This is mostly establishing setting and introducing some of the characters. Can't have a murder mystery without a little background, you know.
Home: Murder By Earthlight: 2/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
Clark smiled, shaking his head. "The one who could tell you would be HG Wells. I saw him the night Mary was born, you know. He stopped to see her and to congratulate us."
"And he didn't come by to see me?" Lori looked slightly offended. "Well, if you ever see him again, tell him I want to meet him. That shouldn't be such a big deal."
"Yes ma'am," Clark told her, smiling. He went to the window to look out at the Rainbow Cavern. "Let's hurry a little, shall we? Dinner is in about four hours."
**********
Part 2:
"...And that's the company that offers tours of the Moon's surface," Clark said, pointing to a small entranceway into another of the strange, upside-down dwellings. Above it, a floating hologram showed a red-headed woman in a tight pressure suit, winking at the world through the clear bubble of a fishbowl-like helmet -- a circumstance that made Lori raise an eyebrow. The way that this thing highlighted the model's considerable curves led her to suspect that the outfit would never have served the purpose it was purported to fulfill. Pressure suits in her experience were fairly bulky and definitely not anywhere near skin-tight. This one seemed more designed to attract the male eye. Below the picture, flashing letters broadcast the romance of a stroll on the surface of the Moon, a tour past the landing site where Neil Armstrong had planted the American flag, and other historic sites as well.
"Why do I suspect that I won't look anything like that in a pressure suit?" she asked.
"Because you know advertisers," Clark said. "Do you want to take the tour?"
"Well, sure -- unless you have a better idea."
"Actually, I do. Zeb has connections. He's offered to loan us suits and take us out. I'd do it, myself, but I'm not supposed to know anything about it this time around."
"That would be great!"
"We'll make time for it then," Clark said. "It's just as well that we decided to take a few days after the conference to see the sights, though."
"Well," she pointed out, unarguably, "how often do I get to the Moon?"
"True," Clark said. "Tomorrow, after the presentations, I believe they're scheduling a city tour for the attendees, at special rates. Unless you want to go along, I'll give Zeb a call after dinner tonight and see what we can work out for an outside tour."
Lori grinned. "I can see the rest of the city later. I'm basking in the privileges of being Superman's wife."
Clark laughed. "I'll have to watch to see how you do that. Somehow I must have missed it over the last three years." He glanced at his watch. "We'd better be getting back. Dinner starts in forty-five minutes and the others will certainly be here by now."
"You're right." Lori glanced around at the fantastic domed city. "I guess we can see more after the presentations. But how do people know when to sleep here?"
"Well, obviously the city is lighted all the time, except one twenty-four hour period every lunar month," Clark said. "All the businesses run around the clock. People -- and businesses -- just have their own schedules, that's all. Humans are very adaptable creatures."
"I guess so," Lori admitted as they stepped onto the nearest slidewalk rolling along in the direction of the Luna Hilton. "I guess businesses that run twenty-four hours a day can probably be a lot more productive than the ones on Earth."
"They are," Clark agreed. "Luna is one of the up and coming business capitals of Earth -- even if it's not exactly *on* Earth. Remind me to show you the new fleet of asteroid miners that they're manufacturing. Luna-Martian-Vesta Mining Inc., in Tranquility, is constructing the next generation of asteroid mining ships at its facility on the dark side of the Moon."
Tranquility was one of the other three lunar cities, Lori knew. "I guess most of us don't think of the Moon as a center for commerce," she said, very thoughtfully.
"No," Clark said. "It's going to get more obvious before long, though."
"Oh? Why?"
"Well, for one thing, the asteroid mining field is expanding," Clark told her. "From what I've been told -- in my other persona, of course -- there have been some fairly respectable mineral strikes in the Belt in the last couple of years. That's going to start circulating pretty soon and there'll be the 22nd Century equivalent of the California gold rush. That's why Luna-Martian-Vesta decided to get a jump on the thing, now."
"Gaia's Children is going to have a major conniption," Lori observed, placidly. "I can't say it upsets me particularly."
"Gee whiz," Clark said, giving her a look of wide-eyed innocence, "I can't understand that at all."
"Of course not," Lori said.
They stepped off the slidewalk and made their way toward the entrance to their hotel. A tall, thin man, who was obviously having some difficulty with the lunar gravity, entered ahead of them and stepped onto the elevator platform. Lori and Clark followed him and Clark glanced at their fellow passenger. "Lobby?" he inquired.
