Cosmic Callisto Caprica & the Missing Rings of Saturn

by Sophia Chester

  “Do you need help with anything else?” Kazuma asked.

  “Yes. I need the keys to Josuke’s bike if you have them. I’m going to return Josuke’s bike to him right now.”

  With Kazuma’s assistance, I was able to get the hover bike out of his apartment and down the street to Mr. Hayate’s house. After Kazuma left, I knocked on the door. Kari answered the door and immediately her eyes turned toward Jo’s hover bike. I didn’t utter a single word to her. Kari immediately let Jo know that I was here to see him. Once Jo reached the doorway, I watched as his calm, laid-back demeanor was shattered into a million pieces the moment he laid eyes on his so-called stolen bike siting in his uncle’s driveway. Jo was desperately trying to form words with his mouth, but his trembling lower lip was stopping the words from coming out. I gently placed my hand on his shoulder.

  “Look at you. You’re so excited that you can’t even speak. Why don’t we go inside and have a little chat about you and your bike!” Jo clumsily followed me into the living room with his hand over the top of his mouth. “Now, earlier, you claimed that on the day of the robbery that you were hanging out with your friend Kazuma. That was lie number one. Kazuma told me that you showed up to his place the morning of the robbery. You also said that your hover bike had been stolen, which was lie number two. I went to Kazuma’s place and I found your hover car siting right in the middle of his living room. Using Kazuma to hide your hover bike and provide an alibi for you was a big mistake. If you were smart, you would have asked someone else to hold on to your bike for you but, whatever; that’s beside the point.” I took the broken piece of glass out of my purse and I dropped on the coffee table in front of me. “I found this stuck in a suction pipe inside of an oasis pool not that far from the employee service elevator for the security floor. It’s a perfect match for your hover bike. I also have a witness that places you at the scene the morning of the robbery.” Jo rubbed his fingers across his head; his left foot hadn’t stopped tapping the moment I sat down to talk with him. “I also know about your debt, Jo. I can understand why you would steal the rings. I mean, if I were in as much debt as you are, I would do anything to get out of it.”

  Jo stopped tapping his foot. His chest started to rise up and down. “How do you know about that?” he hissed.

  “That’s not what’s important right now. What’s important is that you tell me where the rings are so this charade can come to an end.”

  Jo dug his fingers into his greasy hair, jumped up from his seat, and started to pace back and forth. “Okay, yes, I was there that day on my hover bike. Phoebe said she had a job for me. If I put those canisters in the air vents and if I drove her away to a safe place after the robbery, then she would give me a cut of her profits after she sold The Rings of Saturn!”

  “Where did you drop her off at?”

  “Near the Martian living quarters. Look, I don’t have those stupid rings. I wouldn’t even know who to sell them to. I just wanted to make some quick cash.” Jo had been lying to me this entire time. On one hand, I did believe that he was telling the truth, yet I didn’t believe him when he said that he didn’t have the rings. Phoebe’s home was so small and it would make finding the rings much easier. It would make more sense to stash them here. Plus, why would anyone look for The Rings of Saturn here? It was truly the most ideal place to hide them.

  “Well, since you have nothing to hide, do you mind if I search your home? I want to make sure that you don’t have the rings.”

  Jo hung his head down. He really seemed unsure of himself without his uncle there to protect him. “Okay, yeah, sure! Search the whole place. I got nothing to hide!” Josuke was not very smart; I mean, for God’s sake, he hid his hover bike at his best friend’s apartment, which was right down the street from him. If he did have The Rings of Saturn, then he probably stashed them in his room or in that basement he was hanging out in earlier.

  “I’d like to search your room first, then the basement.” I followed Josuke up to his room; the place looked like a natural disaster. His clothes were flung all over the place. I nearly tripped over a set of dumbbells that were next to his bed and the awful corn-chip-like stench that was permeating from every corner of the room was strong enough to make me want to lose my lunch. If Josuke hid the rings in here, I didn’t even think he would be able to find them ever again. As a last resort, I started to search under Josuke’s bed; the only thing I managed to find were some copies of some dirty magazines: Super Sultry Space Babes and Glamorous Green Girls. As I was pulling my arm out from underneath Josuke’s bed, my fingers pushed up against something soft and mushy. Some soft yellow greasy clumps were attached to my fingers.

