Jaunts of the Mantis

by Jim Henderson

  The group assembled in a few minutes, there though not happy. Ximon conducted with a pistol at his hip. Raiza was nearby keeping lunch ready, also wearing a pistol as Ximon had directed.

  Ximon dove right in, “Thank you for coming. I’ve called you here today …”

  Iauxia cut him off and spoke haughtily, “Clearly we are NOT all here. You peremptorily insisted that I attend with virtually no warning, yet that Ulfson fellow isn’t here. Is he somehow excused? Is this beneath HIM but not me?”

  Ximon spoke with great frustration, “Lady Iauxia, we are here because Mr. Ulfson is DEAD! So, yes, he is excused, and I doubt you would like to avail yourself of the same excuse. I would hope you could also excuse our other 2 passengers that are frozen in sleep.”

  He then continued more calmly, “Mr. Ulfson died sometime yesterday, and it appears that he may have been killed.”

  “Murder you mean!?!?”

  “Yes, lady, it appears so. We will be in jump for a few more days, so if it is murder, then there is a murderer amongst us.”

  “Well it is certainly not I …”

  Ximon held up his hand to silence her, which she did not appreciate.

  “No other civil authorities can be contacted at this time, so per Republic law and KSF regulations, I as captain am conducting an initial investigation. When we arrive at Thade X, I will turn the case over to them to do as they will but clearly, we cannot simply wait. Our lives and your lives could be in danger.”

  The Dahves looked somewhat scared and huddled together. The Lady looked irritated and the main looked confused.

  Ximon continued, “So, acting per law, I will interview each of you separately. You will also find that the crew is now armed.”

  The lady interjected, “Even the robot” saying the last word with a stupid emphasis. “Is that quite legal?”

  “Lady, Ship Steward Raiza is a member of this crew and I have directed that she be armed for your protection and the protection of this ship. As captain, I have complete digression as to the security of this ship. Do NOT test me on this!”

  “We will do everything we can to ensure everyone’s safety, but your cooperation is necessary AND required by law.”

  Mrs. Dahves, I will start with you, followed by Mr. Dahves, then Lady Iauxia, and finally Thuvia. I have already reviewed all relevant security video and taken statements from the entire crew. Understand that these interviews are official statements and falsehoods will be considered punishable under law and a possible indication of guilt. Ship Steward Raiza will now serve lunch. Mrs. Dahves, please follow me to the cargo hold. Raiza will keep your lunch fresh for you.

  Ximon interviewed the young wife. She purported to know nothing of the murder or of Mr. Ulfson other than a few brief conversations at dinner and that he did something with money.

  Mr. Dahves was a bit more perceptive and noted that Mr. Ulfson was abrasive and aloof. However, Dahves had had no direct interactions with him other than at dinner and knew of no reason that anyone would want to murder him.

  Lady Iauxia clearly had little respect for a ‘ship driver’ acting like a ‘police person’ but answered all the questions. She had opinions of Mr. Ulfson as she had opinions of everyone. She didn’t consider him very good company or properly sociable especially since he ‘came from money’ and clearly ‘should have known better.’” But she couldn’t see anyone murdering him – “That’s just gauche.” When asked to account for the movements of her maid she said, “She is my maid and was given errands to attend to such as fetching me tea from the galley, from our room, or such things. She is allowed some free time to read or such on her own and there were a few occasions where she did so. I do NOT track her movements.”

  The interview with Thuvia was a bit awkward. Her Standard was a bit rough, her accent strong, and she appeared very self-conscious (though that could be guilt). She claimed to know nothing of the murder and only thought of Mr. Ulfson as a ‘proper gentlemen.’ She had never spoken a word to him. When asked about her relationship with Lady Iauxia she tersely said, “I am her maid.”

  Ximon pressed this point, “Is there any OTHER relationship?”

  The woman blushed beet red and looked down at the table, “I have many close duties to the Lady.”

