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H arry ran up the steps ahead of me, his nose twitching. I glanced back, just to be sure no one else was around, but there wasn’t a soul. Even the elevators were silent. The observation deck was like a ghost town.

It was kind of nice.

I stood by the stairs and watched, letting him do his thing. He trekked all the way around the railing, pausing occasionally, taking a few extra sniffs but eventually returning to sit at my feet. “No joy, Mum.”

“It’s all right. I’m getting sleepy anyway.”

“I didn’t finish the loop, though.”

“Oh. You didn’t?” He had been quick downstairs. Thoughts of bed snuck in, but what was a few more minutes?

He shook his head. “No. I stopped to tell you his scent was everywhere.”

“You also said you couldn’t make sense of it.”

“I know. It was a bit confusing. But maybe I could try one more time?” He made Puss-In-Boots eyes at me.

I was helpless against those. Good thing I wasn’t that sleepy yet. “Okay, you got it. One more try.”

“Brilliant.” He scampered past me, down the steps, not even waiting.

I chuckled and followed behind him. I went back to my seat and my contemplation of the nebula. It seemed unfair that such an incredible thing should cause so much chaos. I supposed beauty often inspired strange results, no matter where the beauty came from. Not that it was at all the nebula’s fault, but if it had created that gem, then…

Thinking I ought to use my time a little more effectively, I got up and went to look at the Star, just to see if I could tell it was a fake without the compulsion.

To be truly honest, I couldn’t. I’d never studied the real Star close up, but this one looked pretty convincing. I went back to my seat.

My lids were starting to drift closed when a loud, “Mum!” popped them open again. I turned, as Harry’s voice had come from behind me. He was near one of the solid panels that made up one wall of the elevator bank’s exterior.

I got up and went to see what all the excitement was about. His tail was straight up and quivering, so I knew he’d found something he was enthused about. With Harry, there was no telling what that might be. Could be anything. A random piece of string, a beetle escaped from the botanical gardens, or even … I looked closer. Something near his paws caught the light. “What have you got there?”

“It’s shiny, Mum.”

I crouched down. “Yes, it is.” Nearly invisible because it was trapped under the wall panel—a little fragment of silver foil. More of the candy wrapper? It had to be. “How did that get under there?”

“Because it opens.” Harry was full of ideas now.

“No, baby, that’s a solid wall.”

“No, Mum. There’s air coming from underneath. You can feel it.” He pawed at the bottom of the wall.

I put my hand there. I felt nothing. I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t feel any air. Are you sure?”

He sat down, his little chin lifting in pride. “Mum. It opens. I would never lie to you.”

“I know you wouldn’t. Let me see what this is first.”

I used my fingernails like tweezers to prize out the sliver of foil. There wasn’t much more to it than what I’d be able to see. It was crimped from being under the wall panel. It definitely could be another piece of the candy wrapper that seemed to be cropping up everywhere, but I wasn’t sure.

I stuck it in my pocket, then got to my feet and took a better look at the wall. “Any idea how it opens?”

“Not a one.”

I ran my finger down the seam between the panel in front of me and the one next to it. I still couldn’t feel any air. Maybe it was only detectable by Harry’s delicate sensors. That was certainly a possibility. I planted my hands near the seam and pushed.

Nothing happened. There wasn’t even any give. I briefly contemplated calling Frank, but I didn’t want to wake him for something that might be nothing.

I went to the other side, the seam between the panel and the window frame. Pretty much out of options, I pushed there. A soft snick , and the panel opened a half-inch. I sucked in a breath, not quite believing what had just happened.

“Told you,” Harry said.

“Yes, you did.” I looked around again, confirming we were still alone, then I eased the panel open. It was dark, but I could just make out a narrow passageway before me. There was some ductwork overhead, along with a lot of optic fibers and wiring in conduit tubes on the walls.

The main thing visible was the electronics panel for the elevators. I doubted the passageway had any other purpose than servicing the elevators, but there was only one way to find out.

I turned on the light on my wristband. The passageway was so narrow that traversing it would require being nearly sideways. I didn’t love confined spaces. I swallowed at the thought of going in there. “Harry, maybe you could have a look inside? See what you can see. I’ll keep watch. If someone comes and I have to shut the panel, I promise I won’t leave you in there for any longer than necessary.”

“Sure, Mum.” He walked right in, happy to be helpful, I think. At the very least, he didn’t seem to be bothered by any kind of claustrophobia.

I kept my light focused so that it would be useful to Harry, but I also knew he had outstanding night vision. Much like a real cat. Possibly better than a real cat.

He soon disappeared around the angular bend on the passageway that mimicked the shape of the elevator cars on the other side. I kept the light aimed in his direction.

A small bit of panic rose up in me. What if an elevator came? Would that do anything to Harry? Cause anything to move? Or be electrified? My heart rate picked up slightly. “Harry, you okay?”

No answer. Maybe he couldn’t hear me. Or maybe he was intently focused. Or maybe he’d gotten stuck in some wiring. He was a cat, albeit an android version, and it would not be out of character for him to investigate something a little too thoroughly.

Suddenly, he came running back, almost skidding to a stop. “Mum, you’d better come see this.”

“What is it?”

“Come look.” With that, he scampered away, disappearing around the bend again without waiting for my response.

Frowning, I shoved down my trepidation and went after him, keeping my wrist in front of me and the light on my path. My heart rate ticked up.

As expected, I had to shimmy sideways. It was freezing in the passageway, too, no doubt because the starliner’s hull was directly at my back and this small area wasn’t heated. I swear I could see my breath.

I made it around the bend and found Harry standing there, waiting on me. All I wanted to do was get out. “Well? What did you find?”

Eyes bright, whiskers quivering, he danced from paw to paw. “Behind me, Mum. See?”

I lifted the light and felt instantly queasy but not because of the tight space. I swallowed, glad I hadn’t eaten anything too recently.

Behind Harry was a very dead body.