Dead Man on the Moon Read Online Free PDF

Noah Skyler into the Division of Security."
    "Acknowledged," said Linus's onboard, with Noah's echoing a split-second later.
    They donned the self-adjusting suits and double-checked each other's seals. Once Linus's helmet was in place, his onboard automatically connected with it and projected a three-sixty view on the sides and back of the helmet's interior. The projection fuzzed a little if Linus moved quickly, but he preferred that over having to turn his entire body to look left or right. This way he could just turn his head. Linus set his gloved palm against the airlock door, and it rolled aside. The square chamber beyond could accept perhaps a dozen people comfortably. The two men entered, and the door shut behind them. Air hissed out of the airlock, and a red flag appeared in Linus's display, warning him that he was standing in vacuum and it would be foolish to remove his helmet. His suit puffed up a little, and it felt like he was covered in marshmallows. Still, these suits were much sleeker than the burly, clunky ones worn by the first inhabitants of Luna City. The air in his suit was dry and smelled metallic. Linus could already feel his lips and eyes drying out.
    The outer door rolled open, revealing Luna's dirty-beach landscape. In the distance, domes rose like clear blisters against the absolute black sky and hard, unwinking stars. Near the airlock sat a vehicle the size of a giant go-cart with fat, dune buggy wheels—a police rover summoned by remote control. Linus headed for the driver's side, his boots crunching on the gritty lunar sand.
    "You get the passenger side," Linus said into the comm. "I'm driving."
    It took him a moment to realize that he was alone. Linus turned. Noah was still standing inside the airlock. He looked like a silvery statue in his suit. The faceplate of his helmet had gone black, so Linus couldn't see his expression. He could, however, guess at it.
    "You coming?" he asked.
    Another pause. Then, "Yeah. Sorry. Just not ... I mean, I'm coming."
    Linus watched warily as the kid made his way to the rover. The suit still hid Noah's face, though it didn't take a detective to see that Noah was nervous. The ex-Marine inside Linus wanted to bark at him to deal with it and get a move on, but this wasn't the Marines. In any case, Linus knew it wouldn't help.
    "First time in outdoor vacuum?" he asked instead.
    Noah clambered carefully into the passenger seat. "Yeah."
    "I can't tell you not to be nervous," Linus said. "But I can tell you it'll get better. Let's get over to the scene and maybe the investigation will take your mind off it."
    Noah didn't comment. Once their safety harnesses were fastened, Linus switched on the power and drove smoothly away. The domes of the city receded behind them as they headed into what Linus thought of as Luna's wilderness—an endless series of craters, rocks, and deserts. The sun shone hot and deadly overhead, but Linus felt perfectly comfortable in the suit. His breathing echoed regularly in his ears.
    "You get a lot of murder victims out here?" came Noah's voice over the comm. "Out in vacuum, I mean?"
    Linus paused before answering. "How do you know it's a murder?"
    "If you thought it was an accidental death, you wouldn't have called me. "
    "True." Linus started to scratch his nose, then remembered he couldn't. "Truth is, is, we don't get many victims at all. We get occasional accidents, usually from someone who panics or does something stupid. Some people get claustrophobic in these suits and they freak. Luna isn't very forgiving when that happens."
    "Right. " Noah's voice was flat and carefully even. "How far out is it?"
    "Not far," Linus said. "Karen's already on the scene, and we should see her rover just about. . . now."
    The rover in question hove into view at the lip of a wide crater. Security beacons made a ring all the way around the depression, shouting a recorded radio message that this was a crime scene and entering it without permission was a felony.