Ensnared Page 2

  “Fight well but Tem and Lyro are better.” Tem vanished through the door, seldom seeming to feel the need to socialise with the crew.

  “He’s not a talkative fellow,” Reese commented. “I wonder how he and Lyro feel about our former captain’s death, since they spent a lot of time with him.”

  “Happy,” Cee said, its swirling eye becoming visible as it straightened. Reese could also see the mouth near him, that was pushed out from the side of its face by a flexible stalk and made squeaky noises that his translator changed into English. “All happy.”

  “True,” Siglinde agreed. No one seemed to have a problem with murder, which made his secret work here more difficult. He hadn’t ruled any of them out as suspects.

  “You’re all staying here then?” Nick checked. He was sitting beside Reese but, as usual, not saying much. As always, though, Reese was aware of every expression on the man’s face – his interest in Nick increasing daily – and he could see that Nick still had reservations about the whole situation.

  Everyone nearby was agreeing that they would remain onboard, giving the impression that Tanya had done them a favour by killing off her husband, when Tanya’s voice came through the intercom. “Nick and Reese, please report to the control room for a new assignment.”

  Reese put a hand on Nick’s arm as he stood up. “I guess we have more investigating to do.”

  Nick smiled as they walked out together. “That’ll be a relief after the last few days.”

  “It certainly hasn’t been boring.”

  They entered the control room. Tanya and Poppy were here alone, conferring over something on one of the computers, and both women turned towards them. They couldn’t have looked more different: Tanya was plain-faced with dark hair that showed a hint of grey and looked a bit dowdy in a long dress with brightly coloured flowers over it; Poppy was striking, blonde and smartly dressed in a silver suit that brought out the cold colour of her blue-grey eyes. It would be easy to underestimate them based on their appearances. Reese didn’t know either of them well but he suspected they were both formidable in different ways and he wasn’t sure he trusted them.

  “We’ve been hired to find a kidnap victim aboard a nearby space station,” Tanya told them.

  “It’s definitely legit this time?” Nick asked and Reese winced, hoping she wouldn’t take this as a criticism. He didn’t know enough about her character to be sure that murdering people wasn’t a regular hobby of hers, so he didn’t want Nick to offend her.

  “Yes,” she answered in an unruffled way and Reese relaxed. “I’ve met the man whose daughter was taken and I’ll be thoroughly checking out anyone who contacts us that I don’t know in the future.”

  “Okay,” Nick said, “so who is our new client?”

  “His name is Uxor and he owns three planets. Yes, you heard that right. He doesn’t know who took his daughter, Larsha, but at the moment the obvious assumption is that the kidnapper took the girl hostage to get a large ransom. Uxor wants us to catch the kidnapper and get his daughter back safely. We’ll arrive at the station in just over two hours. As I’m sure you all know, time is critical in this type of case, so you will need to work quickly to save Larsha’s life.”

  Chapter Four

  “WHAT’S THE protocol for these cases?” Reese asked as he changed out of his casual clothes into a smarter black outfit, as he did so showing off lean muscles in his stomach and arms along with smooth brown skin that had a touch of bronze. He never seemed self-conscious about getting undressed in front of Nick but, with a body like that, why would he?

  Nick sat on his bed – since there was nowhere else to work – with his computer open and tried to focus on this instead of his distractingly handsome companion. Although there was plenty about Uxor’s many acquisitions, he could find little else about their client’s family or the space station personnel. “There isn’t anything in particular and, with Prince gone, Tanya might choose to run things differently. Poppy and I would ask questions while the captain got in the way and irritated everyone.”

  “I’ve never actually been involved in a kidnapping before.” Reese finished dressing and sat down on his own bed, his black wavy hair now attractively dishevelled. He slipped a pair of computerised sunglasses into a shirt pocket and a lock-pick up one sleeve.

