“What?” said Sparky. “That makes no sense at all.”
The activist, however, ignored Sparky and Space now. It turned its shoulder speakers back to the crowd and resumed shouting its incoherent speech about privilege and oppression to the passing crowd of people that still didn't stop and listen.
Space considered trying to get that robot's attention again, but then he decided that Sparky was right. It was pretty clear that the activists didn't want to talk with Space at all. Besides, they technically didn't have time to waste anyway. Galaxy was still on the ship to hear back from them about how the deal went, so he and Sparky had to leave anyway.
“All right, Sparky,” said Space, having to raise his voice to be heard over the incoherent ranting of the activist in front of them. “I guess you're right. Let's head back to the ship and let Galaxy know about how the deal—”
A horrible scream pierced the air, so loud that it even caused the obnoxious activist in front of them to stop shouting. The scream was coming from behind Space, causing him to whirl around and look up at the Museum's windows, which was where the sound came from.
The scream came from the open window of Koolap's office. In fact, it came from Koolap himself. His back was to the open window, like he was trying to get away from some kind of terrifying monster. His scream of terror was loud even from a distance, but it was too incoherent for Space to make out what he might have been screaming about.
But then Koolap fell from the window, like he was pushed out by someone. Space could only watch as Koolap's large, slug-like body fell through the air for what seemed like an eternity before it splattered onto the street below.
-
The police of Kantol were on the scene approximately ten minutes after Koolap's death, although a handful of small Namoxian robots came ahead of time to secure the area and make sure that none of the people on the streets messed with the body or the crime scene. The officers brought with them several paramedics, who took Koolap's body and drove it off to the city morgue, where it would be examined by a Namoxian coroner to determine who had killed him and prepare the body for burial. At least, that was what Space thought, but he was so stunned by Koolap's abrupt death that he did not bother to ask where the paramedics were taking the Director's corpse.
Space and Sparky probably would have returned to the Adventure at that point, but the police who arrived on the scene stopped them for questioning. That probably had to do with the fact that Space and Sparky had been the last two people to see the Director alive, although Space could not think very well due to the shock of the Director's murder clouding his brain.
As for the robot rights activists, they had split the moment the polices' hover cars had appeared. Space had no idea where they went. It seemed like they just up and vanished, although that was probably due to his clouded mind not processing everything perfectly.
The crowds of people who had been passing by the Museum had been cut off from the Museum itself now, thanks to some laser fences set up around the perimeter of the building by the police to keep people out. Still, quite a few pedestrians stopped to look at the scene, like it was the filming of a must-see holofilm rather than the scene of a grisly murder.
The police officer who stood with them on the bottom of the steps was Cinonite, which was the primary intelligent species of Namox. Cinonites were humanoid in appearance, but typically had angelic or demonic wings sprouting from their backs. In addition, they often had furry hands and faces and their eye colors were typically red and green.
This particular Cinonite had angelic wings folded over his back and his fur was blue, which caused his red eyes to stand out sharply. He wore a Namoxian police officer uniform—a black jumpsuit with a laser-proof chest piece that had the symbol of the Namoxian police on it—and seemed like an affable fellow, although of course none of his questions ever strayed from the main subject of Koolap's death.
With a tablet and stylus in his hand, the officer said, “Your name is Jason Space and this is your robot friend, Sparky. Correct?”
“Yes,” said Space, nodding, although he wasn't paying as much attention as he should have due to the shock he was experiencing. “But call me Mr. Space. I hate my first name.”
“Very well,” said the officer, making a note of that on his tablet. “So, Mr. Space, when was the last time you saw Director Koolap alive?”
“Ten minutes ago,” said Space. “When he was shoved out of the window of his office.”
“Mmm hmm,” said the officer, making a note of that as well. “According to Shelly, Director Koolap's robotic assistant, you and Sparky were here selling some unusual space rocks to the Director.”
“That's right,” said Space, wiping the sweat off his forehead that was accumulating from standing in the hot sun in the sky above. “That's part of our business.”
“Yes,” said the officer. “Did you see anything out of the ordinary while you were in his office? Anything that could be used as a clue to find and arrest the murderer?”
“No,” said Space, shaking his head. “I don't remember seeing anything out of the ordinary at all. I didn't even know there was anyone who wanted to kill Koolap. I mean, I knew those robot rights activists hated him, but I didn't think anyone would actually kill him.”
“I see,” said the officer. He made one final note on his tablet and then looked up at Space and Sparky again. “Well, it's clear that you two don't know very much about the situation, so I'll just let both of you go. But if we have any more question for you about this situation, we'll contact you right away.”
“Okay,” said Space, nodding. “Sure.”
The officer then tipped his hat toward the two and walked past them up the steps into the Museum, most likely going to investigate Koolap's office to see if he could find any clues. Space didn't even turn around to watch him go. He just stood there, seeing Koolap falling from his office window in his mind again and again.
“Well,” said Sparky, snapping Space out of his thoughts, “I think we should head back to the Adventure now. Captain Galaxy is likely worried about us, especially if she has heard about Director Koolap's murder.”
