Star Crossed

by C. Gockel

  The dead man had died from being gutted with a carving knife. If the client's story was true, the painful death was deserved. The client was in the emergency trauma ward with multiple contusions, lacerations, and burn wounds, and would likely need post-traumatic experience treatment with a good minder sifter and a therapy telepath.

  Luka was still taking images and measurements around the body, especially the outstretched right hand. He frowned.

  “Officer Nouri, did the investigators remove anything from this hand?”

  The man nodded. “Illegal weapon.”

  “Really? What’s illegal in Etonver?” asked Luka, with a tinge of cynicism in his tone.

  The officer snorted. “Amped wirekey. It was still sparked.”

  Luka raised an eyebrow. “That’s a theft crew tool.”

  Adding power to a wirekey made it better for forcing cheap locks, which is what made it illegal. Etonver law placed a high value on the sanctity of possessions.

  Nouri grunted, but didn’t say anything. Mairwen suspected he knew the lead homicide detective was on the wrong track with the “lovers’ spat” theory, but wasn’t going to admit it to civilians. Nouri looked restive, and it wasn’t long before he asked when they’d be done.

  Luka looked around, then at the clock. “In about thirty minutes.”

  Nouri frowned. “I need to use a fresher. Protocol says I should seal you out while I go find one that isn’t part of the crime scene.” He looked at the front door, which was barely staying upright on a single warped hinge, and sighed. “Oh, to hell with it. I’d rather have you in here than some sticky-fingered neighbor. I’ll be back in a few.”

  Nouri walked faster than she’d seen him move all evening as he left the apartment. She turned up her hearing to listen as his footsteps led him down the hall and down the stairs.

  Luka drifted her way, watching her. When Nouri was out of her hearing range, she nodded, and he glided to within inches of her.

  “What does your nose say?” he asked quietly. The buttery pearwood scent of him was a welcome change from all the blood in the room.

  “Outside of police personnel, only two humans have been in the apartment in the last few days—the person who sleeps in the bed and him.” She tilted her head toward the dead man. “He didn’t get further than the couch. It smells of blood and burned flesh. He smells like coconut oil, chems and smoke, like from a pub, and sex fluids. I think I’ve run across his scent before, but I can’t remember where.” Scents she’d imprinted, like Luka’s, were unforgettable, but the hundreds of others she ran across daily she tended to forget after a while.

  “Our client has wirekey wounds on his genitals, like the torture marks on Vadra Amhur. Could that be the smell you remember?”

  Mairwen shook her head. “I never got close enough to Amhur’s body.” Luka had been her main concern at the time. She gave him a searching look now and lightly brushed her fingertips across the back of his hand. “How are you?”

  He caught her hand and squeezed it gently before letting it go. His fingers were cold.

  “I’m okay. Thank you.”

  She knew he was thanking her for more than just inquiring about his status. She gave him a small smile.

  He took a deep breath, then stepped back. “Let’s get the camera cloud running while Nouri is out of the way.”

  She’d assisted him at other more mundane crime scenes, and she’d read the complete instructions for most of the tools in his reconstruction kit, so they had the little flying cameras working quickly. She and Luka stepped into the hallway so the cameras could do their job. He was using the gridded composite viewer to control them when she heard footsteps on the stairs.

  She pitched her voice just loud enough for Luka to hear. “Nouri’s coming. Someone’s with him.”

  Luka nodded. “We’re good.” He led her into the apartment to stand just to the left of the doorway.

  Nouri’s companion turned out to be one of the detectives who’d been leaving just as she and Luka arrived three hours and forty minutes earlier.

  Both Nouri and the detective, a short Chinese woman with even shorter hair, were intrigued by the cameras that were now swarming the bloodstained kitchen.

  “I’ll wager those glossy toys cost a month’s salary,” Nouri said.

  Luka grinned at him. “Four month’s, but they’re stellar, aren’t they?”

  Mairwen, once again standing at the open forensic kit near the door, suppressed a smile. She was glad when Luka ran across other technology fans. She wasn’t a good partner for him in that regard. She trusted her own senses more, especially since she’d allowed herself to use them more often. It helped that Luka still marveled at them and encouraged her.

