by IGMS
"Logic is seldom involved," the inspector said. "I may need to speak to you again." He turned and pushed through the door.
The servile drones looked up and scampered over to him. He leaped onto their backs and directed them towards Lak-Do-Sil's apartment.
A block short of his destination, the avenue opened up into a wide plaza dotted with curved, white gazebos. Ek-Lo-Don halted his drones near the justice bell and stepped off into the crowd of males, females and drones who wandered among the stalls purchasing goods. The stall-holders rattled their claws and drummed tabletops in a wide variety of percussive memes to signify the value, usefulness, stylishness or frivolity of their wares. Many of the pedestrians gave way before Ek-Lo-Don's evident authority, the drones in particular scampering to the side in eager subservience.
Tables laden with foodstuffs dominated the first row: karva berries and karva juice, strips of dried leafage and fresh rootage. A dozen varieties of beetle were available pickled, spiced, roasted or fresh and wriggling temptingly. He resisted the urge to sample a few as he passed. The food stalls gave way to booths where chest plate decorations could be applied or engraved, claws lacquered or drones branded. Lengths of entry matting were laid in grand piles and could be personalised while you waited. All kinds of furnishings were on display alongside jars of lacquer, informational units, functional tools and decorative implements.
Towards the far side of the plaza the stalls grew smaller and the goods cheaper. At last Ek-Lo-Don approached the stall of a lika beetle dealer -- a legitimate trade but a disreputable one. He had avoided them for a long time now; the place brought back dark memories. The stallholder looked up nervously and took a small step back.
"I am an Inspector of the Peace Service," Ek-Lo-Don announced. "I have a matter to discuss with you."
The lika dealer cracked open his outer jaw as if to answer, then turned and fled. He pushed through the flap at the rear of the stall and was gone. Ek-Lo-Don vaulted the table and followed.
Through the flap he found himself in a much more cramped world of narrow alleys between the stalls, stacked boxes of merchandise and off-duty stallholders sipping from cracked beakers. The lika dealer, much smaller than the inspector, scampered around and between obstacles, twisting and turning between stalls and through gaps that he evidently knew very well. Ek-Lo-Don struggled after him, relying on greater speed and strength to keep up and barge aside those too slow to recognise his authority and move aside.
The trader stayed a few lengths ahead, pushed through a flap into the back of another stall. Ek-Lo-Don burst through after him and piled into a stack of boxes and a tangle of drones who had fallen amongst the avalanche of toppled merchandise.
Struggling at the bottom of them was the lika trader. Ek-Lo-Don grabbed his neck with his large upper midclaw and hauled the smaller male to his hindclaws.
"Do not flee again," he said, "unless you wish to be neutered."
The trader held up all four midclaws in surrender. Ek-Lo-Don waved at the drones to clear the mess and led the trader through the flap to the quieter service alley.
"Why did you run?" he demanded.
"I was worried about . . . my stall rent," he said.
Ek-Lo-Don shook one claw sceptically. There were probably irregularities of more serious consequence, but the current matters took precedence.
"Take me back to your stall," he said. "I wish to examine your merchandise."
The trader led the way sullenly, with regular prods from behind.
The stall was as it had been left, with several cases of lika beetle on display. Ek-Lo-Don peered into each case in turn. Everything appeared normal.
"What of wild lika-lika?" he asked.
The trader looked uncomfortable. "I could get some if you wanted." He gestured at the cases. "I don't sell them. Why would I?"
Ek-Lo-Don pulled out his informational, conjured an image of Lak-Do-Sil onto its surface.
"Is this male one of your customers?"
The trader barely looked at the image. "No."
Ek-Lo-Don continued to hold it out.
"I am involved in an important investigation. I do not have time to look into your other problems. However, if I feel you are not assisting me then I will make the time."
Nothing would deter Ek-Lo-Don from a line of enquiry once he had started; the trader evidently read this in his manner. He looked around at his stall nervously, peered more closely at the image.
"I've seen him a couple of times, two or three weeks ago. He bought a handful of lika each time."
