Nick studied the children as Kass introduced the family members and the solicitors. Arwyl had long brown hair and small, pretty features. Nick knew she was married to Pos, who Reese had said wanted to speak to Kass about something yesterday.
Mer had short hair and a nervous expression. She was married to someone called Keat, who Nick hadn’t met. As the oldest child of Ember Nick wondered if she would inherit the business. Her younger curly-haired sister, Norla sat beside her, frowning. Norla looked as if she was in her early twenties but she had the most intense gaze of all the children, as if she were weighing up everything that was said.
“Now, I know this is tough for you, but we need to know exactly how Ember du Lissin died and the events around that,” Poppy said.
“Yes, that was about to be my question,” Prince insisted.
Kass glanced at Norla but it was Mer who answered. “It happened on the sixteenth day of vo. My mother and father got up as normal and had word relating to food with those of us who were not snoring. I went into the place office with Mother and Norla. She did some job and left for a meeting Aunt Kass two hours later, but she never arrived.”
“I just belief slash assumption she had been delayed,” Kass said. “I wish I had performed earlier but I got on with my job.”
While Nick was still struggling to decipher this translation, Norla took over the story from her aunt. “I thought it strange that Mother did not return to job but it was not unknown word for her to get affair or involvement in something else. When we got home and Kass spoke Mother had never come to the meeting, we got afraid slash worried and searched for her. Father was the one who found her behind her office, shot in the head, her body hidden.”
“And then you told everyone it was Kass who had died?” Poppy said.
“Most people knew the honest,” Norla said, showing no sign of remorse for the deception. “We told the government and our sporting rivals that it was Kass who died to give us time to unknot things.”
Sycophant Two was scrolling frantically on his computer and started muttering to the captain an interpretation of the parts of what they had been told that were unclear. Reese, who seemed to have a decent translator, said, “What was it you needed so urgently to sort out that you would lie and scheme over? Was it something to do with your mother’s Will?”
“There wasn’t a Will,” Kass said and the children all shot sour glances in her direction. “As things stay upright, Ember’s husband, Swall, and I inherit all my sister’s things, including her entire company.”
And Kass wanted to leave the planet. No wonder the family had been desperate.
Chapter Twenty-Three
NICK AND the rest of his people absorbed the revelation about the Will, or the lack of one. It gave Kass and Swall a motive to have killed Ember du Lissin but, as far as he could see, it gave the rest of the family less reason to have killed her, unless they hadn’t known about it before, in which case it would have been an unpleasant shock.
They were still sitting at a table with members of the family. Since Bop, all the grandchildren and Swall were missing today he guessed that the people present were the ones most involved in dealing with the consequences of Ember’s death. Kass seemed to be in charge of both the meeting and the company, so he said, “You want to leave Ocean, don’t you?”
“Yes. I’ve had a type of water time recently – personal slash intimate matters – and I want a clean slash fresh start.”
He translated the mangled translation in his head into her having suffered a nightmare of a divorce and wanting to get away. “Who is going with you?”
“Organically, I want my children with me.”
Reese asked her, “Do they want to come?”
She glanced over at her oldest daughter, Arwyl, who avoided her gaze. “They’ll see it’s for the best soon enough.”
“Who, besides you, wants to go?”
Kass fixed her intense gaze on him and frowned, deepening the slight wrinkles around her eyes. “I know what you’re thinking but I didn’t kill Ember and my children transparently didn’t kill her. We all loved her and she couldn’t have strained any of us to stay.”
He wasn’t sure he believed this. Ember had been powerful enough that she probably could have made Kass’s life extremely difficult if she wanted to and Ember might well have tried to bribe Kass’s children into remaining with the larger company.
“Could we speak to Swall?” Poppy asked.
A couple of the children exchanged furtive glances. “No,” said Norla.
“My father is ill with grief,” Mer added. “I am sorry.”
It could be true but Nick’s instincts told him that they were afraid of what Swall might say. After all, if he hadn’t committed the murder himself, he was the person who would most want it to be solved, no matter who he had to speak against to get to the truth.
“So what are the plans for the company now?” Poppy asked.
“That’s complicated.” Norla looked at one of the solicitors, who shook his head slightly. “There isn’t a fast elucidation.”
Keith typed quickly on his computer and said, “Solution. There isn’t a quick solution.”
This wasn’t going to get them anywhere. Nick stood up and everyone looked at him. “If it’s all right, I’m going to use the toilet.”
“I’ll show you...” a solicitor began.
“No need.” Nick headed for the door. “I can find it myself.”
He could still see their worried faces as he let himself out. The female staff member who had let them into the house was in the hall and she come over to him with a practised smile. “Can I get you something, sir?”
“Information would be sweet. Who disliked Ember du Lissin or felt held back by her?”
“Oh, I don’t know if I should talk about this.”
