Home: Murder By Earthlight -- 6/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
"What's happened with Johnson?" John asked. "You said Lori figured out there was more to this than corporate theft. What was it?"
"Johnson was apparently killed a couple of hours ago," Clark said.
"Killed!"
"Apparently," Clark corrected. "Lori thinks differently, and so do I."
"What do you mean?"
"We suspect he may still be alive," Clark said. "If he is, it raises a whole bunch of new questions, but what you've told me helps." He got to his feet." I need to get back. I have a suspicion that we don't have a lot of time to figure this out." He smiled at Marilyn. "Lori and I will do our best, Mari. That's a promise."
"I know you will," she said. "If anyone can figure it out, you two can."
Clark turned to John. "We'll try to keep you informed," he said.
"Just solve it," John said. "Marilyn's reputation and career are at stake."
"I know," Clark said.
**********
And now, Part 6:
Zeb Kent's office at Armstrong University was two floors down in Grissom Hall. Lori took the public elevator to the floor and located the correct room number. She rapped on the door and it slid open at once with a faint grating noise.
"I definitely have to lubricate the door," Zeb Kent said. "That squeak is getting awfully irritating."
Lori looked over her shoulder as the door slid shut behind her with another faint squeal. "Most people wouldn't understand that," she said. "I never thought how super-hearing might make little sounds I can barely hear kind of annoying. It's nice to see you again, Zeb." She glanced at the nameplate on his desk. "Or should that be Dr. Kent?"
"Zeb will do," he said with a grin. "So what's up, Grandma?"
Lori grimaced. "I'll be twenty-four in February," she protested.
Zeb grinned. "Besides that, what do you need?"
"Did you hear about the accident at the solar collector a little while ago?"
"Yes."
"That's what this is about," she explained. "Edgar Johnson, the guy that was supposedly killed, is an engineer from Genie Electronics on Earth. I don't know if you're aware of it but John Olsen's wife, Marilyn, is the head of one of their departments -- R and D, actually."
"I wasn't," Zeb said. "I know John and Marilyn, of course." He waved at one of the straight-backed plastic chairs that sat against the wall. "Why don't you have a seat and tell me about it."
"Yeah." Lori grabbed the nearest chair, pushed it in front of his desk and sat down. "Well, Marilyn's bosses think Johnson stole some plans for some new technology that they're developing," she began. "John asked us to find him for them and their investigator got here a few hours ago. It was right after that that this accident happened."
"Okay," Zeb said. "So what do you need from me?"
"Well, I've got a theory," Lori said. "Clark thinks I might be right..."
Zeb listened quietly while she spoke and when she finished he was silent for several seconds. "Actually, it could be," he said thoughtfully. "Johnson's getting 'killed' that way actually kind of reinforces your theory. It's hard to just vanish in a controlled environment like one of the lunar cities, but this would leave no doubt in anyone's mind that he was dead. If he's really alive, though, he would have needed some help. There's no way he could have pulled something like this off alone."
"Could you explain that a little?" Lori asked. "I'm a little out of my element here."
"Sure," Zeb said. "Assuming your theory is right, if it wasn't Johnson that walked into the solar beam, it was either someone else, or possibly one of the more humanoid robots that we use for various routine jobs in a lunar environment. I doubt anyone else was willing to sacrifice his life for your friend Johnson, so, if you're right, it was probably an automaton of some kind. Inside the suit, no one would be able to tell the difference. If Johnson put his tracking bracelet on it, everyone would assume that it was him."
"I was kind of wondering if it could be something like that," Lori said.
"I figured you were -- and it definitely could. But he'd have to have a partner -- someone with some kind of surface transportation available, who could have planted the robot out there in a pressure suit, and who could later come back to get Johnson and bring him back inside without being seen -- before his air ran out."
"Could that be done?" Lori asked.
