He saw now that she looked weary and frightened. There was no
suggestion of surprise that he had returned. "They're all sitting
around in the rec-room," she said, then added, "No one is blaming you."
"Wait," he whispered as he shut the door behind him. "Did you examine
the needle in the box?"
"Yes. It was _dodlig_ mixed with tree gum to make it adhere. You
couldn't smell the stuff though, any more than you could when it was in
the doctor's soup."
And this, he thought, required a knowledge of chemistry. One had to
know how to extract the essence of _dodlig_ from other plants. He
looked at Shirley Mason and wondered if anyone else in the expedition
knew chemistry. But one more thing was clear; another item on those
missing pages of the report. When swallowed, _dodlig_ was quick and
painless; when injected or absorbed through a break in the skin, the
reaction was like the sting of a virulent insect or the bite of a
poisonous serpent. He followed Shirley into the recreation room.
He looked at the assembly, who returned his glance in silence, then
turned to Howard James who was slumped in a chair. "I'm sorry," he
said. It was a totally inadequate statement, but anything further would
have been meaningless. "I've failed all around."
James lifted a hand slightly. "No, Roy," he said tiredly. "You couldn't
have prevented it had you been here."
"How did it happen?"
"She wanted to die, Roy," said Burleigh, "though only God knows the
full reason why. All we know is that she was determined to end her
life. She doped us all so that we couldn't prevent her, or find her in
time."
At Auckland's puzzled frown, Edholm said, "We had just finished supper
when I suddenly felt terribly sleepy. I tried to get out of my chair,
and the next thing I knew Calvin here was shaking me and it was hours
later. We'd all been asleep around the table, except Amelia. She wasn't
there. She'd gone to her room and taken a lethal dose of sleep-pills.
We found the empty bottle and an empty glass on the stand beside her
bed."
"We were knocked out for about three hours or so," Shirley put in.
"Amelia served the coffee at supper tonight, and she obviously put
half a pill into each cup except hers. As you know, drinking them with
anything hot makes them react almost immediately. Whether she took her
own dose hot or cold I don't know. In either case, she'd have gone to
sleep in no less than half an hour and after another hour nothing could
be done for her."
"Where is she?"
"We left her where we found her."
Auckland rose. "I'll be back in a few moments," he said. Shirley arose
also and followed him out of the room.
* * * * *
It was hard to think of Amelia James as dead, Auckland thought, as he
looked at the peaceful features of the dark-haired woman. And harder
still to believe that she had killed herself. Somehow, it didn't fit
with what he knew of her character. A passionate woman, yearning for
life, might conceivably kill herself over rejection by someone she
wanted. But Amelia wasn't that sort.
"Did she leave any kind of note?" he asked Shirley.
The blonde shook her head. "And she hadn't been acting strangely,
either, Roy."
"You don't think it was suicide, Shirl?"
"I--I...." Suddenly her shoulders were shaking violently and her head
was buried against his chest, her arms around him convulsively. "I
didn't want her to die! I didn't want anyone to die! I hated them both
but I didn't want them to die!"
Auckland held her close, making comforting noises, and found himself
looking toward the doorway. "Ekem-ve ..." he started to say, then
stopped as he realized no one was there. This was the second time he'd
been sure a Vaec was present when none was around. What was it?
His nostrils dilated suddenly and he realized what it was: something he
smelled. The faint but somewhat pleasing aroma of the Vaec, like a very
discreet perfume.
Perfume! He released Shirley gently and said, "I think I have it," and
picked up the glass beside the bed. He sniffed. Yes, it was there. And
that had been what he smelled on the needle in the box. It had all
fallen into place now. He looked at the girl and said quietly, "We'd
better join the others. It's time for the last act in this devilish
little drama."
His heart felt icy as they left the room because he realized now that
the case he had might be exactly what the culprit wanted him to have.
* * * * *
As they entered the room, Dr. James was saying "... so you see the
worst about us, Ekem-ve. Dr. Burleigh here thinks that we are not fit
to associate with you and I'm beginning to wonder if he isn't right."
Ekem-ve and Hcent were standing near the door, their single hairs
straight up and unmoving. Ekem-ve said, "Excellent Earthmen not
perfect. Vaec not perfect either. Like Earthman, Vaec seek help of
Creator in following path to perfection. Often fail."
Auckland sent a mental "Thanks for coming" to the Vaec and said, "Much
harm has been done by a most imperfect Earth person, and you can help
us discover that one so we can see that harm stops."
