The Security Force arrived to claim the body and soon enough Jali and Xhen were in the waiting room of the lockbox, Security Force headquarters. Xhen still looked pale.
"What's wrong with you?" Jali asked him with a reassuring smile. "You look like a namju fish on the end of a vibroprod. Dead bodies are awful, and they can get a lot worse than that."
Xhen shuddered. "I've just never come across a murder before."
Jali raised an eyebrow. "Who said anything about murder?"
"He was stuffed in that crate about to be shipped off-planet," Xhen pointed out. "If that isn't suspicious, call me a bantha."
"You're right about that being suspicious," Jali agreed, "but I can think of several reasons why Vertey was in that crate, and not all of them have to do with him being murdered."
Xhen shrugged. "Yeah, well, like I said."
"Dawler?" Jali's head whipped around. "I'm not in the least bit surprised to find you here."
Jali gave Captain Vantel half a smile. Leyon Vantel had been his superior while he was in the Security Force and had always seemed to have some kind of problem with him. This had increased after Vantel had offered him his job back when Jali's record had been cleared, Jali had declined and his old boss still seemed to hold this against him.
"I'm doing what I do best," Jali said following Vantel past the security barrier. "Getting up to my neck in something that's in your way." He beckoned to Xhen to follow and the door shut behind them.
"Well, not for long," Vantel said, escorting them down a corridor and through another set of doors.
Vantel looked at Xhen as if he was noticing him for the first time. "This your new runner, Dawler?" he asked Jali mockingly.
"His name's Xhen Rinner," Jali snapped, "and give him a break, it's his first day."
"First day and already a death," commented Vantel.
Jali sighed. "Give it a rest, would you?"
"It's okay, I can handle it," Xhen said, lightly touching Jali's arm.
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
"Step into my office," Vantel said, stopping by an open door, "there's a few hard facts you have to hear before you have any of your flights of imagination."
Inside, and getting to her feet, was Pallavi Dashiell, Jali made the necessary introductions and they sat down at Vantel's desk.
"We made the interviews when Vertey's wife first reported him missing three days ago," Vantel told them. "So here are the facts, we have a record of a call he made to his wife shortly after seventeen. According to a friend of his, Daur Kremoine, Vertey was last seen leaving a bar near Eastport, the Idobal, around seventeen-ten. According to Kremoine, the two of them had been having a disagreement with a Bith and a white-skinned Twi'lek woman before he left."
"Any details on this?" Jali asked.
"Yeah, but they're immaterial," Vantel spat. "After the autopsy results come in, I'm willing to put it to the fact that he'd had one too much, and someone met up with him on the way home and had another disagreement with him."
Trust Vantel to jump to the wrong conclusions without any facts, Jali thought.
"Have you got anything right now to back this up?" Xhen asked.
"There's a large wound on the back of his skull," Vantel told him, "it looks big enough to have done the job. Our med, Jaydee will confirm it when he's finished."
"I'd like to see the body," Jali said.
Vantel frowned. "You saw it plenty when you found it, didn't you?" He narrowed his eyes at Jali. "Dawler, do I have to tell you again to stay out of this?"
"You told me last time and I didn't listen because I thought there was something more to the case, and there was," Jali reminded him. "His widow hired me to find him, I did and I want to be able to give her some answers."
"That's what we do, Jali," Pallavi reminded him, giving him an arch look.
"Well, more answers than you'll be able to give her," Jali said.
Vantel's face twitched as if he was having an argument with himself. On the one hand he wanted to tell Jali to go to hell, on the other he wanted him out of his hair. The latter argument won.
"I'll talk to Jaydee," Vantel said, standing up, "but I don't make any promises. Wait here." He strode out of the room.
When he was sure that Vantel had gone, Jali turned to Pallavi. "So where do you fit in on all of this?"
Pallavi Dashiell was short and slight, her narrow build made her blue and yellow uniform sort of hang on her. She had dark hair, streaked with red, a bit dishevelled from wearing her helmet.
"Vantel just heard I was making enquires," Pallavi told him.
"Enquiries on my behalf?" Jali probed.
"Yes," Pallavi said, throwing him another look.
Xhen stared between them, his face confused. "Have I missed something here?"
"Not really," Jali said dryly. "So who is handling the case?"
"Kian," Pallavi told him, she noticed his face screw up. "Don't look like that, he's very thorough."
"I know, that's what's so infuriating about him," Jali complained.
"Jali," Pallavi said gently. "Vantel's right about you not getting involved."
Jali sighed. "Don't tell me he's got on your case too!"
"That has nothing to do with it," Pallavi hissed. "Listen, I've been hearing things about this case, apparently there's more people interested in it than you think."
"What kind of people?" Jali asked.
"Don't ask, it's just what I heard," Pallavi said.
"But why?" Xhen asked. "Like Vantel said, it sounds pretty straightforward."