"Sure. Somebody with a moon crawler could have done it. Lots of people who have business on the surface have them. Researchers, astronomers --" He tapped his chest and grinned. "Teachers. Search and Rescue, even law enforcement. It wouldn't even be that hard. All it would take would be for someone to have planted the robot nearby, in a pressure suit. Johnson could have stepped out of sight, slipped the bracelet onto the robot and sent it in to take his place. Then his confederate would either be waiting for him, or show up as soon as the tour group left and pick him up." He got to his feet. "I'll tell you what. Eclipse will head over to Police Headquarters and ask some questions. Maybe I can get hold of the police report, if they've finished it yet. If they haven't, I can get it for you later. It might tell us something."
"That would be great," Lori said. "I was going to ask you to do it, anyway."
"Figured you were," Zeb said. "And maybe tomorrow one of the things we could do when we go outside would be to visit the solar collector and see if we can see anything, ourselves."
"I appreciate the help," she assured him.
Zeb chuckled. "It's a pleasure, Grandma. Besides, how could I give up a chance to work with Kent and Lyons? You even have a reputation here on the Moon. From what I hear, the population of the lunar mines has gone up considerably since you've been in business."
"Well, some, anyway. At least they do useful work in the mines instead of the kind of things they were doing on Earth," Lori said. "Should I wait here, or do you want to call me at the hotel?"
"I'll drop by later with the report," he said. "It'll probably take a while to find out what we need at the station, and I have a class in an hour, so I'll be busy for a while. Tell Clark I'll be there in time for dinner. You guys can treat."
Lori grinned and stood up. "I see the famous Kent appetite is alive and well," she remarked.
"Yep," Zeb said cheerfully. "Mariah and the kids are having dinner with her parents in Tycho this evening, so I'm on my own for tonight, anyway. I'll see you and Clark around eighteen hundred."
**********
Clark landed outside one of the locks on the opposite side of Luna City from the one by which he had exited and signaled the Airlock Monitor that he needed admittance. While the airlock was pressurizing, he continued to mull over the little bits of information that John and Marilyn Olsen had been able to impart to him. The corporate theft had involved asteroid mining, and the big company that mined the asteroids here on the Moon was Luna-Martian-Vesta. It had a competitor, Asteroid Mining Inc., based in Tycho, which was comparatively small, but those two were the only companies with any significant interest in the field. If Edgar Johnson was still alive and trying to sell his ill-gotten information, he would approach one of them. Of course, it was possible that he already had a contact in one of the companies and would deliver his prize to whoever it was, in exchange for a lot of money and passage back to Earth on one of the company ships.
The inner lock slid open with a soft sigh of compressed air and Clark strode through, smiling pleasantly at the Monitor.
"Uh -- Good day, Superman," the man said, obviously startled by his sudden appearance. This was probably the first time he'd actually seen Superman in person, Clark reflected, since he didn't visit Luna City as a usual thing. His last trip to Luna had been nearly thirty years ago, to officiate in the opening of the lunar branch of the Superman Foundation, along with Lara and CJ.
"Good day," he said.
"Is something important happening in Luna City that we don't know about?" the man asked curiously.
"No," Clark told him. "I'm just here to visit my cousin."
"Oh. Well, have a nice visit."
"Thank you," Clark said, and rose into the air.
He made a fast approach to the park, landed in a partially concealed section and made a lightning change to Clark Kent. Glancing at his wrist, he guessed that Lori would be on her way back from Zeb's office by this time. With a casual stride, he made his way across the park toward the Luna Hilton.
Lori was approaching from the opposite direction as he crossed the lawn toward the entrance. She waved and stopped by the sign to wait for him.
"Hi," she greeted him. "Have a good trip?"
"Pretty much," he said. "How about you?"
"Zeb and I had a very interesting talk," she said. "He went over to try to get the police report on the accident, and he's coming by at eighteen hundred for dinner. He thinks we might be onto something. What did John and Marilyn have to say?"
The elevator arrived at that point and he and Lori stepped onto the platform. "Fifth," he said. "Marilyn says the Security record shows that she accessed the files, too," he told her. "She says she didn't. She's on suspension until they resolve the situation."
"You mean they suspect *Marilyn*?" Lori asked. "Marilyn wouldn't steal anything!"
