Fool Me Once (Privateer Tales) (5 page)

I awoke the next morning in a clean bed for the first time in as long as I could remember. The Martian sun flooded the small room with light through the open drapes. I was on the third floor of a hotel that was obviously meant for business travelers. The room had a large bed, a chair with a table, and a desk which doubled as a dresser built into one wall. It also had a private bathroom that was spotless.

I unwrapped a small bar of hand soap and grabbed the free bottle of shampoo and started the shower. I stayed in the steaming stream of water for half an hour until my mind switched to Jenny. I immediately felt guilty when I thought of all of the awful things that could have happened to her. I was enjoying myself and she could be sitting in a hellhole like the one I'd experienced at the hands of the Red Houzi.

Today I needed to make progress on finding her. Alexander might be looking for me, but I had given him the slip. I just hoped he had no way to track me. I turned the heat up in the room and sat at the desk, wrapped in a fluffy white towel with another wrapped around my head.

There were a couple of new messages from Alexander on my reading pad. I couldn’t imagine him saying anything I would want to hear. It was possible he could slip in a clue, but I really didn’t believe he had anything to do with Jenny. His goal was to upset me.

There was a message from Benny.

Heya Doll. I was hoping to see you at the hospital, or at least hear from you. They have me locked up in County Jail but they said they won’t hold me much longer. I'm due in court in a few weeks for drunk and disorderly as well as illegal discharge of a firearm. I made bail and my lawyer says I might have to do a couple of weeks in jail, nothing big. I know it was a rotten thing to do - to turn you in to Red Houzi. You gotta believe me, I wouldn’t have done it if I’d have known we were gonna be friends. Please give me another chanc
e
.

First off, I couldn’t believe how gullible Benny really was. Second, I felt guilty for having played him so badly. He was locked up in jail and the only thing he was worried about was if he had ruined his chances with me. The thing is, I needed him and would have to keep using him. I did kind of like him, not like he wanted me to, of course. Someday I'd come clean with him and hope we could still be friends. Right now, I couldn’t risk that he might not help me.

I took the towel off of my head and caused the reading tablet’s camera to track my face, keeping my shoulders and face in the center of the frame. I sent a message back to Benny.

Benny, I’m so sorry I stabbed you. I know you are big and strong and can take it, but it must have hurt so badly.
I was able to escape and have holed up where I don’t think they can find me. I'll lay low for a while and hope they move on. They have probably already taken my ship, but that’s okay. It really is theirs, I just needed to take it to escape. You need to be very careful with Alexander. If he thinks you and I are together he will hurt you.

I never told you why I’m on Puskar Stellar. My sister is missing. I think she might have come to Puskar on a ship called Domiva's Grace. Do you know anyone that can help me find her, or find information about Domiva's Grace?

I’m still so sorry for your ar
m
.

I blew him a kiss and stopped the recording and sent it. Hopefully, he would have some ideas. I wouldn’t leave it all to him, but I felt like Benny was probably a pretty resourceful guy.

I spent the next two hours searching information on ship arrivals and departures. Unfortunately, I finally figured out that most of that information is not publicly available. There were references to
Domiva’s Grace
but nothing specific and certainly no schedule. They advertised passages to different destinations, but the information was nine months old.

I resolved to hire someone to help, but had no idea who might specialize in missing persons. There were plenty of advertisements for private investigators, but how could I tell who I could trust? I decided to reach out to Kathryne. For some reason, I didn't completely buy that she was just a clothier.

I switched from the reading pad to my earwig and was surprised when Kathryne answered my communication request. The background showed her sitting in her chair in front of her boutique.

“Yes?” I wasn’t surprised at her terseness.

“Do you have a minute to talk?” I asked.

“I answered your call. Speak.”

“I need a private investigator and was hoping you could help me.”

“What made you think I could help?” Kathryne replied.

“I’m sorry, I must have been wrong. I won’t bother you.”

“Answer the question, child.”

It took me a moment to figure out what question she was referring to. Everything was a test with her. I had to commit to the conversation before she would go any further.

“I think there is more to you than meets the eye.” It was an over-step on my part but it also seemed that this was what she required.

“I see. You formed this opinion how?”

Frak, but I wanted to smack this woman. “It’s just a feeling. I've had to learn to read people. I need help getting information about Jenny.”

“Fair enough. I will help, but it will cost you. Be at my shop at five-thirty and send me what you know about your sister. Don’t leave anything out.”

I knew better than to ask about the cost. I would get as much from her as I could and pay whatever was necessary if it would lead me to Jenny. I sent her the small bits of information I had on Jenny and
Domiva’s Grace
. It felt pretty slim but was all I had.

It was already late afternoon, so I caught the MAG-L (magnetic levitation train) back to a station within half a kilometer of Kathryne’s boutique.
There was a café fifty meters from her front door and it seemed like a good idea to see who might be entering her shop before our meeting. When five fifteen came, no one had moved into or out of the shop. I thought it seemed a poor way to run a business, but at least I wasn't walking into a trap.

The tables outside were empty and the front door was unlocked, although an old-fashioned sign that hung behind the transparent paneled door announced they were closed.
I thought about knocking, but decided she was expecting me, so I pushed the door open and walked in. The lights in the shop were set low, which I took as an indication that she wasn’t open for business.

I called out into the empty store, “Kathryne?”

“Back here, dear.” She appeared in an open door at the back of the store. Something about her posture or tone set me on alert. I pulled the nano-blade from my boot. The handle expanded from its flattened form to fit perfectly into my hand.

