Asteroid Outpost (Nick Walker, U.F. Marshal Book 1)

by John Bowers

  “Is Milo working today?”

  “I—no, I don’t think so.”

  “Call him. Tell him to meet us at his facility. I have two prisoners for him.”

  “What murder?” Monica screamed. “Nick! What murder?”

  “Judge Boxner. You replaced him.”

  “Yes, but I didn’t kill him!”

  “You had to be a party to it. Cramer had him killed and it was Cramer’s recommendation to the Martian Judiciary that assured your appointment. You were working for Cramer then and you’re working for him now.”

  She stood in shock—trembling, breathing hard, but she didn’t deny it. Instead she wheeled on Tarpington.

  “David! Are you just going to stand there? Do something!”

  Tarpington was clearly conflicted. “What do you expect me to do?”

  “Help me, goddammit! He’s gone insane! I’m a Federation judge!”

  “And he’s a Federation marshal.”

  She stared at him in desperation, but Nick took her arm and pulled her close.

  “Why did you do it, Monica? What was in it for you?”

  Shaking hard, she seemed unable to speak. They locked gazes for twenty seconds.

  “Why, Monica? Just tell me why.”

  “I have nothing to say to you! That badge has gone to your head!”

  “You’ll have to tell me eventually.”

  “No, I won’t,” she said. “I have the right to remain silent.”

  System Springs - Ceres

  “I want both Cramer and the judge isolated,” Nick told Milo Zima. “Nobody talks to them and they don’t communicate with anyone, especially not each other.”

  “I don’t have any facilities for women,” Zima said. “This is a male lockup only.”

  He stared at Monica Maynard in disbelief. She stood forlornly to one side, wrists E-cuffed behind her back, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. She cut a pitiful figure, the Federation judge no longer in authority, now just another inmate.

  “What do you do when your people have to arrest a female?” Nick asked with a frown.

  “We send them to Farrington for holding. They have a special wing for women.”

  Nick grunted. “No way she’s going to Farrington. At least not yet.” He glanced up and down the cellblock. “I suggest you clear out the cell farthest from the rest of the population and put her in it. Put up some screens or something so she can have some privacy. She doesn’t need to be humiliated.”

  Zima thought for a moment, then nodded.

  “Okay, I’ll figure something out. How long does she stay locked up?”

  “Until I come for her.” Nick hesitated. “Or any other U.F. Marshal. She is not to be released to anyone else. Understood?”

  Zima, still slightly in shock, looked at Tarpington, and Tarpington nodded.

  “Let’s go with the marshal on this. It’s complicated, but I think he’s on the right track.”

  “Okay. I’ll see to it personally.”

  Nick nodded grimly and shook Zima’s hand.

  “Shouldn’t be more than a day or two.”

  He and Tarpington walked out into the parking lot. Nick’s mind was racing.

  “Where to now?” Tarpington asked.

  “Farrington Industries.”

  Tarpington squinted. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “No, but it’s got to be done.” They reached the E-car and Nick pulled the door open, but didn’t get in. He stared across the roof at Tarpington. “Are you going with me?”

  Tarpington nodded decisively. “I don’t want you going in there alone. Besides—” He ventured a smile to ease the tension. “—if you do something illegal, it will be easier for me to prosecute you.”

  “It could be dangerous.”

  “Even more dangerous for one man alone. What about backup?”

  Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Tell you the truth? I’m not sure Milligan will back me on this one. I need to get something solid to make sure he comes on board. Once I have that, we can take that place down.”

  “So this is a fishing expedition?”

  “No, it’s more than that. You were there in the judge’s chambers. What did you think?”

  “I have to admit I was a little surprised she caved as easily as she did.”

  “Which tells you what?”

  “She’s hiding something.” Tarpington rested his elbows on the roof of the car. “I’ve known her a long time, Nick, and I’m having trouble picturing her as complicit in all this, but—well, it looks really bad.”

  Nick’s porta-phone rang.

  It was probably Misery, he thought, wondering where he was. He’d told her he would be back in a couple of hours, and forgot to update her.

  “Nick Walker.”

  The voice on the other end wasn’t Misery Allen. It was Marshal Milligan.

  “Walker, where are you?”

  “System Springs. What’s up?”

  “Get over to your hotel right away.”

  Nick felt a jolt of dread—something in Milligan’s voice…

  “Why? What’s happened?”

  “I’ll brief you when you get here. Move it!”

  Milligan hung up.

  Nick stared at the phone for a second, then stared at Tarpington.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Nick stared at him a few more seconds and his heart came to a quick freeze.

  “Misery!” he whispered.

  Centerville - Ceres

  She was still lying in the bottom of the shower, curled into a fetal position, forearms over her face in a pitiful final attempt to ward off the horror that had literally engulfed her. She was absolutely naked. Blisters covered her body, large red welts that obscured her pigmentation and called to mind the image of a boiled hot dog. Clear fluids mingled with traces of blood on the shower floor, leakage that occurred after the water shut itself off. The smell wasn’t bad yet, because she hadn’t been there long, but neither was it pleasant.

