"Thales, how far along are we with the excavation?"
"I require a few more minutes, Derec."
"Who are they, Hofton?"
"TBI," Hofton said. "Leri, to his credit, is fending them off with implied threats of 'political repercussions' and 'violation of sovereignty; but they aren't really backing down. They want the robot. My sense is that they intend to take it regardless of the consequences. "
Derec glanced at the DW-12. "Why would they want a robot?"
"Not a robot-that robot. They know exactly where it came from and what it is."
"Thales, those leaks-"
"It is possible they were TBI monitors," Thales said. "I did not trace them for the reasons we discussed. "
Derec studied the group. "Palen looks upset."
"I would be, too. Evidently her authority is being challenged. I suspect she'll lose, but she may be able to delay any immediate action. "
"It may be a moot point, anyway." He leaned over the console. "Thales, complete the excavation, copy all material to Ariel's office, then start tracing those monitors. Be careful not to reveal your presence as more than a security trace."
"Yes, Derec."
Derec smoothed his shirt and ran a hand through his hair. Hofton watched him speculatively.
"Shall we?" Derec gestured toward the confrontation. "Your lead, sir."
Derec approached, Hofton a pace behind. Polifos noticed him first and tapped Ambassador Leri's arm. The discussion died immediately with everyone looking at Derec.
"Excuse me, but I couldn't help noticing, " Derec said. "TBI?"
One agent nodded slowly. "You are…?"
"Derec Avery. I gather you've come about the matter of the robot?"
Palen glared at him, outraged. The TBI agents frowned uncertainly.
"You have in your possession-" the first agent began.
"Pardon me," Derec interrupted, "you are…?"
"Agent Harwol."
"Pleased to meet you. And these others?"
Harwol waved a hand in the direction of his male partner, then each of the women. "Um…Agent Gent, Agent Jallimolan, Agent Cranert…"
"Pleased." Derec gestured toward Hofton. "This is Liaison Officer Hofton of the Auroran Embassy, D.C."
Awkward nods passed around the group. Derec noticed that Polifos looked baffled, but Leri was suppressing a smile.
"Now," Derec continued, "I'm the positronic specialist in charge of examining that robot. I have authority from Ambassador Sen Setaris to do so. It's my understanding that diplomatic considerations require that you have a proper warrant, countersigned by Ambassador Setaris, before I can turn any of our property over to you. "
Agent Harwol made a chopping motion with his hand. "Not in matters concerning the death of TBI or other Terran police personnel. We have an overriding interest in that robot, which we'll be happy to take up at a later date in court with Ambassador Setaris. But right now we insist that you turn over the robot in question."
"For what purpose?"
Agent Harwol frowned.
"What do you intend to do with it, Agent Harwol? It's a collapsed positronic robot. Basically, so much scrap as it is. What do you propose to do with it?"
"That's not germane to this situation-"
"But it might be. You see, if you intend to turn it over to your own specialists for examination, then we may be able to save you time. "
Harwol exchanged looks with his fellow agents.
"What do you propose?" he asked.
"We're already doing the only examination that might produce results. I'm sure that sharing our data with you wouldn't be out of the question. Ambassador Leri?"
"Well, under the circumstances, it would be unusual," Leri replied. "I'd have to vett it through Ambassador Setaris, of course, but I don't see a significant problem. Cooperation with Terran authority is always preferable to confrontation."
Chief Palen no longer seemed angry, but Derec felt uneasy under her gaze.
"We'll have to post an agent with the robot," Harwol said.
"That's out of the question-" Polifos began.
Leri jabbed his elbow into Polifos's ribs. "In company with one of our own security officers," he said, "I don't see a problem with that."
Harwol looked miserable. Derec guessed that his orders had been vague but succinct. He was ill-prepared to negotiate, and he knew his presence in Auroran embassy precincts was questionable at best.
"We require full disclosure," he said.
"We would probably require your help in any case," Hofton said. "I am curious, though. You said in the case of a death of a Terran agent. What Terran agent?"
Harwol clasped his hands behind his back and shook his head.
Derec stared at him. "You had agents in that group of baleys."
Harwol met his stare stoically. Finally, though, he nodded.
"Shit," Palen hissed.
"Well," Hofton said, "that changes a few things."
Derec stepped up to Palen. "Maybe you should show us the crime scene now. I think it's time we all see for ourselves." Derec gazed up at the cargo bin. Till now, he had only seen it on a screen. Small and manipulable on his desktop, it lacked any impact. Here, though, it disturbed him. It was both larger and smaller than he had expected.
People were going to travel to another star system in this…?
Lights shone within the container. Folding tables held portable datums, but no one paid any attention to them. Derec looked at the office where Palen and Harwol talked with Leri and Hofton. Derec feared a jurisdictional fight, the worst kind of battle. Hofton, at least, was capable of steering the situation past that-if he was allowed to.
Derec wandered to the row of datums, keeping watch out of the comer of his eyes for any move from the armed officers spaced around the bay to stop him. He occupied a fuzzy zone in the hierarchy, so the odds were even that he could do nearly anything he wanted.
Most of the screens showed blank. Two contained schematics of the interior of the bin. A third showed a chemical analysis of some kind. To Derec, it looked like a crystalline structure, but he could not identify it. He stepped closer to one of the schematics.
Cages supported acceleration couches arrayed around the inside surface of the bin. A very simple design, easily modified, completely modular. The rebreather unit sat bolted to what was now the floor but in freefall would be just another bulkhead.
Fifty-three couches.
How many bodies?
Fifty-two. Logically, the empty couch would have held the murderer.
Who got out how, exactly? Derec wondered.
The only evidence of escape was the crack in the hull in which Nyom Looms' body had caught. But that hole was far too small for anyone to slip through.
So that meant the killer did everything before lift-off and remained on Earth.
That did not follow, either. What would have prevented the robot from opening the hatch and saving the baleys by just admitting fresh air? No, the only time the poison would have been effective-and the robot ineffective-would have been in freefall, in vacuum.
Therefore, the killer was in the container and committed the murders en route to Kopernik.
The crack let out the atmosphere, forcing the baleys to stay on the rebreather, which eventually poisoned them. The robot had attempted to intervene-hence the blood and material in its hands-and failed. It would have been forced to do what? Whatever it could. It was found trying to shut off the rebreather.
Which would have meant suffocation for the baleys.
Either way, they would be dead.
So one of the bodies removed from the bin had to be the killer. Easy enough to check, just find one with tom clothes.
But how could the DW-12 attack a human?
And what about that empty couch? Derec assumed they would have known how many passengers, so what good would one extra couch be unless it was for someone who intended to get out before discovery?
Or for someone who never showed…