by John Bowers
The odd thing was that Michael didn’t seem to have much ambition. He had no college degree, no career, and seemed perfectly content to function as a sort of butler for the Prater estate; that seemed a little strange for someone of his age and obvious intelligence. As far as Nick could determine he had no ties to anyone outside the estate, no boyfriends, no…
Nothing.
In fact, as they talked, Nick began to question whether he was actually gay. The affectatious dialogue began to disappear and by the time they were done, he sounded like any heterosexual male. Nick kept that to himself, and as soon as they were finished, Michael reverted to form.
Nick thanked him for his time.
“No prawblem, Marshal. I hope I was able to help. If there is anything I can do, just let me know.” He smiled impishly. “And I still need to know where you got that outfit.”
***
Luisa and Hector Ramirez were as genuine as they appeared. They had immigrated to Alpha 2 right after they got married, spent a few months in Lucaston to get their bearings, then answered an ad for domestic work that led them to Centauri Springs. They had worked at the Prater estate ever since. Their son Eddie, twenty-two, had been born at the estate and was still there.
Eddie was a handsome, muscular lad who didn’t appear to be afraid of hard work. When Nick pressed him about his hopes and ambitions, he shrugged.
“I like living here. It’s hard work but I’m good at it. The senator pays me well and I don’t have any expenses, so I’m saving my money.”
“Saving for what? You don’t want to live here forever, do you?”
“I want to take care of my folks. They won’t last forever. After that…who knows?”
Nick looked him up and down. “What about a family of your own? You have a girl friend?”
Eddie stared at him, then a grin slowly spread across his face.
“I’m workin’ on it.”
“Yeah? Anyone I know?”
“Maybe. These things take time.”
That was all Nick got out of him on the subject.
***
Gil Prater was sitting on the patio reading some kind of document, a cup of cold coffee on the table at his elbow. He glanced up as Nick strolled outside.
“Morning, Marshal. Did you find everything you need?”
“I did, from a logistical standpoint.”
“What does that mean?”
“I still don’t know who sent the wanted poster. I interviewed the house staff, but nothing suspicious.”
“I told you that. My people are loyal.”
“I’m sure they are, but I have to check all the boxes.”
Prater laid the document down and sipped the chilled coffee.
“So now what?”
“I still need to interview Hornbeck and Barnett and that’s it.”
Prater nodded. “William went into town for supplies, but he should be back shortly. Jim Hornbeck is in the horse barn.”
“Then I’ll mosey on down there.”
Nick turned as he heard a patio door slide open. Cybele Gannon stepped into the sunlight wearing a checkered halter top and riding pants so tight she seemed to have been poured into them. Her spiked heels of the night before had been replaced by riding boots, and she carried a cowgirl hat in one hand.
Prater stood up. “Marshal Walker, this is my daughter Cybele. Cybele—”
“We’ve met,” Nick told him. “Twice.”
“Oh?” Prater frowned in confusion.
Cybele stepped forward with a smile.
“I bushwhacked him,” she said with a laugh. “In town, before he ever got here.”
Prater lost the frown, but still looked confused.
“He’s famous,” Cybele told her father. “I figured, since he was coming here anyway, I might get an article out of the deal.”
“Oh, I get it. How did that work out?”
“He’s a little gun-shy—”
“I don’t blame him.”
“—but I’m still working on it.”
Nick fiddled with his hat and then stuck it on his head.
“You folks will excuse me,” he said. “I need to meet Mr. Hornbeck.”
He turned down the sloping lawn toward the horse barn. Cybele Gannon trotted after him.
“Want some company?”
“Not necessary, but thanks.”
“I can show you where to find the barn.”
“I think I see it. Big red building with white trim. Two hundred yards dead ahead.”
She caught up and slowed to match his pace.
“You’re really good,” she said.
“Years of training.” Nick glanced at her. “What can you tell me about Jim Hornbeck?”
Cybele shrugged. “Not too much. He’s kind of cute, in a skinny sort of way, but I don’t really know him that well.”
They left the swimming pools and tennis courts behind. The slope was covered with grass, the ground moist underneath. The morning was cool and bright, the country smells intoxicating. Nick picked up another scent as well.
“Where’d you get that perfume?”
“Mail order.” Cybele smiled. “You like it?”
“I’ve always liked it. I only know one other woman who wears Vegan perfume.”
Cybele laughed. “Well, if you must know, I ordered it from a shop in Trimmer Springs called Suzanne’s. It’s the only place on Alpha 2 where I could find it.”
“And when did you order this? Not since yesterday, surely.”
“About a week ago. Suzanne is your fiancée, isn’t she?”
Nick nodded. “That’s quite a coincidence. Do you care to explain it?”
“Do I need to explain it?”
“Maybe not, but it raises a couple of questions…such as why the sudden interest in Vegan perfume just before I got here, and did you know in advance that I was coming.”
“I did not know you were coming, but I was planning to write the article well before you got here. It took me several days to do the background, and that’s when I ordered the perfume.”
“How does the perfume figure in?”
