Kit said to put him at ease. "I've said the
same kind of thing and worse when some piece of garbage tried to
move in on a girl I was with. I remember one time I smacked this
guy and said I'd kill him if I ever saw him again – and we're
friends now. The girl was causing it all! She thought it was being
cute to make me jealous! Stupid who ... uh, you know what I
mean."

Nord grinned
and agreed he'd made a few rash and foolish statements himself.
They discussed it twice more, then Nord went out and to his
cabin.

They were a bit
strange, but very likeable. He knew they were powerful, having
direct contact with Emperor Maita and "the crew" – had even gone on
a "little adventure" with the emperor – yet they seemed like rather
normal sorts. He hadn't really thought much about detectives before
and all of this was very exciting in a way. He would still prefer
this kind of excitement would stay as far from him as possible! He
wouldn't miss it a bit if it stayed worlds away!

. . . .

Tor saw the two
empire detectives with those Acnians and the captain. Acnians gave
him the creeps. Only insects should have eyes like that.

He was probably
in for it now. He had lost his temper and made a fool of himself
with that character and now.... Damn it! They would come directly
to him and he couldn't give them any real answers! At the time of
the murder he could only tell them he was somewhere on the ship in
the clear walkways over the water! Would they believe that?

A servo came to
give him the message he was wanted in room 2B12. He took a deep
breath and told Mai he was going to answer some questions and he
should keep a better hold on his stupid temper because now he would
be in for it.

"I'll go with
you," Mai suggested. "I'll tell them you got back to the room half
an hour earlier than you did and they'll have to leave you
alone."

"Do you really
think they'll fall for that?" he asked. "They're empire. They might
have something that'll tell if I'm lying. What if someone remembers
seeing me somewhere else?"

"Then it's
their word against both of ours," she replied. "I know perfectly
well you have a hot temper and I wish you'd try harder to control
it, but I also know you'd never really hurt anybody."

They went
together to room 2B12 and in where they introduced themselves and
were introduced to the two detectives. They were asked a lot of
questions about various generalities. Finally, Tor couldn't take
any more.

"Look, I know
damned well you've heard about me threatening him! I know you've
heard about me swatting him, but I did NOT kill him! I swear it!"
he cried. "Don't play these games. I'll answer all your
questions."

"Okay," Kit
replied. "Where were you at the time of the murder and did anyone
see you?"

"I was...." Tor
started.

"If the murder
was within a half hour of when we found out about it we were
together in.... Well, we're recently lifemated, you know," Mai
replied. "I can guarantee he wasn't.... He was in the room with
me!"

Tab glanced at
her, then said the murder was within a very few minutes before the
alarm so that was the period they had to know about.

They went back
to their stateroom. Tor felt guilty, but he certainly didn't want
to be a suspect in all this.

Mai picked up
her book and told him to relax. He hadn't done anything and he was
out of it now.

He picked up
the torn cape and suggested he take it to the seamstressing
department. He'd have it cleaned, too. She was reading as he left.
He noticed it was the same book she was reading when he came in
earlier, just after the murder. It showed she was more upset by all
of this than she was letting on. She generally read one in an hour
and she was still at the first part of that one.

. . . .

Kap studied
herself in the mirror and smiled. She was really rid of Bo now!
Those empire detectives would never find his killer. There was
nothing to go on. She would have to act as if she was a little lost
and scared or something. Klom was coming soon. He was ditching Zezz
in their room, telling her he was going to check on the murder.

There was a
knock on the door and she threw it open. It was only a messenger
servo with a note telling her to come to room 2B12.

Damn! Did it
have to be now?

She went to the
table and took her scarf. She would take the torn one. It would
make her seem nervous and upset.

She went in and
was introduced to the two detectives. They asked her a lot of
questions and she gave them a lot of answers. Apparently her plan
to be seen in the dining salon waiting for Bo had worked. They knew
all about her little scene and she showed them the scarf she'd torn
on that plant by the door. She didn't volunteer anything and they
soon let her leave. She hoped Klom waited for her!

. . . .

Kwold and Flish
sat side by side and answered the questions. Yes, Kwold had made
this tour twice before. He had seen Bo on it the first trip and
noticed from that time how predatory the fellow was with the
women.

The Eacheron,
Klom, was on that trip, that Tor fellow had been along on the next
trip. His mate was on the first. Mai was her name. She had been
very much a party girl, even with other races. Flish giggled and he
admitted he was one of those of another race who spent time with
her.