“Yeah, yeah,” said Space, although he was now looking at the spot on the street where Koolap had fallen, because there were now several officers collecting blood and other bits of Koolap off the street for evidence to send to their labs.
“And I do not mean at all to sound insensitive, but I wonder if we will still get those four thousand digits that Koolap agreed to pay us,” Sparky continued. “Perhaps Shelly will still make sure that the money is deposited into our account. I hope so, because we do need the money.”
“Doesn't this seem strange to you, Sparky?” said Space, looking at Sparky suddenly.
Sparky frowned. “Are you referring to Koolap's murder?”
“Yeah,” said Space. He gestured at the scene of the crime. “Those robot rights activists appeared, who we know hated Koolap, and then, only a couple of minutes later, Koolap is dead. I smell something very fishy about all of this.”
“Indeed,” said Sparky. “I agree with you, Mr. Space, but we are not detectives or police officers. We should return to the Adventure and inform Captain Galaxy about this tragic turn of events. We should let the Kantolian police do their job.”
“I know,” said Space. His hands balled into fists. “But I just want to do something to help. Think about how quickly the murder happened. The murderer must have been inside the Museum itself. Maybe he was even just outside Koolap's office, hiding out of sight, undetectable by the naked eye, waiting until we left to perform the evil deed.”
“That is a possibility, I suppose,” said Sparky. “I would think that Shelly might know, seeing as she is almost always by the Director's side. But again, this is not our job. The police will likely ask Shelly what she knows, so we should let them do their job, as I said.”
Space's shoulders slumped. He looked up at the window that Koolap had fallen out of and caught a glimpse of one of th
e officers inside searching for clues.
“Okay,” said Space. “I don't want to spend the night in a Namoxian jail cell for interfering with a criminal investigation anyway. I heard Namoxian jails are pretty dirty and cramped.”
“All right,” said Sparky. “I'll contact Captain Galaxy and have her teleport us back up to the Adventure, then. Although I do hope that the police find Koolap's murderer soon, because I always respected him for his dedication to knowledge and science.”
-
Half an hour later, Space and Sparky finished explaining to Galaxy all of the events that had happened back on Namox. Galaxy sat in the floating captain's chair, leaning forward slightly, her chin supported by her hands, as she listened to their story. Her expression had gone from horrified to puzzled now, like she was trying to solve the murder in her head without all of the right clues.
“So Koolap just fell out of his window and died?” said Galaxy. She shuddered. “How horrible.”
“It was even worse in person,” said Space, leaning against the holographic table that was currently inactive. “He screamed and there was blood everywhere.”
“I wonder who could have possibly killed him,” said Galaxy. “I didn't know that Koolap had any enemies who wanted him dead.”
“Those robot rights activists hated him,” Sparky said. “That does not, of course, mean that they actually killed him, but I have no doubt that the Namoxian police will be investigating them to find out if they have any connection to the Director's unfortunate death.”
“I wish there was something I could do to help,” said Space. “I mean, I was one of the last people to talk to him before his death. I know I didn't have anything to do with it, but I still feel guilty for leaving him alone and unprotected in his office like that.”
“Survivor's guilt,” said Galaxy. “It's fine, Space. You don't need to feel that way. You couldn't have possibly had known that someone was going to try to kill him, so there was no way you could have prevented it. Don't feel bad about it.”
“If you say so,” said Space. “But I still feel awful about his death anyway.”
“Perhaps you need some of your favorite chocolate ice cream in order to feel better,” said Sparky. “Would you like me to get you some?”
Space shook his head. “No. I don't think chocolate ice cream will do the trick now. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“I think we should prepare to head out now,” said Galaxy as she sat up straight in her captain's chair. “Even with Koolap's death, I am sure that the Museum will waste no time depositing the agreed payment into our account. Once they do that, we will head out to Orq and sell those Starborn artifacts we found in the Unexplored Regions a while ago to our customer there.”
Space nodded, but he wasn't really paying much attention to Galaxy. Instead, he was thinking about the tragedy of Koolap's death. Despite everything that Galaxy and Sparky had told him, he still wanted to do something to help find Koolap's murderer. He had never actually thought of Koolap as a friend—merely a very good customer—yet he still felt responsible for the Director's death.
But I'm not a police officer or a private detective, Space thought. There's nothing I can do, really, to help, except hope that the police find out who killed him and arrest him or her.
Still, despite all that, Space decided then and there that he would investigate Koolap's murder on his own. He would not tell Galaxy or Sparky, because they would try to stop him, but he would do it, if only to assuage his guilt. At the very least, he would go down to Namox and talk with Shelly, who would probably be able to tell him about the circumstances surrounding Koolap's death better than anyone. Then he'd head back up to the ship and try to forget about it all in order to focus on the future.
-
In the middle of the night, while Galaxy slept in her quarters and Sparky was in his recharge station in the hold, Space awoke, took a quick shower, got dressed, grabbed his corner shot—a gun that allowed him to shoot lasers from around corners—in case he needed it, and teleported down to Namox without telling anyone. He did, however, leave a note on the bridge's main screen, which would let Galaxy and Sparky know where Space was and what he was doing in case they woke up and found that he was missing. He didn't want them panicking or thinking that he was in danger, after all.
