Vision of the future

'Maybe you can get her to tell you what she's going to do next.' Klif gestured at the cylinders.

'One of them is missing.'

Navett swallowed a curse. Picking up the comlink, he thumbed it on. 'You've been a busy little girl, haven't you?' he ground out.

'Why, good morning,' the old woman's voice came back. Didn't she ever sleep? 'You're up early.'

'You're up late,' Navett countered. 'And you ought to take better care of yourself. Unaccustomed exercise could be fatal in someone your age.'

'Oh, pish,' she scoffed. 'A little exercise keeps the old heart running smoothly.'

'Until you run it up against a sharp object,' Navett reminded her darkly. 'There are laws on Bothawui against vandalism, you know.'

'Only if you know who to deliver the warrant against,' she said airily. 'And you don't, do you?' Navett ground his teeth together. She was right; all their efforts to backcheck her ship ID had come up completely dry. 'Then I guess we'll just have to deal with you ourselves,' he said. There was a clucking sound. 'I suggested that last night. I do wish you'd make up your minds. Did you fetch your Xerrol Nightstinger, by the way?'

Navett smiled tightly. He'd fetched it, all right. It was sitting right there across the room in their hidden storage compartment, ready to go. 'What exactly did you think you would find in here, anyway?'

'Oh, you never know,' she said. 'I've always liked animals, you know. What are all those little cylinders for?'

'You're the expert on everything. You figure it out.'

'My, but you're crabby first thing in the morning,' she chided. 'Not even a hint?'

'I'll trade you,' Navett offered. 'Why don't you tell me what you're planning next.'

'Me?' she asked, all wide-eyed innocence. 'Why, nothing. From this point on it's up to the Bothans.'

Navett shot a look at Klif. 'Of course it is,' he said. 'Come on, now—you can't call Security in on this, and we both know it. It's just you and us.'

'You go ahead and believe that,' she said encouragingly. 'Well, I'm a little tired, and you've got company coming. Talk to you later.'

The transmission shut off with a click. 'Good-bye to you, too,' Navett muttered, turning off the comlink and setting it down on the shelf. Pulling his knife, he deliberately drove it through the device.

'What did she mean about company?' Klif asked suspiciously as Navett brushed the pieces of the comlink into the waste collector. 'You don't suppose she has called Security, do you?'

'Not a chance,' Navett said. 'Come on, we've got to get this place straightened up before opening time—'

He broke off as, across the shop, there was a knock at the door. Frowning, he crossed the room, returning knife and blaster to their hiding places in his tunic. Unlocking the door, he pulled it open. To find himself face-to-face with a group of four Bothans wearing the wide green-and-yellow shoulder sashes of local police. 'Proprietor Navett of the Exoticalia Pet Emporium?' the one in front asked.

'Yes,' Navett confirmed. 'Shop hours are—'

'I'm Investigator Proy'skyn of the Drev'starn Department of Criminal Discouragement,' the Bothan interrupted briskly, holding up a shimmering ID. 'We received word that you had had a break-in.'

His eyes flicked over Navett's shoulder. 'Obviously, the report was accurate. May we come in?'

'Of course,' Navett said, stepping back to let them enter, trying to keep his suddenly murderous thoughts out of his voice. No, the old woman hadn't done anything so obvious as calling Security. Not her. 'I was just about to call you, actually,' he added as the Bothans fanned out across the shop. 'We only just discovered it ourselves.'

'You have a list of inventory and stock?' Proy'skyn called back over his shoulder.

'I'll get it for you,' Klif volunteered, heading off toward the computer. One of the Bothans had paused beside the prompous cage. 'Proprietor?' he called. 'What are these cylinders?' He reached down.

'Please, be careful with those,' Navett said quickly, hurrying to his side, mind furiously casting about for something