Star Law: A Marshal Cole Series

Chapter 13 (a)

Petr Goroshenko was loud, boisterous and Russian. He also loved the casino and had been there most the voyage thus far. His muscled arms were covered in illuminato tattoos that changed colour and rippled over his skin. He leered at a blonde spilling out of a dress but she just turned to talk to her girlfriend with ebony skin and equally skimpy outfit.

The amount of money won and lost was substantial but he didn't care. It would be a long time before he'd be in another casino if ever. It was this thought in mind he placed another large bet on the table. It was another win and he roared his approval and swilled back a glass of vodka in triumph.

The moment of happiness evaporated when he looked across the room and saw two lanky young black men who had slinked into the room like predatory cats. He scowled. It was Adjani and Adisa. They stared daggers at him as they never approved of his lifestyle. One of the brothers, Adjani the oldest, nodded to an adjacent corridor. Something was up. The agreement was not to mix aboard the ship. Something was up.

Goroshenko cashed out his chips. He watched the brothers slip into the hallway outside and moved to join them.

"What are you doing here?" Goroshenko asked with undisguised irritation. "It was agreed no contact except through Singh."

"It was Mr. Singh who sent us," Adjani answered in his quiet way. "Ms. Chen's murder is a threat to all of us."

"Seems to me it is even more reason to go unnoticed," Goroshenko spat out. His Russian accent became heavier when he was irritated which was often. "What do they have need of me for?"

"That is not for us to say," the other brother Adisa said. "Mr. Singh awaits with Mr. Gaulle at his quarters."

That got Goroshenko's attention. "Gaulle is there? Why didn't you say so first?"

Adjani led the way down a series of corridors. Goroshenko felt exposed knowing that video recorded everything. While no one is looking for them that they knew about, it was generally better to be clandestine in all tradecraft. Better to assume surveillance and know how to avoid it while not looking like you were avoiding it.

They soon arrived at Singh's cabin. The door opened even before they rang the bell. They all entered and the door swished closed behind them. Singh stood while Gaulle was seated in a chair before a desk. There were a few chairs in front of the desk but only Goroshenko plunked down in front. Adjani and Adisa stood. They always stood.

"We're not all here," Goroshenko noted.

"That is correct," said Gaulle curtly. He was taking control early on. "Only those that need to be here are here."

Singh stepped forward and passed his hands over the datadesk and it immediately brought up Aubrey Chase Chen's picture along with crime scene pictures and video. "Less than 24 hours ago one of our own Ms. Chen was murdered. That determination was made by the ship's doctor and if you look at some of the evidence, it is hard to imagine that they would come to any other conclusion."

Adisa and Adjani leaned forward frowning as the pictures scanned on a large display screen. Even Goroshenko was a bit taken aback at what he saw. "That room is torn up. The cabin safe is..."

"...off its anchor and has been thrust through the door," finished Singh. "The ship engineer has indicated that he knows of nothing aboard the ship that could twist that safe off in such a manner."

Gaulle cleared his throat. "There are several anomalous findings thus far that have left the investigation questioning."

Goroshenko snorted. "A passenger ship security chief who couldn't find a black hole with a flashlight." The big Russian laughed at his own joke.

Gaulle'e eyes narrowed and Goroshenko became quiet. "Normally I would agree with you but the investigation is led by a Commonwealth Marshal who was hitching a ride aboard ship. It so happens I heard about him back on Arcturus. He doesn't strike me as sloppy or incompetent. Nevertheless he is stymied so far and so are we."

Gaulle changed the images and video to security cameras outside Chen's cabin going backwards from when security first arrived. "The video we have seen seems to show Ms. Chen enter her cabin. No one entered before she did. Nor did anyone leave."

Goroshenko sat up. "Now wait a minute. The only one of us who might pull that off is me," he sputtered. "I had nothing to do with this!"

"We know," Gaulled smiled. "We know this for a lot of reasons. First, there is video of you in the casino covering the entire time the murder too place. But more compelling is that even if you had a motive for this, which we don't think you did your ability to take on Aubrey Chase Chen is doubtful."

"That's right!" cried out Goroshenko. "She is dangerous! I would never have taken her on!"

"Perhaps you drugged her to make her an easy target," Adisa said quietly. "Afterall, who beside you can get into and out of locked rooms?"

"I did no such thing!" exclaimed Goroshenko. He was starting to think this was all set up and his life was now in jeopardy.

Gaulle held up a hand and they all turned to him. "The drugging of Ms. Chen is a possibility. My understanding is that the toxicology report is coming soon. But as I said, we already know you didn't do it. Aside from the security video which shows you in the casino there is one thing present or rather not present that we do not yet understand."

"And what is that?"

"The blood splatter," said Gaulle. "The blood on the floor, walls and ceilings shows no one was present except for Ms. Chen. No footprints, no voids where blood would have sprayed and been blocked by a suspect's body. Nothing."

Even Adisa and Adjani appeared surprised by this. "What does it mean, Mr. Gaulle?"

"It means there is no evidence that anyone was in the room aside from Ms. Chen," said Gaulle. "And what we know about Mr. Goroshenko is that while he certainly can get into and out of locked rooms, he certainly isn't a ghost. With that much blood in the room, he would have left evidence of his presence."

Goroshenko should have been relieved but wasn't. "But who? Who could have done this?"

"Who indeed?" replied Singh. "We have been asking the same question and not coming up with any answers. Adisa and Adjani have swept the ship looking for danger but we've not been able to narrow their search. Furthermore, we still have to keep a low profile lest we attract attention of the investigators. It's why we have been passively monitoring to see if it helps us in our own work."

"So why do you have need of me?" questioned Goroshenko.

"We need you to break into Ms. Chen's cabin and retrieve something for us," said Singh. "You're the only one who can do, in fact."