“It’s all right. Everything is resolved now – everyone knows Ember was the real victim and why the family was concerned about the company. No one has anything to hide.” The last sentence was probably stretching the truth to breaking point but, after all the family had put him through with the slavers, he wanted to solve this murder and leave this freezing planet.
The woman – he guessed that she was the housekeeper Reese had mentioned – faltered for a moment before nodding. “The other main families – the ones in contest with the du Lissins – might have wanted Ember du Lissin dead. They would have charity concert from her death.”
Huh? Useless piece-of-junk translator. He thought about it: a charity concert was a benefit. They would have benefited. Okay, that was better. “She could have had a private meeting with one of them, who killed her,” he thought aloud, “or they could have hired someone to kill her.” It was a strong possibility but there was another one much closer. “How did Ember du Lissin react to Kass’s decision to leave.”
“She tried to change her mind.” The woman hesitated.
“Go on,” he prompted.
“All of them were angry. It would have meant more chores for them. If Kass had died, they would be possibility slash likelihood suspects but none of them wanted Madame dead.”
“No one was ambitious for more power in the company?”
She wavered again and this time he could see the decision in her eyes. “I wouldn’t know.”
He gave her an easier question. “How can I find out which members of the other main families were in this town when Ember died?”
“That’s easy.” Her frown faded away. “They would have either stayed here or with the Mung family or at one of two word unknown I can give you the names of and no one was resting here that week.”
“That’s really useful. What are the names of the...” (He took a guess.) “... hotels where they would have stayed?”
Reese, Poppy and the captain left the conference room, along with their hosts, while he was getting the information. Norla immediately asked what the staff-member was telling him in a sharp voice, looking noticeably relieved when she heard the answer. The family
still had plenty of secrets, Nick was positive. He was happy to chase up the other possibilities but he had a feeling that he would be back here soon with more questions for the du Lissin family.
Chapter Twenty-Four
THE CAPTAIN, Keith and the bodyguards headed back to the ship after the conference and Poppy vanished to visit the hotels while the family members and solicitors went outside, presumably to go to their respective workplaces.
“So who do you want to speak to now?” Beja asked him and it was difficult to tell – between the translated language and the thick green fur hiding her expressions – but he thought she was still annoyed or upset with him.
Reese offered a sheepish smile. “I’m hoping you can help us. We just need to know people’s schedules for the day when Madame du Lissin died.” When she hesitated, he added, “It won’t cause you any trouble. The family want to know, more than anyone, why she died, both for their own peace of mind and so they can move on and concentrate on the businesses.”
“All right. Madame went to the office. Most of the others were either there or at Kass’s warehouses.” She paused. “Let me see. Swall left an hour after Madame because one of the grandchildren had a temperature. Groa came here looking for Pos but he’d already left.”
“Who is Groa?” He wondered if she could be the woman he had seen with Pos a couple of times.
“Pos owns a small marketing business that mainly serves the family. Groa works for him.”
“Who else was at home?” Nick checked.
“No one. I mean, the grandchildren were here, of course, with their word unknown and Swall stayed until the doctor had viewed the little one. Mer was in and out.”
“Mer works for the main seaweed company, doesn’t she?” Reese asked. When she confirmed it, he said, “Which company does Bop work for?” If he was having an affair with the son of a competitor and knew all about the seaweed business, Ember would have had reason to try to put a stop to the relationship.
“He works for the export company.”
So much for that idea and the office couldn’t be more than a few minutes away from here by robicle transport, so this still didn’t give any of the family alibis.
“Who’s taken charge of the main business now that Ember du Lissin is dead?” Nick asked. “Swall?”
“He’s the last one they’d allow to manage it,” Beja said and then put a furry hand over her mouth. “I didn’t mean anything against them by that. It’s just that Swall has always been more interested in taking care of the children and then the grandchildren than the business. His job as manager of one of the sections is little more than a vanished title. No, it’s Norla, Madame’s youngest daughter, who’s sprinting slash managing things.”
That explained why she was the one who seemed to be making decisions about the main company and why she had taken charge at the meeting. She had an abrasive attitude and he hadn’t got the impression, while he worked here, that any of the staff particularly liked her. “Why is Norla in charge?”
“She’s an ambitious word unknown. Madame personally trained her and gave her a senior posture.” A senior job wasn’t as good as running the entire empire. Not even remotely.
“So they were all out of the house within a couple of hours?” Nick asked.
“That’s right,” Beja said.
“I don’t think there’s anything else.” Nick glanced at Reese with a raised eyebrow.
Reese shook his head and said to the housekeeper, “Thank you very much and would you tell Ariel I’m sorry to let her down.” She nodded and they left the castle. “Where’s the office?”
Nick gestured towards the east of the town. “This way.”
They began to head down the driveway and Reese came to a halt, realising what he had done. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to tell you what to do. Is there somewhere else you’d rather go?”
“Nah.” Nick smiled. “The office makes sense and, with Poppy and the captain around, I should be used to being bossed about by now.”
“That doesn’t necessarily make it pleasant.”