  “Are you related? Are you in a relationship?”

  “We are not related. We live together as a couple. She is very good to me.” Again, she blushed red.

  “I understand. Do you think that SHE wanted Mr. Ulfson to come to harm?”

  “Of course not. That is beneath her.” Here she was almost protective.

  “One more question. When you came on board, we made it clear that only your rooms, the galley and the showers were open to passengers and that other areas were off limits. However, our review of security footage shows that you twice entered the restricted cargo bay and then another restricted room. What were you doing there on both occasions?”

  She seemed a bit shocked at this turn and looked worried and if she was thinking.

  He continued, “Where did you go and why?”

  She almost sobbed, “Cryo chambers. I went to the cryo chambers.”

  “Why, especially when you knew it was restricted?”

  “I am sorry, but I love him. I could never get so close. I had to see him. Once I had seen him, I had to return.”

  “Who did you have to see? Mr. Ulfson? Did you meet him there?”

  She looked utterly confused at this and then realized what he was saying.

  “No, the great Slade Fazio. I have always loved him and his music. I happened to see him as we were boarding, and I knew I must see him.”

  “So, you’re a big fan of this Fazio?”

  “Yes, his words speak to me.”

  “What did you do there when you saw him?”

  “I looked. I took pictures … you know, selfies. I left a picture, so he would know I loved him.”

  “Could you show me those pictures please or I’ll have to confiscate your phone.”

  She looked embarrassed as she showed him the pictures. There, indeed, were several pictures of her posing by Slade’s cryo chamber, hugging it, kissing it, etc.

  Ximon, “I see. Thank you.”

  “Ok, so getting back to Mr. Ulfson, are you saying you know absolutely nothing about his death?”

  “Nothing, captain. I am sorry I went where I shouldn’t. Will you arrest me now?”

  “No, but do not go there again without permission.”

  Ximon shook his head at that one. The foreign maid and lover to a lady was a groupie to a nobody rock star and coincidentally chose the time of a murder to do so. There’s clearly NO accounting for taste.

  About that time Elsbeth reported that after “hours of digging through trash” they had found a knife that they believed was likely the murder weapon.

  They stored it away as evidence for the authorities as they had no DNA lab or anything to try to figure out who it belonged to.

  Elsbeth then reported to Ximon in person, “I’ve got something else to tell you.” I told you about the security system glitches. It turns out there was another one the night of the murder, but it was quite different. Instead of shutting down the system, it seemed to affect all of the cameras intermittently, different ones at different times, so it was much harder to detect. I’ve been investigating it and it’s very strange. I finally found, and Mantis confirmed, that the security subsystem was affected by a virus. Mantis was able to figure out its sequence of events. Apparently, it deleted itself after causing that glitch. So, apparently someone could have used that time window to enter his room without being seen.”

  “So, do we know where it came from?”

  “Mantis is still checking to be sure, but we think so.”

  Ximon, “So, who?”

  Elsbeth, “It appears to have originated with Ulfson.”

  Ximon, “WHAT!?!?!?”

  Elsbeth, “Hold on. That was my reaction – I thought Mantis had blown a gasket. But she trac
ed the installation to his tablet from his room during the flight from Zulea to Cepheo. So, it was definitely before Lady ‘high and mighty appeared.’ It’s hard to see how anyone else could have done it.”

  Ximon, “That’s still bizarre. Why would he do this?”

  Elsbeth, “Don’t know. Maybe he had something he wanted to do, but someone killed him instead.”

  “That’s not comforting – we had two bad guys on the ship, and one killed the other? And the badder one is still alive? Oh, or do we assume the second one is just an avenging angel?”

  Elsbeth just shrugged, “I don’t know. You’re the investigating officer. But we’ve taken precautions.”

  Ximon just rolled his eyes, “Thanks. I’m going to bed.”

