CHAPTER 03


   Salads were a very popular meal all along the South Coast.  For many who lived in apartments, with no kitchen or even a shared one, it was the perfect meal. There was no cooking required since you just threw everything in a bowl and ate it. Some of the various mixes had even become tasty meals. Many of the salads had started out as some poor person's desperate attempt to relieve his, more or less, round the clock hunger with whatever he could find. Before this particular combination of various foods ended its journey it was being served in the high courts of provincial capitals all over.

Flahust considered himself a very good salad maker. Since the apartment he lived in had no actual kitchen shed in the back yard, Flahust had become a master of fixing the various specialties that originated from his town. He planned on giving up the Constables office in another year. Some other poor schmuck could have it. He would have to be young and dumb but, smart enough to understand all the paperwork. That idiot Euker would wind up with it in the end. Flahust could only laugh at that thought. The boy was worthless and everything else which made him a perfect candidate!

Being a constable really was everything and that was the best way to describe the job that Flahust performed. He was the tax collector, city record keeper, fire brigade organizer, militia captain, trash disposal organizer, keeper of the peace, and if necessary he was the high justice enforcer. Unfortunately for Flahust he was also honest which was why he was just barely making a living at it. Here he was in a small flat, with no kitchen, and very few physical possessions. There were other constables in towns of similar size to Slolista and they were all rich!!! Flahust knew why too. They were robbing their own protectorate blind.

As far Flahust was concerned he could care less now. He had a chance to go to war and turned it down. Sometimes he thought he had made a mistake particularly seeing all the veterans that settled here after the war. They were all fairly prosperous and had plenty of time to waste out doing that sports thing of theirs. They were waving their bonus money around. Many of them had women now and quite a few owned homes of their own. All the while, Flahust had what meager monies that he received from the Central Constableship along with whatever he could beg off the citizens at town meetings. The CC used to pay better when it was under Imperial control. The town itself used to actually just pay. That was of course before Whide had died. He had been Flahust's chief benefactor from the public sector.

Flahust was going to be a cook. That was what he had really always wanted to do. He doubted as to whether he would ever become one in a fancy restaurant in Daltop now. He would just have to settle on a job up in Tallos. Not as fancy a city as Daltop but they were just as large with more than a few nice eating establishments. As a cook the only complaints would be from the patrons and maybe a little bitching from staff. The hours would not be any time of the day or night, such as now, with someone knocking at Flahust's door.

It was one of the soldiers assigned to Flahust. Those bastards actually got paid more than he did. "What is it?"

"Sir," there was an edge of excitement in the boys voice, "We've had a murder sir?"

Dear God! Flahust knew it had been in the works though. "Don't tell me. The Boey fellow in the boarding house up on seventh."

There was surprise in the boys face, "how did you know sir?"

Flahust put his jacket on since it was raining tonight. Stormy Seasons seldom came to the coast. When they did, it would rain like hell for the longest periods of time. Luckily, at the moment, it had slacked up.  

Flahust closed his door and locked it. He wondered what he was going to do about this. He could not do much to Boey for killing the girl. She did belong to him after all. Still, it was illegal to kill a woman without cause and Flahust was sure he could prove there was nothing justifiable about this girls death. Everybody knew about that situation, nobody liked that Boey character either, and to a gathering of the public it would be like tossing meat to dogs. What that boy needed was a good whipping. Maybe this would set him straight and hopefully, after, he would not have enough money to purchase himself another woman.  

There were some flashes of lightening in the far off sky. The lack of stars told Flahust that the sky was full of clouds. The rain had stopped but everything was still soaked. He nodded to his soldier who was standing guard at the picket gate of the boarding house. The door to the boy’s apartment was open with two more guards standing there. The people from the other apartments in the building, along with some curious bystanders on the street, were all watching him intently.

The gate guard responded to the nod from the constable, "Sorry to have to wake you sir. The prisoners are inside under guard.”

"Prisoners?" Flahust went quickly inside. To his surprise the body lying in the middle of the room, in a pool of blood, that looked to have just stopped gushing from a very large gash in the head, was Boey! Flahust mumbled to himself, "so the sorry bastard got what he deserved did he."

