Murder On The Golden Halo

by W H Beswick

  “My word!” I gasped and looked around the room like I was looking for someone. “Are you saying there might be another Earthling on board?”

  “I don’t know for sure but I wouldn’t be surprised.” He said and drifted away for a moment.

  “Are you all right?” I asked, now concerned.

  “Fools. This entire plot confirms all the bad things other worlds think about Earthlings. We were making progress, but this could be used to undo everything. People would start hunting Earthlings again. I need to think.”

  “About who the murderer is?”

  “No, I have to decide if I really want to solve this. It might be best just to let the murderer get away.”

  CHAPTER 33

  JUST A COP

  “WHAT!” I screamed and walked right up to the Earthling, putting my hands on my hips and looking him right in the face. “You must find this murderer. You can’t just let him kill two people…two Earthlings. Two of your own kind.”

  “Ah, ah, you are right.” He said, looking at me with sad eyes but a smile on his lips. “As we used to say back on Earth, ‘I am a cop. It is a dirty job but someone has to do it.’”

  “Cop? You are a cop? I thought you were a detective?”

  “It’s another name given to law officers back on Earth. Centuries ago law officers wore badges made of copper. I guess the bad guys started to call them cops for short. It was considered an insult, but a word we used among ourselves.”

  “So you would call each other cops but if someone else called you a cop it was considered an insult?”

  “Yes. I may work for Lady Venusun, and I suspect that some of her business ventures are less than legal, but I am still at heart a cop. I suspect there is another Earthling on board. He will be harder to find. The Prime Centurion and Beta Chief were out in the open for everyone to see. Mere pawns being told what to do. This last one will being doing everything in their power to go unnoticed. I suspect he is the ring leader.”

  “Ring leader? Another Earth phrase? I have to say your language is very confusing. Not very precise.”

  “Ah, ah, yes. It appears we Earthlings used more slang terms than most other planets. I mean this last Earthling is the one in charge. Now, let’s find the doctor. I don’t think he will be in his cabin. I suspect he will be getting drunk in one of the smaller bars on the ship. It is my understanding he has a history of drinking.”

  “Yes, I have heard that too.” I said, ignoring the fact that several people have pointed out sometimes I may drink just a tiny bit too much.

  “There is no place for him to run. We are on a ship in space. He will be waiting for us. At least that’s what I would be doing.”

  CHAPTER 34

  THE DOCTOR’S CONFESSION

  It took us quite a while to find the doctor. He was actually in a bar on the lowest level in the rear end of the ship. I swear I could hear the engine vibrating through the walls. The bar was very tiny with three tables and a very short bar made of some unidentifiable wood that was scratched. It also looked like someone had been putting cigarettes out on it. The place was dimly lit and had a very cheap feel to it. The fishnets and plastic sea life used for decoration didn’t help.

  The bartender was an overweight being with orange skin with purple dots. His uniform was wrinkled and stained with something disgusting. He probably hadn’t bathed in a while. A closer study made me think he might be intoxicated too. Not a very good place to drink in my opinion.

  The Earthling took it all in and smiled, as if he was approving of it. I moved beside him and asked. “You like this place?”

  “It reminds me of Earth.” He said, wandering around and even touching a plastic fish in the nets. He wasn’t wearing his gloves, making me even more disgusted. “Back on Earth when I was a cop, I lost count of the number of cheap bars I went into. I will have to ask Lady Venusun why she decorated a bar in this manner. It would be interesting to know her reasoning. Ah, there is the doctor.”

  Dr. Crag was sitting, no, more slumped over a table in the corner of the bar. The place was so dark I almost missed him. He was dressed in a very casual manner. Loose shirt with a loud flower print, red shorts and open toed sandals. It appeared he had not shaved or combed his hair recently. On closer examination I could see the shirt was stained with some yellow. I kept my distance. There was a large bottle of Yung-to gin in front of him.

  No one drinks Yung-to gin.