"Are you sure they weren't lika-lika?"
"Sure, yes. He looked ill, why would I want to poison him?"
Poison him and kill off a potential customer. Lika traders were too selfish for that.
Ek-Lo-Don returned to his drones and directed them to visit the two other lika traders on his list. One operated from a mobile cart three avenues away. He admitted to seeing Lak-Do-Sil once or twice, but possessed no more useful information. The other was based in a small domed shed on the far side of Lak-Do-Sil's apartment. His was the closest supply and he confirmed that the victim had purchased lika almost every week for the past three years. He expressed a certain amount of sympathy over the death, but Ek-Lo-Don could tell his mind was already on other customers who would keep him in business. Neither of these admitted dealing with wild lika-lika and seemed most put out at the suggestion.
Ek-Lo-Don made notes of the encounters on his informational unit and made his way thoughtfully back to the apartment complex.
The old male poked his head through the door sphincter and stared at Ek-Lo-Don.
"I already spoke to one of your people."
"Indeed. You admit to having argued with your neighbour Lak-Do-Sil, who is now dead."
He waved a claw dismissively. "I didn't like him. I also didn't kill him."
"You failed to mention that you had been inside his apartment."
"Who says I did?"
The inspector stared until the old neighbour looked away.
"Your cells were found in the apartment."
There was a pause. "I went in the apartment. He wouldn't come out. He was pathetic, but I didn't hurt him."
He seemed cantankerous, but not murderous. Ek-Lo-Don spoke to him for several more moments but gleaned nothing suspicious. He left the elderly neighbour and moved on to the female farther along the corridor.
Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan was a complete contrast to Lak-Do-Sil: well-groomed, with lacquered claws, decorated chest plate and immaculate skin. She invited Ek-Lo-Don into her apartment which was equally well-kept and clean, though much smaller.
"I felt sorry for him," she explained as she sat. "He was addicted to lika, but that was only because of his loneliness."
Ek-Lo-Don lowered himself into one of the lounge chairs and gestured for her to continue.
"His family had nothing to do with him," she said. "He had no close friends or colleagues." She paused, inspected one claw. "I think the intelligencia are like that, you know."
If they were all as arrogant as Ak-Ron-bar, then Ek-Lo-Don was not surprised if they had no friends.
"He'd lost his gift though," Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan went on. "He hadn't won a trophy for several seasons. He gave up competing eventually. Then he had nothing."
Nothing. Ek-Lo-Don had come so close himself.
"So, what was your relationship with him?"
"I tried to help. I work as a counsellor, as I explained to the other officer."
"You have training in this?"
"No." She waved a claw airily. "It's a gift."
"And Lak-Do-Sil was a convenient case to practice on?"
"Certainly not." She sat up straight. "I wanted to help him."
Ek-Lo-Don let the silence hang for a moment. An addict would not recover unless he wanted help. Usually they did not. It had taken Ek-Lo-Don a long time to come to that point.
"And you entered his apartment regularly?" he said.
"Yes. It's such a nice apartment, such a
shame he let it get in a mess."
"He had few visitors. Why did he let you in?"
She chattered her teeth in amusement. "I charmed my way in at first." She held all six claws out wide as though to display her finely-maintained torso. "Surely you can see how that would work?"
Ek-Lo-Don disliked being flirted with by a suspect.
"Only at first?"
"Yes." She slumped slightly. "He grew tired of my attempts to counsel him. Later I had to bribe my way in with gifts."
"Such as?"
"A jar of lacquer was the last thing. I wanted to smarten him up. He never used it of course."
Ek-Lo-Don considered the small, neat apartment and the attractive, self-confident female on the lounger in front of him. Strange that she lived alone despite her obvious charms.
"Did you hope to be accepted as his brood mate?" he asked.
"No!" She seemed taken aback by his bluntness. "I was helping him as a neighbour."
He had hit a nerve with that comment. He changed to a different subject, hoping to catch her off-guard.
"Do you know where to obtain lika beetle?"