"Yes, thank you." The other man was tall and lean. He wore the clothing of a tourist and clutched a satchel of synthetic alligator skin in front of him with both hands.
"Lobby," Clark said. "And Fifth." The platform went into smooth motion and the other man lurched slightly and grabbed the safety rail, obviously working to keep his balance.
The platform slid to a gentle stop on the lobby floor and their fellow passenger disembarked. Two other persons boarded, each designating a floor, and again the platform dropped gently toward the lower levels of the hotel.
At last, they slid to a stop on Fifth and Lori and Clark disembarked. Two persons were waiting, and Lori recognized two female journalists that she had met at the convention in Alta Mesa, three years before. One of them gave Clark a long once over and then glanced at Lori, her shapely eyebrows raised in an obvious question.
"Hi, Clark," she said.
"Hello, Stephanie," Clark said. "And, Mona, isn't it?"
"Mona Grant," the second woman said. "Nice to see you again, Clark."
"You know my wife, I think," Clark said, blandly. "Lori Lyons. Lori, these are two of our colleagues, Stephanie Brooke and Mona Grant."
"We met at the last convention," Stephanie said. She raked a hand through the long blond tresses that fell past the middle of her back. "I didn't realize you were married."
"We weren't; at least not then," Clark said with a smile. He glanced sideways as another platform, rising from below, slid to a stop. Mona and Stephanie moved forward to board it.
"Nice to see you again," Stephanie said to Lori, although it was quite obvious to Lori that Stephanie wasn't at all pleased to see her. "We're heading up to the bar. I guess we'll probably see you at dinner."
"We'll be there," Clark said. "Come on, honey. We'd better hurry."
**********
"What was wrong with her?" Lori asked as they headed back to their room.
Clark shrugged. "I'm not sure. Unless --"
"Unless what?"
"Stephanie and I met a few years ago in Brazil," Clark said. "She was an international correspondent for the Times. We had dinner a couple of times --" He paused as their hotel room door slid aside and they entered. "I think she wanted things to go farther." He shrugged. "I told her that I liked being friends but I wasn't looking for anything closer. She got -- kind of aggressive, I guess you could say. I couldn't explain why I wasn't interested, of course. I think she hoped for a while that she'd be able to change my mind. I never gave her any reason to think so, but Stephanie is a woman who usually gets what she wants."
"So naturally she isn't real happy with me," Lori said.
"I'm afraid that's probably it," Clark said. "I'm sorry, honey."
Lori shrugged. "Well, I'm sorry for her but you're not the only attractive guy in the world. She's going to have to get used to the idea that this time she isn't going to get what she wants. I'm not the sharing type when it comes to my husband, no matter if some marriage customs permit extracurricular relationships -- or even more than one wife."
"*My* marriage customs don't permit it," Clark said firmly. "You're the only woman I want or need." He went to his suitcase, heaved it to the bed and opened it. "Pete will probably be waiting downstairs. We'd better hurry a bit."
Lori nodded. "Besides, I'm hungry."
**********
Twenty minutes later, they entered the bar. Happy hour had been in session for half an hour and the room was fairly crowded. Clark and Lori paused in the entrance and Lori saw Clark glance unobtrusively around, scanning the room for Pete Swanson. "Pete's over there," he said quietly, nodding to the right. "He's with Vane Williams and Joanna Prescott."
"Not some other woman interested in you, I hope," Lori said, raising an eyebrow at him. Clark laughed.
"Hardly. Joanna was very much married the last time I saw her, and has a couple of kids. She's from South Africa and works for the Breeze in Capetown. This way." He led the way, threading a path through the crowd until they approached a small knot of persons at a table near the right rear corner.
As they approached, Vane Williams glanced up. "Hey, look who's here," he announced, getting to his feet. "Kent and Lyons!"
"Hi Vane," Clark said. He indicated the one remaining empty chair. "Has anyone got that chair or is it empty?"
"Talbot Grey had it," the woman, who must be Joanna Prescott, spoke up. "He went to get a drink."
"In that case --" Clark moved away to snatch a couple of the folding chairs that leaned against the wall. Apparently, the bar had correctly been expecting an overflow crowd tonight, what with the journalists' convention. "Here we are, honey." He opened the chairs without making an issue of it and held one for Lori.
