I saw him with her again. At Starshine. Maris had sent to Lethia.

He's scum, Lethia had sent back. You need to dump h sied to dim.

Thinking about it, Maris had replied. I can do better.

"Faldin was fooling around," I held up Maris' comp-vid and turned in my chair to look at Ry, who was trying to piece a comp-vid back together. This one looked as if Bel had stomped on it.

"Big surprise," Ry muttered, trying to force pieces of the case together again.

I went through other messages, back two months, at least, and didn't find anything else worth mentioning. Faldin was correct in one sense; he and Maris weren't that close. Only a handful of messages were recovered between the two of them and there was nothing noteworthy in any of those.

I turned to Jaske's comp-vid next. I got a hit from the girl he was seeing right away—she'd sent him something only a few clicks before he went crazy. The message made me lift an eyebrow in surprise. See you tonight at Starshine, she'd sent. Poor Jaske had sent I love you as a reply. Those were the last words he'd sent to this girl, who apparently meant so much to him.

Images were compiled in the comp of all the dead, both shooters and victims. Jaske wasn't that much to look at. I went searching for the image of his girlfriend, Sedra Prade, finding it at the end of the others. Sedra was very pretty, with shoulder-length, dyed red hair with blue tips, cut unevenly at the ends—one of the current styles popular with the younger ones. In the image, she was dressed in a shiny red top that had a Starshine logo printed on the left breast.

That told me immediately that Sedra worked for the most popular nightclub in Quezlos and likely on all of Surnath. Some called Starshine little Stellar Winds and all the popular and wealthy among the younger set went there to meet and mingle. Opening later in the evening, it remained open until nearly dawn, with loud music thumping through the place while alcohol (and drugs, more than likely) flowed freely.

A legal brothel was onsite, too—licensed by the Surnathan government, of course. Some drugs were legalized in the Alliance, but employers weren't allowed to let their employees work if they were under the influence. Most had scanners nowadays, located at employee entrances. If an employee set it off, they were sent home. Too many times being sent home and they lost their job. There was always some abuse, but the businesses faced very stiff fines and regular visits from the local constabulary if found in violation.

Personal hovercraft was also equipped with the same type of scanners. You couldn't drive on manual if you'd imbibed—either alcohol or drugs. Jail time was assigned if the sensors were tampered with in your conveyances. Most people didn't own anything like that, choosing to depend on public transportation instead.

"Tell me why this girl would be seeing Jaske," I said, moving aside so Ry could get a look at Sedra Prade, and then flipping over to Jaske's image.

"He looks like a nerd," Ry nodded. "Not that stranger things haven't happened," he was still working on the comp-vid, I think, trying to shove parts back together. Finally, he gave up and used his extensive warlock gift. The thing floated in midair and went right back together, as it should be. "There," Ry grinned and floated it to me.

"Why didn't you do that to begin with?" I wrinkled my nose at him.

"You know, we men have to try brawn first."

"Uh-huh." I turned back to Sedra's image. "You know, since Maris saw Faldin at Slik Faldintarshine with someone else, and Jaske's girlfriend works there, I think we should go out tonight," I turned to look at Ry.

"Sure. Do you have a hip outfit and dancing shoes?"

"Hip?" I was completely lost at his jargon.

"You know, sliding."

"The term that means trendy and appealing to those younger than twenty-five?"

"Yes. Sliding. Do you have a sliding outfit?"

"Sure. As soon as I go out and buy it," I grumped.

"I'll come. It has to meet with my approval."

"You're the fashion constabulary, are you?"

"You got it." Ry's grin would have stopped many a female heart. I just grinned back at him.

I lifted the comp-vid he'd reassembled with power and synced it with the comp, pulling up any records that might be on it. Bel had used this one; I could see that right away. Several appointments were listed, showing the dates he'd interviewed the workers at Maris' legal firm, and then when he'd gone to question those at Pripps Electronics. I pulled up all his interviews, the ones we'd seen already, anyway, through copies provided by both businesses. Bel hadn't used this one long, as it turns out.

"Is there any saving of the others?" I asked, turning to Ry again.

"Parts are missing," he said, tossing the last comp-vid into the box. "Mostly the chips. Can't pull anything up if you don't have those."

"Did he remove them, or did someone else?" I asked.

"I already did a scry. Bel did it. On all five of the others. The one you have is the only one that had all the parts there."

"What was he thinking?" I muttered, mostly to myself.

"What were Maris and Jaske thinking?" Ry's dark eyes met mine.

