Home: Murder By Earthlight -- 9/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
"Maybe," Clark said. "But, as you pointed out, it's hard for someone to just disappear in a closed environment like the lunar cities. He may not have had a choice, except to kill Johnson when he did. And if I were in Johnson's place, participating in something like this, I wouldn't trust any partner without some insurance. I doubt he would have, either. After all, if we're right, Johnson couldn't have known there was another, more important agenda."
"True," Zeb agreed. "But let's hurry anyway, just in case."
They were approaching the Luna Hilton as he spoke, and a moment later they stepped on the platform that delivered them to the hotel lobby. Clark looked around the busy area. "Tal is in the bar, talking to Brad Thompkins." He fell silent for a moment. "Lori, do you think you could find out which room he's in?"
"Sure," Lori said.
"Good. Go ahead back to our room and get started. I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm going to take Zeb into the bar to introduce him to Tal. And then, I think I'll take an evening stroll past Tal's room."
**********
And now, Part 9:
Lori stepped off the elevator platform on the fifth floor and turned down the corridor toward the room she shared with Clark, thinking hard.
Since the instant when she had realized that the motive behind the theft at Genie was not profit but revenge, her mind had been busy with speculation. Like Clark, she didn't believe for an instant that Johnson would have trusted his partner, which meant that the important files were hidden somewhere that Talbot Grey, if he were indeed the actual mastermind of this scheme, would probably not think to look. Besides, he must have stored the bag in some place where it wouldn't be found and removed by the police after his so-called "death" at the solar collector. Which meant that she, Clark and Zeb were going to have to think creatively if they were going to find it.
But where could such a place be? She didn't know much about the Lunar environment -- at least not enough to make an intelligent guess -- but maybe Zeb would have some ideas. She hoped so, anyway. If Clark didn't find anything in Grey's room, they were going to need plenty of luck to locate the missing bag. Trying to re-create the reasoning of a dead man was going to challenge even the ingenuity of Kent and Lyons.
And, naturally, after admitting that she didn't know enough to venture a guess, she continued to chew on the problem. Even acknowledging that she was probably wasting time and imagination, she couldn't help it. Her brother, Brad Lyons, had always said she had more reporter's instinct than anyone he knew, and he'd been on the school paper when he'd been in high school, although later he'd decided to study Naval Science at Annapolis, and ultimately became a pilot in the Space Program. He'd observed, rather pointedly on more than one occasion, that Lori should have been a detective, because she couldn't leave an unsolved puzzle alone. But she'd known since grade school that she wanted to be a journalist.
What they needed to do, she decided finally, was to try to find out where Johnson had been this morning, after he had left the restaurant and before he had gone on the tour of the Moon's surface. After she dug up the answer from the hotel's computer concerning which room Talbot Grey was in, maybe she could do a little hunting around and see if Johnson had been signed up for any tours of the Moon's surface, or other attractions available for tourists. If he had managed to get to some of the Moon's more exotic locales, such a place might be the perfect spot to hide something like a small bag. The Moon had to have plenty of good hiding places, after all. It was at least one possibility to check out, and it was something she could do until more definitive clues turned up -- if they ever did.
She didn't realize until the door of her hotel room opened that somebody was already there. A woman spun to face her as she stepped inside and she found herself face to face with Stephanie Brook. Stephanie stared at her in shock.
"What the devil are you doing in my room?" Lori demanded.
Stephanie's expression altered to anger. "What are *you* doing here?" she retorted. "I'm here to see Clark, and it has nothing to do with you!"
"Since this is my room too, I have as much right to be here as he does -- and a lot more than you!" Lori said. "If you want to see Clark, talk to him somewhere besides our hotel room. Get out of here before I call hotel security!"
Stephanie smirked. "Jealous, Lori? He's wanted me ever since Brazil. That's why we arranged to meet here in Luna City."
"It's funny he brought his wife along, then," Lori said.
