Odd Girl Out

Tas Yelfro's case, as one would expect from a professional Resolver, was lucid, well organized, and delivered with the kind of panache achieved elsewhere only by the lawyers in well-written dit rec dramas. I listened with one ear, most of my attention on our train across the way, watching as the Spiders continued the task of switching out the baggage car.

And wondering why exactly they were going to so much effort to keep the crime scene here.

Because they hadn't been nearly so cooperative with the locals the last time I'd gotten tangled up with a murder aboard a Quadrail. In that case, in fact, I'd had every indication that they'd planned to just move out the victim's effects, clean up the bloodstains, and send the car merrily on its way without so much as a preliminary forensic sweep.

Was it the potential for a three-way political tug-of-war that was making them so cooperative? Or was it merely the fact that this was a baggage car instead of a first-class compartment car, which meant there were no VIPs they would have to shift around?

Or did everyone else know something that I didn't?

Tas Yelfro had launched into his final summing-up when Bayta slipped through the door into the office and sat down beside me. 'You all right?' she whispered.

Falc Bresi, listening to the Resolver's speech from the side, sent us an annoyed look. But since neither the stationmaster nor Tas Yelfro seemed all that worried about Bayta's quiet interruption, I decided not to be, either. 'I'm fine,' I whispered back. 'What are you doing here?'

'It's all right,' she assured me. 'Rebekah's in a secure storage area along with our crate.'

'What about my lockbox?' I asked, knowing she would pick up on the unasked question. 'That's the only gun I've got left, and I don't want it going off on a tour of the galaxy without me.'

'Don't worry, it's safe,' she said. 'The Spiders took it off the Quadrail and set it aside by one of the underfloor hatchways where they're collected for shuttle transport to the transfer station.'

An underfloor hatchway near where Bayta had put Rebekah? I didn't dare ask, not with the two Juriani standing right there. But there was enough of a knowing expression on Bayta's face that it was clear we both knew what we were actually talking about. The Melding coral was safe, hopefully close enough to Rebekah to continue behaving itself. 'Good enough,' I said. 'If I end up heading in-system, I'll definitely want it with me.'

Bayta looked over at Tas Yelfro, who was still holding forth. 'If the Juriani allow that,' she warned.

I tuned back in to the oratory. To my surprise, somewhere along the way the Resolver had apparently switched from requesting a simple court of discovery to asking for a full-fledged criminal trial. 'Uh-oh,' I murmured.

'Is there really enough evidence to hold you for trial?' Bayta asked, sounding confused.

'Not even close,' I said. 'From our noble Resolver's expression, I'd say he doesn't think so, either.'

'But then why—?' She broke off.

'Right,' I confirmed grimly, studying Tas Yelfro's face. Though the polyp colony under his brain was clearly feeding him instructions, the lack of an altered expression and vocal pattern meant the Modhri hadn't yet escalated his control to the point of physically taking over his body. Either he didn't feel it was necessary to go to that extreme, or else he was hoping he could keep the identity of the Resolver's true master under wraps. 'What does the stationmaster make of all this?' I asked Bayta.

'He's uncertain,' she said. 'He's not going to simply turn you over to the Juriani, of course. But he's concerned that letting you go free without an investigation would bring unwelcome attention.'

'To us?' I asked. 'Or to him?'

'Neither would be a good thing,' she said diplomatically.

'I suppose,' I said. 'Let's see if we can help him out a little.' Squaring my shoulders, I stood up.

Tas Yelfro noticed me immediately, of course. But Jurian protocol concerning official presentations required him to finish his current thought before he acknowledged me. I, for my part, had the equally rigid obligation to wait silently until he found that end point and invited me into the discussion.

Two sentences later—two very convoluted sentences, as it happened—he reached his stopping point. 'You have something to add?' he asked me.

'Actually, I have a suggestion,' I said. 'It's obvious now that this matter can't be resolved until long after my train has left the station. Therefore—'

'Do you insult the abilities of a Jurian Resolver?' Falc Bresi interrupted.

The scales around Tas Yelfro's eyes wrinkled in a grimace. Cutting me off in the middle of my turn was a clear violation of protocol, and I would be well within my rights to demand an apology.

But I was a gracious sort of alien, and I let it pass. 'Therefore, I suggest you confine me here on the station,' I continued, 'under Spider guard and protection, until we have sufficient information to decide how best to proceed.'

Falc Bresi opened his beak—'Such information to include a full examination of the bodies and the location of their death?' Tas Yelfro asked before the governor could say anything.

'Exactly,' I said, watching as Falc Bresi closed his beak again without speaking. Either the governor didn't know the first thing about how detailed and time-consuming real-life criminal investigations were, or else he simply didn't believe that upstart aliens like me deserved that kind of consideration. 'I wouldn't expect it to take more than three or four days.'

'The Juriani have no objections to such a path,' Tas Yelfro said. 'Stationmaster?'

'It will be as suggested,' the stationmaster said.

Tas Yelfro bowed. 'Thank you.'

'I recommend a room at the Eulalee Hotel,' I said. 'They have room service, so I won't need an escort to take me to my meals.'

'Don't overreach your status,' Falc Bresi growled. 'You are a criminal, and will spend your time in a holding cell at the detention center.'

'Stationmaster?' I invited. 'This is your jurisdiction and decision, not his.'

'He will be placed in the Eulalee Hotel,' the Spider said.

'Make it a top-floor room on the west side,' I added. 'That way I can keep an eye on what the examiners are doing with the baggage car.'

'Very well,' the stationmaster said. 'Tas Yelfro, you and Falc Bresi may accompany Mr. Compton and his Spider escort to his holding area, if you wish.'

'Oh, yes,' Falc Bresi said, glaring coldly at me over the top of his beak. 'We most certainly do so wish.'

The Eulalee Hotel was the tallest public building in Jurskala Station, a five-floor showcase of Jurian architectural prowess rising over the mostly single-story cafes and shops around it. The exterior was done up in Neo-Revival, a style I'd always found both pretentious and ugly. One of the minor advantages of staying there was that, once inside your room, you didn't have to look at it.

The hotel's elevators weren't nearly big enough for our entire party to squeeze into together, so Falc Bresi insisted we take the stairs. The demand was probably designed to annoy me, but I had more urgent things on my mind than Jurian cheap shots and agreed without complaint.

Still, I couldn't help wondering what the travelers relaxing in the hotel's atrium lobby thought as they watched two Humans, two Juriani, and two conductor Spiders making their way all the way up the wide wrought-iron switchback staircase toward the fifth-floor landing. It just begged for a reference to Noah's ark, but given that our escort probably wouldn't get the joke I decided not to bother.

The stationmaster had sent a message ahead, and two more Spiders were waiting when we reached my assigned room. 'I assume you're taking the first shift of guard duty?' I asked them as we approached.

In answer, one of them unfolded a leg he'd had tucked under his globe and produced a key. He stuck it into the lock, and the door popped open. 'So you are,' I confirmed, looking at the two Juriani. 'I guess that means your services will no longer be needed,' I added as I pushed the door open.

'Yet we would not wish that the entire burden for your security would rest with the Spiders,'