  Nick stared in absolute horror, shaken down to his core. Tears sprang to his eyes and slid unnoticed down his cheeks. For several minutes he had trouble breathing. Sandy Beech pulled him out of the room and led him down to the lobby, which had been sealed off to all but emergency traffic; Beech settled him onto a sofa near the doors leading into the hotel garden. Nick sat with a hand over his face, too shaken to speak. A few minutes later Milligan joined them, taking a padded chair nearby.

  “Nick, I have to ask you a few questions. You up to it?”

  With a supreme effort of will, Nick raised his chin. His face was wet with tears, but he cleared his throat and forced himself to breathe, reminding himself that he had seen worse. Alpha Centauri had been a lot worse, but the difference was that this kind of thing wasn’t supposed to happen here; not like this—not to a girl.

  “Yeah,” he croaked. “I can talk.”

  Milligan eyed him closely, scowling.

  “Did you know she was in your room?”

  “Yeah. I left her just a couple of hours ago.”

  “She was okay then?”

  He nodded. “She spent the night, and I told her to go back to sleep. I had a couple of things to take care of, and I was gonna be back.”

  “That’s the last time you saw her?”

  “Yeah.”

  Milligan made some notes, then looked closely into his face.

  “You’ve been on Ceres, what—six days?”

  “I think so.”

  “I know part of that time you were out with Murray, so how many nights have you actually spent in your room?”

  “Two, I think.” He shrugged. “Maybe three. I’m not sure.”

  “How many times did you use the shower?”

  Nick thought for a moment, then shook his head.

  “Only once, I think.”

  “When was that?”

  “The day I met you. The first time I went into the room. After that I was usually in a hurry—I would just do a quick sponge bath.” He frow
ned, his eyes focusing. “What are you saying, Marshal? What happened?”

  Milligan peered at him for a moment, but didn’t answer.

  “The shower was booby-trapped,” Beech told him.

  Nick spun on him. “What!”

  “Some kind of device had been installed,” Milligan said, “attached to the thermostat. As soon as the water hit a certain temperature, it blew. It shut off the cold water and cranked the hot up to maximum.”

  Nick stared in disbelief, unable to grasp the enormity of it.

  “What’s worse,” Milligan added, “the door was rigged. The minute it closed it was permanently jammed. Anyone inside would be unable to get out.”

  “Jesus!” Nick buried his head in both hands and sat shaking it from side to side. “Why would anyone do that! She was a defense attorney! She tried to help those bastards!”

  Nick sat rocking back and forth for several minutes, trying to fight his tears, failing. The other two leaned back and waited him out. Finally he got it under control and sat wiping his eyes, breathing hard.

  “Who found her?” he managed to ask.

  “Hotel maintenance. When the gadget blew it triggered a leak alarm in the hotel plumbing. It was the maintenance guy’s day off, so it took a little bit for him to respond, and he shut off the water supply to the hotel. When he figured out the leak was in your room he went there to fix it, but nobody answered, so he let himself in. The shower door was jammed but he could see her through the glass, and that’s when he called us.”

  “Murray talked to the desk clerk,” Beech told him. “He said you had a plumber come up to your room a few days ago. You want to tell us about that?”

  Nick stared at him in fresh surprise, shaking his head slowly.

  “I never called a plumber! When was this?”

  Milligan’s eyes pinned him to the chair. “The day you got here. The clerk saw you talking to him right here in the lobby.”

  “Why would I call a plumber? That would be the hotel’s job.”

  “The guy you were talking to told the desk clerk you wanted a custom enhancement in your bathroom.”

  Nick stared back at Milligan and felt his heart begin to beat again. Blood flowed through his veins.

  “Jesus Christ!” he whispered.

  “What?”

  “That was no plumber. It was just a guy warning me about Turd Murdoch. He said Turd was threatening to kill me.” He shook his head slowly. “He was carrying a tool kit, but I didn’t even pay attention.”

  Beech and Milligan exchanged glances.

  “Do you remember his name?” Beech asked.

  “Yeah. I do.”

  Chapter 27

  System Springs - Ceres

  Monica Maynard gripped the bars of her cell as Milo Zima placed the last privacy screen to shield her from the eyes of other prisoners.

  “Milo!” she whispered hoarsely, trying to keep emotion out of her voice. “I need to make a comm call.”

  Zima stood perfectly still for a second and gazed at her. She implored him with her eyes, even tried a smile.

  “I’m sorry, your Honor, but I have my orders. Marshal Walker—”

  “Is out of his mind! For god’s sake, Milo, we’ve known each other for years! You can’t possibly believe I’m some sort of criminal!”

  “It doesn’t matter what I think, your Honor. If you’re innocent you’ll be cleared.”

  “Not if Walker railroads me!”

  “I don’t believe he would do that. In any case, I can’t defy him—he’s a Federation marshal.”

  “And I’m a Federation judge! Milo, the Constitution guarantees every prisoner one comm call. You know that!”

  “But it doesn’t say when you get the call. I’m sure you’ll get one. But Marshal Walker specifically said no calls until he gets back.”

  “That’s illegal and you know it! Do you want to be complicit when the law catches up to him?”

