Read Online Analog Science Fiction And Fact - June 2014 by Penny Publications - Free Book Online Page B
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crime had been committed." Realizing that this statement required clarification, he amplified: "A kojuma dart is very small, does not usually remain embedded in the flesh of its victim, can be easily overlooked in the confusion. The poison mimics a heart attack. Escoli must have thought she'd been bitten by an insect. She swatted at it. The dart was dislodged and fell to the ground. We didn't find it until much later. Usiga was long gone before we knew we were looking for him. Actually, we didn't know we were looking for
him
until Escoli's camera showed him to us. Prior to that, we only knew we were looking for someone like him. Even that wasn't immediately obvious. The onlookers assumed that Escoli was ill. We weren't summoned until a physician had examined her."
"You don't know where Usiga is now, of course."
Reverting to Terran Standard, Danzoni said: "But I do."
"You
do?
" "I do. Yes. No doubt about it. Dokhara. He boarded a ship bound for Dokhara."
Baldwin wheezed a sigh. "And Izmir has no extradition treaty with Dokhara."
"Yes."
"I didn't think you did."
"We don't. What I meant to say was: Yes— we don't got no extradition treaty with Dokhara."
Baldwin got to his feet, gathered the photos on Danzoni's desktop with a swipe of his hand, saw that one of them remained and made another attempt to grasp it. Only then did he realize that it was underneath a layer of protective glass. It was a picture of a very pretty Bukkaran female with brown eyes and a charming smile. "A lovely lady," he said. "Your mate?"
"Yes. Chikitodu. 'Chiki' for short. We have been together for eleven years."
"Any kids?"
"Kids?"
"Kids. Children," said Baldwin, and—in an attempt to avert a possible misunderstanding—he added: "
Not
goats."
"I see. Children. Cubs. No. We don't got no kids. I regret to say that Chiki is impregnable. Her doctors have examined her and confirmed it. She is inconceivable. Completely unbearable."
"You have my sympathy," Baldwin assured him.
6.
Baldwin was seated at his desk, playing an invisible piano on the arm of his chair and contemplating the ceiling as though a message of cosmic import were scribbled across its surface. Intense scrutiny had detected none so far.
A fret was gnawing at his subconscious, teasing him, nagging him, pestering him, rubbing his reporter's intuition the wrong way...
Dokhara,
he was thinking. According to Danzoni, Usiga had fled to Dokhara.
Why?
Baldwin asked himself.
Why Dokhara?
To avoid capture? Yes—but Usiga didn't have to go all the way to Dokhara to do that. He'd have been immune to arrest anywhere outside Izmir's territorial waters.
"Minerva?"
"Yes, Greg."
"Please establish a link with the Mazabashi Inn."
Minerva's screen momentarily herring-boned and then cleared to disclose the image of a smiling Bukkaran female. "Mazabashi Inn," she announced. "How may I help you?"
"You have a guest by the name of Tumanzu. Can you ring his room for me?"
"I'm sorry." To demonstrate that she really was, she stopped smiling. "I can't do that. Tumanzu is no longer staying here."
This was the response that Baldwin had expected, but he still felt a twinge of disappointment. "When did he leave?"
"On the afternoon of his cousin's funeral."
"Four days ago?"
A brief pause for mental arithmetic. "Yes—I believe that's correct."
"Did he give a forwarding address?"
"No—not precisely.
"How about imprecisely?"
"Our reservationist booked passage for him on a ship that was homeward bound."
"To
his
home? To Dokhara?"
"To Dokhara. Yes."
"Thank you. Ochaba tadoi zatuki." This was a ritual phrase that defied literal translation, but the sense of it was: "Your assistance is appreciated."
The screen blanked. Baldwin wished that his state of mind were equally blank, but no— conjectures were writhing in his brain like cats in a sack, forming a pattern that he couldn't ignore.
Why had Usiga gone to Dokhara?
Baldwin didn't know—not for certain—but he had a strong hunch.
He
him
until Escoli's camera showed him to us. Prior to that, we only knew we were looking for someone like him. Even that wasn't immediately obvious. The onlookers assumed that Escoli was ill. We weren't summoned until a physician had examined her."
"You don't know where Usiga is now, of course."
Reverting to Terran Standard, Danzoni said: "But I do."
"You
do?
" "I do. Yes. No doubt about it. Dokhara. He boarded a ship bound for Dokhara."
Baldwin wheezed a sigh. "And Izmir has no extradition treaty with Dokhara."
"Yes."
"I didn't think you did."
"We don't. What I meant to say was: Yes— we don't got no extradition treaty with Dokhara."
Baldwin got to his feet, gathered the photos on Danzoni's desktop with a swipe of his hand, saw that one of them remained and made another attempt to grasp it. Only then did he realize that it was underneath a layer of protective glass. It was a picture of a very pretty Bukkaran female with brown eyes and a charming smile. "A lovely lady," he said. "Your mate?"
"Yes. Chikitodu. 'Chiki' for short. We have been together for eleven years."
"Any kids?"
"Kids?"
"Kids. Children," said Baldwin, and—in an attempt to avert a possible misunderstanding—he added: "
Not
goats."
"I see. Children. Cubs. No. We don't got no kids. I regret to say that Chiki is impregnable. Her doctors have examined her and confirmed it. She is inconceivable. Completely unbearable."
"You have my sympathy," Baldwin assured him.
6.
Baldwin was seated at his desk, playing an invisible piano on the arm of his chair and contemplating the ceiling as though a message of cosmic import were scribbled across its surface. Intense scrutiny had detected none so far.
A fret was gnawing at his subconscious, teasing him, nagging him, pestering him, rubbing his reporter's intuition the wrong way...
Dokhara,
he was thinking. According to Danzoni, Usiga had fled to Dokhara.
Why?
Baldwin asked himself.
Why Dokhara?
To avoid capture? Yes—but Usiga didn't have to go all the way to Dokhara to do that. He'd have been immune to arrest anywhere outside Izmir's territorial waters.
"Minerva?"
"Yes, Greg."
"Please establish a link with the Mazabashi Inn."
Minerva's screen momentarily herring-boned and then cleared to disclose the image of a smiling Bukkaran female. "Mazabashi Inn," she announced. "How may I help you?"
"You have a guest by the name of Tumanzu. Can you ring his room for me?"
"I'm sorry." To demonstrate that she really was, she stopped smiling. "I can't do that. Tumanzu is no longer staying here."
This was the response that Baldwin had expected, but he still felt a twinge of disappointment. "When did he leave?"
"On the afternoon of his cousin's funeral."
"Four days ago?"
A brief pause for mental arithmetic. "Yes—I believe that's correct."
"Did he give a forwarding address?"
"No—not precisely.
"How about imprecisely?"
"Our reservationist booked passage for him on a ship that was homeward bound."
"To
his
home? To Dokhara?"
"To Dokhara. Yes."
"Thank you. Ochaba tadoi zatuki." This was a ritual phrase that defied literal translation, but the sense of it was: "Your assistance is appreciated."
The screen blanked. Baldwin wished that his state of mind were equally blank, but no— conjectures were writhing in his brain like cats in a sack, forming a pattern that he couldn't ignore.
Why had Usiga gone to Dokhara?
Baldwin didn't know—not for certain—but he had a strong hunch.
He
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