Space's first destination was Director Koolap's apartment. He would have gone to the Museum itself, but it was closed tonight and he doubted the guards would let him in, even if he asked nicely. Besides, if he recalled correctly, Shelly was probably at Koolap's apartment, seeing as she had been the Director's personal assistant who followed him everywhere prior to his death. It was possible, he supposed, that Shelly was still in police custody, but he doubted that they would keep her long, because robot witnesses of crimes were rarely detained as long as organic ones, so she was probably already back at Koolap's apartment by now.
Director Koolap's apartment was located only a couple of blocks down from the Museum itself. Space only knew where it was because Koolap had once told him when he first met the Director a few years back, when Koolap had asked Space to send a particularly interesting-looking space rock that he wanted to keep for his own personal collection. Space had never actually visited the place, however. Space only knew that Koolap lived in Apartment 212, in Row Four, near the middle of said Row.
The apartment building itself was of Namoxian architecture, which meant that it had originally been built with the intent of handling the massive earthquakes that occasionally shook the planet. Like most Namoxian apartment buildings, it was shaped somewhat like a cube, with five Rows on the front that had about ten rooms each.
Unlike most Earth apartments, however, this building used teleporters to help its inhabitants move from floor to floor, rather than stairs or elevators. From what Space knew about Namoxian architecture, teleporters were a pretty standard feature of most of them, except in cases where it would be too impractical to build them, such as the entrance to the Museum, for example, due to the large amounts of people that usually entered and exited the place.
When Space arrived at Koolap's former apartment, he knocked on the door twice and then stood there, waiting for Shelly or whoever was on the other side to answer. While he waited, he glanced up at the sky, where he saw the massive ring-shaped space habitat known as the Annulus orbiting the planet. Its exterior lights shone brightly against the black night sky, which made them look almost like stars. Space wondered briefly if there was anyone on there looking down at him at this moment.
His thoughts were interrupted by the door to Koolap's apartment sliding open. He looked in time to see Shelly floating there, a tiny metal sphere with a single blinking red light. While Space typically had a hard time reading the facial expressions of most non-Earth-made robots, Shelly's expressions were completely impossible to read because of her complete lack of anything that could be called a face. Space did not hear any music or any other noise emitting from behind her, which made him wonder if that was the normal state of Koolap's apartment or if Koolap's death had caused Shelly to forget to turn on the music.
“Mr. Jason Space?” said Shelly. Her voice was clipped, but proper and clear, like she was from a much higher social class that he was. “What are you doing here so late at night? Did you come to inquire about the payment? I can assure you that we will deposit the money into your account as soon as possible. The Director's untimely death simply threw us off our—”
“I'm not here to ask about the money,” said Space, holding up a hand to silence her. “Instead, I came to investigate Koolap's murder.”
Shelly went completely silent then. Again, he wished that she had had an actual face that he could see, because then he might be able to tell what she was thinking. As it was, he could not tell if she was too shocked to reply or was perhaps carefully considering his words for any hidden agenda or if she was doing something else entirely.
Finally, Shelly said, “Mr. Space, I did not know you were a detective as well as
a space explorer.”
“I'm not, actually,” said Space, “although I've always loved mystery holofilms and thought about becoming a detective at some point. I just came because I wanted to see if I could help bring Koolap's killer to justice.”
“The Namoxian police have already spoken with me about the matter,” said Shelly. “I have told them everything I know about the situation. I do not think it would be wise for you to interfere, even if your intentions are pure.”
“Why shouldn't I?” said Space. He put one hand on his chest. “Koolap was one of our best customers and I was one of the last people to see him alive. I can't go back in time and save him, but I can help bring his murderer to justice, at least.”
“I see,” said Shelly. “Let me guess, you are not going to go back to your ship even if I tell you to.”
“Of course not,” said Space. He yawned suddenly. “Even though I am tired, because usually I am fast asleep at this time of night, not helped by the weird time change I experience every time I come down from—”
“Very well,” said Shelly, interrupting Space. “I will tell you what I told the police, even though I am not sure that it will do you any good. Please come inside.”
Shelly turned and floated into the apartment. Space didn't hesitate to step inside. As soon as he passed under the threshold, the door slid shut behind him. He barely paid it any attention, however, because he walked through the entryway into the apartment's main living area, looking around at the place for the first time in his life.
What struck Space most about the apartment was how low everything was. The shelves—which held various things, such as a chipped Skull-bone's tooth, a clay pot that appeared to be from some ancient Earth civilization that had long ago passed away, and an old book with strange, ancient writing on it—reached up to Space's waist. There was no sofa or any chairs, either, so Space did not know where he was supposed to sit, if indeed he was supposed to sit anywhere at all. The floor had no carpeting. Instead, it was smooth metal, with tiny holes that appeared to be pores that likely used to collect the slime that Koolap's slug-like behind had left behind wherever he went.
The Spacetastic Adventures of Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy: Season Two Page 14