  The detective turned to Luka.

  “I’m Investigator Hsu Wei. I’m the new primary on this case. Anything you can tell me now that will help?” Her English was impeccable, but Mairwen thought Mandarin was her primary language.

  Luka raised an eyebrow. “I thought Harless was leading.”

  Hsu Wei exchanged a glance with Nouri, then looked back at Luka. “Harless was reassigned.” She kept a straight face, but Nouri snorted.

  Mairwen guessed it involved internal politics. She was getting better at recognizing them since she’d started attending meetings with Luka and interacting with co-workers and clients. It made her occasionally wistful for the night shift.

  “Depends on your theory of the case,” said Luka. Mairwen heard the thread of resolve in his voice. If the detective proved as arrogantly opinionated as Harless, she’d get nothing out of Luka.

  “I don’t have one,” Hsu Wei said. “That’s why I’m asking what the evidence says. Just an overview.”

  Luka gave her an assessing look, then nodded.

  “The dead man forced the lock with the wirekey your techs collected earlier and assaulted the man in the apartment. Zip-tied his hands, dragged him to the couch, had rough sex with him there. Used the wirekey to burn him. The zip-tie was cut.” He pointed to the floor near the couch, where the zip-tie with burned edges lay. “They fought. They hit the door hard enough to pop the hinges. They ended up in the kitchen area, where the knives were knocked on the floor. The apartment man stabbed the dead man in the gut and crawled to the wall comp and pinged for help. He dropped the knife there and stayed. The dead man moved a little but bled out where he is now.”

  “Did they know each other?”

  Luka shook his head. “Evidence doesn’t say.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Thanks.” She looked around at the mess and sighed. “Nouri, I’ll be in the cruiser. Ping me when they’re done.”

  “Yes, sir,” he said.

  The detective left, and Luka sent the swarm of cameras into the bedroom.

  Twenty-two minutes later, Mairwen and Luka packed up and went out the door.

  Even though he’d turned up the heat in his townhouse, Luka was still cold. He put the finishing touches on his report, then encrypted it and sent it to La Plata with a flag for Zheer. The samples he’d secured in his closet safe could wait until tomorrow. Zheer would forward the report to both the client and the police, as they’d agreed. He never wanted his work used to hide the truth, although it looked like it wouldn’t be a problem in this case.

  He stretched in his chair, from his fingers down to his bare toes, then looked at the clock. No wonder he was nearly flatlined. It was almost one in the morning, meaning he’d been up for more than twenty hours. He needed sleep, but first he needed to get warm. He went in search of Mairwen.

  He found her in the kitchen, where she handed him a mug of hot chocolate. Her own mug was already half empty. She had no interest in cooking, but she had learned to make excellent hot chocolate. He was glad he’d introduced it to her before they’d left the ill-fated Beehive. He’d heard that both the Beehive and the exploration spacer had been deemed irreparably contaminated by exposure to the hybrid planet samples, and had been given one-way trips into the Insche 255 star.
Expensive losses for the owners.

  “How was your night?” she asked.

  He knew she meant with his talent. “Good, but I was careful. I imagined I was running anytime there was even a hint of trouble. It made me slower than usual. I’ll get better.”

  “Then you plan to take more violent crime cases.” There was a note of concern in her statement. She was still fiercely protective of him. It warmed him in a way no external heat source ever could.

  “Maybe. They’re always hard, but I’m good at them. The dead and the living deserve the truth.” He took a sip of hot chocolate. It was just the right temperature to have several swallows more.

  She sipped from her mug. “Is the client telling the truth?”

  “Unofficially? Yeah, I think he is. What do you think?”

  She gave him a slight smile and an eyebrow twitch. “That you’re a brilliant man.”

  He laughed. “Thank you. Nice dodge.”

  He knew she thought she didn’t deserve to be an investigator, and that Zheer had promoted her as a favor to him. As if Zheer did anything she didn’t want to do. He had suggested it, but hadn’t expected Zheer to jump on it so fast. She’d been right, though. Mairwen was already proving her value to the company.

