THE RELIANT

THE PHANTOM KILLER

John, Lisa and Amanda walked into the room where the stench of death was in the air. They gazed around in horror at the two dead bodies that were lying on the bed. It was a man and woman who both looked like they were up in years. Their throats had been slashed and they had been stabbed multiple times. There was blood all over the bed, on the walls and on the floor around the bed. There was an officer already inside the room examining the scene. The officer peered over at the Alliance crew members as they stepped into the room and walked over to greet them.

"Hello," the man said. "I'm Officer Morris."

"Reggie?" Lisa said. "Is that you?"

"Hey, Lisa. It's been a while." 

Lisa had received a private message from an old friend of hers from back in her resistance days named Reggie Morris. He asked if she could come back to her home planet of Adderson to help him with a case. She had heard he had become the police chief of a small mountain town called Nelbor. Though she couldn't fathom why he would ask for her help nor did his message say. The last time she had seen Reggie was after the resistance disbanded after the Morlon occupation of Adderon was over.

"Captain," Lisa began, looking at him, "this is an old friend of mine Reggie Morris."

"My actual name is Reginald, but everyone just calls me Reggie. Except when I'm on the job, of course."

"Hello, Officer Morris," John said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah. I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"And this is our ship's doctor Amanda Booth," Lisa continued with her introductions.

"Hello," Amanda said with a smile and a nod.

"Hello," Reggie replied with a smile and a nod of his own.

"Where do you know Lisa from?" John asked him.

"Is it okay if I tell him?" Reggie asked Lisa with an uncertain look on his face.

"Yeah, go ahead. He already knows."

He looked back at John. "So you know me and Lisa were in the resistance together against the Morlon occupation."

"So is that why you asked for her to come and help you investigate this case because you two served together in the resistance?"

"Yeah, that was part of it."

"What was the other part?"

"Well, if you don't mind, Captain, I'd like to have your ship's doctor look over the bodies to see if my suspicions are correct."

"Why? Don't you have a medical examiner who could look over the bodies themselves?"

"John, please," said Lisa.

"Okay." He looked at Amanda. "Doctor?"

Without a word, Doctor Booth took out her handheld scanner and turned it on. She held the scanner over each of the bodies and checked the scanner's readings.

"What do your scanner's readings say, Doctor?" Reggie asked her.

Amanda checked the readings further before answering him.

"Well, my readings say what you no doubt already know, that they were stabbed multiple times after having their throats slit."

"What type of weapon was used?" Reggie asked.

"Well, that's just it. According to these readings, they weren't cut by a knife or any type of bladed instrument or weapon." Amanda looked right at Reggie. "These wounds were made by claws."