by John Bowers
“So you just gunned him down?”
“No. He took a shot at one of your citizens first.”
“Which one?”
“That homeless guy.”
“Edsel,” Bullard offered.
Sheehan swiveled his head. “Where is he?”
“He took off like a scalded hypercat. If you can find him, you can ask him.”
“Fat chance. Edsel doesn’t answer questions. We barely got his name out of him, and we don’t even know for sure if that’s his real name. You have any other witnesses?”
“Marshal Green and myself.”
“No, I mean independent witnesses.”
“Two U.F. Marshals aren’t enough?”
Sheehan, whose face looked red enough to bleed, shook his head.
“In your case, no.” He looked at Nathan. “Where did you come from?”
Nathan had picked up on Sheehan’s attitude and his anger was beginning to replace the shock he’d felt immediately after the shooting.
“London,” he said quietly. “I just arrived this morning.”
“London…on Terra?”
“Yes, sir. I’m here for field experience. Camarrell sent me down to assist Marshal Walker.”
“Some assist!” Sheehan turned back to Nick. “Walker, I’m going to need your weapon—”
“Why?”
“It’s evidence. I’ll have to hold it until we finish our investigation.”
Nick smiled. “Not a chance in hell.”
“Don’t make me take you into custody!”
“Don’t you make the mistake of thinking you can. Anyway, my gun isn’t the one you want.”
“What are you talking about? You killed him, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t.” Nick nodded at Nathan. “He did.”
***
Nick and Nathan stuck around while the local police did their preliminary investigation. Two more officers arrived and began interviewing the crowd across the street. Most had been in the diner when the incident occurred, and except for the fry cook in the back, all had heard the shots. Two men and a woman had actually seen the gunman draw his weapon and fire on Edsel, but they hadn’t heard anything that was said. They also saw the gunman fall when Nathan opened fire.
A coroner and forensics expert arrived to examine the body. After a half hour of snapping digitals and taking lab samples, they covered the body with a plastic blanket and waited for an ambulance to remove it.
As Chief Sheehan digested the reports from his officers, he grudgingly had to admit that Nick and Nathan were not at fault for the shooting, but he still didn’t look happy. He pulled Nick to one side.
“Looks like your story checks out, Walker, but if this guy came here to kill you, then you’re still responsible.”
Nick laughed in dismay. “How do you figure that?”
“If you hadn’t come to town, neither would he.”
“You may be right about that, but I’m here on official business. I can’t stop doing my job just because somebody, somewhere, might want me dead.”
“You don’t have any idea why this man wanted to kill you?”
Nick shook his head. He hadn’t told Sheehan about the killings in the canyon the previous day and didn’t intend to. No point giving him more reason for a coronary than he already had.
“Not at this time, but I do intend to find out.”
“How will you do that? The man is dead.”
“You don’t need to worry about that, Chief. I’ll pursue my own investigation and leave you out of it.”
Sheehan glared at him, obviously wanting to say more. Finally he nodded vaguely toward the north.
“I want you out of my town. Today. Are we clear on that?”
Nick clenched his jaw, then leaned in close and lowered his voice.
“You know what, Chief? I’m all about professional courtesy, interagency cooperation, and sharing resources, but I don’t like your attitude. I don’t mean to malign your town in any way, but in the greater scheme of things, the Federation is much bigger than your little jurisdiction, and I am a Federation officer. I outrank you in every way possible, and I don’t take orders from you. Are we clear on that?”
Sheehan swelled, his face turning a different shade of blood.
“Yes, I get your point.” He stabbed a finger into Nick’s chest. “But you’re nothing more than a hired killer, Walker! You’re a stain on the image of law enforcement. Just so you know where I’m coming from.”
“I know very well where you’re coming from. And here’s where I’m coming from—you’re an asshole!”
“Who’s an asshole?”
Nick had been dimly aware of the click of high heels approaching down the sidewalk. Now he turned to look into the gleaming brown eyes of Cybele Gannon. Her smile was bright and excited; she held a recording device toward the two men.
“Miss Gannon,” Nick said, stepping back from the Chief. “What brings you out here this morning?”
“I heard there was a killing. Can I get a comment from either of you?”
“Are you on the job now?”
“Of course.”
“How did you find out?”
“I’m a stringer. I have sources all over town.” She turned to Sheehan. “What can you tell me, Chief? What happened here?”
Sheehan, still furious, inclined his head toward Nick.
“Ask him. He saw the whole thing.”
He turned and stalked away.
Before Nick could answer Cybele’s question, Nathan approached. He had taken a moment to uncover the body and snap a few digitals of his own. Cybele saw him and her eyes sprang wide.
“Well, hello there! Where have you been all my life?”
Nathan tipped his hat. “Ma’am.”
“Ma’am! ‘Ma’am’ is short for ‘madam’. Do I look like a madam?” The sparkle in her eyes belied her mock indignation.
“I wouldn’t know, Ma’am. I don’t think I’ve ever met one.”
Nick made the introductions and Cybele offered her hand. Nathan shook it, somewhat ill at ease.
