Murder in Orbit Read Online Free PDF Page B

grandfather, old coot that he is, was very mysterious when he contacted me. He tells me very good things about you, by the way. I’d chalk that up to prejudice but for the fact that Antoine Twining also speaks highly of you.”
    My heart sank. I had been counting on Gramps to clear the way for me by telling Dr. Puckett what had happened. Would he believe the story I had to tell him?
    I took a deep breath, then blurted, “I think there’s been a murder in the colony.”
    As soon as the words left my mouth, I winced in anticipation of his disbelief. To my surprise, he rubbed his beefy hands together and cried, “That’s the best news I’ve heard in weeks!”
    I was shocked by his callousness. “You call that good news?”
    â€œYou misinterpret me, Rusty. It’s not a piece of good news, but a good piece of news, if you take my meaning. Now, why don’t you fill me in on all the gory details? Let’s see if you’ve inherited any of your grandfather’s flair for storytelling—not to mention his taste for the bizarre.”
    Before I could even take a breath to start, he interrupted me. “Wait! I have a couple of people I want to hear this.” He pushed a button on his desk. “Helen. Cassie. I want you.”
    Notice—no “please” or “if you’re not busy.” Just “I want you.”
    It was like a fantasy in stereo. Within seconds doors on either side of me slid open and two incredibly beautiful women came floating into the room. The one on my left was Dr. Chang. That meant the one to my right had to be Cassie. She was about half a head shorter than me, with shoulder-length blond hair tied back in a ponytail (less trouble in null-grav situations). The look in her eyes, which were very large and very blue, seemed to indicate that she took everything quite seriously. It was balanced by a little quirk that pulled at the corner of her mouth, seeming to indicate just the opposite—that she saw everything as an enormous joke.
    Other than the fact that she seemed to be about my age, she might have been the model for half a dozen of my grandfather’s heroines.
    I just didn’t know there was anyone who looked like her running around in the real world.
    I glanced at Dr. Puckett. He shrugged. “Awful, isn’t it? I mean, if having one beautiful female scientist as an assistant is a cliché, then having two is just wretched excess. But good gracious, boy, if the colonial management is willing to indulge my fantasies, who am I to turn them down? Just don’t tell your grandfather about this. He has a hard enough time with the fact that we’re up here and he’s not. If he knew what my lab partners look like, the jealousy would probably kill him.”
    â€œShut up, Elmo,” said Dr. Chang.
    Dr. Puckett sighed. “Anyway, as you can see, it’s not an unmitigated paradise. Now, why don’t you go ahead and tell us your story.”
    I hesitated, half expecting him to interrupt me again. He didn’t, so I launched into a recital of the terrible things that had happened to me the day before.
    When I got to the part about my trouble with the man from Dispute Management, Dr. Puckett began to smirk. I slowed down, half offended, half confused.
    â€œSorry,” said Dr. Puckett. “I was distracted by a stray thought.” He waved his hand as though dismissing it. “Please, continue with your story!”
    I did. Right up to the point where my grandfather had surprised me with the information that he and Dr. Puckett were old friends.
    â€œI used to give your grandfather technical advice for his stories,” said Dr. Puckett, sounding rather self-satisfied.
    â€œAnyway,” I finished, “he said you were the best man in the colony for me to contact about this mess.”
    â€œI’m the best man in the colony, period,” said Dr. Puckett. “But we’ll let that pass.