At least the block had been left in his pod; several other items had gone missing between the spaceport and the warehouse. Damn, but why did Ruth have to be right about that? And the sheriffs hadnt shown any interest when he reported the missing drugs. Again, just like she said.
He sighed and rested his hand on her shoulder as she sat on the edge of the cot, stroking Jays hair.
Shes a lot tougher than me, he said. Shell be all right. At that age, horror fades very quickly. And well be going upriver straight away. Getting out of the area where it happened is going to help a lot.
Thank you, Horst.
Do you have any geneering in your heritage?
Yes, some. Were not Saldanas, but one of my ancestors was comfortably off, God bless him, we had a few basic enhancements about six or seven generations ago. Why?
I was thinking of infection. There is a kind of fungal spore here which can live in human blood. But if your family had even a modest improvement to your immune system there wont be any problem.
He stood and straightened his back, wincing at the twinges along his spine. It was quiet in the dormitory; the lights were off in the centre where the rest of Group Sevens children had been settled down for the night. Bee-sized insects with large grey wings were swarming round the long light panels that had been left on. He and Ruth had been left alone by the other colonists after the sheriff departed to examine the body in the river. He could see some kind of meeting underway in the canteen, most of the adults were there. The Ivets formed a close-knit huddle in a corner at the other end, all of them looking sullen. And frightened, Horst could tell. Waster kids who had probably never even seen an open sky before, never mind primeval jungle. They had stayed in the dormitory all day. Horst knew he should make an effort to get to know them, help build a bridge between them and the genuine colonists, unite the community. After all, they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. Somehow he couldnt find the energy.
Tomorrow, he promised himself. Well all be on the ship for a fortnight, thatll give me ample opportunity.
I ought to be at the meeting, he said. From where he was he could see two people standing up for a shouting match.
Let em talk, Ruth grunted. It keeps them out of mischief. They wont get anything sorted until after the settlement supervisor shows up.
He should have been here this morning. We need advice on how to establish our homes. We dont even know the location weve been assigned.
Well find out soon enough; and the supervisor will have the whole river trip to lecture us. I expect hes out prowling the town tonight. I cant blame him, stuck with us for the next eighteen months. Poor sod.
Must you always think the worst of people?
Its what Id do. But that isnt what worries me right now.
Horst sneaked another look at the meeting. They were taking a vote, hands raised in the air. He sat down on the cot facing Ruth. What does worry you?
The murder.
We dont know it was a murder.
Get real. The body was stripped. What else could it be?
He could have been drunk. Because God knows a drink is what I need just looking at that river.
Drunk and taking a swim? In the Juliffe? Come on, Horst!
The autopsy should tell us if ... He trailed off under Ruths gaze. No, I dont suppose there will be one, will there?
No. He must have been dumped in the river. The sheriff told me that two colonists from Group Three were reported missing by their wives this morning. Pete Cox and Alun Reuther. Ill give you ten to one that body is one of them.
Probably, Horst admitted. I suppose its shocking that urban crime is rife here. Somehow you dont imagine such a thing on a stage one colony world. Then again, Lalonde isnt quite what I imagined. But well be leaving it all behind shortly. Our own community will be too small for such things, we will all know each other.
Ruth rubbed at her eyes, her expression haunted. Horst, youre not thinking. Why was the body stripped?
I dont know. For the clothes, I suppose, and the boots.
Right. Now what sort of mugger is going to kill for a pair of boots? Actually kill two people in cold blood. God, the people here are poor, Im not denying it, but theyre not that desperate.
Who then?
She looked pointedly over his shoulder. Horst turned round. The Ivets? Thats rather prejudiced, isnt it? he asked reproachfully.
Youve seen the way theyre treated in the town, and we dont treat them any better. They cant move outside the port district without getting beaten up. Not with their jump suits on, and they dont have anything else to wear. So who is more likely to want ordinary clothes? Who isnt going to care what they have to do to get them? And whoever did murder that man did it inside the port, uncomfortably close to this dormitory.
You dont think it was one of ours? he exclaimed. Lets say, Im praying it wasnt. But with the way our luck is turning out, I wouldnt count on it.
Diranol, Lalondes smallest, outermost moon, was the only one of the planets three natural satellites left in the night sky, a nine-hundred-kilometre globe of rock with a red ochre regolith, half a million kilometres distant. It hovered above the eastern horizon, painting Durringham in a timid rose-pink fluorescence when the power bike skidded to a halt just outside the skirt of light leaking from the big transients dormitory. Marie Skibbow loosened her grip on Furgus. The ride through the darkened city had been sensational, drawing out every second, filling it with glee and excitement. The walls slashing past, sensed rather than seen, the headlight beam revealing ruts and mud patches on the road almost as soon as they hit them, wind whipping her hair about, eyes stung by the slipstream. Taunting danger with every turn of the wheel, and beating it, living.
Here we go, your stop, Furgus said.
Right. She swung her leg over the saddle, and stood beside him. Now the weariness swept through her, a frozen wave of depression that hung poised high above, waiting to crash down at the prospect of the future and what it held.
Youre the best, Marie. He kissed her, one hand fondling her right breast through the singlets fabric. Then he was gone, red tail light sinking into the blackness.
Her shoulders drooped as she made her way into the dormitory. Most of the cots were full, people were snoring, coughing, tossing about. She wanted to turn and run, back to Furgus and Hamish, back to the dark fulfilment of the last few hours. Her brain was still fizzing from the experiences, the naked savagery of the sayce-baiting, and the jubilant crowd in Donovans, blood heat inflaming her senses. Then the delicious indecency of the twins quiet cabin on the other side of town, with their straining bodies pounding against her first singly then both at once. That crazy bike ride in the vermilion moonlight. Marie wanted every night to be the same, without end.
Where the hell have you been?
Her father was standing in front of her, mouth all squeezed up that way it did when he was really angry. And for once she didnt care.
Out, she said.
Out where?
Enjoying myself. Exactly what you think I shouldnt do.
He slapped her on the cheek, the sound echoing from the high roof. Dont you be so bloody impudent, girl. I asked you a question. What have you been doing?
Marie glared at him, feeling the heat grow in her stinging cheek, refusing to rub it. Whats next, Daddy ? Will you take your belt to me? Or are you just going to use your fists?