“He hasn’t been paid yet,” Reese said and, at Nick’s frown, clarified, “Prince. He won’t desert us because he’ll want his fee.”
Nick smiled grimly: Reese had got the captain figured out already. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“Then we should just carry on as normal.” The house shook as the monster outside took another enormous step. “As normal as possible.”
“We can’t get to the offices for now but we can talk to the rest of the staff about the murder.”
“Fine.”
They turned towards the gathered people and tried to ignore the noises behind them of a giant sea creature out for a morning stroll.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“THAT SCUMASS should be back by now.” This was the first thing Poppy said to them when he and Reese met her two hours later at a cafe. She didn’t seem to spare a thought for whether her brother might have been injured. She was like shards of glass and ice combined, with so many sharp edges that it was a miracle that, being so close to her, Nick didn’t get cut. Perhaps he did and no one noticed or cared.
“The further away the ship went, the more the time difference will affect it,” Reese pointed out and Nick groaned.
“So how long will it be gone?” Poppy asked sharply.
It was one of those ‘how long is a piece of string?’ questions. He peered out of a window, that looked as if it had a forcefield instead of glass, to protect it and caught a glimpse of a large dark object in the sky. “It’s not far away and, if it’s already on it’s way back, then for us it’ll take maybe another four to eight hours before it lands again.”
She swore, her expression murderous.
“It’ll be night time in a few more hours,” Nick said. “Why don’t we just compare notes on the case while we eat dinner here and then, if they’re not back, we can find somewhere to crash.”
Reese agreed and, after taking a few more seconds to cool down, Poppy did the same. Nick was definitely the more easy-going of the siblings, Reese thought, not impressed by Poppy’s general moodiness, although he could understand how Prince’s behaviour could annoy anyone.
They ordered drinks and some food. The cafe was almost full to capacity, he noticed, probably due to the Sea Monster disrupting everyone’s timetables. Humans sat, hidden beneath half a dozen layers of clothes while the race of ratall aliens were kept warm by their fur and the tabben – the mottled-coloured aliens with antennae – didn’t look as if the cold bothered them.
He turned back to his companions, noticing that the siblings were flushed from hurrying about, their identical blue-grey eyes almost the same colour as the stormy sky outside, where their ship was just out of reach.
“So Norla’s currently in charge of the seaweed company,” Poppy commented, relaxing enough to smile in thanks to the waitress who put hot drinks in front of each of them. “Was that prearranged?”
“Ember du Lissin trained her to take over, by the sound of it,” Nick said.
“But she probably didn’t intend to die so soon.” Reese watched as Nick curled his hands round his mug, warming them. Nick should have bought some warmer clothes by now but perhaps he didn’t have much money. Reese pushed the bowl of sweeteners over to him, remembering that he liked several in his drinks. “Hot and sweet, like your men.”
Nick laughed at this while Poppy regarded them both with raised eyebrows, one edge of her mouth turning downwards.
“I got the impression that none of the staff much liked Norla,” Reese went on. “Reading between the lines, I’d say that she stepped on a few other members of the family to get to the top of the heap.”
“So she could have killed out of ambition?” Poppy concluded.
“Maybe. What did you find out?”
“Mung Li Mung was in an investment meeting the whole morning, so he has an alibi, but no one else does.”
“His son is friendly with Bop du Lissin,” Nick said. “They’re almost certainly having an affair. This would have put them at odds with both their families, particularly Ember du Lissin and Mung Li Mung.”
“So Mung Li Mung is the only person we’ve ruled out so far,” Poppy said. “That leaves, as our main suspects, Kass, Swall, Norla, Mer, Mung Sen Zhan, Bop, Ruby Seacliff and Mohammad Samba and his son. No problem.”
“I doubt Swall did it,” Nick said and repeated what Beja had said about him not having much interest in the company.
“Ruby Seacliff and the Samba family aren’t such strong suspects as the others, if their businesses probably won’t benefit much from Ember’s death.”
“But the two husbands, Pos and Keat, probably should be added to the list,” Reese said. “Mer, Keat’s wife, was acting oddly the other day, speaking secretly to a member of the castle staff. It’s possible she knows something about the killer.”
“Then we have, what, seven people left with no alibis?” Poppy sipped her drink.
“And that’s just the ones we think have a strong motive,” Reese said. “There might be others.”
“Kass, Norla and Mer seem to benefit the most from Ember’s death,” Nick mused. “Kass has become ridiculously wealthy and she no longer has a powerful adversary standing in the way of her selling her company and leaving the planet.”
Nick took over the analysis. “While Norla and Mer, Norla particularly, gain leadership of one of the largest companies on Ocean.”
“It’s strange a woman as smart as Ember du Lissin didn’t leave a Will,” Poppy said.
Nick took a swallow from his hot drink. “Perhaps she trusted her husband and Kass to take care of things in a fair way.”
“Or maybe she did make a Will and it was destroyed,” Poppy suggested.
Reese considered the idea as he watched the other diners eating hearty meals and hoped his stomach wouldn’t start rumbling. “I suppose a solicitor could have been bribed by someone to get rid of it but it doesn’t get us anywhere if we don’t have any idea what was in it.” He was more interested in what else their suspects might be hiding.