Joanna smiled warmly at Clark and Lori thought that the woman, like a number of her female colleagues at the Planet, had at least a slight crush on him. It was neither unprecedented nor even surprising to Lori. "How are you, Clark? What's with this rumor I'm hearing that you're married?"
"I am," Clark said. "Lori and I were married three years ago. You've probably heard of Lori Lyons, haven't you?"
"Who hasn't?" Vane said. "Kent and Lyons. I guess congrats are in order, then."
"Thanks," Clark said.
Lori found Joanna regarding her critically. "So you're Lyons," she said. "I've seen your picture, of course. So you're the girl that snagged Kent here." She gave an approving smile. "Nice work."
"Thank you," Lori said, trying to sound composed.
Vane Williams raised his wineglass. "Here's to Clark for taking the plunge. How long's it for, buddy?"
"Lifetime," Clark said, sounding, Lori thought, a little surprised.
"I coulda told you that," Pete said. "Kent was always one to know a good deal when he saw it. So, Lori, I hear you and Clark were the ones who set the hunt going for me at the last convention. I had to testify about that business, did you know?"
"No, but I'm not surprised," Lori said. "Merrick tried to kill you."
"Yeah, I know. It seemed almost unfair that I ended up with the knock on the head and you guys got the credit for breaking the case." Pete grinned without rancor. "On the other hand, I heard he'd tried to kill you, too."
"Both of us," Lori said. "He'd intended to kill Margot, once she wasn't any use to him, anymore, to cover his theft of the ring. It was pretty nasty all around."
"Yeah," Pete said. "I'd wondered a little about her, especially when she offered to compare notes with me on what I'd found about the jewelry thefts, but it never occurred to me that she could be involved."
"It didn't occur to us either," Clark said, "until she took Lori at stunner point. Then it kind of dawned on us that she knew more than we realized."
Vane Williams gave a crack of laughter. "Yeah, I guess it might. Well, it sure broke up the monotony of that last convention. I hope you haven't got any other investigations that could spill over into this one, do you?"
"I don't think so," Lori said. "We wrapped up our last big one just before we left. The Tanzanikan drug cartel."
"Yeah, I remember seeing something about that," Joanna said. "At least it's in the hands of the police. We're not likely to see any murder attempts here at the hotel!"
"Amen to that," Clark said. He glanced at Lori. "Can I get you something, honey?"
"My usual," Lori said. "Thanks."
Clark departed in the direction of the bar. Joanna glanced after him and then turned back to Lori. "I don't think he's changed a bit since I saw him, four years ago. You've been married three years?"
Lori nodded. "Yes. We have an eleven-month-old daughter. She's back on Earth with one of Clark's cousins for the duration of the convention."
"Oh oh," Vane said. "Here come the pictures."
Joanna cast him a dirty look. "Do you have a picture of her?"
"Sure." Lori opened her handbag and found the holo-chip that produced an image of Mary Lucille. "This is the most recent. Clark took it last week."
Joanna gazed at the image. "She's beautiful!"
"Well," Lori said, "we think so." She switched off the holo and restored the chip to her bag. "You can relax," she told Vane. "The obligatory picture show is over."
Pete Swanson laughed.
"What's so funny?" A thin, somewhat older man had approached during this exchange and took the empty chair, setting a drink on the table.
"Baby pictures," Pete said. "This is Lori Lyons, Tal. Lori, Talbot Grey, from Tanzor."
Grey nodded. "Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise," Lori said. She looked around as she sensed rather than saw her husband's approach.
"Hey, Tal," Clark said. He set Lori's drink before her and took his chair. "I haven't seen you for a while. I see you've already met Lori."
Grey nodded, lifting his glass to Clark. "Kent."
"So, what are you up to these days?" Clark asked.
"Working for the Tanzor Gazette," Grey said. "Naturally, I know you and Ms. Lyons are with the Daily Planet. How is John?"
"He's doing pretty well," Clark said. "His daughter is in medical school and he has a son in the local junior college."
"How's Marilyn?"
"She's fine," Clark said. "She's a department head at Genie Electronics."
Grey nodded silently and sipped his drink. "Is she happy?"
"Yes," Clark said. Lori was a little surprised at the lack of expression in his voice.
"Good," Grey said. "It's what I wanted for her."
