"Have you ever seen this instrument before?" he asked.
The entrepreneur stared at the thing with surprise and a certain revulsion. It was not a knife, but a handled skewer; the entire item had been dusted for fingerprints, but none were found; it did not even bear a smudge. It was as if the hand that had held it had been immaterial.
"It ... It looks very like one of the implements we used at table," he murmured faintly. "The entree was small roasted sea-fowl ... we each used such a skewer to hold the fowl while slicing off tidbits."
"It is, in fact, just such an implement," said Hautley gravely.
Rapsallion wet his lips, staring at the deadly thing. "Were any of the skewers absent from our table?" he asked.
"That is Impossible to tell. After we left the table, a servitor piled the dishes and tableware on a gravitic tray; they were taken to the galley and deposited in sterilizers. They were not counted. The servitor was not programmed to notice if anything was missing from the table service," said Hautley.
Rapsallion was followed by Barnavelt, who also seemed surprised to learn of Hautley's profession. He claimed never to have visited Illadion IV in his life, and had no prior acquaintance with, or even knowledge of, the murdered man. He was not an adherent of Psychist Science, he told them, but a follower of the Vuudhana philosophy.
The Matriarch also disclaimed any knowledge of the murdered man. A certain air of smug, self-righteous satisfaction was visible in her angular features. It took no telepath to discern that she was thinking along the lines of, "Just desserts for meddling so impiously in the mysteries of the Beyond!"
"Great-Mother, Carrison Fane was traveling to a world in the Matriarchy to inspect Psychist study groups there, and their financial records. A sort of Inspector-General, you might say. What is the official opinion of the Matriarchy upon Psychist Science?"
"Total disdain and utter disapproval. Under Imperial law, I fear we are forced to tolerate such heretical and even blasphemous cults. We do not, however, have to enjoy their existence in our hegemony," she snapped.
"How severe is this disapproval? Are there demonstrations, marches, bombings of study groups?" asked the Captain.
"Certainly not!" she exclaimed piously. "We abhor violence, even when undertaken in a holy cause. We simply ignore the existence of such cults."
She, too, knew nothing of the skewer. She had not, in fact, eaten the fowl served, since flesh was repugnant to her. Her meal had consisted of salad, scallion soup, biscuits and tea.
Little Alia also had nothing to add. Of the six, however, the precocious child alone seemed exhilarated by the murder, and was hard put to repress her delight in the adventure.
Taurean Hakefield admitted to having visited Illadion IV on several occasions, and had spent up to a week on the planet at one point in time. it was frequently the custom of Companions to "lay over" for a time at the end of a trip, catching a ride on the next IVS liner to arrive. She also was of the Vuudhana faith, but had not attended chapel in some years, her allegiance being nominal.
After the questioning, Hautley and the Captain conferred briefly. Hautley summed up the situation thusly:
"Both Cn. Rapsallion and Cns. Hakefield could have met, even known, Carrison Fane, although both say they did not. Neither seems to have sufficient motive for the killing. Rapsallion is an ardent follower of Psychist Science; the murder of so promising an rising a star in the Psychist firmament as Fane seems a blow to him."
"Quite so," murmured the Captain.
"The Great-Mother, the Magnate, and, i suppose, the child, have a certain bias against Psychist Science. The Matriarch's is purely theological, as would be that of her Novice; the Magnate, as a citizen of the Thchnarchate, is against the Psychist beliefs, which seem to him wanton and harmful superstition. Only the Great-Mother seems fanatical enough in her rigorous faith as to be remotely capable of murder. But she does not sum to me the sort which are inclined to martyrdom ..."
"The child, Alia, might have committed the deed in order to curry favor with the Great-Mother," the Captain pointed out.
"Not inconceivable, I suppose," murmured Quicksilver thoughtfully.
"Could the hand of a woman, or a child, have driven home the weapon with sufficient force as to cause death?"
"Of course," replied Hautley. "The soft part of the throat is an easy target, and the skewer is very keen. Tell me, sir, the ship's sensors monitor energy-consumption in every part of the vessel, do they not?"
"They do," affirmed the Captain. "A balanced energy-consumption is required in order to maintain flight mode. Would you care to examine a fax of this?" Hautley did.
"Here is the time the lights were extinguished in Fane's cabin," remarked the Captain. "8:59. Notice the sudden drop in consumption of energy to the minimal level required for heating and the circulation of air ... were you thinking, Ser Hautley, that perhaps the weapon was sustained and directed by a gravitic field, and rendered invisible behind a light-baffle?"
"The possibility had occurred to me," smiled Hautley. "A very remote possibility, but, still, every detail must be scrutinized. Had such technology been employed, however, the ship's sensors would have reported the energy consumption at higher Ievels."
"I gather that you eliminate the theory that the murder was committed by an immaterial entity ... a spirit?"
"I am quite positive there was a human agent," said Quicksilver. "There is no doubt in my mind on that point."
"Well, I am bewildered by the entire matter," the Captain confessed. "In my fifteen years of employment by the Inter-Void Service, I have never before had a murder on one of my ships. Oh, accidents, of course; even, once, years ago, a suicide. But never a murder ... the entire thing seems inexplicable! If you discard the possibility of an, ah, discarnate, spiritual murderer, I can see no explanation as to how the deed could possibly have been committed. No one can thrust a blade into a man's throat when both hands are being held; and, without exception, everyone interviewed is adamant that the handclasp was not broken until the murder was discovered and you rose to turn on the illuminants."
Hautley looked faintly surprised: "Oh, I know exactly how the murder was committed, the only problem is the motive—"
"You do?" cried the Captain incredulously.
"Of course! It's perfectly obvious, and extremely simple. I knew the method of murder within minutes after the lights went on. I even have a fairly firm suspicion as to the murderer's identity. But proving all of this in a court of law is quite another matter: for that, we need motive, not merely suspicion. Tell me , have you obtained from Computer Central the financial records I asked for?"
"I have; they are here on my desk."
Hautley took them to his cabin to study them thoroughly, leaving behind a bewildered Captain, who stared after him with bemusement.
5
That evening the six witnesses were summoned by Captain Larlavon to the cabin which had been occupied by the late Carrison Fane. They found the cabin untouched; it was exactly as they had left it the night before, except that naturally the corpse had been removed.
"We are going to reenact the events of last night," Hautley informed them, "with the Captain taking the place of Deacon Fane.
Please take the same seats as before, then join hands."
They did so, however gingerly. Quicksilver smiled.
"I assure you all that the murder will not be repeated," he said gravely. A servitor was summoned to switch off the illuminants and leave the cabin, locking the door from outside.
Silence ensued, disturbed only by rapid breathing from one or another of those present. Taurean Hakefield's little hand was cool and firm in Hadley's grasp; the Captain's hand, however, was sweating.