“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mumbled.
Officer Girlfriend was halfway through her car. James was making slower but steady progress through the car.
“You have to help me.” She shook my arm. “I don’t know what to do.”
“I am the last person to ask.” I stared deeply into her eyes, searching for any clue to my own survival. “You have to tell someone… everyone. Lives depend on it.”
I twisted out of her grip, and without consulting Raph, I shoved Pox into his arms. They were both safer without me, especially where I was heading.
I pressed through the crowd, aiming for the space between the cars. When we moved through the train earlier, I had noted that the space between train cars was open to the air. I had seen enough classic movies to know I could climb onto the roof of the train, though most of those movies ended badly.
But my feet were moving on instinct, fear and adrenaline taking over my higher brain functions. I was out the door of the beverage car and halfway up the ladder attached to the side of the car before I even realized what I was doing.
Sheer momentum carried me up to the top. I started crawling across the roof. The train was barreling toward the castle. It was exactly like the few remaining stone structures back on Earth, even down to the moat around the outside. The track was headed straight toward the large structure, then it curved to the right to go around the moat where a station was visible a few kilometers past the castle.
The train was moving at a fast enough speed that the wind was roaring in my ears. When the engine shifted and brakes squealed, I gripped a ridge so hard that my knuckles turned white. I was out of my depth. If I slipped over the side, I would hopefully die quickly from the impact or from being dragged under and cut in half by the steel behemoth.
I should have surrendered. I should have taken my chances that they wouldn’t shoot me on sight on a crowded train. This was not how everything was supposed to end. Maybe it was the wind or how close I was to the end of my life and my hope, but tears streaked down my face, and I didn’t even attempt to wipe them away. When James stuck his head over the edge of the car with his ban trained in my direction, his expression was filled with pity.
I huddled on the roof like a rat. I was at the end of my options, short of taking my own life. Even if I could unhook my hands, I knew I couldn’t go that way. Generations of Laikas had headed into certain death and survived. I would fight until the choice was taken from me.
“Liz!”
“No!” I screamed back.
He started to crawl toward me, his face tight as he inched closer. “Why are you doing this?” he bit off as he closed the gap. “I know you are innocent.”
I gasped, and my fingers slightly loosened. I adjusted my grip on the ridge. It was a trick. He was trying to get me to lower my guard. I doubled my resolve to escape when Heather slithered up behind him.
The train was slowing down. She rose onto the balls of her feet and started inching toward me. She had dried blood on her face, and her makeup was smeared, giving her a wild, frightening appearance that matched the craziness in her expression. We locked eyes, and hers radiated pure hatred and uncontrolled malice.
She accomplished in me what the train hadn’t. I was able to move. I unlocked my hands. They shook uncontrollably, but I inched backward, the hair on the back of my neck rising like that of a feral animal.
“Stand down!” James shouted at her. Something crossed his face. Annoyance?
I scooted farther away from them. If I could reach the castle, I would surely be safe, but was there any way to escape them? I felt like a deer being pulled under by a pack of lions. It was the awareness of the end that made it so terrible. It would have been a mercy to have died in the engine fire. Why had I been brought through so much just to fail in the end?
Something snapped inside me, and all the pity and fear coalesced into anger. I felt pure hot rage for the man I had loved and trusted, who had not only left me but was abusing his power to destroy me.
“How could you?” I screamed.
“Me?” He glared at me. “You are the one who ran away.”
“Saying it doesn’t make it true. You and your girlfriend framing me shows that you have no morals.”
I was heaving huge breaths, barely able to hold it together, but I could still tell that something was off. James stared at me blankly. The look that passed over his face was pure confusion.
Heather looked between us, realizing the same thing. “Shoot her! Then we can be together.”
The pieces came together for James before my eyes, and I realized what I had missed all along. He had never said they were together. She was the only one who had said that, and he had never been present for her declarations of love. He had always been a rule follower, and it was unlikely that he had changed that much in the few years since I had known him.
He pulled away from her. His attention was split between us as he realized the real threat.
The smallest glimmer of hope rose in my chest, like the sun peeking over the horizon. “She said they sent her to get rid of me. She gave her ban to the Ceruleans and had them abduct me, but I got away. Where’s her ban? When she grabbed me earlier, she would have used it if she still had it. She would shoot me now. And who unlocked the doors of the ship? How could the Ceruleans and I have escaped at all unless someone with security clearance had unlocked them?”
“No, she wouldn’t.” But his voice lacked conviction. His whole belief system was crumbling around him, but he still moved on instinct.
He hadn’t changed, and maybe I hadn’t either. “Tell him the truth!” I screamed.
Heather reached out and latched on to his wrist. “They said we could be together, that she’s the only thing holding you back. They said that if I got rid of her, if I pinned this murder on her somehow, we could be together as partners, and you would love me. We might never get another chance.”
He recoiled from her. It was clear what he thought of the proposition.
She saw it as well. Whatever she believed, perhaps what they had convinced her of, all crumbled around her. Maybe it was the fact that she had too many witnesses to get away with it or the fact that he would never love her that broke her, but we would never know.
