Read Online The Devil's Eye by Jack McDevitt - Free Book Online Page B

that, but he couldn't find his way out of a closet." "Doesn't matter, though," said the first panelist, a man with a deep voice, "he's a vast improvement over Betsy."
    I didn't know who Betsy was. The hotel entrance was on the third level. I was standing outside the front door, high enough off the ground to see the ocean, thinking what a lovely day it was, when I realized I couldn't hear the sullen roar that oceans always deliver. That struck me as odd until I remembered that Salud Afar had lost its moon. People go on about how spooky a thousand-year-old derelict ship might be, or an ancient space station adrift in the middle of nowhere, or a city left behind by a vanished civilization. But nothing ever chilled my heart quite like standing near that beach at Salud Afar looking out at an ocean and hearing only dead silence. I spent an hour on the Seawalk. The salt air was invigorating, and mostly I was thinking how good it was to be out in the sunlight again. People were strolling past, and kids charged up and down with balloons. A couple of guys made passes at me, and, while I was ordering a sweet bun, a boy who was about eight whispered to his mother that I talked "funny."
    Alex called and asked whether I'd eaten yet. Well, then, would I care to join him anyhow? So we met at a place called Morey's on the Seawalk, and I sat and sucked on a plate of red fruit with a lemony taste while he explained how he'd learned nothing from the people he'd talked to. They'd all seen Vicki within days of her arrival. She'd seemed fine, not especially anxious about anything. Nobody knew where she'd gone from here. There was only one person left to interview, Cirilla Kopaleski, and we'd see her tomorrow. He was putting away a plate of bacon, eggs, fried potatoes, and toast. Something was on his mind, but I let him get to it in his own time. We talked about what a beautiful city Marinopolis was. Andiquar, by
    contrast, looked almost mundane. "Dictatorships tend to do that," he said. "Strongmen always have a taste for architecture." And finally he came to what had been bothering him: "The Mutes seem to be interested in Salud Afar." "How do you mean?" "There've been a number of incidents out here. Intrusions. Sightings of Mute warships insystem." "That's odd. What interest could the Mutes possibly have in this place?" "That's exactly what I've been wondering, Chase." "What kind of intrusions?" "No shooting incidents. As far as I can tell, the Mutes have just been tracking fleet vessels." "Why would they do that? It makes no military sense." "Don't know. I'm not a military tactician." "What kind of fleet does Salud Afar have?" He scooped some jelly onto his toast. "I gather it's pretty small. A dozen or so patrol vessels. And three destroyers." "That's it?" He nodded. "Well," I said, "I don't think they need to worry. An attack out here would probably provoke retaliation from the Confederacy." He kept eating. "The only reason I can imagine is that they're trying to intimidate the locals." "Could be." I slushed down a piece of my red fruit. "Okay," I said. "Why do we care?" "We don't." "Then why's it bothering you?" "It's not bothering me." "It's on your mind." "The incidents started while Vicki Greene was here. In fact, just shortly before she left." He looked out at the crowds wandering past on the Seawalk. A dark-haired woman who could have profited from some clothes strolled past and caught his eye. He started pretending nothing unusual was going on. "You're not suggesting there's a connection?" "No. Of course not." "Then why-?" "It's just a coincidence. But I went back years and couldn't find another instance of an incursion. Not one. And suddenly we're getting all these sightings." "How many?" "Well, four." "That's not exactly a rash." "It is when there weren't any previous ones during the whole of recorded history. When you're a zillion light-years away from the Assemblage." More half-dressed women paraded by. He gave up trying to hide his