  Well someone must. They make it. Well, what I mean is no one I knew drank the terrible stuff. I just assumed it was terrible because I have been told so and had never seen it before, except on ads for the media channels. The clear bottle was half empty. He was raising a glass to his lips when he saw us. The doctor smiled, toasted us and gulped it down. “I have been expecting you.”

  The Earthling glanced at the bartender and smiled. “Ah, ah, it might be best if you take a break?”

  At first he looked at the Earthling with surprise and was about to respond. I jumped in. “You heard him. Take a break, or shall I call the captain?”

  The bartender quickly left.

  “Ah thank you, princess.” The Earthling said, walking up to the table and watching the doctor pour another drink. “You are out of uniform, doctor.”

  “Oh please Earthling, you know Lady Venusun informed me that my services will no longer be needed.” Crag said, looking into his drink and smiling. “My services will no longer be needed. Ha, ha. There was time my services were very much in demand. Kings, queens, presidents and more came to me. To me, Earthling.”

  He gulped down the drink and slammed the glass down on the table. The doctor lifted his hands and stared at them. “These hands could work miracles. I made the ugly beautiful. Then one tiny mistake.”

  “Hardly tiny, doctor.” I said, annoyed not only with his rude drunken behavior but with his arrogance. “You disfigured a princess.”

  “I could have fixed it.” He snarled up at me. “Another supposed colleague corrected it. Did you know that?”

  “Yes, it was corrected by a surgeon who wasn’t drunk.” I snapped back knowing the whole story very well. I didn’t get it first hand but I did hear it from my sister, who heard about it from her best friend, who heard from someone else she completely trusted. “Looking at you now, I can see the story is true.”

  “I was not drunk…two glasses of wine…”

  “Ah, hmp, ah. Please we are getting off track here.” The Earthling said. “I didn’t know Lady Venusun had let you go. She only tells me what she wishes. And being honest I don’t particularly know or care how you lost your reputation. But I do believe you are gifted. Only a gifted surgeon could have done what you did. Make an Earthling look so much like someone from Icakka. Fooling so many people. Impressive.”

  “Yes, it was. The scars weren’t necessary. I told them the scars would only draw attention to the face but they insisted. There have to be scars. If they had listened to me, he would be Prime Centurion Bacco Uxtel’s twin. It would have worked, it fooled the queen. Fooled everyone. Now it appears my greatest work will land me in prison. I suppose telling you I was forced would not help.”

  “Doctor, I am an Earthling. I have no idea what will help you.” The Earthling said, sitting down across from the doctor and picking up the bottle. He studied the label, then sniffed it. “I would think you picked a better gin. These could be your last drinks for a long time. Ah, ah, I have my doubts you were forced. I suspect it was more of an act of desperation. I saw your military record. There is no record of you being captured, but the military hospital you worked at was captured.”

  “I was doing good work there.” Crag said, taking the bottle and pouring himself another drink. “Not only saved a lot of lives but gave them back their faces, hands and legs. Those men and women went home to live normal lives. Thanks to me.”

  “The war was ending. Yet the Earthlings went get lengths to capture that hospital…they wanted you.”

  “Yes, they came for me.” Crag said, look
ing up at the ceiling, and smiled. “They came for me.”

  “Just like kings and queens.” The Earthling said, leaning forward. “They offered you your old life back in exchange for doing some surgeries for them.”

  “Yes, yes. Well not completely.” The doctor said with wide eyes. He gulped down his drink. “I could never get back the life I had, but something close to it. All I had to do was help them save the Earth. After this was done, the imposters would get their old faces and bodies back. Then I would practice on your own Earth. My patients would be only the rich and powerful.”

  “But they didn’t save the Earth.” I said, still standing. “You somehow ended up here.”