A servo came to
tell the detectives Zia Tor had taken a cape to be cleaned and
repaired. The captain left orders that any such things were to be
reported to the detectives. Tab asked it when and how the cape had
been torn. It went out to check with the ship recorder and returned
to say the cape had been torn on the plant by the "C" door to the
dining salon at seventeen forty seven of that afternoon.

Tab thought a
moment, then told the servo to bring the cape and the record of
when and how it was damaged and to request that Captain Wahrd and
the two Acnians come – along with Tor and Mia. Kwold was told he
and Flish could stay if they liked. He HAD reported the thing!

. . . .

So that was
that! Tab felt he had it all now. He would wait until they were all
there to see exactly how far this would go. The servo brought the
cape and records, then went to bring Tor and Mai. They came in and
sat.

"Tor, you were
not in your room with Mai at the time of the murder," Kit
announced. They agreed through their internal communications system
that Kit would begin.

Tor looked to
Mai, then back to Kit. He didn't say anything.

"Well?" Kit
said.

"But.... He
couldn't have done it! I know it!" Mai cried. "He would never hurt
anyone! I will NOT believe it! I lied for him because I know he
wouldn't do any such thing!"

"Oh, he
didn't," Tab said easily. "We know you killed him and when, why and
how. Even without the one little item of absolute proof we have we
would've found you within thirty hours. All we would have to do is
to go through the rosters to find the ones who were on your earlier
trip."

She jumped up
to stare at Tab.

"You were
another one of Bo's many conquests on that trip," Kit continued.
"You were just about everybody's conquest on that trip it appears.
None of the others would talk about it and no one else cares.
That's what most people come on these tours for. The violent
weather appeals to some basic instincts and increases sexual
desires and responses tremendously on some primitive levels. It's
probably due to racial memories of deadly weather in all of our
pasts.

"Bo was the
type who would talk. He’d have you again or he’d downgrade and
ridicule your new mate. You met him in the dining salon to try to
make him leave you alone, but he insisted you go with him right
then and there. You stormed out of the door, catching your cape on
that plant and tearing it. The watcher servo reacted to that and
stopped you to inform that the ship would make repairs.

"Standing there
talking to the servo with Bo waiting about two meters outside of
the door you picked up a table knife from the nearest setting, told
the servo you would deliver the cape for repairs, then went out
into that hall. When you reached the walkway junction to your own
room you plunged the knife into his throat and raced to be there
when your mate returned.

"Had you simply
reported the thing then there would have been no severe penalty
other than Tor finding out about it. It WAS self-defense to that
point. Trying to shift the suspicion to Tor was more than
self-defense. It was a deliberate attempt to save your own hide at
the expense of your lifemate."

Tor was staring
at her in something akin to horror. "That book you had!" he cried.
"You pretended to be reading that book and were all smiles and love
when I came in! You actually killed a man ten minutes before and
you could laugh and make petty remarks about sharp things that tore
capes on the ship! You were planning right then to put it on me if
anything went wrong!

"You walked
right up to the body and said something about it being the guy who
was so nice to you! How...?"

He suddenly
turned and ran from the room as Mai screamed at him that she didn't
mean to kill anybody. He stopped in the hall and came back to stare
at her again.

"Oh, Tor!" she
cried. "I love you! I need you so!"

"You didn't
mean to kill anyone," Tor said very tiredly. "But you DID mean for
me to take the blame!"

"No!" she
cried. "You would have demanded the probe and would be found
innocent! I never thought you were in any danger!"

"I see. And
will you take the probe to prove THAT statement?" Tor asked.

She started
screaming at him then in vulgar terms that aren't printable. Seela
went to stand in front of her and say quietly she would be most
happy to hypnotize her to demand she tell the truth. Mai hid her
eyes and was silent as Wahrd confined her to quarters under servo
guard for the duration of the trip.

Tab and Kit
stayed until the "Wavewalker" docked, then went back to Perfect
3.

Seventh Case

"Seems a long
way to go for something like this," Kit said to his partner, Tab.
"Halfway across the galaxy to find a princess? Besides the fact we
don't exactly spend a lot of time shoring up those kinds of
governments it would seem to be the sort of thing that could better
be handled locally."

The robot
detectives were aboard Kit's ship, T6. It had recently added some
interesting little features to itself that it may never use and now
TRD-60, Tab's ship (The ships are actually parts of the robots as
well as independently intelligent beings), was installing the same
features. Often both ships were required on their cases, but not
this one. TR could be called if it was needed.