  Nick pushed the small computer away and turned towards him. “We’ve only handled one ourselves but they’re not that different from other investigations. As Tanya said, time is vital as the longer the case goes on, the greater the danger is that the kidnap victim could end up dead. We want one of two outcomes: to find the kidnapper and rescue the daughter or to assist Uxor in paying a ransom and get Larsha back safely, then try to catch the kidnapper before he, she or it escapes.”

  “So we look for forensic evidence of the kidnapper, ask questions to find out if anyone saw what happened to Larsha and do everything we can to find the kidnapper?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Have you found any useful information?”

  “Not really. I won’t have access to facts about the station personnel or guests until the owner allows it. There’s plenty on the background of the victim’s father, though. Uxor inherited one planet from his father that had a harsh climate but possessed valuable minerals. He invested money into nearby planets that had no intelligent native life forms and developed them to the point where people wanted to go and live on them. He became ridiculously rich himself and it sounds as if a lot of the people he worked with became rich too. His actions created millions of jobs and the articles talk about him as if he were a cross between a genius and a saint.”

  “So he probably doesn’t have a lot of enemies, which makes it more likely that his daughter was kidnapped either purely for money or by someone with a personal grievance with her.”

  “You’re probably right, but I can’t see any information at all about Larsha.” Nick looked upwards, detecting an alteration in their flight. “We’re landing.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I can feel the change in the motion of the ship. Can’t you?”

  Reese shook his head, smiling as if Nick was doing something clever. Nick loved that slightly mischievous smile of his and he found Reese dazzling, both outwardly and in terms of personality, but he kept remembering the unpleasant moment of realisation that Reese had lied to him. It wasn’t that he had a problem with people having secrets – since most of the crew, including him, did – but he couldn’t understand why Reese would lie about something as pointless as his family. It made Nick wonder just how many more lies Reese had told him and why. Perhaps there was a good reason, though. Maybe Reese had been disowned by his family and made up lies about his past rather than admit to painful truths. Nick knew he was trying to find excuses for what had happened; he liked Reese too much to want to believe anything bad of him.

  There was a loud hissing noise followed by a bump that jolted them slightly, as The Prince landed. The engines went quiet and Reese stood up and grabbed a black jacket – the one that could change its temperature – while Nick was still considering what to make of him. “We should go and meet our client.”

  “Yeah. Let’s move.” Nick followed Reese out and put the subject of their relationship out of his mind so he could concentrate on the new case. A young woman’s life was in danger and the fact that it was up to them to save her gave him a feeling of responsibility for what happened to her. He wouldn’t be able to relax until she was back with her family again.

  They met up with Tanya, Sycophant Two and Poppy and all headed to the docking bay exit together, Tanya and Poppy in front. His sister would be in her element, piecing facts together, while he tended to focus more on the people involved and he already knew that Reese was good at making deductions and seeing what needed to be done to find the solution. Sycophant Two’s contribution was less obvious and Tanya had never been involved in the work before.

  “I’ll introduce you to Uxor and then leave you to conduct the investigati
on as you see fit,” Tanya said, answering that question. “I’m not going to make a nuisance of myself the way Alastair did or try to take credit for your work.”

  “Hot,” Poppy said, not denying Prince had been a pest in these situations. She held a small forensic scanner in one hand and had put on some red lipstick, making her look both smart and efficient. Still dressed in a casual grey outfit, Nick felt scruffy compared to her and Reese, who had that charismatic quality and handsome appearance that dazzled those around him. That was the effect he had on Nick anyway.

  “Do you know anything about how this space station is used?” Reese asked Tanya.

  “It’s basically a giant hotel. There are events and conferences held here too and I gather that there’s a large Highland Games gathering at the moment.”

  Reese’s steps faltered and Nick saw his eyes widen in what looked like panic. As he wondered what could have caused such a strong reaction, he said to Tanya, “We’ll need access to the station’s records about its personnel and guests. We can sign confidentiality agreements if necessary.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “I’ll have a word with the station commander about it right away.”

