Page 34

F rank had the top dresser drawer open and the energy sensor aimed into it. I couldn’t see into it from the door, but the beeping was steady. “Find something good?”

He nodded and closed the drawer. “Good but not what we’re after. Just her nebulite bracelet. You?”

“Nothing yet.”

“You can help me search in here, if you want. I haven’t really looked through anything. I just opened that drawer because it set off the sensor.”

“Okay.” I started with the closet, searching for the sparkling silver dress Ayronina had worn at the gala. It wasn’t there, just like it hadn’t been on the garment rack. I was starting to think it had been tossed out of the airlock.

Did that mean it had had evidence on it? Navun’s blood, maybe?

I moved on to the nightstand. People tended to keep valuable things close, although the nebulite bracelet had been in the dresser. Maybe since it was a gift from the premier, she wasn’t that fond of it, despite its value? “How long do you think we have until Waan realizes Ayronina didn’t need her?”

“She was headed to the amphitheater anyway, so we might not see her again.”

“Let’s hope.” I sat on the bed and opened the drawer. There was a little bag of candy from the sweet shop on Deck 34, a bottle of hand lotion, a few disc batteries, some tissues, a charger hub, and, partially hidden underneath a laminated layout of the cruising decks, a folded slip of paper.

Paper wasn’t such a common thing, but in the age of electronic communication, handwritten notes had become a real act of purpose. They were still used to show how serious someone was.

Or to communicate something secret and intended to be kept that way. I eased the folded paper out and opened it.

Dearest A,

You are all I dream of.

I stopped there to see what Frank was doing. He was scanning Ayronina’s bathroom. The entrance was right across from me. I waved the note at him, trying to get his attention. “Hey, listen to this.”

He pointed the sensor toward the ground and turned to face me, leaning on the counter behind him. “What is it?”

I read out loud. “Dearest A, You are all I dream of. One day, very soon, I will take you away from all your troubles. We will be together. Free. Among the stars. We will have everything we could want, and you will be forever my princess. You will never have to sing against your will ever again. I swear that to you. With all my heart, I love you, my angel. CL. PS. Don’t forget to destroy this.”

“So much for that,” Frank said. “But I’m glad she kept it.”

“CL,” I repeated, searching the database of my mind to fit those letters to a name.

“No clue,” Frank said.

I stared at the paper. The handwriting meant nothing. It was rare to even see handwriting these days. “I feel like I should know who those initials belong to.” My brain hurt from trying to think so hard, but then it came to me. “I know who it is!”

Movement caught my eye. I looked toward the bedroom’s entrance and the joy of the moment drained out of me. I swallowed, my stomach knotting.

“Who?” Frank asked. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

I stood up, the note still gripped in my hand, and faced the uniformed man in the doorway, doing my best not to freak out about the stun gun pointed in my direction. “Ensign Connor Ludwig.”

“Huh. Well, that tracks,” Frank said. “We know he’s?—”

“He’s here now. And he’s got a gun.”

“Come out of the bathroom,” Connor barked toward Frank, his once boyish face set in a mask of deadly intent. “Hands up.”

He gestured at me with the stun gun. “Put that note back where you found it.”

I heard movement in the bathroom, the soft clink of glass and metal, but I kept my eyes on Connor. Mostly on the stun gun. Despite the name, the weapon had a lethal setting that could stop a person’s heart with a jolt of electricity. I had no way of knowing what it was set to, nor did I want to find out.

“Out of the bathroom now ,” Connor repeated.

Frank stepped through the bathroom door, hands up, sensor left behind. His fists were clenched, which seemed odd, but I was in no position to care. He stopped slightly in front of me. “Ensign, we mean you no harm. We’re just looking for the Star, trying to prevent a major diplomatic incident.”

Connor snorted. “Why do you think we took it? Yut deserves to be embarrassed. He deserves worse than that for what he’s put Ayrie through.”