"If someone else is interested, then it's anything but that," Jali pointed out.
It was that moment that Vantel chose to appear in the doorway. "I got you two a look in, you've got five minutes." He looked at Pallavi. "Dashiell, you don't need to be here."
"Yes sir," Pallavi said, glancing at Jali over her shoulder as they went down the corridor in different directions.
---------------------------------
As Jaydee, the Rhodian coroner, kept a monologue going of the specifics of his findings, Jali examined Lucen Vertey's body. He was facedown on the table with the skin of the back of his head peeled back and a section of his skull missing so they could see his brain. Xhen was standing well-back and Jali didn't blame him.
"You done any more tests?" he asked Jaydee. "Any traces of any chemicals?"
Jaydee looked strangely at Jali, unfortunately he wore a surgical mask and hood covering most of his face like Jali and Xhen were so there was no way they could see his whole expression. "No, there's nothing and why should there be? It's clear what killed him, isn't it?" He pointed to the carved-up skull.
He's as short-sighted as Vantel, Jali observed.
"Is there anything else?" Jaydee asked him.
"One more question," Jali asked. "How long has he been dead?"
"That's quite hard to tell definitely," Jaydee explained. "I'd say he's been dead at least two days, three at the most. Being trapped in that cold air-tight box has helped, of course."
"I see, thanks for your help, Doc," Jali said, with a grunt Jaydee left him and Xhen alone.
"What do you think?" Xhen asked, turning away from the body ands taking several deep breaths. "I know there's what I said earlier, but I'm inclined to agree with Vantel."
"So am I," said Jali, he looked over a tray of Vertey's clothes and belongings. "It's just there's something…not right." With a gloved hand, he held up a cocktail napkin. The corner was printed with the address of the Idobal, the bar where Vertey had last been seen.
"What do you mean?" Xhen asked.
"I'm not so sure," Jali admitted. "And there's some questions that I wouldn't mind being answered."
"Such as?"
Jali put the napkin down. "Such as what Vertey was expecting to do in that hour or so after he left the Idobal."
They left the examination room and removed their masks and hoods, for a few minutes Jali stared at Vertey's body through the windows and didn't speak. They both turned when they heard the door open. In walked Vantel with Jaydee, and a woman that Jali could not identify. There was a definite sense of confidence about her, and there was the strange fact that both Vantel and Jaydee seemed to defer to her. And she looks hardly older than Pallavi, Jali observed, she has to be some sort of Judicial. She was tall, had blonde hair framing her face and wore a blue grey coat and tall black boots.
Vantel stared at Jali as if surprised to see him. "Dawler, I thought you'd left."
Jali smiled at him. "You never asked me to."
Vantel returned Jali's smile, but there was no mirth behind it. "In that case, I'll ask you to leave right now."
"No, Vantel," said the woman, "I wouldn't mind talking to them." She offered Jali and Xhen her hand. "I'm Antiene Laras, I heard you found Vertey's body."
Definitely some kind of Judicial, Jali decided. He had dealt with people from the Judicial Department before; they were an extension of the Senate and had greater powers than the Security Force. More than once, he had been taken off a case due to orders from some fast-talking Judicial.
"I didn't really find it," Jali explained, "but Xhen and I were there when it was found. We were there making enquiries about Vertey, his wife wanted him found. She was quite worried."
"Well, she's just been told and she'll be here in a minute to formerly identify him," Antiene said, she cast her eyes over Vertey's body, her green eyes picking up every detail. She then turned back to Jali. "You haven't heard of Nobu Djuren by any chance, have you?"
"Can't say I have," Jali answered, "what has that got to do with it?"
"It's none of your concern," Antiene said shortly, staring at him in a way that was slightly intimidating. "I'd appreciate it if you dropped this case." Her voice sounded slightly peculiar, but Jali only frowned.
"I still have a client," Jali argued, "and if she's not satisfied with the official story, then she may ask me to find out another."
"Well, it would be better if you desisted in doing so," Antiene said crisply. "Official measures can be taken to prevent you from doing anything."
Jali frowned at her. "I am aware of that," he said in a low voice, "and that's never stopped me before." He nodded to Xhen and they both left.
It was dark when they got outside, the night air was cool and crisp. Jali and Xhen walked along the street looking for an airtaxi.
"Not a bad first day?" Jali laughed.
"Well, I've had better days," Xhen returned with a chuckle, colour was returning to his face. "Just what was with that Laras woman?"
"Don't ask me," Jali said, suddenly thinking of Tira, "sometimes I think that women are half of what makes up dark matter."
"But didn't you see what she was doing?" Xhen pressed. "She was moving her hand while she was talking to you, and looked really crinked off when you said 'No' to her."
"People normally are crinked off when I say 'No' to them," Jali said, finally seeing a cab and hailing it. "And I don't see what her hands have to do with that."
Xhen just laughed as they got in.