He forced his expression to go blank. “I’m sorry. I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
“It’s Iain Ferris. I can’t have changed that much.” He hadn’t. That old nasty glint in his eyes – the way a shark looks at a swimmer – was still there.
“I don’t know you. Sorry.”
Iain’s expression hardened and he leaned forward to speak into Reese’s ear. “You will be sorry.”
Chapter Twelve
NICK WATCHED the interaction between Reese and the stranger with confusion. The man – Ferris, he had called himself – was looking at Reese with a predatory expression, clearly convinced that he knew Reese, no matter how much Reese denied it. Ferris finally walked away and Nick asked, “What was that about?”
“Nothing. A mistake. Let’s find this Dedwo alien.” He looked shaken and Nick was positive that, for the second time at the least, Reese was lying to him. He wanted to confront him or ask Reese to trust him with the truth, but the kidnapping case had to be their priority right now. He lifted up his computer again. The truth about Reese’s past could wait but Larsha might die in a few hours unless they found her. He searched through the guest records and found that there was only one Dedwo alien on the space station: a man by the name of Feran.
The alien wasn’t in the room assigned to him and it took them time they couldn’t afford to waste to track him down in the lower part of the station, where Korloff had said he had seen him. The man was around eight foot tall, with long brown hair covering his flesh, six eyes that were almost hidden from view and a mouth that extended out in front of his face.
“We’re looking for Larsha, the girl who was kidnapped,” Nick began, lifting up the picture of her on his computer.
“I do not bother who seeing for. I do not have to answer your ask.” The alien spoke at a lower level than a human was capable of, its language more like a series of howls than words.
“No, you don’t have to speak to us,” Reese agreed. “If you want Uxor – one of the wealthiest men in the galaxy – to have a grudge against you then you needn’t say another word.”
There was silence and then the alien said, “What you do want?”
“Have you seen the girl?” Reese gestured to Nick’s computer.
The alien glanced briefly at it. “No.”
“You were observed talking to her.”
“Then why question already know you?”
“Let’s try again.” The alien towered over them and had a distinctly menacing appearance but Reese didn’t give any sign of being intimidated by him. In fact he looked as if the man’s behaviour was more irritating than anything else and Nick couldn’t help but admire him even while wondering who Reese was and if Nick had known him remotely as well as he’d thought. “How did you come to meet Larsha and what did you speak to her about?”
“I did not aware her. It was business. She wanted word unknown and I leant it to her.”
“She wanted what?” Nick asked.
“Money,” Reese supplied. His translator was clearly making more sense of the conversation. “You loan people money as a job?”
“That is honest. I aware her family and mind she be able to pay back word unknown so I give it to her.”
“How much?” Nick asked.
“Ten thousand galactic credits the first time came Larsha and another twenty the second.”
“What did she want it for?”
“Would I why ask?”
“When did you see her last?” Reese asked.
The alien paused to consider this. “Three days ago. I ask return for part of word unknown and gave Larsha me.”
“Where were you two nights ago between twenty-two standard hours and seven the next morning?”
“Eating and sleeping.” He confirmed that he had eaten dinner and breakfast in his room and had been alone the whole time.
“What about last night between twenty-two and twenty-three standard hours?”
“Sleeping.”
Nick found that hard to believe but whether he was hiding taking Larsha prisoner or some entirely unrelated criminal activity was impossible to guess at this point.
They left him and Reese’s stomach rumbled loudly. Nick smiled and said, “Let’s go back to the ship for lunch. If Poppy’s there we can compare notes about what we’ve found out.”
“Good idea.” They took a maintenance lift back to the next level and walked to The Prince. As they boarded it Reese said, “I just need to use the bathroom. Why don’t you see if Poppy’s about and I’ll meet you both in the canteen?”
“Okay.” Nick watched him turn and walk away then, on an impulse, he got out his computer and looked up the name Ian Ferris. The man had had a Scottish accent, which narrowed it down, and he scrolled through the photos of the hundreds of men whose names matched, not sure whether the random search would produce anything until a familiar face appeared on the screen: Iain Ferris. Twenty-four years old. Born in Narhorn, Scotland. An orphan registered with the Highlands & Islands Council who had apparently been put to work at the age of seven in a factory. He had been convicted of half a dozen crimes before leaving earth, but had managed somehow to return there a couple of years ago without being arrested again.
None of that told Nick what he really wanted to know, which was how he knew Reese. It must have been at least a few years for Ferris to have asked whether or not his appearance had changed. Reese looked about the same age as the man. Could Reese have arrested Ferris? But then why would Ferris have reminded him of their acquaintance? Why would Reese have denied it and why would Reese have been the one to change his name?
Hating doing it but unable to restrain his curiosity, Nick looked up Reese Zail Kintore, born in Britain, on the computer and found... nothing. There wasn’t even any recent information on him. As far as the computer and the rest of the world was concerned, Reese didn’t exist.