A waitress brought along their plates of food and they fell silent while they ate. Before they had finished their desserts, they heard The Prince landing again. It seemed as if they wouldn’t be spending the night out here after all. Reese relaxed – the possibility of being stranded having been an unlikely but decidedly unpleasant one – and wondered idly how the sea monster was spending her evening.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
REESE LOCKED the door of the captain’s bedroom. He was alone for the first time since he had arrived on Ocean: Prince was occupied with Keith in his quarters while Nick and Poppy were safely away in the canteen chatting to their shipmates about why anyone would want to live on a planet with a sea monster. Reese could finally concentrate on the job that had brought him to The Prince and that was the reason he had had to tell so many lies to Nick and the others.
His translator also worked as a phone, a camera and a computer link. “Phone Johan Melgaard,” he told it and immediately heard a ringing sound.
An office appeared in the room, half translucent with the captain’s furniture visible through it. At its centre a large man with blond hair and a stern expression sat at an old-fashioned desk, upon which was a computer and a weedy-looking plant. There were holo-pictures on the wall behind him and Reese couldn’t see them clearly but he knew he appeared in several. Johan looked round and met Reese’s gaze. He didn’t smile – he seldom did – but his dark eyes warmed slightly. “I was waiting for your call.” Johan’s Danish accent was thick but his English was impeccable, making the translator redundant except in its current capacity, providing the signal to link the men.
Reese grinned at him. “It’s good to see you, Jolly. It wasn’t safe to phone earlier as I was busy evading slavers on Ocean with Nick Thomson, but I’ve got a job on The Prince now as part of their detective team.”
“You were chased by slavers?” Jolly asked, with a rare display of concern. “Didn’t the Ocean permit I gave you protect you?
”
“I didn’t use it. This was my best way to meet Nick and insinuate myself into his life. I helped him in prison and now he’s happy to have me on his detective team.” Reese’s conscience shook its head sadly at him and he tried to ignore it. He really did care about what happened to Nick, more than he should in fact, but working undercover was his career. The sooner he did his job and left, the better Nick’s life would be.
“Is he a suspect?”
Reese bit back an automatic denial. He was here to investigate the murder of the ship’s former pilot, Baltid Athens, and the irony that the death had occurred amidst a group of detectives wasn’t lost on him. He had no idea why Nick and Poppy hadn’t solved it themselves, nor why the Danish government was so interested in the pilot. “I doubt that Nick’s the killer but I haven’t had a chance to begin the investigation yet. There’s a murder on the planet I’m helping look into and solving that will make my place here more secure.”
“But you’ve got friendly with the captain?”
“Yes. Prince was as easy to seduce as you said.” And how exactly had Jolly known that? Who was it that had asked him to solve the murder and provided him with information about all the crew? “I might end that soon, though. I should be able to stay here just by flattering his ego a bit and proving myself to be a good detective.”
“Why must you always try to improvise?” Johan complained. “We planned this out. He’s too volatile and we can’t risk you losing your place there now. Too much rides on this case.”
That was news to Reese. He wasn’t comfortable sleeping with Prince when he would much rather be with Nick and when he suspected the relationship bothered Nick, but it seemed that he didn’t have a choice right now. “All right. I’ll start quietly asking questions now that I’m a member of the crew.”
“I found out a bit more about the victim while you were gone. Athens is an alias. His real name was Stuart Chowdhry and he was born in Britain, like you. He was a member of the Democrat Rebels, who want to change the way the country is run.”
“I know about them.” Nearly everyone born poor – who had nothing to lose – was a member of the Rebels and they had approached him to join more than once, but he wasn’t interested in politics and never intended to return to Britain. He had nothing but bad memories from the country where he’d grown up. “Is there anything else? Why did he join The Prince?”
“He was involved in politically motivated crimes and it was getting too dangerous for him to stay in England. It’s possible that The Prince just happened to be nearby and was leaving at the right time. He came onboard four years ago as a pilot and was killed two months ago.”
“Stabbed from behind,” Reese remembered.
“That’s right. Be careful during your investigation as The Prince crew is a rough lot.”
Reese grinned. “Are you worried about me, Jolly?”
There was a hesitation before his boss said, “Call me again when you can. Melgaard out.”
He watched with a heavy heart as the office scene in front of him and the man he had been talking to vanished. They hadn’t talked properly in weeks. Jolly was basically his only friend – the only one who actually knew who Reese really was – and Reese missed his dictatorial manner, sharp mind and that hint of possessiveness that his boss was never going to admit to.
“Computer Avatar on.”
Marie appeared in front of him. Should he have made her appearance so motherly? It wasn’t as if he had known what either of his parents had looked like, so it was foolish really but seeing her always made him feel a bit more cheerful. “What can I do to help you today, laddie?”
He smiled. “Nothing really. I just didn’t want to be alone.”
“Reese, look at me,” she said and he raised his head. “I’m not really a person so you actually are on your own. Why don’t you go out and make a real friend?”
“They never stick around.”
