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I ended up changing before going back to Frank’s. It was going to be a long night, and I wanted to be as comfortable as possible while still looking cute. We were not at the point of things where I didn’t care what I looked like. Heaven forbid.

I went with black leggings, black flats, and my black tunic top. Yes, I’d just had it on, but it wasn’t like it had gotten dirty or I’d sweated in it or anything like that. Besides, black was slimming.

Benni’s information about Ayronina didn’t really change anything, but it did make me think I was right to question her sweet, innocent facade. I told Frank all about it as soon as he let me in.

“I can see that being true,” he said. “I’m sure she is spoiled. She’s being treated like royalty, her every whim catered to. Did you see that nebulite bracelet she had on? I can only imagine the price tag for that trinket.”

I took a seat on the couch. “Except being a brat doesn’t mean she had anything to do with the Star’s disappearance. She has no reason to take it. Actually, if you think about it, she’d want this trip to go as smoothly as possible to ensure her rising star keeps going in the right direction. She wouldn’t want to do anything to mess up what she’s got going on.”

Frank nodded as he walked to the Instachef. “Fair point. Decaf?”

“Sure.”

He got those started and then pulled a box from his fridge. “I went by La Patisserie and picked up a selection of things. Just in case you wanted a little something sweet.”

“I’d love something. I skipped dessert at dinner because I was too upset by all this.”

“Els, we will figure this out.”

“I love that you’re so sure, but we aren’t making great progress.” I wanted to be as confident as he was, but without any solid leads, it was hard.

“No, but we’ve just begun. Soon we’ll have an autopsy report and?—”

My wristband chimed. I glanced down to see who was calling. “It’s Hazel.”

“Go ahead.”

I tapped the screen to receive the call, popping up my holoscreen. “Hi, there. I’m at Frank’s, so he’s listening, too.”

“Hi, perfect. I have great news. The premier and his wife will meet with you and Frank tomorrow. They don’t really know it’s because you want to ask them about the gala, though. I mentioned in conversation with them that you’d felt the compulsion of the Star, and they got really excited about that. They’ve never met a non-Loessaian who could feel it, and they want to meet you.”

“Any reason is good enough for me. What time?”

“Ten hundred hours tomorrow at the Corona Café for breakfast. They’ve reserved the entire café.”

Ten a.m. was fine. Frank nodded it was good for him. “Did you already tell them we’d be there?”

“Yes. I didn’t think you’d say no. Listen—you cannot say a word about the Star being a replica. If they bring it up, that’s different.”

“If they bring it up, how do you want us to handle it?”

“Act … surprised. Ignorance, in this case, is probably better.”

“Okay, that will be our plan. Thank you for making this happen. Anything else new?”

“One thing. As you know, there was blood in the airlock. Captain Stuedecker found that someone attempted to open it. They didn’t succeed, but there was definitely an attempt, according to the computer logs. As you might not know, it takes three inputs to open an airlock. There’s a code to engage, a code to activate, and a code to complete. Someone got as far as activation.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t know that, but you must be able to look up the codes that were used. See who would have had them?”

She sighed. “The codes to engage and activate are pretty widely known. It’s the one to complete that only a few have, so no real lead there.”

“Too bad.”

“I’ll let you know if anything else comes up. Oh, and the coroner assures me there will be a report sometime tomorrow. Maybe by the time you get back from breakfast with the premier but probably later in the afternoon.”

“That would be great. Thanks again. Have a good night.”

“You, too.” She hung up, and the holoscreen disappeared.

I looked at Frank. “Breakfast should be interesting. I’ve never dined with a dignitary before.”

“I have.” He grinned. “Just a minor one from Southeast Asia. It was nothing major.”

I laughed. “I’m sure that’s not true. Do you think we need to dress up?”

“It’s breakfast, not another gala. You’ll look beautiful in whatever you have on.”

“That’s sweet of you to say. What are you wearing?”