"How's your wife?" Clark asked. "You're still married to Helen, aren't you?"
"Doing all right. Our contract has another year to run. I'll tell her you're apparently doing well. I heard you're married."
"Yes. To Lori."
Definitely an odd conversation, Lori thought, but she kept silent.
Grey glanced over at Lori and smiled fractionally. "So I heard. Stephanie Brooke was...describing Ms. Lyons. I must say, the description doesn't match very closely."
"Hmm." Clark limited himself to a grunt.
"I hear you're Olsen's newest star reporter," Grey said, addressing Lori. "Do you know his wife?"
"Yes, I do," Lori said. "She's a friend of mine."
"She used to be a friend of mine," Grey said. "I haven't seen her in a long time."
"That's too bad," Lori said, politely. She glanced at her husband, but Clark said nothing. She had the distinct impression that he wished someone would change the subject. She glanced at the clock. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starving," she announced. "Surely it's nearly time to head in for dinner?"
Clark glanced at her with a touch of relief. "Now that you mention it, I'm pretty hungry. Shall we go in, honey?" He looked at Pete Swanson. "Coming, Pete?"
Swanson got to his feet. "Sure thing. I need something in my stomach after two whiskies."
Vane lifted a hand to them and took a swig of his drink. "See you later, guys."
Clark nodded and swept Lori and Pete before him toward the dining room.
**********
A hostess escorted them to a corner table. Settling into her seat, Lori glanced once at Clark, noting again her husband's complete lack of expression. Whatever had been going on back there between him and Talbot Grey, there had been plenty of undercurrents. Well, obviously she couldn't ask him about it while Pete was sitting at their table but maybe he'd feel like telling her later when they went to their room.
Pete surprised her. "If Tal had any judgement, he'd have let that alone," he said bluntly. "You didn't have anything to do with who Olsen married. Personally, it seems to me that she had a lot of sense."
Clark shrugged. "It's ancient history," he said.
"For everybody but Talbot," Pete said. "But then he's never made a secret of it. He's been through six marriages since then. Looks to me like 'Marilyn' made the right choice." He looked at Lori. "Thanks for getting us out of there."
Lori looked questioningly at Clark. "What's going on?" she inquired.
"Talbot was a rival of John's when he and Marilyn were going together, years ago," Clark said. "Obviously, he lost and he's never quite forgiven John for it."
"Oh," Lori said.
"He's never forgotten it," Pete said, "and it must be at least twenty years -- but he never lets it die. You'd think the guy would move on. Nobody else is interested, really." He shrugged. "It's too bad but sometimes that's the breaks. Although I must say, I'd like to meet 'Marilyn', to see what all the fuss is about." He turned to the table's menu screen. "Let's see what they've got here. I definitely need something in my stomach."
"Marilyn's a very outstanding woman," Clark said. "Intelligent, attractive and successful. Not to mention the mother of three kids. I doubt she'd be flattered to know that Tal is still obsessing over her. She and John are very happily married."
"So I gathered," Pete said. "I just wish he'd let it go. Gets embarrassing for everybody when he starts in on it. He shouldn't drink on an empty stomach."
Lori could agree with that. She leaned forward to read over the menu. "What's a Half Moon Special?" she inquired, changing the subject.
Pete glanced sideways at her and grinned slightly. "I like your wife, Clark. Her sense of timing is impeccable. A Half Moon Special is a mini-filet mignon and a lobster tail. They raise 'em right here on the Moon."
"*Lobsters*?" Lori said, considerably surprised.
"Sure," Clark said. "In the sea farming caverns. And there are agriculture and ranching domes as well. The lunar colonies are pretty self-sufficient."
"I guess so," she said after a startled second. "I definitely have to try the special."
"Hey, Clark!" a voice said. Lori looked up to see a vaguely familiar man of about thirty standing beside her.
Clark grinned. "Hi, Thompkins. How's Sydney these days?"
"Hot," the man he'd called Thompkins said. "I heard you and Lyons were here." He looked down at Lori and inexplicably chuckled. "Funny, you don't look a bit the way Steffy Brooke described you."
Lori knew a moment of irritation. Stephanie Brooke had apparently begun a crusade to smear Clark Kent's wife. "What's she saying about me?"
Thompkins shrugged. "You can guess. I figured it was jealousy, and so does everybody else that knows her."