She stood up, and the wind caught her body. In slow motion, she was swept off the train, which was on the long bend just before the moat. She never reacted. She appeared as calm as if she were falling into a pool of warm water. Her body disappeared on the inside bend of the curve.
The tears I had been holding back poured out. I couldn’t even process the meaning of everything that had come out, but my body reacted instantly to the emptiness in her eyes as she disappeared from sight. It would haunt me forever.
I would have stayed there in shock even as the train whistle pierced the air and the brakes locked in response to the accident, but James crossed the distance between us. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard. I realized that he had been shouting at me.
“You have to go! I don’t know who I can trust. Go!” He gestured toward the castle.
I pushed away from him. Before I could second-guess him, I took two quick steps and launched myself off the moving train, heading toward the opaque water of the moat. I hit the surface like a ton of bricks, and everything went black.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
I walked into the castle yard, sopping wet and missing one shoe. Rather than ditching the single kitten heel, I walked with an uneven gait. I appreciated even the minimal protection from the rough gravel.
Stomp. Squelch. Stomp. Squelch. I crossed the empty yard and entered the enormous door to the castle.
Inside were dozens of people lined up around the perimeter of the main room. They sat in mismatched chairs from rough wooden benches to ornate, embroidered armchairs. Heads all around the room looked up to watch me wobble across the floor. I stopped and pulled off my heel. I then left wet footprints the rest of the way.
I approached a female Cer
ulean sitting at a large table. She was filing her pale-blue white-tipped fingernails.
She didn’t bother to look up as she slid a clipboard toward me. “Fill out this form. We should be able to fit you in tomorrow. What crime are you here for?”
I grabbed the clipboard and a pen. “Murder.”
She dropped the nail file. “What?”
“I didn’t kill anyone, but I am being framed for murder,” I clarified.
She narrowed her eyes. “There hasn’t been an unsolved murder on Cerulea for decades and decades.”
“Technically, it happened in space. I’m a fleet officer, and there was a murder on my ship. One of the officers—”
“Oh my gosh! I know just what you are talking about. The king will be so excited.” A dark-blue tint rose in her face even as her feet danced beneath the desk. “I mean, this is all terribly sad, but… please take a seat, and I will get to you in a minute. You don’t need to fill that out.” She snatched the clipboard from my hand and disappeared through a door. As the door closed, her voice carried out and echoed in the large chamber. “Janie! Janie! We have a hot case!”
Everyone watched me with unconcealed interest, except the Cerulean I sat next to, who promptly vacated her seat to race across the room and point over her shoulder to me.
This was it. After everything I had gone through, it came down to trial by bureaucracy. Fitting and yet sad. I dripped water onto the floor, running over my defense in my head. By the time they called my name, I would surely have the most perfect defense in the galaxy.
But instead, my name was called within a few minutes. The secretary was back and didn’t even bother to close the door behind her, instead calling out to me, “Hey, murderer! You’re up.”
I stood up hesitantly. “Can you not call me that?”
“Of course! What name would you prefer?”
“Elizabeth Laika. Thank you.” I followed her down a hallway, my bare feet slapping on the stone and water still dripping down my legs. “Can I change? Or at least clean up a little?”
“Sorry. You should have done that while you waited. Here. Sign this.” She paused in front of a door and shoved a clipboard at me. “It says that you accept the king’s ruling, which will be given at the end of your presentation.”
I signed my name. “Then what?”
“If you are found innocent, then you can go free with a small reward for your inconvenience. If you are found guilty, then your punishment starts immediately, which for murder of a government employee is…” She flipped through a booklet then ran a finger down a page in the middle. “Death by beheading. Not too bad.”
“Sure… totally.”
Before I could say more, I was shoved out the door and into one of the largest rooms I had ever been in. Hundreds of Ceruleans sat in chairs dozens of rows deep, and every one of their eyes was on me as I crossed the open space to stand behind a podium that stood in front of a large chair.
In the chair was a male Cerulean dressed in ornate clothing. Even without knowing the local standards of beauty, I could guess that he was extremely attractive. It was partially the extreme confidence with which he moved. But the biggest giveaway came from the several female Ceruleans in the front row, holding signs with variations of “I love you, King!” printed on them.
I put my hands in my pockets and pulled out my damp Bible and the gulper tooth. I placed both on the podium. A soft murmur spread through the crowd at the sight of the broken tooth. I shifted my feet. It was a terrible time to give in to the fear of public speaking. I needed to focus on something else, like giving a presentation that didn’t end up with my head on a platter.
I closed my eyes and sent up a quick prayer. Everything I had encountered would also be my salvation. I opened my eyes as the king started to speak.
“Elizabeth Laika, you have been accused of—” He paused to look over the paper someone handed to him. He made a small noise of interest, and when he looked at me again, it was with considerably more attention. “I was told this situation had already been handled.”
I gave a little nod. It was time to pull out all my experience in diplomacy and acting. “Yes, they have been attempting to handle me for several days, but I have survived. I knew that my only chance of a truly fair trial was with you.”