  He sidled closer to her. “Will you stay tonight?”

  They’d spent more nights together than apart since the pharma case, and she was already half undressed, wearing only a winter undershirt and leggings, but he didn’t want to take her for granted.

  “Yes.” She set her empty mug in the sink. “If the storm keeps up, we could send the samples to the lab by courier and work from here tomorrow.”

  Which meant she’d stay all day. He used to be annoyed by the storms that kept him cooped up with only the net and his treadmill for company. Now he looked forward to them, as long as she was there.

  “Good. I got groceries yesterday, so we won’t starve.” He finished the last of his hot chocolate, then put his mug in the sink next to hers. “That reminds me, Jerzi wants to borrow the kitchen next week. He wants to make meals in advance for when his fiancée and daughter arrive.”

  “Has he found a larger place to live yet?”

  “Not yet. He’s barely managing to do everything for the wedding.” Luka smiled, remembering Jerzi’s blind panic when he realized he had less than a month to plan a wedding and reception. The hazard pay from La Plata for their hybrid planet adventure made it possible for his family to afford to be together at last, and they were arriving in ten days. Fortunately, Beva Rienville and her large, boisterous, and generous family had stepped in to help and had things well in hand, meaning Jerzi could relax and start thinking about details.

  She nodded. He knew she didn’t see what the flurry was about. Her equanimity was one of her many charms.

  “Should I tell him ‘yes’?” he pressed.

  She gave him a puzzled look. “It’s your kitchen.”

  He put his hands on her shoulders and met her gaze. “I’d like you to think of it as yours, too.”

  He watched her as she thought about what he’d said.

  “Are you asking me to move in with you?” Her voice was soft.

  “Yes, ljósið mitt, I am.” He'd called her his light, because she was. He gave her a warm smile and tried not to wear his heart on his sleeve. It had to be her choice.

  They were interrupted by the distinctive ping tone that meant a live call from Zheer.

  Djöfull, thought Luka darkly, as he walked to the desk to answer. Did that woman live at the office?

  He activated the comp, and the holo of Zheer, seated, sprang to life. It was the middle of the night, and yet she was impeccably dressed. Maybe she really did live at the office. Or maybe she considered corporate suits as casual clothes, and she wore ballgowns the rest of the time. He mentally shook his head. Lack of sleep was making him whimsical.

  “Excellent report, as usual,” she said. She wouldn’t have had time to do more than skim the conclusions section. Not that she’d ever read the whole thing. Only Mairwen did that.

  “The client’s parents will be pleased that they were right in pressuring the police to remove Detective Harless from the case.”

  “I wondered,” said Luka. “The new primary, Hsu Wei, will likely do a better job, from what I saw.”

  He’d been distracted by testing his control over his still dangerous reconstruction talent, or he’d have used his other talent to confirm his opinion. He’d gotten over his reluctance to pry. He never wanted to be surprised by another Haberville again.

  “Luka,” Zheer began, then hesitated. “I’ve been refusing cases like this one for you. Has that changed?”

  “Let me get back to you on that,” Luka hedged. He wanted to select his own cases and set some boundaries, and needed time to get them straight in his own mind.

  “Fair enough. Is Morganthur still there?”

  Luka looked at Mairwen as she stepped into camera view.

  “Good,” said Zheer. “You have a new industrial security assessment case. It’s down in Boetîa déʂ Luan, and it’s a rush job, as usual. It’s a large complex, so you’ll need help. Take Luka.”

  “Should we plan on using charter, commercial, or suborbital?” asked Mairwen. A valid question, since the site was in Grand Sur, the continent south and east of Norutara, where Etonver was.