“Before you say something you’ll regret,” Nick told Cybele, “I should warn you that Nathan is married.”
“Oh.” She looked disappointed. “Somebody snatched you up already? What a loss to the Federation.”
“I wouldn’t say that, Ma’am.”
Her smile widened. “Hey, come on, I’m not that old. You can call me Cybele.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Her eyes lingered on him a moment, then she turned to Nick.
“So what happened here?”
“You should probably ask Officer Bullard. He’s writing the official report.”
“Oh come on, Nick. I’ll ask him, but you can tell me.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening. She lowered her voice. “After yesterday…no secrets between us, right?”
Nick’s eyes met Nathan’s. Nick nodded.
“Show her the digitals.”
Nathan handed her his camera. As Cybele gazed at the dead man’s picture, her mouth dropped open and her face paled. She gulped.
Nick frowned. “Do you know him?”
She continued to stare at the photo another few seconds, as if she hadn’t heard. Then her gaze jerked up to meet Nick’s.
“Huh? Oh…no. No, I don’t recognize him.” She handed the camera back to Nathan. “But…”
“He looks familiar, doesn’t he? Like Vanov. Same shaved head, same tattoos, same clothes.”
“Yeah. Yeah, he does. That’s what shocked me.”
She took a second to recover, then heaved a deep breath.
“So what do we do now?”
Nick smiled. “‘We’?”
“Yeah.”
“We don’t do anything. Nathan and I will take it from here. You stay out of the way.”
“Nick—”
“Talk to Officer Bullard and write your story. I don’t want you in any more danger. Are we clear on that?”
She chewed her lip for a moment, glanced at Nathan, and shrugged.
“Okay. Whatever you say.”
Virgil Bullard approached and got Nick’s attention.
“Marshal, there’s a lady over here who has something you might want to hear.”
Nick nodded. “Be right back,” he told the others, and followed Bullard across the street.
Bullard introduced him to a young, slightly chubby woman wearing a waitress uniform. Nick recognized her from the diner, though he and Nathan had been served by a different girl.
“This is Amanda Pierce,” Bullard said.
Nick offered his hand and she shook it. She looked a little flustered and seemed short of breath.
“Tell the Marshal what you told me,” Bullard said.
She nodded and pointed to where the body still lay under its blanket.
“I saw that man in the diner yesterday,” she said. “He came in early for breakfast.”
“Do you know his name?”
“No, but I did talk to him. Most of our customers are regulars, you know, and we pretty much know who is local and who isn’t. This man I had never seen before, so I just tried to make conversation. You know, being friendly.”
Nick nodded.
“So I asked him if he was new in town and he said yes. I asked if he was staying or just passing through; he said he was heading south. There isn’t much in the way of civilization south of here, and I was curious, so I asked him if he was looking for work, you know? Just trying to be friendly.”
“What did he say?”
“Well, that’s when he got really nasty. He said…” Her face pinked and she looked at Bullard.
“Go ahead, tell him.”
She met Nick’s eyes and then glanced away, as if embarrassed to speak the words.
“He said…he said he was looking for a place where people minded their own…fucking business.”
Nick eyed her narrowly. “Just like that?”
“Yes. Only he was really nasty about it, like I was a gossip or something.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“No. That’s when I walked away. Something in his eyes, and the way he said it—it sort of scared me. I just wanted him to leave.”
“Did he?”
“Yes, pretty quick after that. And he left me a nice tip, too, which I didn’t expect.”
Nick nodded slowly, his mind working.
“You’re sure it’s the same guy?”
“Yes, sir. Virgil…I mean, Officer Bullard showed me a picture. It was him, all right. Does that help?”
“It does, thank you. Either he didn’t leave town after all, or he came back. It could turn out to be really important. You’re sure he didn’t mention any particular place down south?”
“No, sir, he didn’t. But like I said, there isn’t much down that way. Just a few settlements, and none of them are on the map.”
Nick thanked her again and accompanied Bullard back across the street.
“Have you found a vehicle for him? He must have one around somewhere.”
“Not yet, but if he left one parked somewhere, it’ll turn up before long. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Thanks, Virgil. Call me if you get an ID on our perp.”
Chapter 15
After the body was removed, Nick and Nathan returned to the au’tel. Nick noticed that Dennis Childers’ car was gone and the room appeared to be empty. Dennis had followed instructions to wait until morning, and when Nick didn’t contact him, had skipped town. Hopefully that ended the Childers chapter and Nick wouldn’t have to deal with him again.
Nick took a few minutes to inspect the pocket phone he’d taken from the dead suspect. He fully expected to find a catalog of calls made and received, and if he was really lucky, a stored list of frequently called numbers. To his amazement, there was nothing. He frowned in confusion…the phone appeared to be active and ready to use, but he could find no record that it ever had been. He couldn’t even find the phone’s own number.
Nathan saw his confusion. “What’s wrong?”
“This is weird. This thing has no call history. How is that possible?”
“Maybe it’s a new phone.”
“Maybe, but even so I would expect that someone called this guy to send him after us.”