“It doesn’t. But when I learned that you were engaged to a Vegan woman, and she had an exotic boutique in Trimmer Springs, I checked her catalog and ordered a few items, including the perfume. I’m a modern woman, Nick. I like nice things and I like to keep up with the latest fashions.”
He nodded. “Still, it seems a little ironic that your dad called me down here just in time for you to do an interview, doesn’t it? Saved you a trip to Trimmer Springs.”
She stared at him in surprise, her mouth dropping open.
“You aren’t suggesting that I had anything to do with the wanted poster, are you? Just so I could interview you?”
“I’m not suggesting anything, but stranger things have happened.”
“Well, I didn’t. Like you said, it’s just a coincidence.”
Nick grinned but didn’t reply. They had reached the horse barn.
***
The barn looked new, maybe not more than five years old. Nick and Cybele entered through a door at one end and stared down a long corridor that ran the length of the building on one side, storage rooms and stables opening off it. They strode past several doors, both locked and unlocked, including a tack room, feed storage, and veterinary supplies. They found Jim Hornbeck in one of the stables midway down. Nick motioned Cybele to wait for him in the corridor.
Hornbeck stood with his back to the door as Nick entered the stable. He was tying a rope halter on a slightly skittish sorrel, talking quietly to the animal. The horse bounced its head up and down and snorted in protest to the halter. Hornbeck didn’t hear Nick until he spoke.
“Jim Hornbeck?”
The young man spun in surprise, his eyes wide and his mouth open. For just a second Nick thought he might run, then he sagged slightly and let out his breath.
“Jesus, man! You scared the shit out of me.”
Nick smiled. “Sorry.”
/>
“Next time wear bells or something.” Hornbeck swallowed to control his adrenaline and stood breathing deeply.
Nick stuck out his hand. “Nick Walker, U. F. Marshal.”
Hornbeck stared at it briefly, then accepted the shake. His grip was weak, his hand limp, as if no one had ever taught him how to shake hands.
“Yeah, William told me you were here. What can I do for you?”
Hornbeck was in his late twenties, tall and painfully thin. He had a narrow face with dark, close-set eyes. He was actually rather good looking, but his face was so narrow it gave him a sneaky appearance. Nick knew from experience that judging him by his looks was not only unfair, but a tactical mistake as well.
But Hornbeck’s manner reinforced the impression.
He turned his back on Nick and continued working with the horse, which was now rolling its eyes at the stranger in the barn. Nick moved to Hornbeck’s right, out of the horse’s view. The sorrel was calmer now, but still resisted the halter. Hornbeck scowled as he worked it into place, then secured it with a tie knot.
“How long have you worked for the senator?” Nick asked conversationally.
“’Bout four years.”
“And before that?”
“Half a dozen places. Never very long in one place.”
Nick nodded, as if satisfied. He placed a hand on the sorrel’s rump and patted it gently.
“How many head do you raise here?”
“Nearly a hundred.”
“You sell them?”
“The senator does. William and I just take care of them.”
“What kind of horses can you sell on Alpha 2? Race horses?”
Hornbeck nodded, his lips pinched. His brow lowered in irritation, and he concentrated on the halter, which he untied and retied.
“Some go for racing. Some for pleasure, some to cattle ranches.”
“Cattle ranches? On Alpha 2?”
Hornbeck nodded. “Lots of beef cattle south of here. Thousands of head.”
Nick’s eyebrows lifted.
“South of here? I thought Centauri Springs was the end of the line.”
Hornbeck was becoming irritated. He continued fiddling with the halter, untying it and retying it again.
“Centauri Springs is the last real town in this part of the continent, but there’s lots of settlements on down toward the isthmus. It’s wide-open country for range cattle. Some mining, too, I think.”
Hornbeck untied and retied the halter yet again.
“Nervous, Jim?”
“Nervous? No. Why?”
“You seem to be having trouble with that halter. I figured an experienced horseman like you should be able to do it one-handed in his sleep.”
Hornbeck dropped his hands and turned to face him, his face pink.
“Like I said, you startled me. What the hell do you want?”
“Just trying to be friendly. Need information.”
“I’ve already told you everything I know.”
“I doubt that. I don’t know your mother’s maiden name, or what your blood type is.”
“Oh, for Christ sake!”
“Just making a point. Any time someone says they’ve told me everything they know, it’s never true. There’s always more to tell.”
“What are you, a fucking philosopher or something?”
Nick grinned. “Or something.”
“What information do you need?”
“Well…I did a little search on you last night, on the AlphaNet.”
Nick could have sworn that Hornbeck turned pale. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared back.
“And?”
“You came up clean. No wants, no warrants.”
Hornbeck swallowed again. “I could’ve told you that.”
Nick nodded. He looked at the sorrel and slid his hand along the animal’s flank.
“Then I did another search, this one on the SolarNet.” His eyes returned to Hornbeck. “Can you guess what I found?”
For another second, Hornbeck stared at him, then he spun and bolted for the stable door.