“Not if you keep them at a distance.”
“I can rely on you when I need someone.”
She shook her head, expression pitying. “Still not a person, dear.”
“Avator off.” She vanished as if she had never existed which, technically... “I never should have let Jolly near your programming.”
He thought about how to begin secretly investigating. He knew some of the crew by now, particularly Nick, who was like a fluffy duckling amid a collection of wolves. Anyone might be capable of killing, though, if they were given a good enough reason or in self-defence. As much as Reese wanted to believe Nick was innocent, he might actually be the murderer Reese had come here to find.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
REESE WENT to get a snack and see who he could get to know. He started off by opening the door to the room next to the captain’s quarters and found himself in what he assumed from the type of computers it contained was the control room, the place where the ship was run from. There were no piloting computers or navigation screens, so he assumed that the pilot – who used to be Baltid Athens – had a separate room nearby. The control room was empty at the moment, those who were usually here probably getting ready for bed. The room was in the centre of the ship, as such areas generally were so as to protect them during an attack, when the outer rooms would be at risk of being blasted. The captain’s room had the same advantage providing evidence, if any was needed by this point, who Prince cared about the most.
He opened another door and caught a glimpse of a bed and cupboard before someone large bounded over to him on four legs and growled into his face.
He stood very still and gave a low bow. “Sorry, Siglinde. I was looking for the canteen and got lost.”
The alien raised herself onto two legs and her bristling lilac fur settled down. “I will accept your apology this time but males should not make mistakes. You may make purchases in my shop.”
His translator interpreted her guttural noises into words as she led him next door. He looked around with interest at the neat shelves full of food, clothing, tools and other items. “You have a lot of valuable merchandise here.”
“True. Other crew members complain about the prices but there is nowhere else for them to buy from.” A lucrative strategy. He began to understand why she had chosen to work here.
“There’s a lot of food here. Surely all the crew use the canteen?”
“Not when they can help it,” she said in a way that made him think he wouldn’t be particularly enjoying his mealtimes now that he couldn’t eat at the castle.
He helped himself to some snacks and paid her before bowing again in the way his research had suggested showed respect. The women of her planet apparently liked their men to be subservient. Siglinde inclined her head slightly in regal response and he left.
A small blue alien with a single eye and four legs appeared round the corner. This must be one of the engineers he hadn’t yet met.
“Hello, I’m...”
The alien avoided his gaze and hurried past. So much for getting to know the crew. He headed into the canteen and saw that Nick and Poppy had already left. It was for the best, since it gave him a better chance to talk to other people, but he was sorry not to have the chance to say goodnight to Nick. Ignoring the fact that he was supposed to remain objective and not rule out any member of the crew as a suspect, Reese wanted to spend as much time as possible with Nick while he was with the ship. There was just something that drew Reese to him. If Nick should actually prove to be the killer, Reese didn’t know what he would do, but he was almost certain it wasn’t true.
He scanned the canteen. A thin blonde woman was sitting at a table alone, not so much eating her food as looking worriedly at it. He recognised her from the meeting on the night he came aboard the ship as the current pilot.
“Hello, I’m Reese,” he said as he approached and stuck out his hand. She shook it with noticeable reluctance and didn’t return his smile.
“I’m Lyn, the pilot.”
He went and got himself a drink, whic
h seemed safe enough. He made a face at the survival rations and wrinkled fruit on a side table for people to help themselves to. Instead, he returned to the table and put the snacks he had just bought from Siglinde down opposite Lyn, pretending he didn’t notice the slight frown on her face. “How long have you worked here?”
“Two years. Alastair recruited me himself.”
Alastair? Prince, he realised. The captain. Nick had referred to two members of the crew as Sycophants One and Two and, having already experienced last night how friendly a relationship Prince had with Keith, he thought he had found both people who inexplicably liked the captain. As an experiment, he said, “Of course. I think the captain mentioned how much he relied on you.”
She straightened and gave a smile, immediately looking more attractive. “He’s a wonderful man.”
By what standards? “Okay.” He took a sip of his drink and put it down hastily, opening a packet of sweets which he hoped would take away the sour taste. “Isn’t there another pilot on board? I thought I heard a man’s name mentioned.”
“That would be Baltid.” She frowned again. “He died unexpectedly.”
Yes, being stabbed in the back was usually pretty unexpected. “Oh, dear. What happened?”
“I think he had a heart attack.”
From being stabbed? “That must have been sad for everyone. Were you friends with him?”
“Not really. He tended to keep to himself.” She stood up. “I should do some maintenance on the flight controls while we’re landed.”
She left without another word and he wondered if the subject of Baltid Athens had bothered her or if she thought Reese was trying to steal the captain away from her. Not that the man was all bad. While he seemed to lack all decent qualities as a human being, he was extremely adventurous in bed, which was something Reese appreciated. The captain wasn’t remotely as appealing as Nick, but he was the one Jolly had insisted would be the most useful to Reese and there was something more important than usual about this particular case. Reese wished he knew what it was. He also wished he could ignore Jolly and throw himself at Nick’s feet but he really shouldn’t.
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