Asgard's Secret by Brian Stableford

Tetron can frown. "All I need to know is whether
you know anything that would cast light on the motive for the crime. Since you
had nothing to do with it, you might perhaps be able to tell us whether anyone
else had a motive."
    "Right,"
I said. "As it happens, I do. The dead men were participants in a
conspiracy to frame me for the murder of the Sleath, Atmanu. The conspiracy has
just gone awry, so the person who hired them is probably trying to clear up the
evidence of his crime. His name is Amara Guur. He's not one of the dead vormyr,
I presume?"
    The peace-officer
didn't seem too happy about the content of my statement, but he recorded it
meekly. "Amara Guur is not among the deceased," he confirmed.
    "Pity," I
said. "He's your man, then. He's already been responsible for one murder
that I know of. I have no doubt at all that he's also responsible for these. I suggest
that you arrest him immediately."
    "Do you have
any evidence to support what you say, sir?" the peace-officer asked,
dutifully.
    "Absolutely,"
I said. "The best evidence there is. I know that I didn't murder the
Sleath, and that all the witnesses at my trial committed perjury in order to
force me to sign a contract drawn up by Amara Guur. You should arrest a woman
named Jacinthe Siani as well as Guur—she's a Kythnan. If you put your minds to
it, you'll have the entire puzzle unraveled by nightfall."
    The star-captain
obviously wanted to get a move on. "Have you finished with this man?"
she asked. "If not, you'll have to deal with me. He's a trooper in the
Earth Star Force, and I'm his commanding officer. As it happens, I was hoping
to talk to your commanding officer. I need your help to ascertain the
whereabouts of a stolen vehicle and apprehend the thief. It's a matter of some
urgency."
    "I fear that I
am presently engaged in a murder enquiry," the Tetron replied. "If
you care to call at our headquarters, one of our officers will record your
complaint and will doubtless do his best to assist you. The central police
station on the far side of the plaza." He turned and pointed.
    "Crucero,"
the star-captain said to her lieutenant. "Get over there and see what you
can do to get some action out of these jumped-up monkeys."
    I winced. All three
peace-officers were Tetrax—perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not—and they were
standing close enough to hear what she'd said. Even though she'd said it in
English, they had it on tape. When they played it back, they'd be sure to have
it translated—and they wouldn't like it one little bit.
    I waited until
they'd jumped back on the strip and had been carried away before saying,
"You might want to be careful about remarks like that, Captain. The Tetrax
can be touchy. They never show it, but rumour has it that they hold grudges for
a long time."
    "They'll help
us," she assured me. "Their friends on the satellite are very
interested in my cargo."
    "The spoils of
Salamandra?" I said. "Why would they be interested in loot picked up
from the devastated homeworld
    of some barbarian species from way along
the rim?"
    Her eyes were pure
Medusa. "I'm asking the questions, Russell," she reminded me.
"You're wasting time. How do we get started chasing that android?"
    "If you really
want to make a move," I said, "we should probably start at my place.
That's where he got the keys to my lock-up, and the truck. Perhaps he left a
note to apologise—maybe even to explain. At any rate, I'd like to find out
what else he stole. Also, I'm hungry—and I think your men might be hungry
too."
    "I'll worry
about my men," she said. "They're soldiers. But you're right. If
that's where the trail starts, we should check it out. By the way, you were
lying to the peace-officers, weren't you? You don't have the least idea who
killed all those people."
    "Actually,
I've got a pretty good idea who killed them," I said. "But yes, I was
lying—I can't believe that Amara Guur slaughtered seven of his own people. What
I can believe is that he'll be even madder