  “What and leave your girlfriend working in the galley? She’s been working there all day. I’ll give her a break and watch some trashy vids there for an hour or so while keeping watch on our crazy pax.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Sure. I got your back.”

  “Thanks.”

  He took Elsbeth up on the offer and took Raiza to bed for a couple hours. It did a lot to ease frustration and calm him. Ximon fell asleep on her breast, but she somehow managed to sneak out and resume her duties after a couple hours.

  Ximon awoke very relaxed the next morning to a communication request from Mantis.

  “Yeah.”

  “Captain, I have some information to pass on to you. Could you come to the bridge at your convenience?”

  “Sure, give me 10.”

  The lovely Raiza gave him a big smile and handed him a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich as he came through the galley. “Good morning, Ximon. Mantis told me that you would be visiting her.”

  That was nice, but a little scary. He’d have to keep in mind that he had 2, or 3, women working together, perhaps against him.

  “Good morning, Mantis. What do you have?”

  “Two primary things. First, I reviewed Elsbeth’s investigation of the virus and the conclusion seems sound. The virus seemed to be intentionally inserted into my security subsystem from Mr. Ulfson’s room and his tablet. Video feeds from that timeframe show no one but him ever entering his room and never show the tablet out of his possession. For instance, he routinely brought it to meals and reviewed documents there. Of course, I could find no indication of a motive for him inserting the virus.”

  “Second, I analyzed what I could on Mr. Ulfson’s tablet, or rather a complete chip-level copy so the original was preserved as evidence. He had fairly sound encryption practice, but I was able to brute force decode a few things and use what little information we had about him to find a bit more. It’s very fragmentary, but here’s a summary:

  There were quite a few messages that indicate he was in some kind of serious trouble at work. The nature is not clear, but he feared something – exposure, firing, scandal, or some such

  It appears that his trip to Zulea was an attempt to repair this problem, but it didn’t go well

  Mr. Ulfson is in a domestic partner relationship with a woman on Tixaya, but several messages suggest this relationship was deeply troubled. He did not appear to be looking forward to returning to his home.

  The data is fragmentary, but the word ‘suicide’ comes up in various recent files, messages, video, and audio considerably more frequently than a regional norm for references to that term”

  He has a lot of recent activity related to life insurance terms and conditions

  Ximon, “What are you suggesting? That he killed himself?”

  “Captain, I cannot speculate. I am only presenting data that appears to support potential conclusions.”

  “OK, thanks. Iday, would you join me on the bridge.”

  Iday arrived a few minutes later.

  “Morning, Ximon.”

  “Good morning. I’ve got a theory I need to bounce off you. Listen with an open mind and tell me if it’s possible.”

  Ximon laid it out, waving his hands like he was painting an image in the air.

  “Let’s say that Ulfson is severely depressed, maybe worried about losing his career and his marriage. He’s heading home, but there’s nothing for him there. He decides to kill himself, but still cares about his life insurance policy paying out for someone or something. So, he does something screwy with the cameras, not to hide a murder from investigators, but to make investigators suspect something. Then, he either tries and fails at several forms of suicide or he intentionally makes it look like murder. He sedates himself with alcohol and sedatives, then he creates bruising around his mouth, gives himself a few shallow stabs in the stomach, and slits his wrists, throwing the knife down the garbage shoot before laying down to die.”

  “What do you think? Is it possible?”

  Iday, “Ximon, that is quite a story. How do we know any of that?”

  “We don’t, but we know it was he that screwed with the cameras, we’re pretty sure he was depressed and interested in life insurance, and we can’t see any way that anyone else could have committed the murder. I think he may have ‘murdered’ himself so he could still get the insurance money.”

  “How do we prove any of this?”

  Ximon, “I’m not sure that WE can, but perhaps the authorities on Thade can. We’ll keep watching for anything else that breaks lose, but otherwise we just keep a sharp eye out so nothing else happens. Then we toss the turd in their lap.”