He did not offer them seats, as the two were playing the part of
natives again, who would not sit down in the presence of their
superiors.
"Someone," Auckland said, "was surprised when I came into the room
tonight. But that someone is a good actor. I'm referring to the
person who tried to prevent me from returning at all; the person who
first tried to shoot me with a poisoned needle and then lured me into
quicksand and left me to sink." He nodded at the Vaec. "Thanks to my
friends, I got back safely."
"No mirth in murder, excellent Roy," said Hcent.
"No mirth in finding a murderer either," Auckland said. "One of you
will not be surprised, either, when I tell you that Amelia James did
not commit suicide." He paused and looked around. Shirley was breathing
harder. Edholm blinked rapidly. Burleigh leaned forward, a puzzled but
intent look on his face. James sat like one sunk in apathy.
"Ekem-ve," Auckland went on, "did Dr. Glamis obtain a sample of perfume
from the Vaec?"
"Yes, excellent Roy. Excellent Kenneth desire it for study. Say that it
may bring mirth to many Earth females if can be analyzed, reproduced by
Earthmen and brought back to home planet."
"I was puzzled for a long time," Auckland went on, "about the way the
_dodlig_ was put into Dr. James's thermos bottle. It suggested that
whoever did it must have an excellent knowledge of chemistry. Then I
remembered that Phrecle had said something about _dodlig_ losing its
pleasing aroma when mixed with the soup.
"It seemed to me then that _dodlig_, which smells so unpleasant to
us, must have a pleasing odor to Vaec. I had never smelled it on any
of them, but that could be explained by the fact that they knew we
disliked it and were careful not to come into our presence bearing the
scent.
"But if this were the case, then I should have smelled some _dodlig_ in
the village, and I didn't." He smiled wryly. "But minute quantities of
the plant, refined, might be used in making a perfume which did indeed
have a pleasing aroma. Am I right, Hcent? Is your perfume made with a
_dodlig_ base?"
"Excellent Roy speaks wisdom," replied the Vaec.
"So," Auckland continued, "you will all please remain where you are
while Hcent searches our rooms for some sort of container of Vaec
perfume. Someone obtained Dr. Glamis's sample, or part of it, to commit
two murders--there was a trace of perfume in Amelia's glass."
"But I never smelled any perfume," objected Edholm.
"It isn't strong," Auckland said, "and the Vaec are nearly always
wearing it. That's why I thought Ekem-ve was around twice when he
wasn't; I smelled perfume without realizing it."
"But why would anyone want to kill Amelia?" asked James bewilderedly,
as Hcent went out.
"Maybe she discovered something dangerous to the culprit," suggested
Burleigh. "Do you think Hcent will be able to find the perfume if it's
there?"
"Phrecle smelled a trace of it in the thermos bottle," Auckland
answered. "But I don't think it will be concealed. There was no reason
to conceal it since the killer was confident that its meaning would
not be suspected and could always say that it had been obtained from
Glamis, or might even admit snitching some from him."
Hcent came back a moment later, holding a test tube and two sheets
of paper which they recognized as the missing pages from the report.
Auckland shot a thought at her, then asked, "Where was it, Hcent?"
"In cabinet in kitchen, excellent Roy." She held up the tube. "Much
perfume here, call to seeker with clear voice. Not have to search."
"Well," sighed Edholm, "we have it, for all the help that finding it
does us."
"But what were those papers doing with it?" James asked. He looked at
Burleigh. "Calvin, you took them from the report a week or so ago. I
saw you taking them out and didn't think anything of it at the time."
His eyes widened. "My God, you're the one, Calvin," he whispered.
He looked around him wildly, then continued. "So many things fall
into place when the key is found. Your quarrels with Glamis. I always
thought they were because you objected to his religious views and his
behavior with Amelia. But, of course, you were jealous of him. You
wanted her yourself, and he was always belittling you in her eyes. You
killed him! And then, when you found that she still would have none of
you, you killed her!"
"You forget that I was drugged this evening," replied Burleigh calmly.
"One person was not drugged," said Auckland. "One person had to get
Amelia to her room, revive her, and induce her to drink poison. One
person had to be awake and alert to try to prevent me from returning.
"That person knew that there would be time for both projects, and to
get back to the table and feign unconsciousness before the others
revived."
"You and Glamis were having an argument about Amelia last week,
Burleigh," Edholm said. "I wasn't eavesdropping, but I heard your
voices when I went by and couldn't help but catch part of the drift."