"Excuse me sir?" asked one of the soldiers standing guard over the prisoners.

Flahust ignored the question and stepped up to the prisoners. On the couch were two women. The little red head Flahust recognized. She was the runaway that he had taken so much pity on a few years back. She was curled up in a ball under the big dark headed girl's arm. The red head was sobbing. Flahust knelt down and took a closer look. She had dark blotches under her skin. Some of it was old bruising but it was mixed with some very new ones. Flahust reached out and gently tilted up her chin to get better view of the bruise around her eye. It was then, at that moment, that he noticed the deep rope burn in the little girl's neck. It was fresh.

Standing back up Flahust looked around the room until he saw what it was he was searching for. There was a rather long stick lying next to the body. It was the kind that the sports club used out at the arena. It was the only weapon in the room that could have caused the damage to Boey's head. Flahust rubbed his chin and looked back at the other girl.  

He pointed at her, "Who is your Master and what are you doing here?"

"I killed him," said the dark haired woman. "Chree didn't have anything to do with it. He was trying to kill her. I came in. I stopped him the only way I could."

Flahust pulled up a chair and sat down right in front of the two women, "That's not what I asked you. Let's start from the top. Who is your master?"

There was no answer. The girl just turned her head. Flahust asked a few more questions in which this woman remained silent. "Well at least tell me your name so I don't have to call you, hey you."

The dark headed one was busy trying to comfort the red head. Her distraction caused her to take the bait,  "My name is Julia."

"Ah,” said Flahust. He was not even going to have to go look up city records to find out who her master was. Her name was very unusual and it had stuck in Flahust's mind since the first time he heard it. "You used to be owned by Whide. You were sold at public auction and let me see... your master is that public debater Euker. Soldier, go to Euker’s house, you know the one, and bring him down here please."

Julia suddenly felt worried for Zamtha and Thimina. This constable could very easily fine Euker. He could kill all four of them if he wanted. She felt somewhat relieved when Flahust mumbled, "maybe I can figure out a way to whip him for all this. He needs it too."

The soldier returned in a few minutes and was out of breath and sweating. He had run the whole way back, "Constable! He's dead! I found him in his basement with a knife in his chest!"

Flahust quickly looked back to the dark haired one sitting on the couch. He had missed her reaction to hearing the news. That was mainly because of his own was a matter of the utmost shock. Two murders in one night! "Good lord what a mess. We haven't had a crime committed in this town in over ten years. Now two murders in one night?"

Julia felt her jaw tighten when she heard him say that. A flash of anger shot through her body like a jolt of lighting, "not a crime committed! Do you see this girl's face! Have you not seen it before tonight!” Julia left out what had happened to her. Part out of survival instincts but mostly out of a strange sort of shame she was feeling.

Flahust simply asked the girl, "Did you kill Euker?"

"No," answered Julia. "He was still alive when I left the house."

They had a real mess now. Flahust just bowed his head. "Well, what are we to do now? Guards, take the prisoners down to that empty city storage shed and lock them in it. Put a guard on the door. Get someone to take care of the bodies and then we'll finish sorting this out tomorrow."


When the door closed darkness fell. Julia could hear the dripping water from the space between the slats in the ceiling. The floor that was pure mud testified to that inadequacy of the construction of what was little more than a glorified crate. Julia just sat there holding Chree who was still crying. "We're going to be all right. He's dead now. He's not going to hurt you again."

In between sobs Chree replied, "All these years... I hoped every night... I wanted him to kill me. I wanted it to end!"

Julia had found that miserable bastard choking her with a rope. It looked like he might have actually pushed it that far tonight. Chree did not think so. She said he had done that to her before. She burst into even more tears when she told of how he had killed the baby inside her. How he had thrown her against a wall and when she hit the floor he didn't stop kicking her one night. Boey had done all of it because she had just spilled something by accident. Julia held the girl closer, "you're safe now."

"No I'm not! They're going to kill both of us now!" Chree's words trailed off into tears.