"You weren't supposed to be here," Stephanie said, sulkily. "Why did you bother to come when you know he wants out of this straitjacket you have him in? Is this some desperate attempt to keep him all for yourself? You need to give him his freedom gracefully, like any civilized woman would. Men need more than just one woman."
"I'll give you ten seconds to get your...self through that door," Lori said grimly, "and then I'm going to have you arrested. Get out!"
Stephanie flounced past her but paused in the doorway. "If you keep this up, you'll regret it," she said. "He wants to be with me, and you'll find that out the hard way."
"I'm not going to dignify that with an argument," Lori said. "Get out of our room -- and leave him alone."
Stephanie stepped out into the hall. "Just wait," she said, a note of confidence in her voice. "You're going to wish you'd listened."
Lori pressed the manual override and the door slid shut in Stephanie's face. She hit the locking button and leaned against the door, her heart beating a little fast. Stephanie was either trying to cause trouble between her and Clark or was completely delusional. It was obvious, however, that she was not going to leave Clark alone voluntarily. She found herself wishing that they could go back to Metropolis on the next flight.
But, of course, they couldn't. Marilyn Olsen's career and good name depended on them -- and besides, there was no way she was going to run from that...that cat in heat, she thought, furiously. Just who did Stephanie Brook think she was? Was she so sure of her own irresistibility that she thought no man could refuse her? Well, she was about to get the set down of her life with Clark.
She lifted her wrist talker to her lips. "Clark?"
After a pause, his voice answered her. "Yes, honey?"
"Something funny happened just a couple of minutes ago. I walked into our room and Stephanie was in here. She said she was waiting to see you."
"*In* our room?"
"Yeah, and I'd like to know how she did that. But she started in on this stuff about you wanting her and how you'd arranged to meet her here, and how I should bow out. I'm not sure she's completely -- in touch with reality," Lori said delicately. "She almost threatened me."
"*Threatened* you!"
"Sort of. She said I'd regret it if I didn't give you your freedom voluntarily."
"Where are you now?"
"In the room. I threw her out and locked the door."
"Keep it locked until I get there," Clark said.
"I'm going to," Lori said. "She's starting to be a real pain in the...neck. While I'm waiting, I'm going to check and see if she took anything."
"Anything she decided to take we can replace," Clark said. "Don't go after her."
"I won't, but I'm not afraid of her."
"I know, but do me the favor of waiting, anyway," Clark said. "I'm on the elevator now."
"All right," Lori said. She straightened up and looked around the room. Clark's suitcase was open, she noticed at once, and had apparently been rifled through, and so had hers. Since all that she and Clark had brought had been standard traveling supplies, it didn't worry her on that score, but the knowledge that Stephanie had been going through their things was annoying. She knelt by her bag and checked the contents. As far as she could tell, nothing was missing. Quickly she checked Clark's and then went to the dresser to look over the items that they had stored there.
Her things appeared to be undisturbed but, again, Clark's had been gone through, and it seemed to her that a pair of his black silk boxers was missing. She searched through the drawers and then checked the bathroom, but the garment was certainly gone. What the dickens did Stephanie think she was doing, stealing a pair of Clark's underwear?
**********
Clark stepped off the platform onto the fifth floor and headed for his hotel room.
Lori's call had alarmed him more than he'd been willing to admit to her. It was beginning to look to him as if Stephanie Brook was seriously deluded -- perhaps even starting to conjure up fantasies about their non-existent relationship. What had she been doing in his and Lori's room? Was it possible that she was actually stalking him?
