I have to admit to a slight error. It wasn't until I began to write this part that I realized that I'd left out something in the very first chapter, which was essential to this one. So, I went back and added it. If you like, you can check it out in part one -- where Lori and Clark are checking into the hotel.
Home: Murder By Earthlight --12/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
The automatic door was no longer powered, and Clark pushed it open for her. They stepped out into the open. "Well -- all right," he said dubiously. "Just -- don't do anything adventurous until I get back, okay honey?"
She held up three fingers. "Scout's honor."
He didn't seem entirely reassured, but it was obvious from the general conditions around them that Superman was really needed. They hurried across a non-moving slidewalk and into one of the parks, with which Luna City was so generously supplied. Clark glanced around. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Go on," Lori told him. "Let's see some tights, Superman."
He grinned slightly. "Sometimes I still can't get over how much like Lois you are."
"Move it," Lori told him, unimpressed. "You've got a day to help save."
With his usual speed, Clark made the change to Superman, kissed her quickly and took off into the air. Lori turned back toward the entrance to the Rainbow Caverns tour. There was something, as she had told Clark, that she needed to check out.
**********
And now, Part 12:
"I'm sorry, Miss, the Cavern tour is closed," the doorman told her.
"I know," Lori said quickly. "I won't take much of your time. I just need to check for something with Lost and Found." She flashed her press identification from the Daily Planet in front of him, giving him only a brief glimpse of it. "I might have left my bag here."
The man eyed her for a moment and then nodded. "I guess it will be all right. I ought to check with my supervisor."
"Of course," Lori said. She smiled at him in a friendly way. "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?"
The doorman shook his head. "I guess not."
"Did your people get everyone out of the caves all right?"
The man nodded. "They're evacuating the Ag workers now."
Lori held up her little recorder. "Was anyone hurt?"
"No. Everyone was evacuated without any trouble."
"That's good. How long have you worked here?" she inquired.
"A little over six months," the doorman told her.
"Would you mind telling me your name?"
"Robert Jones," he said quickly.
"That would be J-o-n-e-s?"
"That's right."
"I guess you're familiar with the emergency routines of the Tour," Lori said. "Have they ever had any serious accidents that you can remember?"
"No," Jones told her. "The staff here is very competent."
"That's reassuring. I'd heard that the safety record of the Tour was pretty good. I understand that there's a rumor that Superman was here at the time of the quake."
"The passengers of the last Cave-mobile said he was," the man said. "I haven't seen him. I don't see how he could have managed to make it down there without anyone noticing him."
"I guess he's pretty fast," Lori said. "If he were trying to get down there in a hurry, people might not have seen him."
"Yeah, probably," the man agreed.
"Well, I guess I'd better let you get on with your job," Lori said. "Would you mind asking your supervisor if I can step in there for just a minute? I don't want to get in anyone's way."
Robert Jones did something and the doors slid open. "Go ahead. Just don't go into the passenger area."
"I won't. Thanks," Lori said. "I appreciate it." She proceeded through the door and followed the sign to Lost and Found.
But no bag resembling the one that she described had been found. The only bag there was a plaid fabric bag that was obviously the property of an ordinary tourist. Lori thanked the man behind the desk and returned to the exit. Robert Jones opened the door for her. "Find what you were looking for?"
"Unfortunately, no. If you come across a bag made of imitation alligator skin, about this big --" She held up her hands. "Could you put in a call to this number?" She handed him one of the little pasteboard cards that she infrequently distributed to possible informants. "I'd appreciate it."
"Sure." He glanced at the name on the card and then took another, closer look. "Lori Lyons? That reporter for the Daily Planet?"
"That's right. I'm surprised you recognize my name," she said. "I'm here for a convention. This will make a wonderful story for my news service. I'll be sure to mention your name," she added. "You've been very helpful." She paused. "Has anything like this happened before in your experience? I'm really impressed with the way the city seems to have brought the situation under control so quickly."
