Six Scifi Stories by Robert T. Jeschonek Page A

his knuckles. "Just in case he can hear what you're saying."
    "If, by some wild chance, the same person is responsible for this crime, I hope he does hear me," said Sinaloa. "I want him to know he won't get away with what he's done."
    "Tell him yourself, when you catch him." Nevada started to walk away.
    " I won't catch him." Sinaloa snagged Nevada's shoulder and held him in place. " You're sergeant-at-arms of the House, aren't you?"
    Nevada sighed. "As of twenty-four hours ago. What makes you think I'm ready to catch a killer ?"
    Sinaloa let go of Nevada. "We all know you've done this job before." He tightened his bolo tie, pushing the turquoise slide higher into the neck of his black silk shirt. "Five years ago, yes?"
    "So what?" said Nevada.
    "So you've got experience," said Sinaloa. "Not just with being sergeant-at-arms, but with losing e-reps on the job."
    Nevada felt the urge to clock him in the face. Idaho had been his greatest failure, his darkest moment.
    His deepest love.
    "You're better qualified than any of us. You have more motivation to solve this than anyone," said Sinaloa. "You have quite a lot to prove, don't you?"
    Nevada smirked and loosened the collar of the frilly shirt under his tux jacket. "You just don't want to get your hands dirty. None of you ever do."
    Even as he said it, he knew Sinaloa was right. He knew what people thought of him. He knew he had a lot to prove.
    And he knew he would take the case.
    Â 
    *****
    "Missouri and I walked out together," said Antarctica, her beautiful silver eyes staring into space. "He went back in for some papers he'd forgotten." She tucked her long, platinum hair behind her ears, and a single tear rolled down her pale cheek. "That was the last time I saw him alive."
    Across the table, Nevada watched Antarctica's reaction closely. She was the last person to have seen Missouri before the murder, and that earned her a spot on the list of suspects.
    She was also a sweet kid, and Nevada didn't buy her as a killer. She was the youngest e-rep, in fact, from the newest, hundredth state; Antarctica had joined the U.S.A. only one year ago, in 2299. Strikingly beautiful and shining with inner light, the junior Congresswoman gave Nevada an impression of innocence and honesty, not wiles and lies.
    For a moment, Nevada looked away from her, directing his gaze across the chamber at the bloody Speaker's bench. While Nevada interviewed witnesses in the back of the room, other e-reps were up front, clearing the crime scene.
    "Did he say anything unusual?" Nevada flicked his eyes to Antarctica, then back to the cleanup crew. They'd already removed Missouri's body, but the blood was another matter. Soap and water didn't exist in the digital realm, so the e-reps couldn't scrub out the soaked-in stains.
    Antarctica adjusted her white fur wrap. "Just small talk about today's vote."
    As Nevada considered his next question, his fellow
e-reps gave up trying to clean the Speaker's bench and draped a red tablecloth over it to hide the blood. "How close were the two of you?"
    "He was a mentor to me," said Antarctica.
    "And there was nothing else between you?" Nevada locked eyes with her. "Nothing of a more personal nature?"
    Antarctica didn't flinch. "Nothing."
    Nevada believed her. "Okay, fine. Thank you for your time."
    With that, Nevada rose from his chair and called out to the e-reps milling around the chamber. "Will the great state of Panama please report to the sergeant-at-arms."
    When Nevada turned back to the interview table, he realized that Antarctica was still sitting there.
    "You're dismissed, sweetheart," said Nevada. "Unless you've got something else to say?"
    Antarctica nodded grimly. "I want to help you. I want to help find who killed him."
    Nevada fiddled with his tuxedo cufflinks. He could think of two reasons for her offer. One, she really did want to do her part to bring the killer to justice.
    Or two, she was the killer, and she wanted to divert attention from her own