  “Suborbital. They’re in a hurry. I sent the details to your percomps. I’m told we had two more assessment inquiries today. At this rate, La Plata is going to need to hire an assistant for you.” She gave them an enigmatic smile. “Oh, and since I have you both, I thought you might be interested to know that Juno Vizla Casualty is offering La Plata a special bonus for the successful completion of the pharma theft case. In exchange, they want us to not sue them over the fact that they knew about the high number of ‘accidents’ befalling ships that left Horvax Station, a fact they neglected to tell us when they saw and approved your itinerary. With the poisoning of Insche 255C scheduled for galactic-wide broadcast in three weeks, they’d like to keep their name out of the coverage.”

  Luka raised an eyebrow. “Will we sue?”

  “If we must. I prefer to win the war instead.” With that cryptic statement, she wished them a pleasant night and signed off.

  He closed down the comp and looked at Mairwen. “That was interesting.”

  “Why?”

  “Forecasters like Seshulla Zheer don’t chat. They play n-dimensional chess.” He planned to contemplate what she’d said in the morning, after a full night’s sleep.

  Mairwen gave him a small smile. “I don’t chat, either.”

  He reached for her hand and pulled her into an embrace. She felt perfect in his arms. “You do so, ástin mín. You’re just picky who you do it with.”

  He leaned his head against hers, thinking it was probably too late to pick up their interrupted conversation. He schooled himself to have patience. He’d rather win a whole life with Mairwen, not just a part of it now. He sighed.

  “Ég munu flytja inn með þér,” she said.

  Delight bloomed in him. “You will? I’ll call the movers tomorrow. Later today. Whatever.” He tightened his arms around her. Then it hit him. “Wait… that was Icelandic.” He pulled back to look at her face. “You said you’d move in with me in Icelandic.”

  She nodded and smiled.

  “Þakka þér, engillinn minn.” He kissed her soundly. “It’s the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received.”

  “You’re welcome, but I’m not an angel.” She cupped the side of his face with her hand and stroked with her thumb. “There is strategic value in us both knowing a language only spoken on one underpopulated planet.”

  He smiled and kissed her again, then let her go, but kept her hand to lead her toward the bedroom. “I would expect no less from a woman who wears five knives.” He waved the lights off as they left the living area. “That was how I knew you were something special, that first night in the warehouse.”

  She usua
lly demurred when he told her things like that, but instead, she looked unexpectedly thoughtful.

  “Yes?” he prompted.

  “The dead man tonight.”

  Not the direction of thought he was hoping for.

  She stopped walking. “He was in the warehouse. His scent was all over the forceblade that killed Balkovsky. I didn’t connect it until you reminded me.”

  “How sure are you? Enough for me to make an unofficial suggestion to Hsu Wei that she look at him for Leo and Adina?”

  “That, maybe, but nothing more. I didn’t imprint the scent, I just remember it.”

  She took off her top and leggings and put them on the chair, then put her percomp in the drawer he’d cleared for her. It was still mostly empty, despite the fact that most of her things had migrated slowly into his townhouse. She had the least amount of possessions of anyone he’d ever met, male or female. The movers would have an easy job, except for her small but heavy force exerciser.

  He used the fresher, then pulled his sweater off over his head and removed his pants quickly. “If he killed Leo, it’s a fair guess that he killed Amhur, too. It was the same theft crew.” He got into the heated bed where it was warm. “If it’s the same man, the mode of his death tonight was deserved.” He raised his voice a little so it carried to her in the fresher, even though he knew she could hear him even if he whispered.

  She returned and gave him a sardonic smile as she released the knives and sheaths from her legs, arms, and back. “That’s very frontier justice of you. I’m a bad influence.” Naked, she was still lethally beautiful, not to mention blue-star hot.

  “Not at all. I’m just more pragmatic these days.” Having survived a stabbing, being kidnapped, a combat firefight, and a space battle, he’d gained some perspective. He’d been afraid of losing his compassion, but Mairwen, with a far more horrific past and a likely body count of untold numbers, was still very much human.

  She slid under the covers and along his side. She rested her head on his shoulder, and her legs twined with his. He loved the smell of her, the glide of her skin on his. She’d get up before he did, as always, but he was glad she liked sharing the bed with him for a while. He couldn’t help but use a thread of his talent when she was near because he loved the feel of her essence in his mind.