The Third Lynx

over the subject. Both of them looked up as Bayta and I entered. Penny with a look of defiance-flavored trepidation, Morse with completely unadulterated annoyance. 'What the bloody hell are you doing here?' he demanded. 'I told you to stay—'

'Ms. Auslander, my name is Frank Compton,' I introduced myself, ignoring Morse. 'One question: what was it your friend Pyotr wanted you to do?'

The sheer unexpectedness of the question brought Morse's budding tirade to a halt. 'What?' he asked.

'Ms. Auslander?' I prompted. 'You and Pyotr were discussing something before we arrived. What was it?'

She was staring at me like something that had just crawled out of a fishbowl and quoted Nietzsche. 'He wanted me to go home with him,' she said. 'I mean, not with him—just go back to Earth and forget the ski trip and whatever the problem was with my ticket.'

Morse heaved himself off the desk and took a step toward me. 'Compton. if you're not out of here in five seconds—'

'And you discussed this in the waiting room?' I asked Penny. 'In full earshot of anyone who happened to pass by?'

Penny's expression was starting to slide into sudden horror. 'My God.' she breathed. 'Are you saying—? Oh, no. God. no.'

I looked at Morse, silently inviting him to renew his rant. But he just stood there, a grim look on his face. 'I'm afraid so,' I confirmed, looking back at Penny. 'Someone wants to find your friend Mr. Stafford, and he's counting on you to help him do that. The last thing he wants is for you to turn around and go back home.'

'And he killed Pyotr for that?'

'Your boyfriend is very important to him,' I said.

The girl took a deep, shuddering breath. 'Not boyfriend,' she corrected quietly. 'Fiance.'

I looked at Morse, noting his complete lack of reaction. Apparently, that was one of the tidbits on his private data chip. 'All the more reason we need to get to him first,' I told Penny. 'Will you help us?'

She dropped her gaze to the floor again. Clearly, the fact that her fiance's pursuer was willing to play rough had all sorts of potentially unpleasant ramifications for her safety as well as Stafford's. If their engagement had been made in some boardroom instead of heaven she would probably be seriously rethinking the whole thing right now. 'What do you want me to do?' she asked at last.

'You can start by telling us exactly what you've heard from Mr. Stafford in the past two weeks,' Morse said.

Penny shrugged, a nervous hunching of her shoulders. The haughty young woman in the waiting room who'd demanded to know what had taken us so long had vanished, replaced by someone a little vulnerable, a little scared, and way more human. I definitely liked this version better. 'He sent me a message about a week and a half ago telling me he'd found a great new resort on the north side of Carvlis Fang and that I should get a group together to come join him.'

'Don't you all have classes?' I asked. 'I thought you were students.'

Penny shook her head. 'We all graduated last semester.'

'Except for Mr. Stafford, of course,' Morse murmured.

'He's not what you all think,' Penny snapped, some of her earlier fire flaring out again. Her lips quirked, her eyes dropping away from Morse's. 'Anyway, he's doing an independent study on alien sociology this semester. He can travel as much as he wants.'

Or at least, as much as he wanted up to the limit of his parents' bank account and patience. 'So you collected the gang and headed out,' I said. 'I presume you were supposed to call him once you got to Ian-apof?'

Penny nodded. 'Only this griggle with my ticket came up and I couldn't transfer trains.' She gave me an accusing look. 'Only I gather it wasn't just a griggle, was it?'

'Meanwhile, Mr. Gerashchenko volunteered to stay behind and keep you company,' I said, ignoring the question. 'And then tried to get you to go back to Earth.'

'Could he have been hoping to steal you away from Mr. Stafford?' Morse suggested.

'No,' Penny said, the fire gone again with the fresh reminder of Gerashchenko's violent death. 'I don't know. Maybe. If he was, it wouldn't have worked.' She blinked a couple of fresh tears from her eyes. 'It takes more than a few hours alone with someone, you know.'

I felt my breath catch in my throat. A few hours …'I suppose that depends on the person.' I said, keeping my voice casual. 'Excuse me a minute.'

I touched Bayta's arm and backed out of the room. She followed, a puzzled look on her face. 'Is that all you needed?' she asked.

'No, but the rest can wait,' I said. 'Right now, we need a train. A fast one.'

'The next express to Ian-apof—'

'Faster than an express,' I cut her off. 'I need something that can gain five or six hours over the distance between here and Jurskala. We need to catch Penny's original Quadrail, the express Morse was heading for back on Terra Station when he got clobbered.'

'What for?'

I looked at the door we'd just come through. Morse might already be on his way to find out the reason for my sudden retreat. 'Because the Hawk the Modhri stole from Bellis is on that train.'

Bayta's eyes had just enough time to widen in shock; and then, right on cue, the door opened and Morse strode through, a suspicious glint in his eyes. 'Our company suddenly not good enough for you?' he demanded.

'Bayta and I need to get moving,' I told him. 'Good luck with your investigation. I trust you can take care of Ms. Auslander?'

'I thought you wanted in on this,' Morse said.

'I thought you didn't want me.'

'I don't,' he said. 'But as far as I'm concerned, you're still under suspicion of murder. Of six murders, now, actually. I don't intend to let you out of my sight for the foreseeable future.'

It was basically the response I'd expected. It was also the one I'd wanted. If the Modhri wanted Penny in on the hunt for Stafford, I didn't want her out of my sight, either. 'I don't have time to argue the point,' I said, trying for the right combination of chagrin and resignation. 'Bayta thinks she can get us a train that'll get us to Jurskala ahead of Penny's friends.'

'That's impossible,' he said, frowning. 'They're on an express.'

'Bayta thinks she can get something faster.'

He gave Bayta a long, speculative look. 'All right, I'll play,' he said. 'Just make sure it has enough seats for the four of us. You think Ms. Auslander's friends can help us find Stafford?'

'Multiple heads are usually better than one.'

'Maybe.' He grunted. 'I'm not looking forward to telling them about Gerashchenko's death.'

'I'm sure your natural tact will carry the day,' I assured him. 'Why don't you get Ms. Auslander's luggage together and we'll meet you outside.'

'Just make sure you're still there when we arrive,' he warned, and disappeared back into the room.

I started to head the opposite direction, but was brought up short by Bayta's grip on my arm. 'Frank, the Hawk can't be on that Quadrail,' she insisted. 'The Spiders checked the records, and those Bellidos are still on their original train.'

'The Bellidos are; the Hawk isn't,' I said. 'They transferred it to another walker team at Terra.'

'But that doesn't make sense,' she protested. 'I thought the Modhri trapped us on Helvanti Station so that that group could get ahead of us.'

'Right, but they can't outrun a message cylinder,' I said. 'If the walkers hadn't switched at Terra, we could have easily gotten word to someone ahead of them before the next major station and arranged an ambush. What sidelining us incommunicado at Helvanti did was make it impossible for us to keep track of where the Hawk was.'

'But why would he put it on Ms. Auslander's train?'

'I doubt he even knew Ms. Auslander was aboard,' I said. 'I think he just wanted an express that would get the Hawk to Nemuti space in a timely manner, but not on an obvious straight-line path. The Jurskala-to-Ian-apof line fits that description perfectly.'

'So do six to ten others.'