“Why not your fleet?”
I let out a loud sigh. “Unfortunately, there are those in the fleet, much like your court, who can’t be trusted.”
“Why is that?”
“Jealousy.”
He nodded with understanding then took a tablet from an assistant. He held up a finger, indicating I should wait while he reviewed the information. After a few minutes, he handed the tablet back to his assistant and shooed him away. “Captain Laika, a few years ago, you were on trial for financial impropriety. Is that correct?”
“Yes, but the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.”
“And the lead prosecutor is now president of fleet. I can see why you have concerns about fleet integrity.”
I debated adding more information, wanting to focus on the facts, but a quick look around the audience showed them to be hanging on every word of our conversation. The people of a planet whose economy relied heavily on dramatic reality-based entertainment probably appreciated hearing all the details. Many were even pulling out an air-roasted grain to eat while listening to the case.
“The fleet sent two officers to investigate. One was my ex-fiancé, and the other was in love with him. She told me that once she got rid of me, they could be together.”
The king leaned forward. “Really?”
A murmur rose in the room at the pronouncement, along with a raise in noise level that pulled my head around. James and a few other officers had entered the room and were standing at the back. People were twisting around to point and whisper. James stared straight ahead, but I was pretty sure he was embarrassed, based on the way he stood.
Then I noticed another group clustered in the opposite corner, and my heart rose at the sight of Raph, Chloe, Horton with Eugene under his arm, Persephone, and Jones. I was looking for Pox when he suddenly appeared on Raph’s shoulder.
Once we locked eyes, he vaulted off Raph’s shoulder and bounded through the crowd. He bounced from shoulder to head to lap and finally to the floor to race the rest of the way to the podium.
I squatted to scoop him up, a reminder of the people who had closed ranks around me to protect and save me. Pox crawled up onto my shoulder and wrapped his tail around my neck.
The crowded let out a collective “Aww.” I gave them a smile, playing up to them and the moment. This was nothing like the last time I had stood in front of a judge and jury. But that had been a solemn affair with a room so quiet that one could have heard my confidence hit the floor. This was a spectacle, and frankly, I hoped that would work in my favor.
The people seemed to want to believe me, to follow along with me for whatever reason. Maybe the general negative views of the fleet I had experienced had set me up as someone to cheer for. Maybe my likable personality had won them over. I didn’t know how it influenced the king, but perhaps it would help.
He pointed at Pox. “You have made a friend. Did you find him on your journeys? They are very slow to trust.”
“I did, and if you allow me to explain, I can tell you how he”—I reached up and stroked his back, and he licked my face in return—“saved my life and how I saved his in return, using this.” I lifted the gulper tooth from the stand and, very slowly because I didn’t want the guards to rush me, imitated cutting off a spider’s leg.
The crowd gasped, and talking filled the room. In the back, Ceruleans rose to their feet to get a better view.
The king stood and raised his arms. “Silence!” Once the spectators calmed down and he had resettled on his throne, he gestured to me. “Go on. Tell your story.”
So I did. I told only the facts that I had experienced since Chloe had burst into my room to announce that there had been a murder. I rel
ated all the details of my fall, finding the body, and calling for backup. I wove together James and Heather’s arrival with the engine fire, the three dead housekeepers, and my own abduction.
I made sure to read the crowd as best I could and slow down or speed up to hold their attention as I described the shuttle chase, the gulper encounter, and the spider attack. Then I praised the fireworks and the beauty of the land as I finished the story with the vehicle chase, the train ride, and my final arrival at the castle.
I had no idea how long I had talked, but I managed to hold the attention of the king.
When I was done, he nodded and gestured at me. “Fascinating story, and you surely have entertained the crowd, but you did not answer who you think the real murderer is.”
I gulped hard as that was the final card in my hand. I hoped that the crowd, but especially the king, would follow me as I headed into the final act of my story, the reveal.
“I know that you are a smart man and will see, as I did, the only possible solution. Your future bride, Vanessa, and the Ambassador Rick killed the Cerulean on the ship because the victim had discovered that they were running a black-market gulper-bone smuggling ring.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The king narrowed his eyes as the humor dropped from his face. He raised his hand and waited until the room calmed before speaking. “That is a serious allegation.”
I had anticipated his initial disbelief. Suggesting that the two people closest to him were deceiving him was a big gamble, but it was the truth, and the truth was the only thing that could set me free. “If you will allow me to explain, King, I can show you how it all fits together. Then you can appropriately punish those who wish to work against you.”
I paused a few seconds to make sure I had everyone’s attention. “The first sign of trouble was the fire. While anyone could enter the engine room, only a few high-level members of the crew and the cleaning crew would have known about the screen that needed to be deactivated to prevent the failsafe from kicking in. The fire had been caused by a handful of tools being shoved through the grate. It could have killed everyone on the ship and was dangerous to the perpetrator, but even more so, it pointed to someone who didn’t have that clearance or knowledge of the engine. That leaves just our cleaning crew as possible perpetrators. They were the only ones who knew enough, yet not enough, to be so dangerous.”
Space Murder Page 15