"They won't kill you Chree. You didn't kill anybody. As for me. I decided that I'd rather hang free than live one more day as a slave."

"You don't understand," Chree said in between sobs, "I was there, that's all that matters! They're not going to hang us ether!"

"Don't worry about that now Chree. Just rest," Julia tried to get her mind off of it.

Chree would not leave the subject alone.  "They hang men for crimes. The only crime we can commit is disobedience...  You killed in disobedience. They'll do more than just execute us. Don't you understand?” Chree was becoming hysterical now; “It's death by impaling!

Julia squeezed tightly. Just as much for her own comfort now.  

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Pam wiped her eye before she looked into the microscope lens. It didn't take long. When she finished she could let the tears to continue. She bowed her head, "His appendix shut down. It looks like that anyway. I don't have a lot to go on."

Vitosk turned around and proceeded to walk out of the back door of the Inn. Jack spoke up, "Where are you going Yurgani?"

Stopping at the door Vitosk reflected for a moment. He opened the door, "back out to my cabin because right now I'm not in the mood to tell you that I told you so."

The door slamming behind the Russian caused everyone to flinch. Jack sat down at one of the tables. He wanted to order a physical on everyone. It was kind of hard to do with only Pam, Pete, and Dee being the only adults around besides Vitosk. Harry was back out on another one of his Safaris. Gary had just slipped out one night and no one knew where he was. Saiid and Gina were up in town. After Jack had gotten home it took forever just to get Pam down here to do a biopsy on the few specimens that Jack had taken before they disposed of Red's body. The law down there had gotten in the way of all Red's carefully laid plans.  

These people cremated all bodies. Jack had never thought about it before this but, he had never seen a cemetery here. They cremated them quite quickly and Jack was lucky to get a blood sample with improvised tools. He also managed to cut Red's body just before the burning and get a small scraping from his appendix. Joe had showed him how to keep the stuff cool enough to keep the spoiling to a minimum. Down near the coast, it was possible to get ice. Ships sailed out to the ice caps and brought it back where they stored it in special houses on the peers. Some of that made it inland, by train, to service Carbough. With that and a fairly well insulated jar, Jack had managed.

Pam stood up from her stool. She was pale and in fear, "My god! The children Pete! I never thought to look and see about their appendixes!"

"Pam!" said Jack rather harshly, "sit down and relax."  

Jack stood up and paced the floor. "We've all just had a big shock here. Let's don't panic. All we can do now is set the little infirmary back up and make sure we all get a thorough physical, including the kids."

"Are we going to take Joey out of school?" asked Dee.

So many things!  "I don't know. At the least we better go down there and look at him."

"Agreed," said Pam. She was really panicking. It showed no matter how hard she was trying to hide it.

Pete had been sitting on the table, silent. He hopped down, "I'm going home. See everybody later."

"What?"  Said Jack. "Right now I don't need anybody running off Pete."

Pete picked up his jacket off the bar, "Who says I'm running off Jack. I said I was going home. You know where to find me if you need me. Babe, I'm taking Eric with me."

Dee pleaded, "Pete, don't you want to know? We need to run tests!"

"Test all you like," replied Pete as he opened the back door. "Even if you do know what difference will it make Dee? There's not a real hospital for a few million miles. If, I'm going to die I'd rather it be happy and on my own farm. See you when you get home babe."

Pam ran after him just as the door closed. The silence in the Inn was different now. It was empty and cold. Jack sat up on a table. He bent over and folded his hands over his head. Dee stood by him and softly touched him on his back. "Are you all right honey?”

"No," Jack leaned up, "I feel like all the kids left the nest and now they're telling me there's no way in hell they'll come home."  

Dee sat up next to Jack and they both remained silent. She looked down at the papers that Jack had brought back with him. "What happened to that Olivia person you were telling me about? Why didn't she come with you?"

Jack's voice was solemn.  "It's a hell of a thing you know. I had her papers signed over to me. I had a will from Red. I went to file it at their municipal building, and some Imperial schmuck refused to uphold the will. They took her and said Red didn't have any survivors. Said he also hadn't paid any taxes on her and they took everything else he owned for that."

