if youâve got it. Or, if you havenât got some of the things, we may be able to improvise. We think the cats might be slightly telepathic, especially on the sending end. The Aludrans are, you know.â
âHmmm, I remember reading that,â Shannon said, a little preoccupied as she scanned over the list. âBut, I donât see what that has to do withââ
As her desk console shrilled an alert, a red light flashed beside the screen. Shannon punched the receive button in an automatic gesture, without looking up.
âShannon.â
âDeck Three Security, Doctor. We have an emergency coming in for you: two passengers in shock or hysterics and a DB.â
âA body?â
Shannon gasped as she looked up at the expression on the face of the security guard. Without taking her eyes from him, she slapped the signal button for Deller and the nursing staff to stand by for an emergency.
âWhat happened?â she demanded. âWho died?â
âA passengerâwe think his name is Fabrial. And he didnât just die; he was murdered.â
âMurdered?â
âThatâs right. The other two coming in found him. Theyâre too shaken up to give us a statement, so weâre going to let you handle that when you get them calmed down. Weâll send the body as soon as weâve finished the on-site investigation.â
âYouâre sure heâs dead? â Shannon insisted.
âOh, yeah, heâs dead, all right.â
A commotion in the outer office announced the arrival of the passengers in question, and Shannon dashed to assist. Mather and Wallis glanced at one another, at the face of the security officer just before he cut off, then moved into the doorway to watch and listen. Two stewards were bringing in a weeping woman of about thirty, Deller directing them into an adjoining treatment room and calling for a nurse. A dazed and shocky-looking middle-aged man had paused just inside the door to the outer office, a security officer supporting him under one elbow. There was a smear of drying blood on the back of the manâs hand and across the front of his expensive tunic and another barely visible on the guardâs maroon sleeve.
âLord Elderton and his wife,â Shannon murmured under her breath. âJust what we needed. Del, thatâs Lady EldertonâI think her first name is Anne. Just sedate her and stabilize until I can come and get a statement.â
As she turned her attention to Lord Elderton himself, she was not pleased to see that her instructions had elicited no response whatever from him.
âMatt, is he injured?â she asked the guard, gripping Eldertonâs wrist to find a pulseâwhich was racing but strongâbut getting no sign of conscious awareness. âWhat happened? Did you see anything?â
The guard shook his head. âNot really, Doctor. The victim was already dead when I got there. Lord Elder-ton was kneeling beside him, just moaning and rocking back and forth on his heels, and the lady was screaming. Thatâs what brought us running. He wouldnât say much, but I got the impression that he saw at least part of what happened. Iâm pretty sure he got to the victim before he died.â
âIs there any chance he did it?â Shannon asked, passing her hand back and forth in front of her patientâs eyes without getting even a blink.
âNone,â the guard said flatly.
âAll right, letâs get him inside,â Shannon said, leading them briskly through her office and into the adjoining treatment room, where Mather joined in helping lift their listless patient onto the padded table. When Wallis pitched in, swinging standard diagnostic equipment into position from above, Shannon began loading a hypospray. Eldertonâs eyes continued to stare blankly.
âIâll take over from here, Matt,â Shannon said to the guard. She consulted the scanners while