Chapter 27
L unch couldn’t come soon enough. With Itzak taking care of the library, I got water from the kitchen, along with my bag from the fridge, and took everything into my office. As I sat at my desk, Harry jumped up and swatted at a cord. “Harry.”
He lay down with an expression on his furry face that I could only describe as satisfied.
I unwrapped my tuna salad sandwich and opened the bag of chips I’d brought. It was a small bag, and I’d be walking the observation loop tonight, so I wasn’t going to be too hard on myself. I also had a protein bar for later, if I needed it.
While I ate, I worked on researching the rest of the botanists. Candace’s library record was interesting but nothing major. She loved romance novels and had borrowed nearly every Hallmark Christmas movie ever made. Could that mean she was a romantic still looking for her Prince Charming? Maybe.
Did I think Andrew fit that bill? No, but who knows what he was like when he was wooing a woman? Not something I wanted to think about, but he clearly had game if he’d persuaded Sarah to get involved with him.
What would Andrew have gotten out of a relationship with Candace? Was it just some kind of validation? Or had he needed her on his side for something more?
Again, new questions without any definitive answers.
I pulled up Jasper Nelson. Based on his record, he rarely came into the library, never took out any books, sticking to movies and video games exclusively. Both of which he downloaded through the library app. Which was fine. Totally his prerogative. Maybe he was an introvert.
When it came to movies, he liked action and horror with the occasional documentary thrown in. All genres, even the documentaries, depending on the subject, featured people dying. So did the video games he leaned toward. Lots of shooter games and a couple that required players to survive zombie attacks.
I didn’t want to read too much into that, but he certainly wasn’t turned off by violence and death. I looked at his bio on the Athos staff page to refresh my memory of him. He looked young. Mid-thirties maybe. No mention of a wife and kids, either.
I moved on to Howard Yardley Jr., looking at his bio while I was on there. Probably mid- to late fifties, listed as married, one son.
I found his wife with a quick search. She was a pretty brunette, younger than I would have thought for a man of Howard’s age. Gina Yardley worked in the botanical gardens as a horticulturalist. Talk about keeping it in the family.
I did one more search of the staff pages for the name Yardley but didn’t come up with a third entry. Had the son stayed on Earth? There was a chance he was too young to work, so he wouldn’t be listed. Maybe high school age. I’d ask Zanya if she knew him.
Next, I went to Howard’s library record. He was a decent reader. Some historical fiction, lots of Tom Clancy, big into legal thrillers, too. But nothing about how to poison someone and get away with it.
If only it was that easy.
Just because, I researched Gina Yardley’s library record, too. She was a big Agatha Christie fan, so it followed that she was working her way through just about every cozy mystery series available. She also borrowed British crime dramas. I found no fault in any of that. My tastes were very similar.
But I couldn’t ignore the fact that she probably knew how to get away with murder. I could say the same of myself, though. As I was thinking about that, I had to wonder why Andrew’s killer had left his body behind.
Were they so sure of themselves that they didn’t think they’d ever be caught? Right now, that wasn’t such a far-off supposition. Frank and I were uncovering all sorts of information but not making much headway.
Or was it that the prospect of getting the body out of the apartment was too great an ordeal? Why kill him there, then? Why not lure him somewhere else?
With a loud sigh, I sat back and ate the last chip. Solving murders was hard. Even on a starliner, where the pool of suspects was limited.
Break over, Harry and I went back out. As was usual for a Friday, the steady stream of patrons kept Itzak and I busy the rest of the afternoon. When I finally left, I was more than ready for my two days off. Time with Frank and a spa date with Hazel sounded like my idea of a perfect weekend.
I had no idea what Frank was planning, but I hoped it was something sort of relaxing. I realized there was a solid chance it wasn’t. For all I knew, he’d booked us a simdeck so he could teach me to fly-fish.
Whatever it was, I’d be a good sport and go along. I’d told him I was all right with whatever he wanted to do. I couldn’t go back on that just because I was feeling a bit worn out.
I changed for dinner. Nothing over the top. Jeans and a light sweater with flats. I might have touched up my makeup a bit, though. Hey, I was going to see Frank. I didn’t want to look as tired as I felt.
As I approached the dining hall, I saw him standing by the doors. He smiled when he saw me. He’d come in his jumpsuit.