“What do you want me to wear? Be honest.”

I knew how he usually dressed, which I was fine with. But jeans and a flannel shirt might be too casual. “More like we were going to Luna’s than Space Wok.”

“Then that’s what I’ll do.” He turned to get the coffees out of the Instachef.

“Thanks.” He was always amenable, which I deeply appreciated. I stared at him a moment, my mind working.

He brought my cup over. “What is it? Something’s going on in that head of yours.”

“Why would anyone try to open the airlock? Without a suit, it’s instant death.”

“Right, but that’s only if you’re the one in the airlock. My guess is whoever killed Navun was trying to get rid of his body. That didn’t go as planned, obviously, so they hid his body behind the storage pod.”

“That seems like something someone who didn’t know a lot about spacecraft would do.”

He nodded. “Maybe. Could have been someone who was desperate. And we have a handful of possible suspects who fit the first description already. I imagine having a dead body on your hands would cause you to feel the latter, too.”

I was getting that sensation that I should know more than I did. A little niggle that I was missing something. I just had no idea what that thing might be.

“You’re frustrated,” Frank said. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“Yes, I am. I can’t shake the sense that we’re missing something obvious.”

“Maybe we are, but we’re barely out of the starting gate. We need more information. The dossiers might help. But they also might not. What do you want to do? Go back to the observation loop? Or the cargo bay? I’m game for anything.”

I exhaled, my sense of frustration growing. “I don’t know. And that’s the problem.” I shook my head. “Maybe … it’s been a long day and I’m pushing myself too hard.”

“That’s a given.”

I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling, trying to think.

“You know who we haven’t talked to that we should is Ensign Ludwig. You want to get another perspective on Ayronina and that night at the gala, he’s your man.”

I straightened. “That’s a good idea. Do we have his info? We do, right?”

Frank went into his office. “I think so.”

I followed after him. He sat at his desk and pulled up what Hazel had sent us, shuffling though it. “Ensign Connor Ludwig. He’s on Deck 4, shares quarters with an Ensign Joseph Bell.”

He looked at me. “You want to see if he’s home?”

“More than anything.”

“Let’s go.”

The day crowds were now back in their rooms or being entertained elsewhere on the ship, so it didn’t take us long to get to Deck 4 via elevator.

Frank pressed the button on the keypad to sound the chime. A young man who was not Ensign Ludwig answered.

He tipped his chin at us. “Hey.”

“Is Ensign Ludwig here?”

“No, he’s at the show.”

I frowned. “What show?”

“That singer, Ayronina. She’s his assignment.”

“Oh, right.” I looked at Frank. “I should have figured that out.” I nodded to the young man. “Thank you.”

“Sure.” He closed the door.

“Wasted trip,” I said. “Of course he’d be at the show. He’s her cultural liaison. He probably goes everywhere with her.”

Frank offered me his arm. “The Galaxy Amphitheater it is.”

That meant heading back upstairs, so up we went. Getting to the theater wasn’t the issue, though. Getting in? That was a different story.

As we approached the main entrance, doors closed, I nudged Frank. “This isn’t going to work. We don’t have tickets.”

“We don’t need tickets. We’re not going in that way.”

“We’re not?” We were special envoys. That had to count for something, but if Frank had a plan, I’d let him do his thing.

“Nope.” He took my hand, smiling that smile of his that meant he was about to share something, some other solution that would, most likely, work perfectly. He did that quite often. Probably because he knew it charmed and impressed me every time.

Also undoubtedly why he enjoyed doing it so much.

We went past the main doors about ten paces, then turned into a small alcove where there was a single door marked Mechanical Only.

“Let me guess: This is a secret passage that only you know about, and it leads directly to backstage.”

He cocked one eyebrow. “Well … it’s not a secret. Other people know about it. Other mechs, I imagine.”

