Space Case (10 page)

Kira grinned. “Thanks for the advice. Nina's a tough nut, huh?”

“Yeah, but she's . . .” I tried to think of something nice
to say about Nina but couldn't. “She's . . . uh . . . very organized.”

“Sounds like a real winner.” Kira carefully walked down the catwalk to Residence 3, which is between my family's quarters and the Brahmaputra-Marquez family's. The door hung open, as keys hadn't been issued yet.

The room looked exactly like ours. The furnishings were identical. There were even four sleep pods, because all residences had been built that way. (Inez Marquez, being the fifth member of that family, has to sleep on a pad on the floor.) The SlimScreens were off, so the walls were all moon-dust gray and dull.

“It's much nicer once you personalize your habitat,” I said reassuringly. “We've got our screen set for Hawaii.”

“Right, that's where you're from. Must have been nice.”

Way nicer than this,
I thought, but I held my tongue. “It was. Where are you from?”

“Philadelphia,” Kira said. “Although now I guess I should say I'm from the moon. Sounds cooler.”

“I can help you do the habitat settings if you'd like,” I offered. “You can even personalize the base computer's personality for your room—”

Kira cut me off. “Thanks. But this is fine for now.” She suddenly yawned. “I'm pretty beat from the landing and all. If you don't mind, I'd like to take a nap.”

“Sure. I understand,” I said. My own landing had taken a lot out of me. I'd been jacked up on adrenaline, worried that we were going to crash on the moon. And learning how to walk in low g was pretty exhausting as well. “Take it easy, and if you need anything, well . . . it's not like I'm leaving here anytime soon. I shouldn't be that hard to find.”

“Thanks,” Kira said. “Catch you later.”

I backed out of the room, feeling better than I had all day. I liked Kira a lot. It was nice to have someone my own age around who wasn't a veeyar freak like Roddy. Someone operating on the same wavelength as me.

Plus she'd given me her tangerine.

I'd originally planned to save it until the next day. That way I could extend the enjoyment. But I couldn't wait. The last one had been too good. And if I left it in our room, Violet would probably eat it. So I unlocked my residence and slipped inside, hoping to have the whole thing to myself in peace.

To my surprise, there was a stranger inside the room.

It was a woman, around thirty or so, wearing a NASA security uniform. She was tall and beautiful, with olive skin and long dark hair.

Startled by her presence, I turned away, reaching for the door.

“Dashiell, wait!” she cried. “I need to talk to you in private. It's about Dr. Holtz.”

I froze in surprise and turned back to her. “Who are you?”

“My name's Zan Perfonic,” she said. “I just arrived on the rocket—and I think you're right about Dr. Holtz. He
was
murdered . . . but I need your help to prove it.”

Lunar day 188

Afternoon

I was so startled, I
forgot all about the tangerine in my pocket. I reflexively locked the door and asked, “How did you get in here?”

“Everyone in security has a master key,” Zan explained. “I know coming in here like this was wrong, but I didn't know what else to do. It's of great importance that no one see me talking to you.”

“Why?” I asked.

Zan waved to the InflatiCubes arranged around our SlimScreen table. “Sit down. Eat your tangerine. This might take a while to explain.”

I sat and Zan sat across from me. “How'd you know I had a tangerine?”

“I can smell it.”

I pulled it out of my pocket. “Do you want any?”

Zan smiled. When she did, her whole face seemed to light up. “That's very nice of you to offer, but it's yours. I had several on the rocket.”

I started to peel the fruit. “Why do you think Dr. Holtz was murdered?”

Zan stared at me, as though trying to decide where to begin. Now that I was close to her, I noticed that her eyes were extremely unusual. They were an amazingly brilliant blue that reminded me of the shallow water above the coral reefs in Hawaii. Just looking at them made me feel homesick.

“Before I get into that, there's something you ought to know,” Zan told me. “Although I work for the security division, I'm not here as an investigator. My official duty is to upgrade and assess the base security systems.”

“You're a temp,” I said.

“Right. When the rocket returns to earth in two days, I'll be on it. And I don't have any authority to investigate crimes here. That's Nina's jurisdiction.”

“But Nina says there wasn't a crime at all,” I pointed out.

“So I've gathered. Which is unfortunate, because I think she's wrong.” Zan suddenly locked her bright blue
eyes on mine. “There's something very suspicious about Dr. Holtz's death.”

I hesitated before responding. After all, I'd just met Zan and wasn't completely sure whether or not to trust her. I wondered if this was all a trick of some sort, something Nina had cooked up with NASA to see if I was going to disobey a direct order from her. So I tried to be as cautious as possible. “Why do you say that?”

“I knew Ronald,” Zan replied. “Quite well, in fact. He would never have done something so risky as a solo moonwalk. Not when death was a possibility. Living at this base was his dream, the culmination of his life's work. . . .”

“Maybe he was going crazy,” I said, echoing Roddy. “Maybe he got some sort of space madness.”