"They run drills twice a year," Robert Jones told her. "Nothing like this has happened since I've been here, and it's going on ten years now, although we did have a small meteor strike the dome a couple of years ago. Meteors do hit the Moon every now and then, but it usually isn't a problem because most of them are small and most of the time they hit where it doesn't matter. That one time we were hit, the defensive fields kept the break under control until they could repair it." He shrugged. "This time we just got unlucky. We'll handle it. We always do."
"I guess living in an environment like Luna City would demand certain precautions and a quick response to an emergency," Lori said. "It's very reassuring." She extended a hand. "Thanks for your help, and for answering my questions."
The doorman smiled at her. "You're welcome, Ms. Lyons." He stood aside to let her through, and closed the unpowered door behind her. Lori fished in her small handbag for the brochure that advertised the Agricultural Tour.
According to the map on the front cover, the entrance to the Ag tour was only a short distance away. She started down the now-stationary slidewalk at a brisk walk. If she was lucky, she might be able to talk her way in to check out their Lost and Found as well. It was one possibility that hadn't seriously occurred to her until a short time ago, and it wasn't all that likely, but it was certainly worth eliminating the chance. After all, Edgar Johnson might not have had a really good opportunity to hide his bag, but, as Clark had said, theft was fairly rare here on the Moon and it was possible that Johnson had known that. He might have decided that, if it were found, his property would be safe in Lost and Found for the short time he needed it to be beyond Talbot Grey's -- or someone's -- reach. She'd noted, when she checked the Lost and Found desk at the Rainbow Cavern Tour, the sign that notified patrons that unclaimed items would be held for a period of thirty twenty-four hour cycles and then donated to charity. The policy was probably pretty standard.
After a brisk walk of perhaps ten minutes, Lori saw the sign for the Agricultural Tour. As might have been expected, the attraction was closed but that had never stopped her before. She walked up to the front door and knocked.
A uniformed man inside shook his head and pointed to the "Closed" sign, but Lori, undaunted, held up her press identification and knocked again. The man hesitated a moment and then approached the doors. He opened it a crack. "I'm sorry, Miss, but the tour is closed."
"I know," Lori said. "I'm from the Daily Planet, and I'm interviewing people about this situation for my news service in Metropolis. I wondered if someone here would have a few minutes?"
Half an hour later, she was on her way again. She'd conducted her interview with the day manager of the attraction and then mentioned, as if it were an afterthought, that she'd lost her bag a couple of days ago and wondered if by chance she'd left it here. The manager had checked, but there was no sign of the missing item. Lori had thanked him gracefully and departed.
Well, she'd really expected nothing less. The last place on her list was Heinlein's Cave. She checked the address and then a city map and set out along the unmoving slidewalk.
Observing her surroundings as she walked, Lori was struck by the remarkable air of calm and order in the domed city. In spite of the inconvenience that was inevitable because of the necessary shutdown of power, the citizens of Luna City went about their business calmly, with no atmosphere of panic, unlike the tourists that had shared the Cave-mobile with Lori and Clark. The residents seemed to take the entire incident in stride and, taking her cue from them, Lori did as well.
The walk to Heinlein's Cave occupied nearly an hour, and it was during the walk that she noticed something unusual for the Moon city.
The light was slowly dimming.
At first she thought it was her imagination, but after perhaps twenty minutes, she realized that it was becoming somewhat more difficult to see and glancing up, she saw that only a portion of the sun was visible behind the Earth. The Earth was a huge, blood-red blotch in the sky, so deep a red that it was almost black, and across its surface she could see a scattering of tiny patches of twinkling lights that must be cities and towns. Around the Earth glowed a reddish halo that must be the light of the sun refracting through the atmosphere, and on one side of the dark blotch was a thin, bright crescent of brilliant blue -- that portion of the Earth lit by the sunlight that could still be seen from her position.
It had to be an eclipse, she realized, after a startled moment of incomprehension. She was seeing what must be the beginning of a total eclipse of the Moon as *seen* from the Moon. She stood still, looking upward at the incredible sight in the sky and then looked quickly away. Even the polarized panels of Luna City's geodesic dome couldn't completely protect her eyes if she were to stare at the sun for too long a time. She glanced up quickly again and then away, wondering how she was going to describe this for the readers of her news service. It was something that had to be seen in order to be completely appreciated.