  “Sorry about that. I have a bad habit of kicking my empty hair grease canisters under my bed. The bathroom is down the hallway if you want to wash your fingers.” I immediately headed toward the bathroom. As I ran warm water over my fingers, I watched in horror as the clumps of grease drifted back up to the top of the sink and started floating a small pool of water. Oh great, it looked like I clogged up the drain with the grease that was stuck to my fingers. I took my pen out of my purse and I started to fish the bits of grease from out of the sink’s drain. To my surprise, not only did I pull out bits of grease but some soggy strands of orange hair. I placed the wet strands of hair on the side of the sink, then I laid out the hairs that I found in the trunk of Josuke’s hover bike. Both hairs were the same shade of orange and both had the same curly pattern. If my hypothesis was correct and this was, in fact, Phoebe’s hair, then that meant she had spent some time here in Mr. Hayate’s house. I took the hair samples and I placed them both into my purse after I finished washing my hands.

  Josuke was waiting for me out in the hallway. “I’d like to search your basement now.”

  When we reached the entrance to the basement, Josuke turned to me. “Be careful going down the stairs. This basement has a terrible design flaw. The light switch is located at the bottom of the stairs.” I kept my hands pressed up against the wall as I walked down the stairs. Jo reached the bottom of the stairs before me and he flicked the light switch on. Just like his room upstairs, the basement was a complete and utter wreck with the added bonus of crushed cans of Bader beer. Posters of scantily clad women, both human and Martian, posing on top of hover bikes, were plastered across the walls. Josuke hopped over the piles of trash that were on the floor until he reached a faded two-sided couch that was white on one side and black on the other. The faded couch was positioned in front of an oversized rug that had been nailed to the wall. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of this rug. It looked hand woven; the design was that of two Martian women. One was dressed in traditional Martian white dress with a gold leaf headband on, while the other was wearing a white day dress, similar to what I would wear, with golden leaves all over it. Both Martian women had their backs to each other; their orange hair was styled into one interlocking braid that traveled down their backs. The traditional Martian woman was looking to the left— tall white pillars were stitched into the background—while the modern Martian was on the right—her background consisted of detailed images of flying saucers and space colonies. I rubbed my hands across the rug. “Oh, this is absolutely beautiful.”

  “Yeah, I picked that up at a Martian flea market a while back. The lady told me that it’s supposed to represent the change in Martian culture from traditional to modern.”

  I carefully stepped over the piles of trash so I could get a better look at the carpet from the opposite side. On my way over, the heel of my shoe became caught in the handles of a plastic bag. I kicked the bag forward, thinking that it was probably filled with trash. Surprisingly a can of Stick and Stay hairspray and some Invidia cosmetics came flying out of the bag. “Oh, I’ve been looking for that bag!” Josuke commented. I scooped up the small pile of Invidia cosmetics that were on the floor. A tube of Barely There Beige concealer, two eyeshadow compacts, Jaded Jade and the color I wore the night of my graduation ceremony, Red Rage. “I bought all this s
tuff for my girl. She loves this high-priced makeup. I don’t know why she wears so much of this stuff. I think she looks great without all that goop on her face.”

  I wondered if Josuke had bought this beige concealer for Phoebe. Perhaps she’s not only his accomplice in the robbery but Josuke’s girlfriend as well. Phoebe did have on some pale concealer the day that I went to interrogate her. I started to wonder if maybe Cole, Phoebe, and Josuke were all in on this together. It made senses, though. All three of them had access to the security room floor and access to the Rings. They each had their own unique motives. Cole was a part of the anti-Martian movement and both Josuke and Phoebe desperately needed money. I handed the bag with everything inside back to Josuke, then I walked up to the carpet so I could get a better look at it.

  Thick braids with shredded fringes hung from the side of the rug. I ran my fingers through the shredded fringes; behind the carpet fringes were multiple holes in the wall. They looked like they were the same size as the nails used to hold the carpet in place. Poking through the fringes near the bottom of the wall was a white video phone.