“It doesn’t really bother me. If I have a different idea from my sister during an investigation then, like today, I’ll go off and chase it myself.”
They started walking again and Nick rubbed his arms, the pallor of his face showing that the cold was bothering him. Reese moved closer, hoping that his coat would transfer some of its warmth to Nick. “How did you and Poppy get into this kind of work?”
“It was just an accident. Prince turned up when... when we needed jobs and we had a bit of experience.”
“Doing what?”
“Well, we...” Nick tailed off. “Honestly, we’d never done nothing like this, but we told the captain we’d worked for a detective agency before, so keep that under wraps.”
“Of course.” Nick was far too trusting but Reese wouldn’t use anything he revealed against him unless his job made it necessary. He would hate to see Nick get hurt. “You’re both obviously good at this work so what could anyone say against you?”
“The captain wouldn’t get rid of us or he might have to actually do some work himself, which the scumass would hate. If he found out we hadn’t had the background we’d said, he’d reduce both our salaries, though. He’s not a trustworthy guy – don’t rely on him too much, okay?”
“Like you, I just need this job right now,” Reese said, which was the truth. “He’ll probably lose interest in me within a week, which is fine as long as I can prove that I’m genuinely useful to keep around.”
Nick straightened. He kept his expression serious but Reese thought he was cheered up by the words. “Then we’d better go and get this murder...”
The ground beneath them jolted hard enough to nearly knock them off their feet and they grabbed each other’s arms, both scanning about for the cause. Reese didn’t have far to look as something was emerging from the ocean just beyond the ship, scattering water in a tidal wave that – even at this distance – knocked them both off their feet.
Reese craned his neck to stare upwards as something the size of a mountain – that made even the robicles look like toys in comparison – lumbered in their direction. It had scales and a tail. “Huh,” he said. “So that’s why they call this country Sea Monster.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“WE SHOULD get under cover,” Reese yelled over the sound of roof tiles falling down from the castle and smashing around them, along with a pile of snow which, for once, was the least of Nick’s problems.
“Back into the castle,” Nick shouted back. He took another glance at the gigantic thing getting closer to them – almost disbelieving what his eyes were telling him – but he couldn’t even see the top of the creature, it was so huge.
Reese grabbed his hand as they scrambled to their feet to avoid being trampled to death and they turned and ran back towards the building, struggling not to be knocked over by the shaking ground and hampered, as usual, by the thick layer of snow. Nick could hear the monster crossing the distance between them in one vast step and he couldn’t help thinking that being stepped on by a sea creature would be a really embarrassing way to die.
They hadn’t walked far but the journey back seemed to take forever and he kept waiting for the monster right on their heels to attack them, but nothing happened. A robicle parked in front of the house teetered as they ran past it, giving him another potential demise to fear.
The front door of the castle finally came into view. The housekeeper already had it open for the gardeners to come in out of the sudden chaos. He and Reese tumbled inside and came to a halt in the crowded hall, his own breathing fast and shaky. He found himself leaning into the warmth of Reese’s body – the coat, not his body, he corrected himself as he said aloud, “WTF!”
“Is that an actual giant monster or am I hallucinating?” Reese asked.
“It’s real,” one of the staff members said. She had come inside just before them and Nick thought she might be the head gardener Reese had
mentioned.
“Is it going to kill people?” Nick asked.
“Not anymore,” the housekeeper said. “We have a contract with her.”
Nick blinked. “With the sea monster?”
“That’s right. She’s probably just out for a walk. She does that sometimes.”
Nick had no idea what to say to that and was distracted from it by another loud noise – a familiar one – that almost drowned out the sounds of bits of the landscape falling down. “No!” he exclaimed, heart sinking as he ran to the closest window, Reese on his heels. “That asswipe is deserting us again.”
They watched together as The Prince slowly rose into the sky, its progress partly hidden by the dark bulk of the sea monster’s body.
“He’ll come back, won’t he?” Reese asked but Nick didn’t have an answer.
Nick’s hy-phone rang and, impeded by damp woollen gloves, he pulled it out of an inner jacket pocket and stabbed a finger at the answer button. “Poppy?”
“Yeah. Did the captain tell you what he was doing?”
“You’re kidding, right?” He heard the sound of her swearing and other background noises. She was in the town and the sea creature was probably heading there now. His breath caught at the realisation. “Are you in danger?”
“That depends on whether this... thing wants to smash up any buildings.”
“It doesn’t,” he reassured her. “Apparently it doesn’t mind the people living here. They have a contract with it.”
This news rendered her speechless for a good many seconds and he glanced at Reese, who said, “Tell her we’ll keep in touch and meet as soon as the sea monster finishes its walk.”
“Stay inside,” Nick told Poppy.
“Obviously,” she retorted with a flare of annoyance.
“Just stay safe and we’ll come and find you as soon as the creature leaves, yeah?”
“Okay.” She ended the connection and he put away his phone.
No One Likes Humans Page 9