Well, she had her digital camera. Perhaps she could take a picture to go with the article that she planned on writing upon her return to Earth. She extracted her camera, set the filter for bright sunlight and quickly snapped several pictures, careful not to look directly at the bright patch in the sky that was Sol. Examining the photos a few moments later, she frowned, not completely satisfied by the results. Well, at least it was better than no pictures at all, and perhaps the local news service would have a better picture that she could use.
She tucked the camera back into her bag and started on her way once more, wondering why there hadn't been any announcement of the upcoming eclipse. Then she recalled the casual conversation with the desk clerk, who had checked them in when she and Clark had first arrived at the Luna Hilton. Hadn't he mentioned something about an eclipse? With everything that had happened since she and Clark had arrived on the Moon, the remark had slipped her mind. She hadn't heard any subsequent announcements but there probably had been at least one or two that she had missed. It wasn't as if she and Clark had spent much time watching the vidscreen since they had arrived in Luna City.
The gradual progression from daylight to darkness was slow, she realized as she hurried on toward her destination. Around her, she saw people glancing up casually at the spectacular sight, but no one seemed particularly worried. Of course not, she reminded herself. This wasn't Metropolis. Luna City's crime rate wasn't exactly zero but it was pretty close. Violent crime wasn't something that they considered a problem. Lori, of course, was a denizen of Metropolis who was accustomed to the dangers of Metropolis's streets at night, especially in certain areas, and she couldn't help glancing over her shoulder as she hurried along in the slowly dimming light. She was aware of a faint sense of nervousness but, she reminded herself, she was in the open. She wasn't likely to be mugged in a place like this. Luna City was more like a small, Midwestern town and the crime rate was even lower. Here and there she saw lone women walking briskly along the darkened slidewalks. There were plenty of people around.
All the same, she picked up her pace a little. The sooner she finished her errand, the better.
**********
The entrance to Heinlein's Cave was a small building, similar to the entrance to the Luna Hilton and the unpowered door appeared to be unlocked. Several people were standing nearby, watching the eclipse through some sort of shaded glasses, all of them clutching soft cloth bags much like the one she had at home that carried her karate gi and her gym clothing. She reached for the door, and it swung open easily.
"Nobody's flying right now," one of the bystanders said.
"Is anyone in there?" Lori inquired. "I need to check Lost and Found."
"Sure" one of the men said. The ruddy light from Earth, floating above them in the sky, reflected off his face, giving it an odd appearance. He sauntered over to her and pushed the door wider, releasing a pale shaft of light. "Come on. I'll show you where it is." He squinted at her face. "I don't think I've seen you before."
"I'm just a tourist from Earth," Lori said. "Lori Kent."
"Hi, Lori," he said. "I'm John Douglas." He motioned for her to go ahead of him and followed, letting the door swing shut. A flight of steps went downward, and below, Lori could see a stone floor, also illuminated by the same pale lighting. "They're shooing everybody out," John said, "so they had to leave a few lights on until everyone's gone. Gary must be around here somewhere."
"Gary?" Lori asked.
"The guy that runs the place. He won't mind if you check Lost and Found. Lose something here?"
"Maybe," Lori said. "I'm looking for a small satchel that disappeared yesterday. It might be here."
"Ah," John said. "This way, then." He led the way down the steps and then along a curving walk to a broad, railed-in area. Lori couldn't resist looking at the wide-open space beyond the rail. So far below that it couldn't be seen in the low lighting must be the floor, and the huge cave area beyond must be where the fliers...flew. A sign on the rock wall behind them announced that this was the observation gallery. She sighed faintly.
"I wanted to try flying before I head back to Earth," she said. "Do you suppose things will be fixed very soon?"
"Sure," John said casually. "Things will probably be back to normal in a few hours." He pointed. "There's Gary's office."