  “That’s my private hotline. I only hand out my number to girls who are worth my time,” Josuke said with a smirk. I emitted a low-sounding animalistic grunt. Hopefully, Josuke would get the point that I was not at all impressed with what he had to say about his precious private phone line. “It took me a long time to get that carpet up there just right. My uncle is still pretty upset about the holes, though.” I slid my arm up the wall; the holes stopped just toward the middle section of the carpet. “So are you done in here or what?”

  I glanced over my shoulder toward Josuke. “Yes, we’re done here. I really don’t want to waste any more time here.”

  “Well, then, you can see yourself out,” Josuke said with a quick wave of the hand. Oh my God, he clearly forgot that he confessed that he played a part in this robbery not even five minutes ago. How foolish. I sat down next to Josuke on the couch.

  “You are going to come with me to the security floor and you’re going to bring your bike with you. Everything that you told me in the living room you’re going to tell your uncle as well.”

  Getting Josuke’s hover bike onto the elevator was a bit difficult because of its wide trunk. I ended up having to sit on top of the bike’s trunk until we made it to the security floor. All eyes were on Josuke and me as we walked down the hallway with his black hover bike between us. By the time the both of us made it to the empty office room across from the one Phoebe was being held in, word of Josuke’s arrival had reached Mr. Hayate. He came crashing through the door seconds before we even had a chance to sit down. “What’s going on here?” Mr. Hayate shot a hateful-looking glare in my general direction. To be honest, I wasn’t moved by it at all.

  I smiled. “Wow! Word travels fast around here. I didn’t even have to call your office. Please have a seat next to your nephew!” As Mr. Hayate was sitting down, Josuke cupped his right hand over his face, then he turned toward the far side of the room. “Your nephew has been lying to me from the start. He wasn’t out with his friends that morning. He was actually using his hover bike to drive the culprit away from the scene of the crime.”

  I pulled out the missing piece to Josuke’s taillight and rolled the clear piece of glass toward Mr. Hayate. “I have a witness, a man by the name of Mr. Jenkins, who was in an accident with your nephew. Josuke hit Mr. Jenkins’s hover scooter while driving away from the scene.”

  I turned toward Josuke. “I bet it was hard to see with that black mask over your face and with cigarette smoke in your eyes, huh?” Josuke sucked his teeth in. “This accident took place near the employee elevator that the robber used to escape after they stole The Rings of Saturn.”

  Mr. Hayate grabbed hold of Josuke’s right hand and yanked it off his face. I plucked the piece of glass off the table and walked over to Josuke’s hover bike. “The scrape marks here on Josuke’s bike are the same color as Mr. Jenkins’s hover bike. Also, I found the broken piece to Josuke’s taillight in an oasis river close to the elevator.” I placed the broken piece of glass into the taillight so that Mr. Hayate could see that it was a perfect fit, then I unlocked the trunk to Josuke’s hover bike. “Earlier, Josuke confessed to me that he drove the culprit Phoebe away from the scene of the crime. I believe she hid in the trunk of his scooter during the entire ride.” I walked back to the table, pulled out the curly orange hairs that I found stuck inside of trunk to Josuke’s hover bike, and dropped them in front of Mr. Hayate. “Josuke told me so himself, that he dropped Phoebe off near the Martian living quarters.”

  Mr. Hayate rubbed the side of his forehead with his fingers. “None of this makes any sense.”

  I slammed the palm of my hand on the desk. “Oh, it makes perfect sense. You tried your best to protect your nephew. You had a feeling that he had something to do with this, but you chose to ignore it, and you held on to your belief that Mimas and no one else was the culprit.” I pulled out the envelope with details about Josuke’s overwhelming amount of debt. I laid all three parts to the letter in front of Mr. Hayate. “Here, read this. Then maybe everything will actually make sense to you. Not only has Josuke been lying to me, but to you as well.”

  It didn’t take long for Josuke to figure out what I had just given his uncle. His breath became low and ragged, and he lunged toward the pieces of paper, but Mr. Hayate scooped them up before he could even touch them. “Uncle, listen, I was going to tell you about this but…”

  Mr. Hayate tossed the small stack of papers at Josuke, then he reached down and yanked Josuke up by the collar of his shirt. Their faces were only a few inches away from each other. “You stupid boy! You’re in debt! Is this why you helped that girl steal those rings? I could lose my job because of this! You told me that you wanted a fresh start! You told me that you wanted to work and to make your parents proud of you! This is what I get for taking you in!” Mr. Hayate shoved Josuke onto the floor. “I can’t believe this,” he whispered underneath his breath.