Chapter Thirteen
REESE GOT to the room he shared with Nick, closed the door behind him and slammed his fists against the wall. Why did he have to have run into Iain now of all times when he had so much more at stake than an investigation for Jolly? Reese would be fired from the detective agency if Iain revealed his criminal background. He would have to leave Nick. Panic flooded through him at the thought of Nick discovering the truth and hating him or, worse, pitying him. He swore and hit the wall again. Not surprisingly, it didn’t help.
He paced back and forth, trying to decide what to do. He needed help, which only really left him one option.
He turned and locked the door and got out his hy-phone. He pressed the automatic dial button and waited for the connexion to find its way back to that small neat office in Denmark. He leaned against the wall, a fist held over his mouth as the phone rang. This was the worst kind of disaster, particularly the fact that it was Nick, of all people, who had to be with him when Iain appeared. Nick was too smart not to be suspicious about this.
Reese could feel his life ready to collapse around him. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the appearance of a Danish office, shown holographically in the room, the two bed-shaped comfies visible through it. His boss nodded to him, as formal and expressionless as ever yet also the solid presence Reese frequently depended on during the turbulent moments in his life. “Hello, Reese. I’m glad you called. Have you heard about the change of government in Britain?”
Reese smiled bitterly, wishing that was his worst worry right now. “I can only speak for a few minutes so I urgently need your advice.”
Johan nodded, all his focus on Reese. “Go ahead.”
“Captain Prince is dead. His wife, Tanya, killed him and took over as captain. I’m involved in an investigation at a space station and I’ve just run into Iain Ferris, a man from my past. We grew up together.”
“Does he know about your crimes?”
Reese tried not to wince. The memories were ugly ones and even though he could trust Jolly, who already knew the worst about him, it was difficult to talk about this.
“Just the minor ones.”
“Can you bribe him to stay quiet?”
That hadn’t even occurred to Reese. “Maybe.”
“If you need extra funds, I can get them to you.”
He gave an unsteady sigh. “Have I ever mentioned that you’re my best friend in the whole world?”
“Yes.” Jolly’s tone, with its strong Danish accent, was dry. “You usually wanted something at the time.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“We will deal with it. Just speak to this acquaintance for now and do your best to convince him to forget he knows you. The death of Captain Prince is not your problem; focus on your own case.”
“Right. I’ve found out a bit about Baltid Athens.” He tried to bring the information to mind and it had a distant quality, as if he had discovered it months ago instead of the previous day. “Athens was stabbed but all the crew were told that he had a heart attack. There isn’t a qualified doctor aboard but Nick thinks that Keith might have suggested the heart attack or possibly someone else convinced Prince to say that, perhaps telling him the crew would panic otherwise, but really to avoid an investigation.” He was piecing these last ideas together as he said them. “Tanya Prince was the one who found Athens’ body. She might be a suspect. Athens also almost certainly had a lover amongst the crew and that person might be able to tell me more.”
“Have you found anyone with a motive for killing him?”
“No. It seems as if he kept to himself and the others didn’t know him particularly well. At least, that’s what they’re saying. I’ll keep digging.”
“Good. Do not worry about other matters.”
Jolly rang off and Reese put the phone away. His hands were shaking. He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to relax. If necessary, Jolly would help him. Perhaps any trouble could be averted. He would contact Iain as soon as he could, but he realised he had been in here too long – for now he had to go and meet Nick.
He rubbed his eyes and ran fingers through his unruly hair, to tidy it, smoothing it down. He would sort this out. It would be all right.
He walked into the tiny connecting bathroom and glanced in the mirror. “Calm down,” he told the scared-looking man looking back at him. He took another deep breath, went and unlocked the bedroom door and walked to the canteen. Nick was there, sitting at a table with a plate of food and full mug ignored beside him as he typed on his computer. Reese swallowed, pasted a smile onto his face and went and sat down opposite him. “Your sister isn’t about?”
“No.” Nick looked at him with an uncertain expression that made Reese’s stomach drop. “She’s still interviewing people and trying to make a manageable list of suspects. She says she thinks it will take her at least another two hours.”
“That’s cutting it fine with Larsha’s deadline,” he said and then wished he hadn’t used the word dead.
“I’m just looking up information on Feran,” Nick said. “Why don’t you get a drink and some food and I’ll tell you what I find.”
“Right.” He had forgotten that he was supposed to be the one who was hungry. It had been true ten minutes ago but his worry had left him nauseous instead, something he could hardly tell Nick. “Yes.”
He went past the empty tables and chairs into the kitchen. The kettle was still hot so he made a mug of some kind of plant tea and baked a potato in a few seconds in the oven, adding a dollop of sauce to give the snack more flavour.
He returned to find Nick sipping his own drink.
“Anything?”
“No. Feran has never been convicted of anything illegal, not that that proves anything. There might just not have been enough evidence against him or he moves about too much to get caught or he changed his...” Nick broke off and ducked his head, avoiding Reese’s gaze. “Anyway, it doesn’t help us.”