"I think they don't know what to think," Clark said. "You and I know she wouldn't do anything like that but the evidence says she *could* have. It's up to us to prove it wasn't her."
"Which means we have to find Johnson," Lori said.
The platform slid to a stop on Fifth and they disembarked. A number of people occupied the hallway, so Clark merely nodded. As they made their way toward their room, he saw Stephanie Brook coming toward them. The blond journalist looked him in the eyes and then her gaze shifted to Lori. For a moment it seemed as if she intended to speak, but, to his mild surprise, she brushed past them without a word.
Lori had also noticed Stephanie's presence but she said nothing. When they reached their room, Clark looked questioningly at his wife. "What was with Stephanie, just now in the hall?"
"Nothing much," Lori said. "She tried to claim you propositioned her last night."
Somehow he wasn't surprised. "Do I need to tell you that it isn't true?"
"No," Lori said calmly. She put her arms around his waist. "I told her so, too. I also pointed out that you're my husband, not her recreational equipment, and to keep her hands off."
"I can just imagine how she took that," Clark said dryly.
"Yes, she wasn't very happy," Lori said thoughtfully. "I'm starting to wonder about her. Are you sure she's completely stable?"
"I don't know her well enough to say," he said. "You'd think she'd leave a married man alone -- especially after I've already turned her down."
"She'd better," Lori said ominously.
Clark grinned and bent down to kiss her thoroughly. "Whether she does or not, the most she can be is a nuisance," he said. "She doesn't stand a chance, whether she knows it or not."
"If I didn't know that, I'd never have married you," Lori said. "Now," she continued, brushing the subject of Stephanie aside, "What are we going to do about Edgar Johnson?"
"I think we need some information before we can do much," Clark said. "Can you do a background check on him?"
"Sure," Lori said. "I can tie into the lunar net without any trouble, just like I did yesterday. It links to the Earth net, so I should be able to find the information I need. The DataNet is the first obvious step but it would help if I had a little more personal information on him. Edgar Johnson isn't exactly an uncommon name."
"Fortunately, before I left, Marilyn gave me a copy of his personnel file," Clark said.
"Fortunately, huh?" Lori said. "That should help. Let me have it and I'll see what I can find." She took the little disk he held out to her. "How did she get hold of this if she's on suspension?"
"I think John might have had a little to do with it," Clark said dryly. "Did I ever mention that he nearly got arrested for breaking and entering more than once? He isn't Lois's great grandson for nothing."
Lori switched on her computer. "The more I hear about John, the more I want to hear more about his history," she said. "It sounds like Lois would have been proud of him."
"Oh, she was," Clark said. "She definitely was..."
"Actually, I'm not really surprised," Lori said, "but I want to hear about it, later." She removed the disk from its protective envelope and inserted it into the appropriate slot. "Okay, let's take a look here and see what we can see."
**********
Edgar Johnson had been born on Earth, in Los Angeles, according to the information that appeared on the screen. He had attended the California Institute of Technology and gone to work at a small electronics firm in Glendale, where he had worked for several years before leaving the firm in order to join the West Coast branch of Genie Electronics. He'd stayed there for ten years, rising slowly through the company until he'd been transferred to the Genie office in Fostonia. He had been there for five years until his transfer to Metropolis two years ago. Apparently, he had been a satisfactory employee during his years of employment, but he had been turned down for Department Head of R and D the previous year when Marilyn had been selected instead.
"Not a lot here," Lori said in some disappointment. "I suppose there could be a revenge motive, since Marilyn beat him out for the department head job."
"Maybe," Clark said. "See what else you can find. He's got a life history besides what's in his personnel file. Maybe that will tell us something."
**********
A knock on the door nearly two hours later interrupted Lori's scrutiny of her computer screen. Clark glanced around and squinted at the door. "It's Zeb." He switched off Lori's little recorder to which he had been listening with the intention of distilling any new information from the presentations of this afternoon, recorded for them by Joanna Prescott. So far he had heard nothing that either he or Lori didn't already know. "Come in."
The door slid open and his tall great grandson entered. "Hey, Grampa."