  Josuke was curled into a fetal position with his hands on top of his head. “I’m sorry, Uncle. It’s just what I owed; there was so much of it. I didn’t know what to do. When she came to me saying she could give me a small cut, I thought, ‘This is it. I can pay off all of my debts! It was so easy. All I had to do was stick these little bombs onto those canisters I use to clean the vents with and leave them there. And I had to pick her up after the robbery was finished!’”

  “I wasted all of that time looking for the culprit and he was right there in my own home. Eating my food, drinking my water, and offering advice on how to catch the actual culprit!” Keeping one hand on the table in front of him, Mr. Hayate tossed his leg back and planted it right in the middle of Josuke’s stomach. Josuke pressed his hands on his stomach as he drew in a long, dry breath of air. Okay, things were starting to get out of control, and I was not even going to try and break up this fight between two grown men.

  I stuck my head out of the door. “I need some help in here!” The two officers who were stationed outside of the office that Phoebe was being kept in raced toward the room. One officer grabbed Mr. Hayate by the shoulders while the other dragged Josuke to the other side of the room, away from his enraged uncle. While I was calling for help, I think Mr. Hayate got a couple more good kicks in. Josuke was steadily gasping for air; his stomach kept heaving in and out rapidly. The tension in the air was still very thick and heavy, so heavy in fact that I was almost certain that I should let these two cool off for a little bit. I didn’t want to ask any more questions; chances were the both of them would start fighting each other and I didn’t have any time for that. I went to spend some time with Phoebe while Josuke caught his breath. As I was walked toward Phoebe’s room, I noticed a tall man with red hair standing at the end of the hallway with a shoebox tucked under his arm. It was Cole.

  Chapter 22

  “Can we talk please?” Cole called out to me. His voice was shaky and he sounded a little bit desperate.
He kept clinging to the shoebox under his arm like it was filled with a million space credits. This was such terrible timing, but I didn’t want to send him away either!

  “Yeah. But make it quick.”

  Cole took a quick glance over his shoulder before he approached me. Just what was he so nervous about? He squeezed my forearm with his left hand, took another quick glance over his shoulder, and lowered his voice down to a nearly inaudible whisper. “I want to tell you everything. It’s about me and Phoebe. It will definitely clear things up, but I need to talk with you and Phoebe at the same time please!” Little droplets of sweat covered the top and bottom of Cole’s forehead. I looked down at the shoebox he was holding onto; he was pressing so hard against the lid that the middle part was starting to collapse in on itself.

  I shook myself free from his deathlike grasp. “Fine. The three of us can talk. Follow me.” This might be what I needed to help get Phoebe to open up. She’d been silent the entire time. Cole followed me to the room in which Phoebe was being detained. Phoebe immediately turned her back toward us and let out a muffled cry. Cole locked the door behind us, and walked over to Phoebe. He reached out to her, but she wouldn’t let him touch her. Instead, she jumped out of her chair and moved to the end of the table while keeping her back to us the entire time.

  Cole dropped the shoebox on the table, bit down on his lower lip, and ran his fingers through his red hair. “Earlier, you said you found a letter I wrote that was addressed to Phoebe. Yes. I wrote that letter, but it’s really not what it looks like. It has nothing to do with The Rings of Saturn.” Cole flipped the lid off of the shoebox and slid the box toward me. “Here, have a look inside.” I peered inside of the shoebox; it was filled all the way to the brim with folded pieces of paper. Some of the papers had a brownish tint to them. “Go ahead; read one.” I reached into the box and I pulled out a folded piece of paper; the corners to it were torn. Cole and Phoebe remained silent as I unfolded the piece of paper from out of its creases. My eyes scanned the words in front of me; it was a love letter addressed to Phoebe from Cole. I opened up another piece of paper; just like the one before it, this was a love letter addressed to Cole from Phoebe. I turned the piece of paper over; it was written on the back of a menu from Prometheus’s sandwich cart. The date on the menu was from August of last year.