Frank kept talking, inching slightly closer. “Why didn’t you just kill him then, too? Like you did the guards?”

I took a tiny step to the right so I was behind Frank even more. I glanced up. A light on his wristband indicated that it was in an active mode. Was he recording? Genius.

Guilt darkened Connor’s eyes. “I didn’t mean to kill Navun. He … he wasn’t going to give us the Star. He didn’t understand. He should have just listened to me.”

Frank nodded. “Did Olan not understand either?”

“No,” Connor spat. “Olan understood perfectly. But he wanted a cut to keep quiet.” Connor laughed bitterly. “What an idiot. If I had money, I wouldn’t need the Star in the first place.”

“But Ayronina has money, doesn’t she?” Frank offered.

“Are you kidding? Ayrie barely has enough to survive. Yut takes it all. He pays for the things he thinks she needs. That’s it.” Connor grimaced. “And he thinks he’s entitled to … whatever he wants in return.”

No wonder Ayronina wanted to be free of him.

“He’s a pig,” Frank said. “He uses his power in ways that no one should. But you killed two people.”

For a moment, Connor said nothing. Then he lifted his chin slightly, the stun gun now aimed at Frank. “I had no choice. I had to do it for Ayrie. So we could be free. So we could be together.”

“I understand,” Frank said. His fist shot toward Connor, opening as it moved, releasing a handful of dust. Connor coughed and blinked as a cloud filled the room. Perfumed body powder, I realized, as the scent reached me and glitter floated through the air.

Frank kept moving, lunging forward and shoving Connor’s arm up as the younger man pulled the trigger on the stun gun. The crack of electricity hit the ceiling and spread out like veins, leaving a web of burn marks. The lights flickered.

I cowered, but I wasn’t about to retreat. Not sure if it was bravery or stupidity, but I wasn’t going to let Frank deal with Connor on his own.

The ensign had already killed two men younger and stronger than Frank.

I ran toward them and grabbed the stun gun from Connor’s hand, easy enough to do since Frank mostly had him pinned.

I aimed the gun at Connor, both hands wrapped around it. “Enough.” My heart pounded in my chest, but I held my ground.

Connor looked at me, his face sparkling with the powder Frank had tossed at him. For a moment, he stayed tensed, like he was ready to fight. Then he slumped to the floor and let out a soft groan. “I only wanted to protect her.”

Frank, who was wearing a fair amount of the powder himself, let Connor go and got to his feet. He tapped his wristband. “Nice work, Els.”

I kept my eyes on Connor but smiled all the same. I could see Frank well enough in my periphery vision. “You look like you just came from an Ayronina concert.”

He laughed. “Based on what the ensign looks like, I can imagine.” He glared at the young man. “Where is the Star? Returning that will probably help your case.”

Connor rolled his head back and forth. A tear ran down his temple, leaving a streak in the sparkling powder. “Not until I know Ayrie’s going to be okay.”

“We’ll do everything we can to help her,” I assured him. I meant it, too. No one should have to live indentured to another, forced to do things they didn’t want to. “I promise. You know who my daughter is. I will do everything in my power.”

He sniffed. “The Star is here. I don’t know where exactly, but I gave it to Ayrie for safekeeping.”

I narrowed my eyes. “So it’s in the safe?”

Frank shook his head. “That was the first thing I scanned. No response.”

“But that top drawer of her dresser set it off?”

“Yes, but that was her bracelet.”

“What about in the drawer underneath it?”

“Hmm.” Frank went to the dresser and pulled out the second drawer. A second ticked by, and then he laughed. “You, Ellis McFadden, are a genius.”

He held up the Omega Min Star.

“Wow,” I whispered.

The urge to look at it swept over me, steady and insistent. I swallowed, trying to stay focused. It pulled at me, making my hands shake with the desire to touch it.

“Here,” Frank said as he reached for the stun gun. “Why don’t we swap?”

I exhaled and gave him a quick nod. Best suggestion I’d heard all day.