Clark rolled his eyes. "Hi, kid," he replied. "How are things?"
"Not bad." Zeb grinned lazily. "I figured you wanted to see the police report, so I came right over as soon as class let out. I also talked to a friend of mine at the station and he let Eclipse see what they found."
"And?" Lori asked.
"There were a few shreds of the pressure suit that survived the solar beam," Zeb said. "They let me have a look at it."
"And what did you see?" Clark asked.
"There were traces of blood," Zeb said. He handed Clark the police report. "You can read all about it here."
"So there really was someone inside?" Lori asked, sounding, Clark thought, disappointed.
"Not necessarily. There were also minute traces of metal, insulation material and acrylics."
"Could it have been part of the pressure suit?" Clark asked.
"Maybe," Zeb said. "On the other hand, it could also have been traces of an automaton. There was one partially destroyed nano-circuit mixed in with the rest. Eclipse discovered that, by the way. The Forensics people missed it."
"How could that happen?" Lori asked. "And what's the significance of a nano-circuit?"
"It was largely destroyed," Zeb told her. "There was only a fragment left -- not something likely to be noticed, if I hadn't been looking for it. And, of course, my microscopic vision is a lot more sensitive than even the stuff Forensics has to work with. The important thing is, though, is that they don't use nano-circuits in suit electronics."
Clark's eyes met Zeb's. "But they do use them in humanoid robots."
"Yeah."
"What about the blood?" Lori asked.
Zeb shrugged. "It might have been your Mr. Johnson -- but if you're right, if this was planned, don't you think he might have taken steps to be sure that, if anything was left of the suit, there would be no doubts in the minds of the police that he was in it?"
Lori glanced at Clark. "He's right," she said. "Why couldn't he have taken a syringe of his blood and made sure it coated the inside of the suit? If he's doing what we think he is, I don't think he'd leave anything to chance. Do you?"
Clark looked thoughtfully at Zebadiah. It was obvious that Lois's amazing talent for deduction from the skimpiest of evidence had manifested itself in their great grandson. "You're right. It could be. It won't hurt to work on that assumption until we know better, anyway."
"That's what I figured," Zeb replied. "So what do we do now?"
"If he's really still alive," Lori said, "he's got a partner, as you pointed out earlier. It might be someone who lives here in Luna City, but I can't see him discussing a plan like this over a vidphone call from Earth to the Moon. So --"
"So," Clark said, "it might be someone here from Earth."
"It's possible," Lori said. "It might even be someone who arrived here in the last couple of days."
"That's a thought," Zeb agreed, "While I was there, I did happen to ask my friend if any surface crawlers had been stolen in the last few hours. He gave me a real weird look, and I'm sure he thought Eclipse was losing it, but he checked for me."
"And?" Lori asked impatiently.
"Then he asked if I was psychic," Zeb said. "We don't have much in the way of vehicle theft in Luna City, for obvious reasons, but one was reported stolen approximately sixteen hours ago from a Professor Tim Wilson, who happens to be an astronomer at Goddard Observatory, and it was located not far from Airlock 4 about 3 hours ago."
"Aha," Lori said softly.
"Yeah," Zeb said. He shook his head. "Are you sure *you* aren't psychic, Grandma?"
"I don't think so," Lori said. "So did you tell your friend what we suspect?"
"No. He'd probably have thought I was nuts. I figured I could tell the cops later, when we've got a little more to go on. I did point out the nano-circuit to him. He said he'd report it."
"Maybe they'll pick up on it," Clark said. "Eclipse or Superman can go by later and tell them what we think, if we find anything more concrete." He handed the disk containing the police report to his wife. "We can look at it later, since Zeb has already seen it," he added. "What I want to do is get a look at the place where the 'accident' happened."
"Me too," Lori said.
"If you like," Zeb suggested, "we can go after dinner, if Grandma's up to it."
Lori tucked the disk into her computer disk case. "In spite of being your creaky and ancient grandmother," she said, "I'm definitely up to it, sonny boy."
Clark smothered a grin.
**********
tbc