During his long life, he had actually been stalked by two women. One situation had been fairly minor, and he'd managed to discourage the obsessed teenage girl without serious problems. The second had required a restraining order, and a right hook from Lois, to make a female employee of the Planet keep her distance. That had been nastier, and had seriously shaken him, but it was beginning to look as if Stephanie might fit into the latter category. Visions of cases where a stalker had tried to kill the object of his or her obsession flitted through his mind. And, of course, there was nothing to say that she might not try to remove the perceived barrier to her goal, if she thought she could. The ability of an otherwise intelligent mind to rationalize any sort of behavior as justified was one of those things that continued to baffle him. He found himself wishing that he could persuade Lori to go back to Earth and let him cope with the rest of this mess by himself, and then gave the idea up as fantasy. Lori would no more turn tail and run than Lois would. He would just have to stay on his toes, and rely on Lori, herself, to cope with Stephanie should the need arise. That was one thing that he could count on, he thought with a little smile. He'd back Lori against anyone else he could think of, assuming the other person was unarmed. His petite wife was about as harmless as an angry tiger to someone intent on making trouble for her -- or for him. Especially for him.
He rounded the corner and came face to face with Stephanie. She was clutching her purse and looked both angry and upset.
"Clark!" she said. Her face broke into a smile. "I was waiting for you."
"Is there something I can do for you, Stephanie?" he asked cautiously, taking a step back.
Her smile turned sultry. "We could go back to my room to talk," she suggested.
"If it can't be said here, I don't think I should go to your room," he said, taking another step back. "Anyway, Lori's waiting for me."
Her expression changed at once. Her eyes narrowed. "The little woman again, huh? I never thought you'd tie yourself to one woman's apron strings. You used to avoid commitments completely. What has she got over you, Clark?"
"The fact that I love her, for one," Clark said.
"But that doesn't mean you can't have relationships elsewhere, does it?" She took a step toward him, swaying her hips. "Doesn't having just one woman get a little stale? It's not as if I'm asking for a lifetime commitment. Everyone has one or two relationships on the side. There's nothing wrong with it."
"There is for me," Clark said. "I said my relationship is monogamous, and I meant it. I'm not available, now or ever."
"Would you be available if you weren't married?" Stephanie asked.
"No," Clark said. "Besides, I *am* married and that isn't about to change."
"Is it me?" Stephanie asked, almost plaintively, and her smile had completely vanished. "If Lori weren't in the picture, wouldn't you be interested?" She looked down at her feet. "I've wanted you ever since Brazil, you know."
"No," Clark said gently. "Sex isn't a casual fling for me, Stephanie. It never was. I never slept around even before I married."
"Oh," Stephanie said, altogether too mildly. "Then I guess I'll go. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Clark said. He watched her as she turned and walked away, somewhat puzzled by her attitude, but relief was the primary emotion. Hopefully he'd managed to convince her to drop her pursuit.
He continued on toward their hotel room and triggered the door key. The door didn't budge and he told the key to unlock it. There was a buzz and a faint click and the door slid open.
Lori was rummaging through their dresser drawers, but she turned when he entered. "Hi. I'm glad you're here."
"What's going on?"
"I was double checking. How many pairs of boxers did you bring along?"
"Six. Why?"
"I can only find four. Counting the pair your wearing, that's five."
"Why the obsession with my boxers?" he asked, curiously.
"Because Stephanie went through your stuff. I think she took a pair of your underwear." Lori shoved the drawer shut and scowled. "She is seriously beginning to scare me -- and she's definitely making me mad."
"Are you sure it didn't just get misplaced?"
"I'm sure," Lori said grimly. "I think she's got an unhealthy obsession with you, and while I can't fault her taste in men, I don't like her fixating on *my* man. Besides, she somehow got in here without a key and I don't like that at all."
"Me, either."
Lori snatched up her laptop and set it down on the bed. "Before I get myself all worked up, I'm going to tie into the hotel's computer and find out what room Tal's in. I don't suppose you bothered to ask him, did you?"
"I don't want him to think anyone might be interested," Clark said. "If he's our boy, he's going to be suspicious of us just on principle."
"Yeah," Lori conceded. "'The wicked flee where no man pursues.'"
"Exactly," Clark said. "And since we *are* pursuing, so to speak, I want to be extra-careful."
"Point taken," Lori said. She bent over the keyboard and a moment later made a small sound of satisfaction. "Got it. He's in room 586 -- on this floor and down the adjoining hallway."