Nick believed Iain. Reese tried to decide whether to say some excuse but if he told another pack of lies and Iain gave away the truth, Nick would never trust him again, so – feeling ill at the thought that Nick was already growing suspicious of him – he focused on the case.
“If we believe Feran about the money,” he said, “and I don’t see why he would lie about that, then Korloff was probably right about Larsha being involved in illegal gambling.”
Nick picked up his sandwich and took a bite before speaking as he chewed. “That gives us a few people with a motive for taking Larsha: Feran, if he decided he could get more money by kidnapping Larsha than charging her interest on loans and anyone she won a lot of money from.”
“What makes you think she was winning?” Reese followed Nick’s actions and began to cut up his baked potato to eat.
“Feran said that she was able to pay back part of the loan the last time he saw her.”
“Of course.” He had forgotten that. He had to concentrate fully on this case given that a woman’s life was at stake. “We don’t have any real evidence against Feran to arrest him and I doubt he’ll willingly tell us anything else. Someone must know who runs the illegal gambling rooms.”
“I bet Korloff could tell us but there isn’t any way to get the information out of him. He knows we can’t arrest him for anything. What about the station personnel?”
“How about the cleaners?” Reese suggested, remembering that Larsha’s room had been refreshed the morning she went missing. “They must be regularly in and out of nearly every room on the station.”
“Great. Finish your food and we’ll go and ask Paul Ninety to arrange for us to talk to them.”
Chapter Fourteen
THEY HAD one hour left until the ransom deadline was up and Nick didn’t feel as if they had got anywhere with the case. Poppy had got her list down to thirty-six people and was interviewing them but with no success so far. He and Reese were about to interview the last cleaner but that too looked as if it would be a dead end. It had been a good idea, but with thousands of rooms to clean every day, the cleaners had all said they didn’t have time to get to know the guests, ask questions about them or notice if any rooms were used for an unusual purpose.
The last cleaner scuttled into the empty room Paul Ninety had given them for the interviews on eight legs and sat on the floor some distance away from them, rather than in the chair they had put out opposite theirs. She had beige leathery skin and ridges down her back.
“Thank you for coming to speak to us,” Reese said to her. “Did you ever see Larsha, the young woman who went missing?”
“No. I clean in lower sections of station.” Nick could hear the sibilant sound of her words beneath the translation.
“Have you ever seen evidence of card games or other types of gambling?” he checked.
“There is gambling in public rooms.”
“Yes, but we heard that there was also illegal gambling and that Larsha took part in this.” Nick couldn’t read her expressions but he sensed evasiveness in her stillness and fixed stare. “Finding out more about that might help us find her or locate the person who kidnapped her.”
She hesitated and made a noise that might have been a sneeze before falling silent. Just as he was about to ask something else she spoke. “Yes. There are always beakers smelling of alcohol where they should not be in lower maintenance areas and sometimes playing cards lying about or... blood on floor.”
“Blood?” Reese asked eagerly.
“I think there are fights for money.”
Illegal boxing matches or something similar, Nick guessed. “Which rooms do they take place in?”
“Always different rooms.”
“They move about to avoid getting caught,” Reese suggested to him.
“That makes sense.” Nick turned back to the cleaner. “Do you know of anyone who runs the gambling or is involved in any way?”
She was silent for even longer than before, eventually saying, “Brother went a few times when younger. Not to do anything illegal – just watch.”
“I promise we’re not looking to cause trouble fo
r anyone over the gambling. We’re only interested in finding Larsha.”
“You may visit brother. Name is Aigan. Works in garden on sixth floor.”
“Thanks very much,” he said with feeling. “We’re grateful for your help.”
They left immediately, taking a staff lift up to the sixth floor where, unexpectedly, there were fields of crops and heat from some kind of machine overhead. A manager pointed out where Aigan was, his beige strange-textured skin making him immediately recognisable. He watched them as they crouched down on the soil and told him who they were, his inner eyelids blinking while the outer ones stayed open.
“Your sister said you might be able to tell us a bit about the illegal gambling that takes on the station,” Nick said. “Not to arrest or bother anyone taking part in that – just to find out if Larsha might have been abducted by another gambler, since we know she went to the games.”
“Family worry and I stop going,” Aigan said in a hissing voice like that of his sister.
“Do you know who runs them or anyone else who currently goes to them?”
“Larry Heen used to run games when I went. Ij still plays cards sometimes. Ij orange.” He pointed to another alien across the field who was the brilliant colour of a sunset – very orange indeed.
“Thank you.” He stood up and Reese did the same.
When it understood that they weren’t going to cause trouble over the gambling, Ij said, “We go to gambling unknown word.”
“Did you ever see Larsha at one of the games?” Reese asked eagerly and Nick got the small computer out of his jacket and showed Ij the picture of Larsha.
“Three unknown word.”
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