“Might have been face to face.”
“Yeah, okay, but still…”
“Want me to call it, see what it does?”
“That’s a great idea. But I can’t even find the number for it.”
“Mind if I take a look? I had a class last semester on communications advances.”
Nick handed it over. “Be my guest.”
Nathan spent five minutes with the device and became equally confused. “Maybe the damn thing doesn’t even work.”
“Try calling my number, see if that works.”
Nathan punched in the numbers to Nick’s personal phone. He watched the screen closely as the call progressed. Three seconds later Nick’s phone chimed and he answered it.
“Hello.”
Nathan’s eyebrows lifted. “There it is. I can see you on the screen, number and all.”
“Testing four-five-six,” Nick said into his own phone. “I am here, you are there, what seems to be the problem?”
Nathan nodded. “So far so good.”
“Now I’m going to disconnect.” Nick punched the kill button and the call ended. Nathan watched the phone in his hand and reacted visibly.
“I’ll be damned. It erased itself. It’s completely gone. Your number wasn’t stored, nothing was stored. The catalog and call history are blank.”
Nathan looked up. “It’s called a stealth ap. I’ve never seen one, but I remember hearing about them in a lecture a few months back.”
Nick sighed. “Well, all is not lost. You called me, so at least my phone should have the number you called from. We can still track this guy with that.”
He scrolled his own call history, and frowned.
“Or maybe not. There’s no record of the call you just made.”
Nathan nodded. “Stealth aps don’t transmit the calling number when they connect. Your phone never received the information. Instead, it received a code telling it that no call existed, so it didn’t even store the time and date. Your phone doesn’t even know it received that call.”
Nick snapped his phone shut in frustration.
“Then this was a waste of time.”
“Maybe not.” Nathan shrugged. “It might be useful in the future. If we ever find out who is behind all this, we might be able to use this thing against them.”
Nick didn’t look convinced, but didn’t resist the idea.
“Hang on to it, then. Just don’t lose it—it’s evidence.”
Nathan slipped the phone into a pouch on his gunbelt.
“What’s the next step? Visit the senator’s bank?”
“No, not until we’ve done our research. I still don’t know what’s going on around here, and I don’t want to tip our hand until I do.”
“Want me to get on that? The research?”
“Not yet. We’re going back to the canyon first.”
“You think Vanov’s body is still down there?”
“I doubt it, but Tom Childers probably is. We need to recover his body, at least, and see what else we might learn from the crime scene.”
“We’re gonna do this all by ourselves? No coroner, no forensics team?”
“Exactly. You saw Chief Sheehan—he isn’t exactly partial to me right now, and if I tell him about another killing he’s going to have a stroke. Anyway, the canyon is out of his jurisdiction and there’s no sheriff in this region, so it’s our crime scene.”
Nathan shrugged. “Fair enough. I’m ready when you are.”
Trimmer Springs – Alpha Centauri 2
Kristina Norgaard-Green stood at the edge of the cliff behind her mother’s back yard and stared across the Trimmer Plain. The breeze was warm but fresh, and
she smelled the fresh, organic scent of plowed earth, irrigation water, and various crops that she didn’t recognize. The plain stretched out to the horizon, a haphazard, multi-hued patchwork of greens and golds that resembled a hand-made bed quilt. Here and there she saw trees, farms, houses, and occasionally, a watercourse.
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
“Mom! I can’t believe this! You and Nick have a gorgeous home!”
Suzanne Norgaard laughed.
“It isn’t fancy, but yes, it is home. The nicest home I’ve had since leaving Vega.”
“Oh, Mom, it’s fantastic. I’ve never seen Vega, but Kline Corners…this is heaven compared to that.”
Kristina, whose heritage was both Sirian and Vegan, had been born on Sirius 1 and only recently moved to Terra to be with Nathan while he attended the U.F. Marshal Academy. She hadn’t seen her mother in a year.
Suzanne slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing the side of her head.
“It’s so good to have you here,” she murmured.
“Oh, goddess, it’s great to be here. London is a beautiful city, but it’s so crowded…and so coooold!”
They turned and strolled up the gentle slope of the back yard. The house was a small bungalow with two bedrooms, nothing fancy, but a thousand times nicer than their quarters in Kline Corners, which had been upstairs above Suzanne’s restaurant.
“I’m so glad you decided to come here with Nick. Nathan talks to his parents once in a while and things on Sirius are getting worse every day.”
Suzanne nodded. “I saw that coming. It was time to get out. Neither of us had a future there.”
“When are you two getting married? Have you set a date?”
“Not yet. I think Nick is a little skittish. He won’t admit it, but I think the idea scares him.”
“What idea? Marriage?”
Suzanne nodded. “I don’t blame him, really. I think he was hurt once, and he’s a little gun shy.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. He never told me. I just picked up a hint here and there. It’s okay, though…we’re great together. I know he loves me and he isn’t going anywhere, so if we never take the next step, it isn’t the end of the galaxy.”
Kristina stopped and turned to her mother with a frown.