"No!" She squirmed in her chair. "I mean, yes, certainly I do, from the market, but why would I get any? That's the opposite of what I'm trying to do."
"And if you fail to help one of your clients break their addiction, what then?" Ek-Lo-Don's voice became more intense, probing for a crack in the female's facade.
"Well, it's a shame of course . . ."
"Wouldn't it mean you had failed, lost your gift, become just like Lak-Do-Sil?"
She stood up.
"No, inspector. It would not mean that." She stepped away from her lounger. "I don't think I have anything else to add."
Ek-Lo-Don rose slowly.
"I'm feeling quite upset about the whole thing," Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan said.
The inspector allowed himself to be shown out.
As he stepped into the warm sunshine, Ek-Lo-Don's informational chirruped to signal an incoming message. It was one of the admin drones from headquarters.
"The manager of Lak-Do-Sil's apartment building has contacted us," the drone said. "He wants to know when we will free the apartment. He has a tenant waiting to move in."
Ek-Lo-Don was about to free the apartment when a thought struck. "Who is the new tenant?" he asked.
"Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan."
"Send me through the tenancy agreements. And tell the manager he will have to wait." Thoughtfully, Ek-Lo-Don summoned his drones and rode them towards the market.
It was midday and the market plaza was busy with workers from surrounding businesses who had come to buy and eat while the sun was high overhead. They stood in groups of a dozen or more, chatting and munching, or singly, all six arms splayed to gather warm sunlight to their chest plate.
The inspector ignored the calls of food vendors and made his way to the lika trader. The male spotted his approach and froze, evidently unsure whether more trouble was coming his way. He chose to avoid another fruitless flight and instead waited, upper claws held down in a gesture of submission.
"I have further questions," Ek-Lo-Don announced. The lika beetles squirmed, catching his eye, rekindling that long-subdued craving. He quashed it savagely, angry at the lika beetle, angry at himself.
"I guessed."
Ek-Lo-Don held out his informational unit, which displayed the image of the elderly, argumentative male from Lak-Do-Sil's building. He took several breaths, brought his annoyance under control.
"I need to know if you have served any of these people."
The trader shook his lower midclaws in a negative at the first picture, and at the second, an image of one of Ek-Lo-Don's fellow inspectors he'd added as a placebo. The third was Ak-Ron-Bar and again there was no sign of recognition. The fourth picture resulted in an uncomfortable silence.
"You recognise this female, Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan?"
The trader flexed his lower midclaws in distress. The female had obviously worked her charms on him as well.
"Did you supply lika, or wild lika-lika to this female?" Ek-Lo-Don asked, more forcefully.
"Both," he said quietly.
"Both?" Ek-Lo-Don had not suspected she would buy regular lika too. "Do you know that wild lika-lika are deadly in sufficient quantity?"
"Yes, but she was using them for an experiment." He looked about as if for an excuse. "I didn't supply them to hurt anyone."
"What was the experiment?"
"I don't know. She wanted to see if she could break a lika habit, or something, with lika-lika."
"Why would you help someone break a habit that makes you money?"
The trader gestured helplessly. "I don't know. She explained it all nicely, and I just . . ." He took a step back and gestured at his wares. "I'm a trader. I just wanted to help her. She was really nice."
Nice. Indeed. "And how many lika-lika did you supply?"
"About four clawfulls."
Subtracting what he'd found in Lak-Do-Sil's apartment, that was plenty to poison a full-grown male fatally. He turned and strode rapidly back through the market.
Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan seemed surprised to see him back at her door. Then wary.
"I believe you may have missed out some important information when I spoke to you earlier," Ek-Lo-Don said. This time he avoided polite conversational tones and stuck to forceful, authoritative enunciation. This was what he lived for now. Justice, the duty to reach the truth.
The female hesitated in her doorway, seemingly torn between retreating inside and responding to his challenge.
"You bought both lika and wild lika-lika from a trader at the market."
She made no reply, to confirm or deny.
"Why buy lika beetle if you were, as you claim, attempting to cure Lak-Do-Sil of his addiction?"
Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan held up her four midclaws in a gesture of surrender.
"I had to bribe my way in," she said. "It's true what I told you before. The only thing he was interested in was lika beetle though."
She seemed ashamed. It must have been quite a blow to her ego for a male not to want her company for its own sake.
"But why persist? Why not leave him to his addiction?"
Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan's eyes flashed defiantly. "I do not give up," she said.
"So, what, you decided to kill him if he wouldn't be cured?"
"Of course not!"
Ek-Lo-Don allowed the silence to play out.
"I decided to force him to accept the cure, to make him so ill he would beg me to help him."
"By giving him lika-lika?"
Her jaw drooped with sorrow. "Yes."
"But it didn't work."
"No. He just kept taking them until he died."
It was a sad tale of noble endeavour gone wrong, and yet Ek-Lo-Don was not entirely satisfied.
"You bought enough lika-lika to kill a full-grown male several times over."
She looked up sharply. "He wasn't supposed to eat them all. They were mixed in with the ordinary lika."
A tremor announced the arrival of some data on his informational. Ek-Lo-Don left the woman standing while he perused the tenancy agreements that rippled across the screen.
"Why would Lak-Do-Sil name you as his co-tenant?" he asked.
"He . . . I was going to become his brood mate."
"Something you denied earlier."
"Yes. I was ashamed. He changed his mind. The lika was all-consuming for him."
"And now you inherit his apartment, which is much larger and better-appointed than yours."
"Yes, but . . ." she seemed to wilt under his gaze.
"Your story, sad as it is, could possibly be true," Ek-Lo-Don said. "Maybe you were trying to help him, maybe it was an accident that he killed himself."
Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan waved her upper claws in affirmation.
"Even so, you supplied the poisonous beetles and bear responsibility."
The attractive female stopped her claws, stood uncertainly.
"And yet . . ." Ek-Lo-Don fle
xed his floorclaws thoughtfully. "It seems to me that a person whose avowed specialty is to help defeat lika addiction would have more knowledge of the subject than that. That you would know how much lika-lika could kill a male. That wild lika-lika are more sluggish and more likely to be caught by an addict."
With each sentence Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan shrank back.
"In short," said Ek-Lo-Don, "you planned and carried out the death of Lak-Do-Sil in order to obtain his apartment."
"That's not true," she said. "I really wanted to help him. I liked him. We were to become brood mates. The apartment would have been mine. It should be mine!"
"And when he rejected you, what then?"
With a suddenness that shocked him, Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan pulled back through the door sphincter and it sealed closed behind her. He clattered his outer jaw in irritation. Suspects should respect the authority of an inspector.
Ek-Lo-Don tore into the sphincter seal with sharpened midclaws, reducing it to shreds in only a few seconds. He pushed through the tattered remains and into the apartment. Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan was not in the main room, but there was noise in the storage area. Ek-Lo-Don swiftly crossed the small room and pushed through the unsealed sphincter.
Lo-Lo-Ran-Lan turned sharply, each mid and upper claw grasping an item she had pulled from the shelves. Ek-Lo-Don could not discern her purpose and suspected that she did not know herself what to do. She held four implements that could possibly be used as weapons, though ineffectually against someone as well-trained as Ek-Lo-Don. She also grasped a small pot of squirming beetles between her upper claws.
Ek-Lo-Don appraised the makeshift weapons. "That would not be wise," he said. He watched carefully as each fell to the floor.
She spread her four midclaws, unarmed, and, while his gaze was distracted, snatched the lid from the pot and threw the contents into her jaw.
In a flash, Ek-Lo-Don thrust out his upper claws and grasped her by the throat, constricting her oesophagus. With his midclaw he pulled her forward, prised open her jaws and tipped her head forward. A couple of beetles fell squirming to the floor. Bracing himself, he worked away at her inner jaw, prizing it apart, flicking the beetles from within so they fell in a wriggling shower. She slumped against him, defeated. He plucked one of the beetles from the floor and examined it. As he thought: wild lika-lika.