  “There should be cameras too for security,” Sycophant Two said. “If you’re able to get me access to them I can go through the recent footage, so we can see the kidnapping, while the rest of you ask questions.”

  “I’ll ask about it,” Tanya said.

  Nick wondered if Sycophant Two was trying to impress their new employer. Keith never seemed to have enough cultural detail to be of much help to them on the various planets they visited but, to be fair, there was a mass of information for him to cover. If he could go through the data and find an image of the kidnapper, they might get this case finished and the victim found in a matter of hours.

  They left the ship and found two people waiting for them in the docking bay of the station. Tanya spoke to a stocky male alien. “Uxor, these are Poppy, Nick, Reese and Keith. They will do everything in their power to return Larsha safely to you.”

  “I thank you all for come to assist me.” Uxor had cream skin that resembled stone and his face had appeared from behind a protective layer of skin. If he possessed arms, they were currently hidden and his four walking limbs resembled giant crab claws more than legs. He glanced at the middle-aged human beside him, whose hair was dyed a variety of different colours. “This is Paul Ninety, the owner and business person of the space station.”

  Tanya took Paul to one side to discuss their presence here, Keith joining them, while Nick and his companions turned to Uxor to begin the case.

  Chapter Five

  “COULD YOU show us where your daughter was taken from, in case there’s any forensic evidence left behind to help us find the kidnapper?” Poppy asked Uxor.

  “Yes, unknown word.” Uxor spoke in a husky, croaking voice seconds before the words were interpreted, or half-interpreted. Nick hoped Tanya would get them new translators soon, before these ones drove him crazy or wrecked a case.

  Uxor led them out of the bay and along a carpeted corridor with walls that were painted purple and windows looking out into space or showing holo-pictures of exotic worlds. The corridor led to a junction with half a dozen smaller corridors off it, each painted in different colours, the purple clashing with orange and green. They turned onto a pink corridor with blue carpeting and, realising this could get confusing fast, Nick tried to memorise the route. He could faintly hear sounds from the other guests: footsteps and laughter. Uxor moved on his clawed legs with inhuman speed and they had to jog to keep up with him. He stopped in front of a door that had pink dots on it. “This is my child’s room, where I last see her. I think she is unknown word from here in the night.”

  Clawed arms appeared from beneath the shell-like part of his body and used a key card to let them all in. Poppy glanced round and began to scan the room thoroughly. It was large and luxurious but looked messy – possessions and clothes strewn about – as if someone had left in a hurry or as if there had been some kind of struggle. In contrast, the bed was neatly made and the bedclothes – the type with nano-tech to adjust the heat they provided, by the looks of them – didn’t have a crease on them.

  “Could you tell us when you last spoke to Larsha and what happened?” Nick asked.

  Uxor said, “We are all have dinner together: me, my wife, Larsha and Kedos, a friend of my daughter’s. I have some work to do but I go to say high-quality hours of darkness to Larsha at around seven zibs.”

  Nick had no idea what a zib was. He’d have to check with Sycophant Two or find out if Reese’s translator was making better sense of this. “What was Larsha’s mood like at that time?”

  “Normal.”

  “She hadn’t had anything worrying or upsetting her lately?” he checked.

  “I am not know anything.” Uxor glanced over at Poppy, who was scanning the bed. He didn’t have a face that showed emotions and his words were uneven sounds that revealed nothing except how different their two species were. “Larsha doesn’t attach us for breakfast the after morning – as she usually does – so Kedos walks looking for her. After a duo of zibs Paul Ninety gets some of his crew to assist someone in unknown word, but we never see Larsha since.”

  Nick was still trying to decode this translation when Reese asked, “Is there any chance that Larsha could have left willingly?”

  Uxor hesitated before saying, “I consider not. We are strangers here so she has nowhere to go.”

