Eros at Zenith: Book 2 of Tales of the Velvet Comet by Mike Resnick Read Free Book Online Page B

VIII.”
    NONE.
    “List all known business associates.”
    NONE.
    “Do you mean none, or do you mean that you have insufficient information?” he asked sharply.
    BASED ON THE DATA I POSSESS, I MEAN NONE.
    “Can you access Vainmill's master computer on Deluros?”
    YES.
    “Do so, give it my name and clearance, and tell it to start hunting down any friends, family or business associates of Edward Infante. Tell it to access any other computer available, if necessary.”
    DONE.
    “Good.” Crane paused. “Did he have a job?”
    NO.
    “If they let him on the Comet , he had to have a source of income,” continued Crane. “Give me a readout of his financial statement.”
    2000 SHARES OF DELUROS POWER AND LIGHT: VALUE 3,000,000/CR.
    6500 SHARES OF AMALGAMATED MINING: VALUE 4,500,000/CR.
    400 SHARES OF BELORE TRADING CORP.: VALUE 1,500,000/CR.
    INVESTED IN 11% CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT: 2,000,000/CR.
    MINOR INVESTMENTS: 350,000/CR.
    INDEBTEDNESS: 200,000/CR.
    NET WORTH: 11,150,000/CR.
    “Well, he sure as hell wasn't killed for his money,” muttered Crane. “Eleven million credits is nothing to sneeze at, but it probably puts him in the bottom two percent of the Comet 's clientele.”
    THE BOTTOM 1.3%.
    “Thanks,” said Crane sardonically. “Well, let's see where he's been. Maybe there's a clue there. Computer, list all previous residences.”
    BORN ON SPICA VI, MOVED TO LODIN XI AT AGE 23, MOVED TO SEABRIGHT AT AGE 26, MOVED TO BETA HYDRI II AT AGE 27, MOVED TO NEW SUMATRA AT AGE 29, MOVED TO BOWMAN 23 AT AGE 34, MOVED TO DELUROS VIII AT AGE 35, MOVED TO BELORE II AT AGE 35, MOVED TO DELUROS VIII AT AGE 36. DIED WHILE A RESIDENT OF DELUROS VIII AT AGE 42.
    “The man was well-traveled, I'll give him that,” said Crane, scanning the screen. Suddenly one of the names seemed to stand out from the others. “Hold it a minute,” he said, staring at it. “New Sumatra. I know something about that world.” He paused, then snapped his fingers. “Got it! The Quintus Bello affair. Do you have anything about it in your memory banks?”
    NO.
    “Access it from Vainmill's master computer and put it in storage,” said Crane. “I may want to refer to it later.”
    The computer hummed again.
    DONE.
    “All right,” he continued. “Run a check on all ship's personnel and see if any of them were ever on New Sumatra—or on any of the other worlds, excluding Deluros VIII. If you come up positive, see if you can match the dates with Infante's.”
    ANALYSING. THIS MAY TAKE A FEW MINUTES.
    IN THE MEANTIME, I CAN CONTINUE SERVING YOU.
    “Fine. How frequently did Infante come to the Comet ?” asked Crane, walking to the wet bar and pouring himself a glass of iced coffee.
    HIS FIRST VISIT WAS 13 MONTHS AGO, AND HE HAS RETURNED 8 TIMES.
    “On a regular basis?”
    RELATIVELY. HIS VISITS WERE NEVER LESS THAN 5 WEEKS APART, AND NEVER MORE THAN 8.
    “How long did he usually stay?”
    HE STAYED FOR 3 DAYS ON 5 OCCASIONS, AND FOR 4 DAYS ON THE OTHER 4 OCCASIONS.
    “And how long was he here this time?”
    HE IS STILL HERE.
    “Prior to his murder, I mean.”
    WITHIN THE LIMITS DELINEATED BY THE EXAMINING PHYSICIAN, HE WAS HERE BETWEEN 16 AND 24 HOURS.
    “When he didn't show up the second day, why didn't alarms go off all over the Security compound?”
    INSUFFICIENT DATA.
    Crane returned to his chair, sipped his iced coffee, and stared at the screen for a moment.
    “Who would know?” he asked at last.
    AUTHORIZED SECURITY PERSONNEL.
    “Patch me in to the Dragon Lady,” he said. “Cancel that!” he added quickly. “She said she was going to get some sleep. Hunt Paxton Oglevie up for me and set up a two-way communication channel.”
    SEARCHING ... Suddenly the screen became three-dimensional, and an instant later Oglevie's form was reproduced, life-sized, with holographic precision and clarity. His desk, like his green Security uniform, was as neat as a pin, with everything in its proper place, ready for inspection.
    He heard the small