  “By then I was the Prime Centurion’s personal physician.” Crag said, turning his attention to the Earthling. “I was there when they destroyed your world. It is something I will never forget. All but two leaders were horrified. All of them were sick to death. Everyone shocked. Some were vomiting. Two were on their knees begging their gods to forgive them. One who was unaffected left in disgust, calling them weak and fools. Odd, he was the first to die. Shot himself.”

  “Ah, ah, when did they decide to keep up the charade?” The Earthling asked keeping a calm look but his eyes revealed the doctor’s comments had touched him.

  “Almost immediately. The Earthling in charge, I don’t think he was in the military. He felt more like a politician. I think you Earthlings would call it slimy or nasty.”

  “This Earthling. Is he on the ship?”

  “There are three Earthlings on the ship. The Prime Centurion was one. Optio Zana is another but I suspect you have figured that out. I didn’t think the last one was on board until the game. I was as surprised as anyone. But there he was. His new face and body. He was my masterpiece. Odd, because I hadn’t seen him since the moon base. He just turned up here. What is that Earth saying, something to do with a bad penny?”

  “The last player?” I asked. “The stranger who looked like he didn’t want to be there?”

  “What stranger?” The Earthling asked looking at me.

  I was about to answer when a loud boom filled my ears, making them ring. The next thing I knew the Earthling was pushing me to the floor.

  How rude.

  I screamed for him to get off of me but then saw the doctor’s face, or what was once his face. The large bloody hole had replaced a great deal of it. I have obviously never seen anything like this. This appalling sight made me scream even louder. Worse, I felt my evening meal rushing up my throat. I managed to avoid this humiliating scene. It was then I realized the Earthling was no longer on top of me.

  CHAPTER 35

  THE PLOT THICKENS

  “Ah, ah, you are telling me there are no cameras on this ship?” The Earthling was asking Captain Floss. As for myself, I kept staring down at the large weapon lying just outside of the small bar. Smoke was still drifting out of the barrel of the awful thing. This greyish stream of smoke was rising into the air, filling the hallway with a nasty smell. Apparently someone had fired this thing and killed the doctor. The shot had been so loud it had brought a steward and some passengers into the hallway. If the killer was among them I couldn’t tell. It was then I noticed the Earthling was still standing by the dead doctor. “Don’t you want to see this thing?”

  “Ah, ah, hmp, your highness if I move any closer to the pistol I could be arrested.”

  “Really? Why?” I asked and then realized the foolishness of my question.

  Captain Fross along with Ensign Sig had joined us. He had attempted to get a better look at the dead body but the Earthling stopped him. Something about contaminating the scene. This time Fross didn’t object. More crew members arrived and they made sure the hallway was clear. While this was happening the Earthling asked the captain to see the footage from the camera in the hallway.

  This confused me.

  Why would there be cameras in the hallway? Using cameras to spy on the passengers?

  More than a little rude. Downright impolite.

  “Of course there are cameras!” Fross snapped looking quite offended, even putting his hands on his wide hips. “There are cameras on the crew’s deck, engineering and of course in the casinos and the smaller gaming rooms. But there are no cameras in the hallways and definitely not in the rooms. This is the Golden Halo.”

  The captain said this as if this was as good an explanation as needed.

  Remembering this was an Earthling, I pointed out to him. “One of the reasons the Golden Halo is so popular is it assures the passengers, especially on this level, complete privacy. You may not be aware that some come on board to…to what is the correct word?”

  “To have affairs?” The Earthling asked with deep sigh while shaking his head.

  “Affairs?” I asked, knowing the word but not understanding the context in this conversation.

  “Ah, ah,” He stammered seeing my confusion. Finally he said. “Oh trump. Passengers come aboard to have sexual relations that they don’t want made public.”

  “Yes, that’s it.” I said with smile, not understanding why he was embarrassed by saying this. “So that is what an affair is? Fascinating. What was that other word you used?”

  “Ha, an old Earth curse word. I apologize for using it in your presence.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “A long story. Just don’t use it in public. You are sure to offend someone. Ah, ah, and a princess can’t have that.”

