Ty’shal, gods rest his soul, had accumulated quite the gambling debt in his few months on Earth. He had become obsessed with a phenomenon called “horse racing,” and his increasing Earth debts made him a target in the AARO’s investigation into the attempts on my life. I felt bad for his widows and vowed to find a way to pay off his debts once I began earning an Earth income.
B’ming, another former member of the Xalanite military, earned scrutiny from the AARO by being a rival of my father during the uprising that unseated the Xalanite elders. My father had pardoned him after taking the throne, and he’d been granted a position as Earth liaison after Q’on returned to Xalan with his human bride, Amber. I shook my head after reading the file Timber had on him.
“He is not the culprit,” I said. “B’ming may have fought against my father initially, but he was simply a loyalist. He did not wish to rule for himself, nor did he much care that my father won. He did as his superiors commanded, nothing more. I’d sooner suspect a female.”
“That may be, but he still should be watched carefully. We can’t ignore the fact that he has plenty ofkrinto spare for hiring hit men like Jim and the scarred man.”
“A valid point, but I stand by my ‘gut,’ as you call it. He is not the one we seek.” I opened the file on the merchant. “This one I do not know personally. Why is he suspected?”
She tapped a number on the page in front of me. My eyes widened as I read.
“Again, he has the means to hire someone. He’s here because he bought his own ship—withkrin—and he’s still got more where that came from. He could easily afford the cash to hire an assassin with the load he brought here.” She shook her head. “I can’t figure out a motive for him, though. Sure, he can afford it, but he’s got a cushy life here. The only thing I see worth notingis this letter to your father. Our agents with Xalanite translator nanites read a copy, and from what I understand, it says that Giilan wants permanent residency, which I guess your father won’t officially allow yet.”
I scanned the copy in the file and nodded confirmation of its contents. “Indeed. Is that motive enough to want me dead, though? My father is who he needs to convince, and killing me would do nothing to achieve that end.”
“And that’s why I don’t think it’s him either. I still think we need to take a closer look at any women here who might have our trifecta of motive, means, and opportunity.”
I rubbed my chin in thought. “Giilan and B’ming both have mates here with them on Earth. Do you think one of them could be the perpetrator?”
Timber frowned, chewing her lip. “I just don’t know yet. My instinct is that our perp is someone we haven’t considered yet, someone sitting right under our noses.”
My eyes crossed as I contemplated the tip of my nose. “Where?”
She barked out a dry laugh. “Cute. No, I mean they’re probably hiding in plain sight. My guess is that the person who hired Jim won’t try to evade us. She might even be outwardly friendly towards us. Hell, if I’m right, she might seek us out at some point. The only problem is we can’t afford to wait for that. We’ve got to be more proactive instead of reactive.”
“Proactive …” My mind spun as I tried to process all of this new information. It was slightly overwhelming, and I marveled at how poised and confident Timber was despite the uncertainty surrounding my safety. I would not fare as well if it was the other way around.
That night, her nightmares returned in full force. I held her close to comfort her as she shivered and whimpered in fear,whispering promises to stay safe for her, to live for her no matter what dangers might lurk ahead.
Chapter 24
Timber
Fucking nightmares. I didn’t have time for that shit, and I certainly didn’t have the energy to spare for sleepless nights and terrifying dreams.
God bless N’kal for being so understanding. He never once made me feel guilty for waking him a million times a night. He just stroked my hair until the night terrors passed. I was grateful for the comfort and companionship. I’d become accustomed to dealing with the dreams on my own in recent years, so it was a pleasant change to have someone who understood and accepted them without judgment.
My interrogations continued during the day, though I made little headway. If I had met the perp yet, I hadn’t noticed. That meant I had to treat everyone like a suspect until I had enough evidence to nail down which Xalanite to arrest. It frustrated me to no end.
I talked to B’ming first. The Xalanite diplomat had fought against N’kal’s father in the uprising, but he claimed those “oldgrudges” were settled when King Jiinal offered him a position as the first Xalanite liaison to Earth.
B’ming inherited a large chunk ofkrinafter the conflict, which put him high on the suspect list. Aside from the side he fought on, though, I could find nothing tying him to the assassination attempts. Every ounce of hiskrinwas accounted for, and when I questioned him, the man was polite and even affable. His friendly and jovial nature made him quite likable, and there wasn’t a single speck of warning from my gut after I spoke with him. If he was guilty of anything, he had me fooled into crossing him off my list for the time being. The man seemed to enjoy his new position on Earth, and I couldn’t picture him risking all of that for … for what? Revenge? That didn’t make sense. He was better off after being stationed on our planet than he had been back on Xalan.
Next on the list was the merchant, Giilan. The portly man had long, catfish-like whiskers in place of a moustache. They wiggled when he spoke, and I fought the urge to laugh at the sight.
Giilan had a large stash ofkrin, too, though his came from shrewd business practices. He had enough US government contracts under his belt to keep him well fed for years to come, plus a healthy stipend flowing in from his businesses back on Xalan, which he managed remotely.
Despite being a capable businessman, Giilan had the personality of a slug. The man was all slime, with none of the class that his status might imply. Not even five minutes into the conversation I felt like I needed a shower to wash the skeevy man’s influence off of me. Still, an off-putting personality did not an assassin make, and I walked away from that interrogation no further along in my search for the mastermind behind the attacks.
Giilan had Earth contacts outside the intake center, but they were all pimps and prostitutes. He was addicted to sugar and its effects on the Xalanite nervous system, so he had cobbled together a small network of smut peddlers to get him through his highs.
Did that make him more likely to have the know-how to contact and hire Jim? Maybe, but though his actions weren’t legal, they didn’t equal assassination attempts.
Two down, and with Ty’shal dead, none to go … at least, none from the AARO’s list.
N’kal helped where he could, though he could have been a bit more discreet about it. I had to stop him several times before he revealed my suspicions about the gender of the Xalanite who hired Jim and the scarred man, if the two were even connected.
I tried to get access to the prisoner to validate said connection, but Director Hall had left strict instructions not to let anyone see him. That was irritating to say the least. How did she expect me to find the culprit if I couldn’t talk to one of the potential hit men?