"I don't know." I shook my head.

"Reah, that one is incredible." Ry walked around me as I stared in the mirror at the short, tight-fitting black dress I wore. I'd have been happier if it didn't glitter with thousands of tiny, jet-black beads. The shoes were almost as bad, with heels twice as high as I felt comfortable wearing. Tiny, gold straps hooked around my ankles, and gold beading glistened around the edges of the soles. The rest was black, to match my dress.

"And see, since you've had those babies, this is filled out perfectly." He stood behind me and cupped both breasts in his hands.

"Rylend Morphis, you lech," I turned and smacked his hands lightly. He laughed.

"This jewelry will go well with this," the female clerk was back, offering a long, beaded necklace in black and gold, with matching earrings.

"Pack it all up, we'll take it," Ry said, without waiting for me to say anything. He'd bought a shirt, but already had pants and boots to wear. That's how we found ourselves walking up to the line waiting outside Starshine later. Someone was going down the line, picking out the prettiest people to let in first. Starshine's guests were always forced to stand in a very long line to get in, unless they were wealthy or well known or both. Those visitors were escorted in without standinge.&out sta in any line. Ry smiled down at me.

Remember, we're together, so act like you like me, all right? he sent.

Who's acting? I love you, you pompous, handsome ass, I returned.

Just remember, you said it first, he informed me silently. I did love him. Had always. He was like a brother. The one I grumbled to about Teeg or Tory or any other number of people or things. Whenever Teeg had a function, Ry was my escort for at least part of the evening. He always asked about the girls. They adored their uncle Ry. He bought them gifts, even when I said no, sometimes. We ended up never arguing about it.

"What do we have here?" The Starshine employee, wearing a shirt that proclaimed him Gate Keeper and backed up by two rather large security guards, was standing in front of Ry and me. "These two are in," he jerked his head at one of the guards, who escorted us right to the front and even opened the door for us. Yes, Ry's face opened a lot of doors.

What does Sedra do here? The music was so loud Ry was back to mindspeech.

Bartender, I told him. Ry tucked my hand in the crook of his arm and led me through the crowd toward the bar. Sedra, in her sliding outfit, was pouring a line of shots for an appreciative male crowd. Her top revealed most of her breasts and hugged her like a second skin. Hair tips were dyed purple, to match the Starshine top worn over very short, black shorts.

What do you want, pretty girl? Ry asked.

What are you having?

Yadeli, he replied. Yadeli was a particularly fine bourbon. Not the most expensive, but better than that, in my estimation.

I'll take a cloudy sunset, then, I returned. A cloudy sunset had bourbon and two other types of mixers in it, the layers making it look like gold and purple clouds. It was good, too. I made them now and then, for the supervisors on my work crews. Well, Garde's work crews, now.

Ry stepped up to the bar and had Sedra's attention right away. He ordered and then laid a casual arm around my shoulders when Sedra attempted to get friendly while she made our drinks. Sedra didn't give up, though, chattering away with Ry, even though it was difficult to hear inside the massive bar. Ry grabbed our drinks and walked away, leaving Sedra talking to empty space.

"Hello," another Starshine employee appeared at our table the moment we sat down. "We're offering discounts to Stellar Winds to some of our best customers," the young man said, handing me a recycled plastic brochure. Paper wasn't used much in the Alliance any longer. "Just enter the code number here," he pointed to a number listed at the bottom of the ad, "when you make your reservations. This is good for half off your trip." I blinked up at him—he was nice-looking, no question about that, with black hair, cut in the latest style and vibrant blue tips spiking up here and there. He wore lenses in his eyes, making them a striking yellow. Going for a feral look, no doubt.

Ry thanked him while I stuffed the brochure into my small handbag. I watched the young man walk away, noticing that he wasn't giving brochures out to everyone. I sat up straighter and paid attention, watching while he handed out another one to a handsome couple seated at a table six away from ours. He'd ignored the average-looking customers in between.

Ry, what are they doing? I asked mentally. He'd seen what I'd seen, his eyes following the young man as he made hiayes he mas way through the bar. Just as the pretty couples were allowed inside the bar first, now they were offered half-price trips to Stellar Winds. There was a connection between the two, and I wondered what it was.

"Reah," Ry jerked his head to the side. He'd seen them first. I followed his gaze, drawing in a breath. Faldin Bierla was there, escorting a date. I recognized her, all right. Darletta Schuul was with Faldin, dressed in something that I couldn't have afforded with five years' pay in the gishi fruit groves.