Chapter 6
Cybele Gannon had been standing in the open door to the stable, eyes wide, listening. When Hornbeck made his move, she uttered a cry of surprise and turned sideways, covering her head with her arms but still blocking his way. Hornbeck grabbed her shoulders to shove her aside, but her presence slowed his escape by two or three critical seconds, enough for Nick to catch up to him. As Hornbeck squeezed past her into the main breezeway, Nick grabbed him by the collar and hauled him back, throwing him off balance. Both men crashed to the floor with Nick on top, and before Hornbeck could decide whether to fight or surrender, Nick twisted one skinny arm behind him and snapped on an E-cuff.
“Give me your other arm!”
Hornbeck stared at him with an expression of pure terror.
“Just lemme go!” he cried. “I never hurt anybody!”
Nick gripped his other arm and completed the cuffing, then sat back with a sigh. He got to his feet and turned to Cybele.
“You okay?”
She nodded, looking shaken. She stared at Jim Hornbeck as if he were some kind of reptile she had never seen before.
“What did he do?”
Nick looked down at his prisoner. “Why don’t you tell her, Jim?”
Hornbeck twisted his head away, his face red. He remained silent. Nick hauled him to his feet and stood him against the outside wall.
“Jim Hornbeck, you’re under arrest for desertion under fire, pursuant to a warrant issued nine years ago by the Federation Star Marines. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can be used against you in a court of law…”
He finished the Miranda warning, then waited a moment for Hornbeck to respond. He stood silent.
“Do you understand your rights as I’ve described them?”
Hornbeck nodded, staring at the floor.
“Anything you want to say?”
Hornbeck shook his head. Tears formed in his eyes. He thought better of it and met Nick’s gaze.
“I don’t expect you to understand. You don’t know what it was like.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The war. The constant artillery, men dying all around you. Freaks sneaking up in the dark and dropping grenades in foxholes.” He shook his head again, tears sliding down his face. “I’m not proud of running away. I know most people stayed and took it, but…I just couldn’t do it anymore.”
Nick watched him a moment. The tears were genuine. He wondered how it must feel to be living with that emotion for nine years, coupled with the dread of discovery.
“Yeah. I know.”
“It’s like I said, I never hurt anybody. Just the opposite.”
“Except the men you left behind. You left them high and dry. I have to take you in, Jim. But first I have to know if you ever made any threats against Senator Prater.”
“What?” Hornbeck looked startled. “Why would I do that? The senator was always good to me.”
“You didn’t deliver a wanted poster to him?”
“No! What are you talking about?”
“You never placed anything in his mailbox? Maybe at the request of someone else?”
“No.”
Nick glanced at Cybele, whose expression still betrayed surprise, then took Hornbeck’s arm.
“Okay, Jim. Let’s go.”
Centauri Springs – Alpha Centauri 2
Chief Sheehan was standing at a desk behind the counter when Nick walked into the police station with Jim Hornbeck in E-cuffs. He glanced up in surprise, then gave Nick his full attention as he walked forward.
“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon, Marshal. What’ve you got there?”
“I was wondering if I could borrow a jail cell for a day or two. I arrested Mr. Hornbeck here on an outstanding Federation warrant. My other business isn’t concluded yet, so he needs a place to sleep until I can take him back to Camarrell.”
Sheehan nodded. “No problem. We can hold him for you. Any special problems I need to know about?”
“I don’t think so. He doesn’t seem to be a violent type. I don’t have all the datawork in order yet, but I’ll make sure you have a copy before I leave. Keep a tally of the expense and the Federation will reimburse you.”
“Not a problem.” Sheehan buzzed open the wing gate and Nick walked Hornbeck through. Straight back through the office, a short corridor led to the lockup—four empty jail cells, each with a single bunk and toilet, a window, and not much else. To Nick’s eye they looked clean and reasonably comfortable, if somewhat depressing. Sheehan pulled open the door of one and Nick removed the E-cuffs. Hornbeck stepped inside and rubbed his wrists, looking a little lost.
“Behave yourself, Jim,” Nick told him. “Everything you do or say from now on goes into the record, so don’t make things any worse.”
Hornbeck eyed him a moment but didn’t speak. He sat down on the bunk and gazed at the floor, looking a little shell-shocked.
“What’s he wanted for?” Sheehan asked when they were back in the office.
“Desertion. He walked away from the Star Marines during the war.”
Sheehan frowned. “Too bad. Can’t hardly blame him.”
Nick’s eyebrows lifted and he took a deep breath—he understood Sheehan’s sentiment, and Hornbeck’s, but didn’t share it. He let the comment go.
“Thanks for the assist, Chief. I won’t leave him here a minute longer than necessary.”
Cybele Gannon was waiting in the car when Nick returned to the parking lot. He climbed in and fired up the turbines.
“What will happen to him?” she asked.
“Who, Hornbeck?” Nick frowned, staring into space for a moment. “He’ll face a star-court, probably on Terra. He’ll be big news for about two days. They’ll come down on him hard, call him a coward, embarrass the shit out of him…but that’s all for public consumption, to discourage other military people from doing the same thing. He’ll probably get ten years to life in a Federation lockup, but he’ll do about eighteen months in minimum security and then they’ll release him quietly and the worlds will forget all about it.”