  “It sounds far-fetched but it’s at least possible. I can’t see how anyone else doing it IS possible. The only other theory I could come up with was that either Elsbeth did it (because she could manipulate the camera system so she could sneak in and do it) or that someone else was working with Mantis so they could. That would mean either Elsbeth or you and I don’t think either of you has a motive. Even if you did, I think either of you would commit the crime more cleanly so there was less suspicion.”

  Ximon, “You forgot two possibilities. It could have been you working with Mantis or Elsbeth to do it. Or, it could have been Raiza, acting on my behalf.”

  He considered that, “Yes, also theoretically possible. However, I think the crazy suicide idea sounds more plausible.”

  “Me too. If nothing else I certainly choose to believe that the woman I share my bed with isn’t a crazed killer.”

  Iday, “That is probably prudent. I suspect your sleep would be affected otherwise.”

  So, the flight continued. Ximon huddled with Mantis and/or the crew repeatedly, but they never found any other way that any other passenger could have done it. At one point they even discussed the possibility that one of the frozen passengers had somehow done it, but the cryo chambers showed continuous, uninterrupted sleep.

  The passengers regularly pestered them for answers, but all they could say is, “We continue to investigate and will turn the matter over to the authorities when we reach Thade. We have taken extra security measures to ensure your safety.”

  Ximon got so sick of the questions that he eventually had Raiza post that answer on the screen in the galley.

  The passengers were quite anxious by the time they got out of jump, but there were no incidents. Ximon compiled all of the date they’d uncovered into a consolidated report.

  They came out of jump, did their checks, and were safely in the Thade X system, out near the 5th planet, with 26 hours to get to the main planet.

  As soon as they were safe and enroute, Ximon contacted the system police constabulary and said he had to report that a murder had taken place on his vessel while in jump. He would be talking to a Detective Barnato of the Extraplanetary Crimes Division. Ximon laid out the general events, sent the report, and asked how Barnato wanted to proceed until they got to the planet.

  Barnato said, “You’ve given us a lot to chew on here. I’ll digest this and will meet the ship when you get here. Just bring the ship and passengers safely here and we’ll take it. I can’t tell anything until I see the report and we get the evidence, but it looks like you did as thoro
ugh an investigation as could possibly be expected.”

  “Understood. We’ll have everything ready for you.”

  As they headed for the planet Ximon informed the passengers that the local police would want to meet with them briefly upon landing. This irritated them somewhat, especially the lady, but Ximon was past caring. They made it to the planet without incident and landed at a pre-arranged berth.

  The crew had pre-planned the debarkation procedure. Raiza accompanied the passengers off, where they’d have to wait to talk to the police and wait for their bags. Elsbeth and Iday would offload their bags. Ximon would meet with Barnato, hand over physical evidence, show everything of relevance on the ship to him, and hand over the body. Once the luggage was done, Iday would revive and bring down the cryo passengers.

  The ship was met by a small knot of police, two in plain clothes, four in uniform.

  Ximon went down the ramp and greeted them. One stepped forward, “Captain Sabo, I presume. I’m Detective Barnato. Dr. Grayson and Officer Bralick here” pointing to a woman in plain clothes and a uniformed officer with extra video gear “will accompany us in looking at the ship and retrieve the body. These other officers will have a few questions for the passengers.”

  “The passengers are all yours. Do with them as you will. Let me show you the areas of interest in the ship.”

  Barnato signaled something to the other officers and they headed for the passengers.

  Ximon took Barnato and team into the ship. First, he showed them Ulfson’s room. Bralick took extensive images, Grayson examined the sheets and other bedding, and had Bralick collect them. Bralick also took some readings off the network that Ulfson would have connected to in order to implant the virus. He then briefly showed them the only areas Ulfson was ever detected in – the galley and the showers. They took pictures, but there was little of interest.

  Ximon handed over all the physical evidence they had – the knife, Ulfson’s tablet and personal effects, and a data cube with all of the relevant security video.