Dark Matters

Chapter 3-1

Chapter 3That wasn't the first time I've found myself suspended between a couple Nosferans. They labored hard to gain altitude. Nosferans are a frail, light-weight species which evolved in a lower-gravity environment. Smart, technically advanced, until the Human-Nosferan war. Working together they could lift a man, but I could hear their harsh pants as they struggle to climb higher. They'd only fly high enough to ensure that the fall would be enough to take me out of commission and then they would drop me. I didn't plan on giving them a chance. I dropped my Lottier, twisted my wrists and grabbed onto their ankles.

Both Nosferans screeched and kicked their legs. Their struggles only made it more difficult for them to fly. They gave up climbing and headed for the open walkway which spiraled up the abandoned atrium. It was clear they expected to clear the waist-high wall and leave me to smack into the biocrete. An ordinary human wouldn't have had a chance to see the wall coming. Thankfully I'm a Moreau, and my modified eye-sight allowed me to see what was going on. I swung my legs up and cleared the wall easily. I still didn't let go, and as soon as I dropped my feet, I swung both Nosferans down to the concrete. The two of them struggled to rise, but both had bad breaks from the impact. I left them and ran up the ramp towards the rest of the tribe perched high above on the sides of the atrium. As I ran, I drew my backup weapon. When I came in behind them, I started firing. Bodies toppled from their perches.

The laughter stopped, replaced by shrieks and cries. More bodies dropped out of the air. Some of them tried to fly out through the upper floors but the police coming down from the roof nailed them. It was over in a few minutes. The police collected the survivors. I made my way back down to the ground floor. I spotted my Lottier, picked it up and then rejoined the Captain as he looked at the c*****e around us.

Brice walked over to one of the nearest dead aliens and turned the body over. It had been shot in the face, probably one that I hit judging from the wound. The impossibly large eyes and sharp teeth were still intact, but there was a hole between them. I could see the end of the Lottier needle poking out. The rest of the body was small and bony with large leathery wings.

"Bah," Brice said in disgust. "Nosferans. I didn't think any of them were on Olinda."

I looked around at the bodies. "I guess you were wrong."

Brice stood quickly and reached out to grab me. I didn't think, I just reacted and stepped out of his way. Did I mention that my reaction time has also been improved? Not that it helped save Jillian. I had a bitter taste in my mouth.

I spread my hands. "Captain, I'm sorry. But you and I fighting isn't going to bring anyone back. It's not going to help us find out who killed Chrissy."

Brice shook his fingers at the Nosferans. "I think it's pretty clear who killed her."

"Nosferans are predators, Captain. They wouldn't bother using instruments to carefully cut open Chrissy Winston's head to extract her brain. Someone else did that. Someone that came in here without being attacked by the Nosferans. Maybe they had a deal with the murderer. Maybe they were afraid. Whatever the story is, some of them are alive and might be able to answer your questions."

I saw Brice's gaze go to Jillian and the other fallen officers. "Just get the hell out of here Marsden."

I didn't know what else to say. I felt like I should apologize for something but I hadn't done anything wrong. The killer was responsible for all of this, and even the Nosferans didn't deserve what had happened. I had to check in at the office anyway, so I left.

When I got to the office Shanley Walsh, my boss, was sitting in the reception area talking to a large alien. A large, black with orange stripes, or orange with black stripes, alien, with bristles spotting the tough skin. It looked like someone's idea of a Halloween monster. The rear legs were short and stout while the arms were much longer. Given the long body, if it stood straight up, it'd probably be eight feet tall. The face was a flat, wrinkled, pug-like face with a broad slit mouth and thick fleshy lips. I could see that its teeth were big grinders – the sort that continually grows. The backs of the hands were thick and callused, probably from walking on them. It wore a fancy equipment collar around its neck and belts crisscrossed its body. Various bits of gear hung from the belts, but there was no other obvious clothing, much like the Nosferans. Shanley probably had him in the reception area because the alien wouldn't have fit easily in his office.

Beside him Shanley was tiny. Not that Shanley was small. He didn't have my height, but he was average sized, thin and strong. Always neat, wearing slightly dated suits. His white hair was the only thing about him that wasn't ordered, it seemed to fly out in every direction.

"Brock, come meet your new partner," Shanley said as I walked in.

I stopped. Partner? I looked at the alien. Dark eyes looked back at me and wrinkled in what looked like glee. Or maybe it was thinking about eating me. No, not with those teeth. Probably.

"Partner?"

Shanley beamed. "Dyami, meet Brock Marsden. He takes all of the hard cases. He'll be the best instructor you've ever had."

"Instructor?" I asked. "Shanley, maybe we should talk."

Dyami moved then, quickly despite his bulk. A hand as large as my head reached out. I felt like going for my gun but realized that the alien just wanted to shake. I wrapped my hand around two of his fingers.

A Galactic translator collar around Dyami's thick neck spoke up. At the same time, my teeth ached. "Pleasure in our meeting, Brock Marsden. Anticipation of the future's promise."