“If that had been the case, he wouldn't have kept it a secret. And there were no indications that he was losing his mind. In fact, according to his most recent medical reports Dr. Holtz was in complete control of his mental faculties. He wouldn't have gone out that air lock alone on purpose. Especially not right now. Not with what he was working on.” Zan suddenly lowered her eyes and bit her lip. It looked like she was about to cry.

I decided this wasn't a trick Nina had cooked up. Zan was genuinely upset about Dr. Holtz's death. “You know about that?” I asked.

“I know he was on the verge of revealing something exciting, but that's it.”

“How?”

“Like I said, we were friends. We've been talking a lot lately.”

I sat up, struck by a thought. “I overheard Dr. Holtz in the bathroom the night before he died. He was speaking to someone on the phone about a new discovery. Was that you?”

Zan met my eyes again, surprised by this piece of information. “No, I wasn't on the phone with him. Did you hear what the discovery was?”

I shook my head. “Dr. Holtz didn't say. But he was extremely excited about it. He said it would make history. He and whoever he was talking to planned to announce it first thing this morning. That's why I don't think his death was an accident. Why would he do something so dangerous
before
the announcement?”

“I don't know.” Zan held my gaze. “But I want to find out.”

I nodded, pleased that someone with authority was finally willing to listen to me, but then I thought of something. “If you didn't know I'd overheard Dr. Holtz's call, how did you know to come to me?”

“Nina reported you were making waves,” Zan said.
“Asking too many questions about Dr. Holtz's death. She thought maybe I could keep an eye on you while I was here.”

“But she didn't ever think you might agree with me.” I smiled, pleased by the idea of Nina's plan backfiring.

“No, she didn't,” Zan said. “Unfortunately, Nina isn't the only one who's concerned that a murder investigation would be bad press for MBA. My superiors agree with her.”

“Even though they run security and we're talking about a murder here?”

“None of them knew Ronald like I did. And since they were responsible for vetting the Moonies, they don't think it's possible that one of you committed murder. Instead they think the
real
problem here is you saying there was a murder at all.”

I put another piece of tangerine on my tongue. Somehow it didn't taste as good anymore. “So . . . they don't want you to investigate?”

Zan turned away, as though ashamed. “My official orders are, if anything, to make sure that there
isn't
an investigation. I'm to quash any suggestion that there was a murder.”

“That's why you're here?” I asked, upset.

“No. Those are my
official
orders. But as a member of the security division, I feel it'd be a dereliction of duty to not look into this matter.”

I relaxed, feeling better.

“However,” Zan continued, “given that my superiors—and
their
superiors—don't want me to do this, any investigation will have to be conducted secretly. Which is where
you
come in.”

“Why?”

“I can only do so much. As a temp, I don't have all the privileges you do. Therefore, I need your help.”

“Sure.” I was surprised by how quickly I agreed, given that there was certainly some potential for trouble. But then I figured that if there
was
a murderer on the loose at MBA, someone ought to be trying to find them. I would have preferred that somebody else do it—but at least I wouldn't be working alone. If trouble cropped up, Zan would be there for me.

And, truth be told, I was out for more than justice—or my own safety. I was bored out of my skull at MBA. Being asked to aid in a murder investigation was the most exciting thing that had happened to me since I'd arrived on the moon.

“What do you need me to do?” I asked.

Zan smiled, pleased by my response. “If Dr. Holtz didn't walk out that air lock on purpose, then someone forced him to do it. I need to see the security footage of that event.”

“But that footage is exactly what Nina says
proves
he
wasn't murdered,” I countered. “She says it's just him, going out the air lock solo.”

“How well do you think you can trust Nina on this?” Zan asked.

I frowned. “Not much.”

“Exactly,” Zan agreed. “I'm not saying Nina had anything to do with Dr. Holtz's death. But I'm well aware that she'd rather sweep this whole mess under the rug than look into it. I'll bet there's far more in that footage than she says there is.”

I set another piece of tangerine in my mouth. “Since you're in security, why can't
you
get the footage?”

“Because this is way out of my jurisdiction. In fact, my being in security actually works against us. I made the mistake of raising the issue en route here and was shot down by my superiors. Now I have direct orders not to get involved, and I guarantee you, they're keeping a very close eye on me. If I try to access the footage, they'll know.” Embarrassment reddened Zan's cheeks. “That's why I've been forced to make the . . . well, let's say ‘unorthodox' decision to come to
you
for help, rather than anyone else. I suspect NASA is far less likely to be monitoring your computer activity than that of any adult.”

“Even though I already told Nina I was suspicious?”

“Nina's given you an order to back off. You've never disobeyed her before. Your reputation around here is sterling.
I'll bet she's already forgotten about you. She has a lot of other things to deal with right now.”

“There's only one problem,” I admitted. “I don't have the slightest idea how to access the security footage.”