“See you later, Boss.”
“See you.”
Nikki asked, “What did you find out?”
“Sally says the kids just wanted to be with Bill because they knew being with their Grandparents was going to be bad. They really aren’t that attached to him.”
“That’s good news, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I wonder if they’ve been through so much crap that they won’t be able to bond with anyone.”
“Only time can tell that, Caveman. Are you ready to head to the ship?”
“I think I should go over to the village and talk with Jennie’s folks before we head up. I don’t think I can show her leniency, but I feel like I should hear them out before I pass sentence.”
“I should probably go with you. You’re going to be in a bad way, after you do what you have to.”
“You’re right about that. I hate this part of my job.” Topper called Taz and Ozzie. He said, “You fellas watch the house. I’m going with Ruth and the Boss back to the ship for a bit. We should be back by nightfall.” We got aboard the Evans, and Nikki took us to the village. I walked down the ramp and looked for a human. Will came out of his shop, and said, “Hey, Bob! Good to see you.”
“Hey Will. I have business with Jennie Stone’s folks. Do you know where I can find them?”
“Her Grandpa is in the shop. Come on in.”
I went in, and saw a fellow who looked middle aged, except he acted older, sitting with a cup of coffee. He said, “Mr. Wilson. It’s good to finally meet you.”
“You might want to hold off on that, till you hear what I have to say.”
“Jennie’s in trouble, is she?”
“Yessir, she is. Big trouble.”
“My son and his wife did all they could after they adopted that girl. She was already old enough to be set in her ways. My wife and I tried to help, but my daughter-in-law was from town. She didn’t think much of the old ways. We had high hopes when she joined the service, but that didn’t seem to help much either. We kept her on the ranch over the summers, but she didn’t take to it. What has she done now?”
“Tried to sneak into my house over on the island last night. She had a pistol, we figure she meant to kill me and my wife.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Her buddy was busy trying to take over the ship, while she was doing it.”
“I see. That makes it mutiny, doesn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so. I wish I had taken her back to Earth, instead of giving her a job, now.”
“Don’t fret about it. She would have found a way to get herself killed there too, just maybe not as fast.”
“I don’t want to be up in your business, but you’re taking the whole thing pretty calmly. I expected you to be more upset.”
“We cried over her a long time ago, Captain. We knew she would come to a bad end.”
“Who do you mean, we?”
“My wife and I. Heck, even the owner of the ranch where we used to work before we got too crippled up took an interest in her, and got disappointed when she didn’t turn out better. Would it be alright if my wife and I came along to say goodbye, before you do what you have to do?”
“That would be fine, Sir. I’d have to ask you to leave that hogleg on the planet, though.”
“That’s sensible. I won’t cause any trouble, but you don’t have any way of knowing that.”
“Thank you, for your understanding. We’re in that ship out there, whenever you’re ready.”
I turned to leave, half expecting him to draw on me. He didn’t, though. I walked to the ship and waited. Soon, he came out, looking off into the distance. I saw what he was looking for, when a woman came galloping up on a Percheron. She was out of the saddle, and on the ground, before the horse stopped. She tied her mount, and embraced the fellow I had spoken with. They started toward the ship, and I saw she was still armed. I said, “Sorry, Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave the pistol here.” She unbuckled her belt, and the fella ran it back to Will’s shop for her. Then they came on. She asked, “Permission to come aboard, Captain?”
“Please do. Sorry about your weapons, but things are going to be bad enough without lead flying around.”
She replied, “I understand. I’m sorry our Jennie caused you trouble. We did try with her, Captain.”
“Of that, I have no doubt. I wish it hadn’t come to this.”
“I do too, but I think both of us knew it would come to something like this, sooner or later.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how did she make it into the service, if she’s that wild?”
“A therapist friend of ours told us she’s a borderline sociopath. She figures out what you want to hear, and tells it so you believe it.”
“That explains a lot. Makes me wonder which one of them was the actual ringleader, though.”
The fella spoke up. “Don’t. If there was any kind of a scheme going on, it was her idea, whether you can prove it, or not.”
The ramp came down. Scotti was there with a couple of maintenance bots. She asked, “Where’s Ruth?”
“That hardhead is guarding the prisoner. Let’s go get her.”
I went through the door with my stunner out, just on general principle. Jennie was still out cold, and Ruth asked, “What’s wrong, Boss?”
“Nothing that a few minutes in Scotti’s shop won’t fix. Did I give you permission to get yourself shot?”
“No, Boss, you didn’t. Sorry for