"Right." As smart as the Glittering Throng was supposed to be you'd think they'd be able to rig up a better translation device. The collars, pendants, caps, bracelets, and other forms the translator took were common in the Rim. Without the technology, it would be much harder for the Rim species to speak to one another. The Glittering Throng had offered the technology to help prevent inconvenient conflicts among Rim species. They, of course, had no need of such devices.

"Shanley, what's going on?"

Shanley slapped his hands together. "It's like this. The Eyota, that’s Dyami's people, don't have a police force. Or much of a legal system as I understand it. It works for them, but they aren't attracting much business. People are afraid of going to such an anarchic world. So the Eyota have sent out students to other worlds to study law and law enforcement practices. Dyami is studying private detective methods."

"He's an intern?"

"Right."

"Eagerness in understanding," Dyami said.

I couldn't believe it and rubbed my eyes. "Shanley, I don't know about this."

"They've paid a year in advance. They're covering all of Dyami’s expenses. We get the help, and it doesn't cost us anything."

"Except my sanity," I said.

The folds around Dyami's eyes drooped. A deep sigh shook his frame. "Disappointment in future."

Talk about guilt trips. How was I supposed to deal with that? The big guy was like a puppy. A big scary-looking Halloween puppy.

"Fine." I surrendered. "You can follow me around. I'll try to teach you what's going on. But you have to agree to do what I say. Understand?"

"Yes. Happiness in understanding. Anticipation in future learning and friendship."

"Where have you been this morning?" Shanley asked.

"New case."

Dyami's eyes widened. "A case. Eagerness in telling."

"Yeah, I want to hear this too," Shanley said.

I laid it out for him. Howard Winston's call. His daughter's murder. While I talked, Dyami seemed to shrink in on himself. Poor guy. If he was going to wilt just hearing this, he'd be heading back home before long. Shanley appeared to be studying his fingernails while I told him what happened. He looked up sharply when I told him about the Nosferans.

"Nosferans. Wow, that's something. Are you okay? You'd think someone would have been keeping an eye on them."

"Yeah, I figure the Nosferans must have smuggled themselves in. Probably thought they could wait in some cargo for nightfall and then fly out."

A hundred years earlier humans and Nosferans had fought a brutal war. I was there. The Nosferans had lost and had ended up scattered across the Rim. They weren't usually welcome anywhere.

"Nosferans murdered the girl?" Dyami asked.

Shanley answered with a shake of his head. "No, son. Nosferans would kill her, sure enough there, but they wouldn't do it the way Brock described her. The murderer is someone else. But Brock's just the man to track them down."

I raised an eyebrow. "Thanks. You know if you want to swap cases it is fine with me."

"Eagerness in hearing your case," Dyami said to Shanley.

Shanley waved a hand. "No, the dead girl is more up your line. I've got a tough case. It needs a delicate touch. Seems this fellow, not more than waist-high, called Tentagil, has lost his pet. Something he calls Enite. Not sure if that's the personal name or what it is. You know what these translators are like. Anyway, the Enite is about half his size. Very valuable. But it has either run off or been stolen. Not sure which yet. I've got to track it down and get it back for this fellow. He's quite distraught about it all."

I nodded. "I know how you like your missing pet cases. Good luck."

"Shanley seeks the missing Enite," Dyami mused. "How will you find? Confusion in proceeding?"

I left Shanley to explain the fine art of missing pet searches while I took care of other business. Shanley kept a small kitchen area in the back. I refilled my mug with fresh Torlian coffee. Shanley didn't touch the stuff. He always said that he had more stimulation than he knew what to do with anyway. I sipped the fresh hot beverage and started to feel a fraction better.

Jillian Kelley's face haunted me. She had been so eager to help. To understand. And just like that, she was gone. It was a side of the world that Shanley didn't want to have anything to do with. Hence the missing pets, divorce cases, and insurance fraud cases tended to go his way. Sure, I'd help with them if there wasn't anything else to do. And it isn't that I don't think they aren't important because they are. I don't know what it is but those cases bug me. Take divorce cases. You'd think in today's day and age that divorce would be a non-issue. There are all sorts of limited marriages these days. But no, that's not romantic. Then you look at these cases, and it makes you sick. Why is your spouse cheating on you? Have you looked at your life? A good deal of the time it's clear that the problems are not one-sided. They never see it. It's always about assigning blame.

I took another long sip and shook my head. It wasn't about the cases. I felt like s**t because Jillian Kelley was dead, along with the other officers and Nosferans. For the few minutes I knew her, I liked her and I hadn't been fast enough or smart enough to stop it from happening. I took another drink and went back out to face my new partner.

Dyami swiveled around as I came back in the room. "Interesting scents, inquire as to the beverage?"

I hoisted the mug. "Torlian coffee? Want one?"

Shanley held out a cautioning hand. "Ah, I'm not sure that's a good idea Dyami. That stuff is pretty potent."

The big orange and black pug face swung back and forth between us. His lips peeled back in what I hoped was a smile.

"Eagerness in trying new things. Yes, please, I will try one."

I shrugged. "Whatever you say. One Torlian coffee coming up."

Shanley covered his eyes and groaned.