  Poppy had finished her scan and she got Uxor’s permission to collect a sample of his DNA to eliminate it from those in the room. “I have forensic samples from four different people from the last two days, excluding you,” she said to him. “Three of them are from the same race as you, so they would presumably be Larsha, her mother and Kedos. The other sample might be the kidnapper.”

  “A butler, who is perusing for her, walks in briefly and so does Paul Ninety.”

  “If they didn’t touch anything, they wouldn’t have left forensic evidence,” Poppy reassured him. She pressed some buttons on the scanner, probably having the samples checked against the DNA of anyone with a criminal record who was on the station. “Did Larsha get to know anyone on the station while she was here?”

  “I could not speak. Kedos will say you.”

  “Could we have a word with your wife and Kedos now?”

  “Walk this here.”

  Reese immediately followed him to the door so, Nick guessed Uxor was leading them to the other people and he and Poppy went after them. The room Uxor shared with his wife was right next to Larsha’s and there was another woman present who he introduced as Kedos. The women were larger than Uxor and their skin was more grey than cream-coloured but they had the same large claw-like limbs. Uxor’s wife, Yalfi, wore only a lacy hat and jewellery but her torso was hidden behind a thick mottled outer layer of skin or shell. Kedos wore a flowing dress and jewellery.

  The room was opulently painted in shades of gold and burgundy – the station’s designer obviously liked bright colours. There was no sign of a bed – only shiny red tables and velvety chairs – so Nick guessed that this was only the outer room in a suite. There were a couple of computers lying about and several small statues that resembled Uxor’s people, as well as some drinks and snacks that were largely untouched.

  Reese led Uxor off to one side, presumably to let Nick and Poppy speak to the women privately, which was a good idea. If either of them knew anything about Larsha that Uxor didn’t, they might prefer not to reveal it in front of him.

  “How was Larsha’s mood recently?” Poppy asked.

  “Larsha is happy to be stay with us,” Yalfi said, her tiny eyes unreadable but the listlessness of her movements suggesting worry. “We be affectionate family and Larsha likes be out of siblings’ way to pay time with us.”

  “You have other children?” he asked.

  “Just seventeen. I hope more soon.”

  Wow. He had a mental ima
ge of being constantly surrounded by people; it wasn’t that different from being aboard The Prince. It might be fun, if they got on well, but you’d need a castle to house them all. Then again, Uxor and his family could doubtless afford one. He wondered how Larsha had felt about being one amongst so many others. “Why was it Larsha, out of all the children, who came with you?”

  “Small children preferable be at home. Larsha wants to join us.”

  “Did anything upset or worry her while she was here or did she do anything that could have upset someone else?”

  “No. Nothing is like that. You will find dear Larsha?”

  “We will,” Nick promised and turned to Kedos. “We were told that you were the first person to look for Larsha.”

  “Yes. Let honour woman rest. I am speaking to you outside.” She spoke quickly, the sounds she made slightly different from those of Larsha’s parents. Perhaps she had a different accent or language.

  Reese joined them as they left the room, going to Kedos’s quarters and sitting down on comfortable chairs. Her room was neater than Larsha’s and smaller than that of Uxor and Yalfi, painted in different shades of green, with a small collection of oddly shaped bottles on a shelf and more jewellery on a dresser. “Honour woman alive in dream,” she said and Nick and Poppy exchanged confused glances. The honour woman, he guessed, was Yalfi but what did dreams have to do with anything?

  “Then Larsha wasn’t happy here?” Reese asked.

  Dream-world, Nick realised. Yalfi lived in a dream-world. It was a lucky thing that Reese was here with a translator that actually made sense.

  “Larsha hate parents and hate come here,” Kedos said. “She come so Uxor could stop her make more trouble.”

  “What kind of trouble?” Poppy asked.

  “Uxor always work and Yalfi dream and children have to put on good unknown word. Larsha is not bear restrictions and grows out of control over several multi-zibs.” If zibs were a certain number of hours, multi-zibs were presumably months or years. “She starts to be rude for attention but is doing much more, like lie and steal.”