The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov Page B

said, “You told somebody, I suppose. People found out about the matter.”
    She said, “The robots called a doctor. And I had to call Rikaine’s place of work. The robots there had to know he wouldn’t be back.”
    “The doctor was for you, I suppose.”
    She nodded. For the first time, she seemed to notice her wrapper draped about her hips. She pulled it up into position, murmuring forlornly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
    Baley felt uncomfortable watching her as she sat there helpless, shivering, her face contorted with the absolute terror that had come over her with the memory.
    She had never seen a dead body before. She had never seen blood and a crushed skull. And if the husband-wife relationship on Solaria was something thin and shallow, it was still a dead human being with whom she had been confronted.
    Baley scarcely knew what to say or do next. Hehad the impulse to apologize, and yet, as a policeman, he was doing only his duty.
    But there were no police on this world. Would she understand that this was his duty?
    Slowly, and as gently as he could, he said, “Gladia, did you hear anything at all? Anything besides your husband’s shout.”
    She looked up, her face as pretty as ever, despite its obvious distress—perhaps because of it. She said, “Nothing.”
    “No running footsteps? No other voice?”
    She shook her head. “I didn’t hear anything.”
    “When you found your husband, he was completely alone? You two were the only ones present?”
    “Yes.”
    “No signs of anyone else having been there?”
    “None that I could see. I don’t see how anyone could have been there, anyway.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    For a moment she looked shocked. Then she said dispiritedly, “You’re from Earth. I keep forgetting. Well, it’s just that nobody could have been there. My husband never saw anybody except me; not since he was a boy. He certainly wasn’t the sort to see anybody. Not Rikaine. He was very strict; very custom-abiding.”
    “It might not have been his choice. What if someone had just come to see him without an invitation, without your husband knowing anything about it? He couldn’t have helped seeing the intruder regardless of how custom-abiding he was.”
    She said, “Maybe, but he would have called robots at once and had the man taken away. He would have! Besides, no one would try to see my husband without being invited to. I couldn’t conceive of such athing. And Rikaine certainly would never invite anyone to see him. It’s ridiculous to think so.”
    Baley said softly, “Your husband was killed by being struck on the head, wasn’t he? You’ll admit that.”
    “I suppose so. He was—all——”
    “I’m not asking for the details at the moment. Was there any sign of some mechanical contrivance in the room that would have enabled someone to crush his skull by remote control?”
    “Of course not. At least, I didn’t see any.”
    “If anything like that had been there, I imagine you would have seen it. It follows then that a hand held something capable of crushing a man’s skull and that hand swung it. Some person had to be within four feet of your husband to do that. So someone did see him.”
    “No one would,” she said earnestly. “A Solarian just wouldn’t see anyone.”
    “A Solarian who would commit murder wouldn’t stick at a bit of seeing, would he?”
    (To himself that statement sounded dubious. On Earth he had known the case of a perfectly conscienceless murderer who had been caught only because he could not bring himself to violate the custom of absolute silence in the community bathroom.)
    Gladia shook her head. “You don’t understand about seeing. Earthmen just see anybody they want to all the time, so you don’t understand it.… ”
    Curiosity seemed to be struggling within her. Her eyes lightened a bit. “Seeing does seem perfectly normal to you, doesn’t it?”
    “I’ve always taken it for granted,” said Baley.
    “It doesn’t trouble