He looked at my outfit, and his smile disappeared. “Should I have changed? We had a maintenance issue come up and I was running late, but I can go back if?—”
“You’re one of the rare individuals who can make that jumpsuit look good. You’re fine. We’re just here to eat.”
“Yeah, but I’m meeting your friends. I should have changed.”
I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. “You look great. You look like a guy who works for a living. And who somehow makes this jumpsuit sexy.”
That brought his grin back. “You think I look sexy?”
I smiled but changed the subject before I gave myself a hot flash. “I’m hungry. Are you ready for the third degree?”
He laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”
We went in and got in line. Dinner was cheeseburgers and French fries. The burger was either beef or veggie. Frank and I both went with beef. He got two, fully loaded. I had one, also fully loaded, which meant lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, and burger sauce. I was pretty sure that was just mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup mixed together.
The girls waved at us, smiling about as big as I’d ever seen. We made our way to the table. I braced myself for whatever came next.
“Benni, Vashti, Zanya, this is Frank. Frank, these are my friends.” It wasn’t lost on me that all three of them were dressed nicer than they usually were.
In unison, all three of them said, “Hi.”
Frank nodded. “Evening, ladies. Thank you for letting me join you.”
We sat, and for a moment, none of my friends said a word. They just looked at him. I understood. He was fun to look at.
I broke the ice. “How was everyone’s day?”
That got the conversation going again. As expected, they peppered Frank with questions initially, but as he answered, he asked them questions right back. After about ten minutes, it was like he’d been eating with us since launch day.
He told stories about himself, making them laugh. By the end of the meal, he’d won them all over. Judging by the looks on their faces, they were as crazy about him as I was.
We said goodbye and headed for my place. The corridor was busy, and we didn’t hold hands. I didn’t read anything into that. I had no problem keeping our relationship private. At least for a little while longer.
Now that the girls knew and we’d been together in the dining hall, word would spread. But no need to make it happen any faster.
“Tonight’s one of the nights I walk the loop.”
He nodded. “Is that my cue to leave? Or my invitation to join you?”
I smiled at him. I loved that he said such things without a hint of attempted guilt attached to them. If I’d said I wanted to be alone, I had no doubt he’d let me be just as nicely as possible. “I would love to have you join me.”
“All right. I’ll go change and meet you there. Deck 18 again, right?”
“Yep.”
He still walked me to my door. I took his hand, stopping him before he could leave. “Thanks for coming to dinner tonight. And for being so charming. Which I realize was just you being you. But still.”
He winked at me. “I didn’t want to give you any reason not to see me again.”
Like that was going to happen. I just smiled. “See you in a few minutes.”
We met on the loop. Only one other person was walking, her earbuds in and her attention elsewhere.
We got going, working up to a nice, steady pace, him in his track pants and Space Marines tee, me in my matching leggings, tank top, and jacket.
“I read the rest of the autopsy report.”
I glanced at him. “So I didn’t have to?”
He laughed softly. “I know it’s not your thing.”
“No, it is not. Find anything interesting?”
“Irritated nasal passages, swollen throat, and hemorrhages in the lungs.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That sounds like … he inhaled the poison?”
Frank nodded. “My thoughts, too.”
I huffed out a breath. “And here I’ve been trying to figure out if it was in his food, drink, or personal care products.”
“Still could have been.”
“No, it couldn’t. You’re just saying that to make me feel better, which I appreciate, but not with the evidence you just presented.” Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him trying not to smile.
He cleared his throat. “Inhaled changes things, doesn’t it?”
I nodded. “It does. How did someone manage that? A spray? Some kind of pressure-release gizmo? I guess there are a lot of different ways, but I would have seen a device like that the night I dropped the book off.”
“You would have. Worse, you might have been affected by it.”
“Which I definitely wasn’t.”
“That tells us it was probably localized and fast-acting. Could have been in the bedroom. You didn’t go in there, and that was where the body was found.”
“Yes, but then why was the side table overturned, and the dining chair pulled out? It really seems like there was some kind of struggle.”
“I agree with that assessment.”
I shook my head. “We’re getting nowhere. All we end up with is more questions and fewer answers.”
Frank’s wristband let out a small ping. He looked at it, then smiled and looked at me. “We might be getting more answers. My algorithm just cracked Andrew’s pin drive.”