Dee shivered. As it was, women on Earth, on average, outlived their men by a good margin of years. She wasn't registered but if someone nosy showed up she could easily refer them to Jack. What if no rescue from Earth ever came? What if Jack died? Dee had seen those bounty hunter types before. She had also seen those poor girls that they caught. What would she do if something were to happen to Jack? It made her feel cold inside. She slid as close to Jack as she could get.  Dee kept nudging him until he put his arm around her.


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Flahust sat down behind his desk. He brushed through several new reports since it was a descent excuse to ignore his visitor as much as possible. He found the reports somewhat curious and just a bit disturbing. They made no sense at all. It was really nothing but a rash of petty thefts and seemingly with no reason for them. Who would do such things? Flahust could not understand why any man would take such items like a rake? There were also some farming tools missing. Those were both cheap and in ample supply. How would you use them around town without running into the merchant to whom they belonged? A wagon was missing from the back of a store. Where would you hide such a thing?

Flahust's visitor was not in a mood to be put off. "Well, shall you proceed today?"

Flahust was in no hurry. He looked out his window and noted the rain had finally stopped. This man had been in a hurry since he arrived on the train three weeks ago. He was a bureaucrat just as Flahust. What he was not was a poor one. He was the chief enforcer for this entire coastal region. Judging from his suit he was doing one or two other things as well. Being here was probably cutting into his profit margins. It amused Flahust somewhat.  

"Well Prognos, I guess we can. The weather is clear."      

"I see no reason to wait. The stakes are in place. There has been a public announcement. I have the confessions. We have the order for the termination of properties from the Central Constabulary. Why are you waiting? I have a train to catch!"

Flahust mumbled to himself, "and this used to be such a peaceful little town."

Prognos did not hear the mumbling, nor did he care too. He was too busy recounting things, "you know it was the strangest case. Do you know the dark headed one was asking for, what did she call it... a plea bargain? Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

"No," replied Flahust. He began signing the papers that would be required for the destruction of the bodies. The crematories cost money and in this case it would have to be paid from public funds, which always required tons of paper. It would require more sheets of paper signed than the number of coins that would be paid out.

"What is it?"

"Well I suppose,” Prognos speculated, “that it has something to do with pleading and bargaining. They did quite a bit of pleading of course."

"Of course," said Flahust wading through a stack of papers. Knowing the methods that Prognos used on men, to extract confessions, he did not even want think about what this chief enforcer would do to a woman. Prognos was very old school in his way of thinking. Imperial prisoners had been said to cower at the mention of his name. He preferred the customary Raed methods of controlling people. They were the kinds of nasty things that were the heritage of a horse people on the open plains who lived in a barbaric world. Flahust was the kind of man who liked to think of himself as more of a modern city dweller with a cosmopolitan view of the world. It was a world where Flahust saw room for compassion and pity.

"It was the bargaining part that I found amusing. Like a woman had something to bargain with? Like justice could be bought and sold with deals? The very idea is revolting if you really think about it."

Flahust looked up from his paperwork. When they kicked out the Empire they had made the mistake of not burning all their paperwork as well. "What sort of deal would that be?"

"Oh, I believe the dark haired one said she would confess to both slayings if I spared the little red haired one. I of course laughed. I would have her confessions in any event. Bargain? It was laughable. She confessed to the Boey murder rather quickly almost as if she were proud of it. The other one… this Euker fellow. It took a bit of prodding to get her to admit to that one."

This did not surprise Flahust. He was very good with people. There was actually a doubt in his mind as to whether she actually did kill Euker. Either way it made no matter. It was ridiculous to release someone because you had just one little simple doubt as to their guilt. The evidence was overwhelming. The stick used to kill Boey came from Euker's house. The knife used to kill Euker came from Euker’s house. Julia came from Euker's house. Euker was a jerk. It all spelled trouble waiting to happen and a trouble that apparently did.

"Soldier," called out Flahust. "Go out and post announcements. We'll proceed with the destruction of chattels in two hours."