  “I offend people all the time. Is this like the word that starts with an F? I said it once as a child and my mother made it clear to never say that vulgar word again.”

  “Worse.” The Earthling said with a smile.

  After much debate, and a call to Lady Venusun, the Earthling finally moved closer to the weapon and then knelt down. He didn’t touch the weapon, but he was closely examining it. “I haven’t seen a gun like this for years.”

  “What kind of…you called it a gun?” I asked kneeling down beside him, tugging down my too short dress. The Earthling noticed this and smiled.

  “Ah, our next murder you will have to wear pants” He said and then seemed to immediately regret it. “Sorry, that’s what we call cop humor back on Earth.”

  “I wasn’t offended. I was thinking it was an excellent suggestion. I could go get your bag and change at the same time.”

  “I would be very grateful for that.” He said with another smile. “Ah, ah, for getting my bag. You don’t have to change.”

  “Of course I do. This dress is ruined. I do thank you for pushing me to the floor and apparently saving me from physical harm, perhaps even death. I need to change because the little voice in my head is telling me the events of tonight are not done.”

  “Ah, ah, sadly I think your little voice is right.”

  I dashed as well as one could in spike heeled boots to my cabin and quickly changed into pants that were called Levis, a shirt with the word Nike across the front and very comfortable shoes with the same name on them. The last touch was a black cap. After this I went back to Captain Zana’s cabin. Thankfully, the body there had been removed. I retrieved the black case and rushed back to the crime scene much faster, thanks to the shoes I knew were called sneakers. They would be excellent for sneaking up on someone.

  The hallway was now clear except for the captain, ensign and two crewmen holding a stretcher. They all looked anxious. I suspect they wanted to get the body out of sight as quickly as possible. Fross nodded to the bar.

  The Earthling was bent over the dead doctor, avoiding the bloody wound. He was taking things out of the doctor’s pockets. I stood a short distance away. “Is that really necessary? We know how the doctor died.”

  “Ah, ah, yes princess that is quite obvious.” The Earthling said, getting up and putting a money card and door card on the table. “I was hoping to find a clue. We need to find the other Earthling.”

  “Yes we do.” I said thinking this was obvious. “The other Earthling did kill the doctor.”

&nbs
p; “Oh yes, that I am sure of. That gun is a Smith and Wesson Magnum 44. A very powerful Earth gun. It hasn’t been made for centuries. This is a weapon that was handed down over the centuries. It must have been difficult for them to just leave it.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “The gun looks almost new. It has been oiled and cleaned by someone who cared about it. This murder was an act of desperation.”

  “I should say so. Shooting someone right in front of us? That is desperate.”

  “I would be more curious to find out how they got it on board. They check everyone’s baggage.”

  “Not mine.” I said, a little shocked. “No one would dare touch my luggage. If they did, they would regret it.”

  “That’s right.” He said pulling on his ear and smiling. “You have what we called on Earth diplomatic immunity.”

  “Diplomatic what?”

  “Ah, ah. No one is allowed to search your bags. So my best guess is it could be the Prime Centurion who brought it on board. Risky. Still, why bring this weapon? It would be too loud to use to kill her majesty.”

  “Unless they planned on blaming you. But that is ridiculous.” I said with a smile. “They would have to know you were on board. Not even I knew you were on board…”

  “No, no, you may be right.” He said, stroking his chin while looking right at me. I was about to point out his rudeness for not only interrupting me, but now he was staring at me. Then I realized he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking over my shoulder. The Earthling stood and smiled. "Ah, ah, Ensign Sig, a quick word please.”

  I thought the ensign was going run off because she looked over her shoulder, but the other crewmen were in her way. Then she probably realized there was no place to run to. She took a breath even I could hear before slowing walking into the bar. I watched in disbelief as the Earthling put his arm around her shoulder and moved to the corner. I was definitely going to speak to the Earthling about what is acceptable in civilized society but that was for another time.