I giggled. I couldn’t help it. He was something else. He punched in a code on the keypad, the red light turned green, and there was an audible click. He opened the door. The passage beyond was dark, and the muffled sounds of music filtered through. “It’s dark, so I’ll lead.”

I followed him, my hand on his shoulder. The corridor was narrower than most on the starliner, made of exposed metal struts and beams with lengths of wiring and conduits visible, but obviously this was an area the general public would never see.

The farther we went, the louder the music got. I heard singing. Had to be Ayronina, but I’d only heard her at the gala, so maybe it was her opening act, assuming she had one.

Finally, we came through another door into a dark open space with light spilling in from the stage. There were people around, but most of them were focused on small tasks, talking into headsets, or staring toward the bright lights of the main platform.

We were backstage.

I linked my arm through Frank’s as I stood beside him. “Nice work.”

“Thanks. Do you remember well enough what Ensign Ludwig looks like?”

“I think so.” My eyes had already adjusted to the dark from coming through the corridor. I looked around, scanning faces.

He wasn’t hard to find. He was standing near the stage entrance, the lights from the theater illuminating his smiling face. He seemed transfixed by Ayronina, who was a tiny figure in the distance, dressed in shimmering, iridescent ice blue with a headpiece that had to be nearly as tall as she was. He was mouthing along to the words of the song she was singing.

I pointed him out to Frank. “Right there. By the stage entrance.”

“You want to talk to him alone?”

“No. I might need a bad cop.” I was better at being nice.

“I can do that. You lead, I’ll follow.”

I had no real plan, just figured I’d ask him a few questions, and if he was too captivated by Ayronina to answer, I’d let Frank take over.

I sidled up next to him. “Good evening, Ensign Ludwig.”

He looked over, and for a moment, uncertainty filled his eyes. A second passed, and recognition seemed to kick in. “Mrs. McFadden, right? Ellis McFadden?”

“That’s right. How are you?”

“I’m just fine. Thank you again for your help at the gala. That was something, wasn’t it?”

“It sure was.” I glanced toward the main stage. “How do you like her? I know you’re the president of one of her fan clubs, but what’s it like getting to know her as a person?”

His smile held, but he huffed out a breath. “She’s amazing. Really something. A lot of work.” He laughed. “But she’s worth it. We’re really connecting.”

I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but I nodded. “That’s great. I guess you’re spending a lot of time together then?”

“We are. She’s really, I mean, I just want to make this the best experience possible, you know?”

Again, I nodded. “You don’t find her demanding?”

He shrugged one shoulder, his gaze drifting back to her. “Maybe sometimes, but she’s an artist. A real creative genius. You can’t expect her to be like an ordinary person.”

“I suppose not.” I glanced at Frank, who rolled his eyes. I was inclined to agree. “Where did you two go at the gala? After you got her to the chair? I noticed you were both gone shortly after.”

“Um…” He was looking at Ayronina, and I wasn’t sure he was hearing me. Finally, his attention returned to me. “I thought I should get her out of there for security reasons. We were going to go back to her suite, but it was dark, and she really does not like the dark. At all. She had to change, too, which ended up being no big deal, since she had the other outfit on under her dress.”

“So you never went anywhere?”

“Just out by the security checkpoint. By the elevators.”

“And that’s where she changed?”

“Yes, ma’am. It was really just a matter of taking off the first dress.”

“Did you run into anyone else out there?”

His eyes narrowed. “I think … yes, a young woman, a fan, looking for an autograph, but Ayronina was already stressed, so I got rid of her.”

“And then what?”

“Then … she changed, and the lights came on and we went back in.”

“Do you recall anything odd or unusual happening?”

He laughed. “Ma’am, I was escorting Ayronina. That’s the oddest, most unusual thing that’s ever happened to me.”

I smiled. “I suppose it is. Nothing else that sticks out to you?”

He glanced at Ayronina again with a look that seemed very much like longing. Clearly, he was smitten with her. He nodded as he looked at me. “There was one other thing, but it’s probably nothing.”