"Hmm," Lori said, resolving to meet as many persons as possible to counteract Stephanie's unflattering gossip.
Pete shook his head. "Ignore it," he advised her.
"What's going on with this woman?" Lori asked. "She's barely met me!"
"She's jealous," Pete said. "You've got ten times the reputation she does -- and you're married to Kent -- and everybody knows it, especially after she starts talking."
Clark rolled his eyes but said nothing.
"Anyway," Thompkins said, "I see you're scheduled to make a presentation tomorrow morning, Clark."
"Yeah," Clark said. "John roped me into it."
"Figured that," Thompkins said. "You know, the Examiner is recruiting, don't you?"
"Not really."
"My boss was wondering if you'd be interested in looking at an offer."
Clark shook his head. "Lori and I are happy where we are," he said.
"That's what I figured," Thompkins said, placidly. "Metropolis is your homeport, isn't it?"
"Yes," Clark said.
"Yeah. Well, now I can say I did my duty," Thompkins told him. "Enjoy your dinner. I'll see you later." He waved casually to them and departed.
"So," Pete said, deliberately shifting the subject, "I know what happened to me, three years ago, and I know the official story, but I've yet to hear how you got involved. What did you two have to do with the missing ring?"
Clark grinned. "Well, Merrick planted it on Lori to get it out of the country," he said. "The whole time every law enforcement agency in and around Metropolis, not to mention the insurance company, was searching for it, it was sitting in the bottom of Lori's purse..."
**********
The steak and lobster dinner was excellent and Lori had to admit that the Moon-grown variety could compete with any produced on Earth. After dinner, the group of journalists moved back to the bar to socialize before breaking up for the evening and Lori had the chance to renew her acquaintance with a number of persons who had been at the convention in Alta Mesa, three years before. More people knew who she was, now, she noticed. She had advanced from Clark Kent's rookie partner to a journalist with a fairly formidable reputation. Twice she caught Stephanie Brooke glaring at her from across the room but each time she met the baleful stare with a cool, bland smile.
Clark continued to avoid Talbot Grey, for which Lori didn't blame him. The man found a spot on one side of the room and nursed several drinks over the next two hours and apparently held only sporadic conversation with various persons. Lori felt a little sorry for him, but at the same time had to agree with Pete Swanson that twenty years was a long time to hang onto a grudge -- and it wasn't even with Clark. She saw no reason that her husband should suffer because Talbot Grey had an old quarrel with John Olsen.
She and Clark were chatting pleasantly with Joanna Prescott and a reporter from the Cleveland Press when Clark's wrist talker beeped softly. Clark looked surprised and excused himself to step away from the group.
"Wonder what's up?" Joanna remarked idly. "Does Clark know anyone on the Moon?"
"He has a cousin who lives in Luna City," Lori said. "He's offered to take us out for a private tour of the surface while we're here. I guess that might be him calling."
But it wasn't. A moment later, Clark returned to the group, a slight frown on his face.
"Who was that?" Lori asked.
"The hotel has a message from John for me to pick up," he said. "I'll get it when we head for our room."
"Oh," Lori said.
"Lori says you have a cousin in Luna City," Albert Cassidy, the representative from Cleveland, remarked. "Seems to me you've got relatives everywhere, Kent."
"Not everywhere," Clark said. "Zeb's been here for years. He's an associate professor of mineralogy at Armstrong University. He heard we were going to be here and offered to take Lori and me out on a private tour. He takes his classes out constantly, so I'm sure he's qualified to guide us around."
"Sounds like a better deal than the usual tourist fare," Joanna remarked. "I'm not going out this time around. Agoraphobia."
"That's too bad." Clark glanced at his wrist. "Well, I'm beat. I'm going to make that call to Zeb and then I'm headed for our room. How about you, honey?"
"So am I," Lori said. "It's been a busy day. Besides," she added, "it's a lot of work, learning a whole new way of navigating. I have to really think about what I'm doing if I don't want to give Stephanie an excuse to laugh at me."
Joanna snorted. "Steffy's a cat. I guess we'll see you tomorrow, then."
But once outside the room, Clark headed directly for the main desk. "John apparently sent the message priority."
"Priority?" Lori raised her eyebrows. "Must be urgent."
"That's what I figure." Clark led the way into the main lobby. A moment later, they were headed toward the elevator, a sealed message pouch in Clark's pocket.
**********
tbc