Kathryne disappeared back into the room. Once I reached the door, I warily looked through. It was a smaller office with a wall of bookcases filled with large books and binders.
Fabric samples were draped over and sandwiched messily between many of them. A single desk was shoved against the back wall and a small round table sat next to the door. Richly upholstered, wooden, straight-backed chairs were arranged around a table that might seat four or five people.

Kathryne stood next to a woman a few years older than myself, dressed entirely in black. Her pants were skin tight and showed off slim legs that disappeared into clunky, military styled, shiny black boots. She also wore a black jacket pulled tightly around her torso and made of the same material as her boots.
Long black hair fell straight down her back. I couldn’t see enough to tell where it ended.

She gave me the same appraising look.

“Natalia, this is Lena, the young woman I was telling you about. Lena, may I introduce my daughter, Natalia Liszt, private investigator.” The dark haired woman stuck out her hand, compelled by the ritual of a formal introduction. I could see skepticism in her face.

“Call me Tali,” she said. Her voice was a low alto like her mother’s, but lacked the smoky quality.

I stuffed the nano-blade into a pocket of my cloak and accepted her hand. Her grip was firm, she was obviously strong, but didn’t seek to crush my hand. Her face was passive, guarded. I supposed mine was the same. We were clearly not a very trusting bunch.

“Why don’t you ladies have a seat? Lena, Natalia is one of the best investigators in Puskar. She agreed to hear your story because of an old woman’s request. Natalia, play nice. I have things in the shop to clean up.” With that Kathryne exited the room, leaving Tali and me to stare at each other.

“Well. That could have been more awkward,” Tali said.

I chuckled and then asked. “Is it true? Are you a private investigator?”

“Yes, high end work mostly. I don’t do divorce or worker's comp stuff. Kathryne tells me you're looking for your sister. The information she sent was pretty sparse. I found records on a Jennifer Dontal, from Terrence, with a deceased sister, Celina Dontal. I found a few other Jennifer Dontals, but none of them from the same age group. I presume this makes you Celina?”

“Yes. Did you find Jenny?” My heart was beating faster. Could it be this easy?

“Sort of. Which is not the answer you’re looking for, I know. The thing is, I haven’t decided to your case. Either way, I’ll give you what I’ve found after we’re done talking. That work for you?”

I was disappointed that she didn’t have an easy answer for me. “Sure. That’s more than fair.” I couldn’t afford to alienate someone with information about Jenny.

“You want to get out of here and get dinner? Do you have plans?”

She could have asked if I wanted to jump off a cliff and I would have agreed. “I’m starving.” I lied, I still didn’t get very hungry most of the time.

“I know this great little sushi bar in University Hills. Ever had sushi?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well. They have different things. I just like the scene. It’s right by the University, good energy. You game?”

“Absolutely.” I said it with more confidence than I felt since Alexander was still looking for me.

“Ever been on a bike?” She asked.

“I don’t think so. What’s that?”

“Grav-bike. I’ve got an Indian, you’ll like it. C'mon.” She exited the room. “Mom, we’re going to grab some dinner. I’ll call tomorrow.”

Kathryne was at the front of the shop. If she heard her daughter, she didn’t acknowledge it. I followed Tali out the back door.
Sitting in the alley was what I recognized as a motorcycle grav-bike. I hadn’t originally put it together, since I'd only seen them in videos. The grav-bike looked similar to an old-earth motorcycle. The styling was such that everything had a swept back appearance. It didn’t really look big enough for two people.

She threw her leg over the seat of the bike. There was a space no wider than five centimeters behind her. “Sit down tight behind me and wrap your arms around my waist. Try not to lean one way or
the other, but hold tight. Closer is better. Don’t worry, I won’t bite.”

In for a penny, in for a pound. This was about to get real personal, real quick.
I slung my leg over the back of the bike and slid down behind her. The pitch of the seat forced my hips forward into her. I tried to lean back and put some distance between us.

“Sorry Lena, I know it’s close, but lean forward. Otherwise you’ll throw us off balance,” she said.

I wasn’t comfortable being close to another person yet, but this was different. She wasn’t trying to get something from me. The warmth of her body made me realize I hadn’t touched another person this personally without being forced or threatened, in a long time. I'd wondered if that part of me would ever be okay again. I relaxed and leaned into her, wrapping my arms around her waist and laying my head against her back.

“Put these on. Make sure you get your earwig inside, the wind can pull it out if you’re not careful.”
She handed me a pair of wrap-around goggles. “We should probably wear helmets, but bikes are all about being free.”

“Can you hear me?” Her voice came through my earwig.

“Yes.”

“The goggles link us so we can talk. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you smell nice.”

I wasn’t sure what the right way was, but I took it as a compliment. She smelled faintly of rosemary, I liked it.

“Whatever you do, don’t let go. If we get into any trouble, try to stay as close to me as possible. We won’t, but just in case. Ready?” She asked.

“Yes.” I probably sounded hesitant to her but I wasn’t sure what I was getting into.

The bike thrummed to life, subtle vibrations transmitted through the seat into my legs. The bike didn’t make any noticeable noise but its power was intoxicating.

“Here we go.” My stomach lurched as we launched forward. I pulled into Tali and closed my eyes hard. We were goners. The wind rushed by us at an alarming rate and it picked up her hair, which fluttered back on me. The goggles kept it out of my eyes, which was small comfort.

After a few moments we stopped accelerating, the wind was a constant battering force around our bodies. We were flying. It felt nothing like traveling in space. Wind, gravity and the constant push of the grav-bike beneath us, it was both terrifying and exhilarating.