“But why?”
“Remember that tanker that tried to ram into us? Such a maneuver is really difficult to calculate. Our ship had to be entering the hyper-channel on a very precise route. And Generalov couldn’t plot a course toward Zodiac through, say, Monica-3. He had to stop by New Ukraine.”
“Puck said he was sure he had chosen that route all by himself,” said Morrison meditatively.
“Of course he did. But who needs direct hints? All Paul had to do was to mention his fear of the Bronins, being scared he wouldn’t be able to manage the engine in a combat situation… and Generalov would be set in his intent to avoid the Bronins’ ritual fighting zone. A remark about ancestors who had lived in the place called Ukraine back on Earth—and there you have New Ukraine. Ask Generalov about his astrological sign—and there you have Zodiac.”
“And that’s precisely how it happened?”
“I don’t know, Xang. We could ask Puck to remember everything, but why traumatize the guy any more than necessary? I’m sure it all happened more or less like that.”
Alex got out a cigarette, lit up. Xang took a pensive gulp of bourbon.
“That’s it?”
“Of course not. There were many such details. Well, like when we still didn’t know that poor Zey-So was already dead, and I, not suspecting anything, asked the pseudo-Paul Lourier to call in the Zzygou… and approach Zey-So first, as the senior partner. Tell me, Xang, could you tell the little bees apart?”
“No.”
“Did you know which cabin was Zey-So’s and which was Sey-Zo’s?”
“Of course not! Why would I?”
“But the agent did know, of course. And so he made a small mistake—he went off to the passenger cabins without asking how exactly to find Zey-So.”
“Ah! That’s more serious,” admitted Xang.
“Yes… but still it doesn’t really prove anything. Especially not to the Zzygou. That’s why I had to… set up this difficult situation.”
A strong, sinewy hand was lowered onto Alex’s shoulder.
“Bravo,” said Sherlock Holmes. “Bravo, Captain. If you ever want to make some clones of yourself and specialize them as detective-speshes, I will be for it in every way. And my word means a lot in our union, believe me!”
Alex turned around.
Holmes was not the only one there. Dr. Watson, looking at him with great admiration, was also in the recreation lounge, as were Kim and Generalov himself.
Alex smiled, a little embarrassed.
“I finally determined who the murderer was after I’d heard every crewmember’s story,” said Holmes. “My reasoning was based on the clues you’ve just enumerated… as well as a few other strange aspects of Paul Lourier’s behavior. But he came very close to being an ideal murderer. All these little false steps… they could have been the basis of a court hearing, and of an in-depth investigation, but our time constraints were way too tight. Sey-Zo wouldn’t have believed the circumstantial evidence. She knew very well that astronaut-speshes are capable of coordinating their actions and falsely accusing someone, or even forcing him or her to make a false confession. We had to have a complete confession. We needed a beautiful, demonstrative self-incrimination by the perpetrator. Therefore… we needed a provocation.”
The detective took out his pipe. He pressed down the fragrant tobacco that filled it, then lifted his lighter.
“I had… two different plans… either one of which… should have led… to success…”
Holmes drew on his pipe, let out a stream of fragrant smoke.
“But I decided that your actions, Captain, would serve the same goal… so I resolved to give you a chance.”
“Thank you, Mr. Holmes,” said Alex.
“You can thank Dr. Watson,” replied Holmes with a smile. “She was the one who insisted that you have a tenacious mind and the reasoning abilities of a natural detective. Your supposition about the killer’s use of a gel spacesuit, for example, was really excellent. To my shame, I must admit I didn’t pay any attention to that marvelous achievement of scientific thought.”
Alex bowed gratefully to Dr. Watson. The woman smiled in reply. He asked:
“Mr. Holmes, was the game I played a bit too risky?”
“Yes, it was. Your force field trick scared me, but I took the chance of trusting you. By the way, how did you remove your own absolute order?”
Morrison laughed quietly.
“I got it, though not right away. A captain gives orders on two levels—the standard way, and the one with the captain’s access, which allows absolutely everything. The first order did get executed, but it was given on the regular priority level. And when Alex decided to cancel his previous order, he simply used the magic words ‘captain’s access.’ The ship removed the force field belts immediately.”
Holmes nodded.
“Curious. And I supposed that our esteemed captain had ordered the ship in advance—to obey him for show, while actually still following his commands.”
“Damn…” was all Alex could say. “That would’ve been just as effective, but even more secure… after all, the agent could’ve noticed that I was using the simple form of command!”
“Any investigation is a tug-and-pull of two sets of mistakes,” said Dr. Watson thoughtfully. “The criminal makes his own mistakes, and the detective his. They’re unavoidable, even if the detective is a spesh. The main thing is not to allow your own mistakes to become graver than the mistakes of the criminal.”
Holmes nodded, and asked:
“And what was the basis of your faith in Kim? The girl…”—he gently hugged Kim around the shoulders—“has practically no combat experience!”
“Kim and I have a mutual acquaintance,” began Alex very cautiously. “And he has mentioned that the girl is well protected against sexual aggression. She has some undocumented and unusual fighter-spesh capabilities. The main risk was different—would the agent go for rape? But I made my bet on Kim’s capabilities that lie more in the hetaera realm. The excitement of battle would inevitably lead to pheromone release, so the agent couldn’t help himself. He was sick and tired of his role as a quiet, model cadet, and so…”—Alex smirked—“he bit and was snared.”
Holmes shook his head in disapproval.
“What a monstrous genetic fantasy! Ancient myths, as I recall, frequently mention sly women with similar bodily features, but to make this terrible fairy tale a reality…”
Kim scoffed. “I don’t see anything terrible about it. I control my body very well… and only a rapist has reason to fear. A tiny tooth that releases an extremely painful toxin… not a single woman, I think, would ever refuse such an ability.”
Generalov cast a grim look upon her, but said nothing.
“Well,” Holmes exhaled, as if drawing the line of finality, “I’m glad that most of you turned out not to have been involved in the crime. And what’s more—that you were able to overcome your inhibitions, grudges, and ambitions, and work to be of great help to me. I think this tragic event will go down in the annals as ‘The Case of the Nine Suspects.’”
“Nine?” asked Alex. “Are you sure, Mr. Holmes?”
“At first, I was not excluding C-the-Third, or Sey-Zo, not even the victim herself. Only after inspecting the crime scene did I become convinced that the extravagant suicide version should be dismissed.”
“Ripping out your own guts and lying down to die?” Alex inquired.
“The Zzygou are very tenacious. But you’re right, not even they are capable of that.”
Holmes sighed, and his face lit up with the smallest and rarest of smiles—rare because it obviously came from the depths of his soul.
“Well, this investigation is over. Dr. Watson, is everything clear to you?”