As they approached the office, a slender man with graying hair stepped out. When he saw them, he stopped. "We're closed, until the power is back," he said. "I'm shutting down our battery power in a few minutes. You kids'll have to come back later."
"This is Lori," John said quickly. "She needed to check Lost and Found for a missing bag. Mind if we take a quick look, Gary?"
Gary hesitated for a moment. "Sure, I guess it's all right," he said finally. "Just make it quick, though. And shut the door when you leave the room."
"Thanks," John said. "Come on, Lori. This way."
Lori followed her guide past the office to a counter a short distance beyond. John went around the counter and pushed open the door set in the wall behind it. A pale light immediately illuminated the room. "Here you go."
Lori entered and looked around.
The walls were lined with shelves, where a number of items rested. A one-piece jumpsuit was folded carefully on a lower shelf next to a single boot. Someone's bag sat neatly beside a wrist talker and what appeared to be a sock. But what caught her attention immediately was a small, briefcase-sized satchel made of imitation alligator skin. She caught her breath and snatched it up eagerly. A quick examination convinced her that it was indeed the item she sought. Against the odds, her wild hunch had paid off.
"Is that it?" John asked.
"It sure is," Lori said. "I can't thank you enough for helping me."
"Not a problem," John said. "I have to do my part to attract tourists to the city."
"Well, I sure appreciate it," Lori said. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," John said. "But I guess we'd better get out of here now and let Gary close the place up."
"I guess so," Lori agreed. She followed him from the room and the light went off as they exited.
Gary was waiting by his office door as they retraced their steps, and he glanced at the bag Lori now held. "Find it?"
"Sure did," Lori said. "I really appreciate the help. In Metropolis, no one would have bothered."
"Luna City is a friendly place," Gary said. "We try to help visitors whenever we can."
"I hope I'll be able to come back, before I have to go home," Lori said. "I've been looking forward to having a chance to try flying."
"Yeah." Gary joined the two of them, walking toward the steps. "We're pretty popular with the ground --" He broke off. "Tourists," he substituted."
"You mean us groundhogs," Lori said with a grin.
"Yeah." John grinned too. "We try not to insult people, but sometimes it slips out."
"Well," Lori said, "I am a groundhog, but I still like to fly. The closest you can come to it on Earth is an aircar."
"I was on Earth last year for two weeks," John said. "I'm a Loonie through and through, though, I guess. I weighed a ton, all that open space gave me agoraphobia, I was always too hot or too cold, and those biting bugs, whatever they were, really liked me."
"Mosquitoes," Lori said. "They like everybody, I'm afraid. Somebody should have given you some repellent."
"I guess. I was glad to get back here, though. Men weren't meant to live like that."
"I don't know," Lori said with a slight grin. "If you grow up with it, it's okay."
"I suppose so," John said doubtfully. "Like I said, I'm a Loonie and always will be."
They started up the flight of steps, and Gary paused in the upper chamber to extinguish the cave's emergency lighting. He pushed open the door and let Lori and John exit ahead of him.
Outside, it was much darker. The little sliver of light at the edge of the dark blotch of Earth overhead had completely vanished. Around the spherical blotch of dull brown, stained with orange, was a halo of orange red, but it did little to illuminate the landscape. Lori shivered slightly. The shadowy city looked intimidating, even though she knew it had the reputation of being safe.
John glanced at his wrist. "Oops, I'm late. I've gotta take off or my girl's going to be mad at me again. Nice meeting you, Lori."
"Nice meeting you," she said. "Thanks a lot for the help."
"Think nothing of it," John said. "'Bye." He took off, running. Lori glanced at Gary.
"I'm kind of turned around. Which way is the Luna Hilton?"
He pointed. "That way." He smiled slightly. "I know it's dark, but don't worry, Miss. There's no crime around here worth the name. I'd take you back myself, but my wife's expecting me in twenty minutes. Just follow that street until you hit Neil Armstrong Boulevard and turn left. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," Lori said.
**********
tbc