"Excellent," Clark said. "I already scanned him while Zeb and I were talking to him in the bar. If he's got the disks, he doesn't have them on him. I'm going to go check out his room now." He turned to the door and then paused, looking back at her. "Lock the door until I get back. Like you said: Stephanie is seriously beginning to worry me."
"Yeah," Lori said. "But not nearly as much as she should worry about me."
**********
Lori pressed the locking button after Clark had left and went back to sit on the bed. The invasion by Stephanie Brook had left the skin between her shoulder blades crawling.
Determinedly, she returned to her computer. While Clark investigated Talbot Grey's room, she might as well check to see if Johnson had booked any of the standard tourist activities earlier in the day. The hotel employed a representative who handled reservations for tours and various activities provided for the convenience of tourists, and now was as good a time to check on Edgar Johnson's activities this morning as any. Having made her way into the relevant files, she began to search.
Within minutes, she found his name attached to a number of different tourist "adventures". Not long after Clark had checked on him, the evening before, he had apparently gone on a walking tour of the Rainbow Caverns, one of which was visible through the air tight window of their own hotel room. Following that, he had been to see one of the agricultural caves, where most of the Moon's produce was grown. He'd also been signed up for the Heinlein's Cave Tour, and for the Surface Tour, which had been the scene of the so-called "accident", and where he had been murdered. The man had been busy, all right, and Lori thought that he might very well have used the expeditions as a cover for hiding the missing bag.
Carefully, she erased the signs of her presence in the computer records and exited the system. It seemed that she and Clark were going to have to take some of the tours a little sooner than they had intended, she thought. Clark might be able to spot the thing, even in a place like the Rainbow Caverns. She looked out the window again at the incredible sight. The place had to be absolutely huge, but surely Johnson couldn't have gone too far off the tourist path, could he? After all, he had to plan on returning for it later, and he didn't want to risk losing the bag.
Then a thought crossed her mind. It wasn't completely ethical, but that was irrelevant. It might be interesting to find out about Stephanie Brook's past history. The woman's behavior was beginning to spook her, and it might be a good idea to discover exactly what sort of events lay in her past. It might not show anything, but it was certainly worth a look.
It was only a short time later that Clark appeared in the door of their room again. She glanced up from her scrutiny of her computer screen. "Find anything?"
He shook his head. "No. Did you?"
"A little." She nodded at the computer screen. "Edgar Johnson signed up for several tours this morning, before he took the surface tour."
"So you think he might have stashed the bag while he was on one of the tours?"
Naturally he would figure that out, she thought. "Yeah."
"Not a bad idea. Of course, Tal will probably think of it, himself, before long."
"Probably. I also looked up Stephanie."
"Oh?" He looked quickly at her. "Find anything interesting?"
"Some," Lori said, keeping her voice carefully bland.
He wasn't fooled. "What?"
"Five years ago, she was accused of stalking a colleague at her place of employment. He took a restraining order out on her, which she subsequently violated. She pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to six weeks of community service."
"Anything else?"
"No," Lori said, "but I can't say I'm reassured."
"At least it was pretty minor," Clark said.
"At least," Lori said. "But I think I'll keep an eye on her anyway."
"Me too. Now, which tours did Johnson sign up for?"
Lori told him. Clark nodded. "I guess we're going to see the Rainbow Caverns up close," he said. "And you wanted to try flying in Heinlein's Cave."
"I still do," Lori said. "What time is it in Metropolis?"
Clark glanced at the wall clock, which showed the time zones on Earth as well as local time. "About eleven in the evening."
"Then," Lori said, "I need to give Carla a call. I hope she's not out to dinner with Connor, or something, or in bed, because this can't wait. If anyone can track down where Talbot Grey was just before he came to Luna City, she can do it."
"While you're doing that," Clark said, "I just thought of something."
"What?"
"It's past midnight here, and dinner was a long time ago. I'm going to order something from Room Service."
**********
tbc