  Zima stared at her in indecision.

  “Look, you’re Federation, he’s Federation—this is a family argument. I don’t want to get caught in the middle of it.”

  “I’ve been a judge for nearly a decade. He’s been a marshal for about a month. I clearly have seniority, if that’s what’s troubling you, and the only reason I’m in here and he’s out there is because he has a gun. Milo, I’m not asking you to release me. One comm call! That’s all!”

  Zima stared at her another moment, conflict in his eyes. She was right—the call was standard procedure after an arrest. But Walker had been adamant, and David Tarpington had been leaning toward Walker’s side of the street.

  “Who do you want to call?”

  “That’s privileged information. You have no right to ask me that.”

  Zima sighed in frustration. “Goddammit, you’re going to get me in so much trouble!”

  “No I’m not. I’m trying to save you from more trouble than you can ever hope to want. You know the law, Milo. You’ve been doing this too long not to know it.”

  “Jesus Christ!” Zima shook his head and headed for his office. “I’ll be back.”

  Monica Maynard settled in to wait, confident she had just made her case.

  Government Annex - Ceres

  Back at the U.F. Marshal’s office, Milligan poured Nick a shot of brandy. Beech sat watching him while he drank it, and Milligan pulled his own chair around. Tarpington leaned against the wall, looking out of place.

  Nick felt the fruity liquor slide into his stomach and spread its heat through his body, but it did nothing to sooth the ache in his heart. He was thinking a little more clearly now, but his former urgency was even more pronounced.

  “I’ve got to get inside Farrington lockup,” he told Milligan bluntly.

  “What for?”

  Nick had never given Milligan or Beech the whole story behind what he was working on. Now he took fifteen minutes and laid it all out, starting with prisoner abuse, falsified death certificates, Jessica Garner, Agua Solar, Nikki Green, and his new-found suspicions about Stan Cramer and Monica Maynard.

  “You arrested the judge?” Milligan looked truly shocked.

  Nick nodded. “She’s dirty. As dirty as Farrington.”

  Milligan exchanged glances with Beech, who looked just as stunned.

  “What proof do you have?”

  “I already told you.”

  “That isn’t proof! It’s suspicion. Everything you told me is circumstantial.”

  Milligan leaned back and rubbed his face.

  “Christ! You’ve just ended your own career before it started.”

  But Nick was shaking his head. “I can prove it,” he insisted. “I just need to get inside Farrington.”

  “Well, good luck with that! You just arrested the only person who can get you inside. You need a warrant.”

  Nick lifted his eyes to meet Milligan’s. “What about the Martian Judiciary? There must be some way to get a warrant from them. I mean, if the judge on Ceres dies, there has to be some kind of backup.”

  “I doubt if you’ll be able to convince them on what you’ve got. In any case, it’s Saturday—they won’t be open again for at least forty hours.”

  “Then I’ll go without a warrant.”

  “No you won’t. I can’t authorize it.”

  “The day I got here you said I would be working mostly alone. You said I report to you but I work for the Federation. So I don’t need your authorization.”

  “I also told you I’m here to keep you out of trouble. This is trouble, more trouble than you need.”

  “What about the Garner woman?” Beech asked. “Would she be willing to testify?”

  “I don’t think so. She’s convinced that no one can bring the Farringtons down, and as long as they’re in place she feels her life is in danger.”

  “What if we guarantee her safety?”

  “She would never believe it. Once we have the Farringtons behind bars, she might be persuaded, but not until then.”

  The room f
ell silent. Nick looked up at Tarpington.

  “What about you, Dave? You can get inside, can’t you?”

  “What, the lockup?” Tarpington looked startled. “Sure, if I have business there.”

  “Find some.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know! Interview a prisoner! Anything.”

  “And then what? I can’t just take a self-guided tour when I’m there. I have to respect their privacy rights.”

  “Oh, come on, Dave, help me out here. You said yourself the judge looks fishy. Get inside, then find an excuse. Look for the men’s room and get lost or something. You’re a resourceful fellow.”

  Tarpington stood there in thought for a moment, looking uncertain. Finally he sighed.

  “What sort of thing should I look for?”

  “Look for Nikki Green, or anyone else who looks like they might be mistreated.”

  “You think she’s actually over there?”

  “I hope to god she is. If she isn’t, we may never find her.”

  Tarpington straightened up slowly, almost reluctantly.

  “There is one prisoner I could probably interview. In the women’s wing.” He glanced at Milligan, then back at Nick. “I’ll see what I can find out. Where will you be?”

  “At the hotel. I need to lie down. Call my porta-phone.”

  Farrington Industries - Ceres

  “Hello?”

  “Hello. It’s me.”

  “What do you want? I’m very busy right now.”

  “I just wanted to tell you—I’ve been arrested.”

  “What!”

  “Cramer, too. Marshal Walker is starting to figure things out.”

  “Goddammit! I told you to keep him under control!”

  “I did my best.”

  “Then what went wrong?”

  “Nothing! I told you, he’s smart and ambitious.”

  “Who else knows?”

  “Tarpington. He stood there and let it happen, didn’t even try to stop it.”

  “Where are you?”