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appeared to be an empty warehouse floor. The man grinned broadly and waved without breaking stride. When he reached the bottom of the ramp, he spread his arms wide and bellowed heartily, “Welcome to the Zoo! I’m Ranger Captain Steve Bonelli. We don’t get many visitors passing through here, so I have to tell you, we’re really glad to see you folks.”
    “I can imagine,” Drew replied wearily. “I’m Drew Townsend,” he added, shifting the briefcase from right to left and extending his hand for shaking. Instantly he wished that he hadn’t. Bonelli had a grip like a bear trap. “And this is—”
    “Teri Martin,” she cut in, her voice even throatier than usual. “I’m a singer. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?”
    Bonelli’s eyes lit up at the sight of her. “An entertainer! No, ma’am, I can’t honestly say that I have. But I am very pleased to make your acquaintance.” Bonelli swept his cap off, revealing a military buzz-cut of indeterminate color. Wisely, he chose not to shake her hand. But Teri’s curves were announcing themselves inside that silver suit, and Drew could tell from the way the captain’s eyes moved over her precisely what was going through his mind.
    He could also tell from the way Teri fidgeted beside him that she was in no mood to be ogled this hungrily by someone who didn’t even have the grace to pretend to be a fan. Her chin was rising, a dangerous sign, and the brown eyes were filling with storm clouds. Drew couldn’t help noticing that Bonelli’s nose had been broken in the past. If the Ranger didn’t look somewhere else fast, it was probably going to be broken again. Back in New Chicago, an assault on a field officer would have got them both detained until charges could be laid. Out here in the boonies? Drew didn’t really want to find out.
    “Captain?” he ventured, bravely mustering his imperfect Gally vocabulary. “The travel has been long. I’m sure Ms. Martin has a desire to freshen her body before we continue on to Daisy Hub…?”
    There was a scathing retort on her tongue, he was sure, regarding Drew’s own “body freshness” at this point, but he was pleased to see that Teri was smart enough — or wanted the promised shower badly enough — to swallow her sarcasm and wait for the guide summoned by Bonelli to lead her off the landing deck.
    Once the others were safely out of earshot, Drew turned to the captain and said, “We need to talk about the death research. Is your meanwhile report finished yet?”
    Startled, Bonelli stared at him for a moment before replying, “Yes, sir, and as soon as Security passes it on to the Space Installation Authority, I’m sure they’ll be transmitting a copy to your office.”
    “You don’t understand. I have Security in my past time.”
    The Ranger shook his head, his patience, not to mention his decoding ability, clearly being tested. “They didn’t give you much warning about this posting, did they? With all due respect, Mr. Townsend, I know you spent time attached to a District Security precinct, but that doesn’t make you a field investigator. The Relocation Authority seems to enjoy putting round pegs in square holes. It sticks people in all sorts of places before assigning them off-planet. If you really were a cop, you’d have been posted to the Rangers, not given a make-work desk job like managing Daisy Hub. So, my advice to you is to stay clear and let me complete my investigation. I promise to keep you advised of any breakthroughs in the case.”
    Drew considered carefully before speaking again. After all, SISCO had falsified his biodata in order to establish his cover. It wouldn’t do for him to blow it before he’d even had a chance to look over the crime scene. But Khaloub’s death was weeks old, practically a cold case by now, and it would feel like such a waste of time starting the investigation completely from scratch if the Rangers had already questioned the mavericks and misfits working the Hub