"You can't talk that way," Dobigel snarled, stepping forward.
"Who says so, Ugly?"
At that, Dobigel stepped forward and threw a hard punch from his
shoulder--straight at Drake's face.
It never landed. Drake side-stepped it and brought a smashing uppercut
up from his knees. It lifted Dobigel off his feet and sent him crashing
back against old Belgezad, toppling them both to the floor.
The policemen had all drawn their guns, but Drake was standing placidly
in the middle of the room, his hands high above his head regarding the
scene calmly.
"I'll go quietly," he said. "I've got no quarrel with the police."
One of the officers led him out into the hall while the others searched
his room. Belgezad was sputtering incoherently. Another policeman was
trying to wake up Dobigel.
"If you're looking for the Necklace of Algol," Drake said, "you won't
find it there."
The captain of the police squad said: "We know that, Mr. Drake. We are
merely looking for other evidence. We already have the necklace." He
reached in his belt pouch and took out a small plastic box. He opened
it, disclosing a glittering rope of jewels. "You were seen depositing
this in a baggage locker at the spaceship terminal. We have witnesses
who saw you, and we had it removed under police supervision."
Viron Belgezad smiled nastily. "This time you won't get away, Drake!
Stealing anything from the palace of the Shan carries a minimum penalty
of twenty years in Thizar Prison."
Drake said nothing as they took him off to the Royal Police Station and
locked him in a cell.
* * * * *
It was late afternoon of the next day when the Prosecutor for the Shan
visited Drake's cell. He was a tall, imposing man, and Drake knew him by
reputation as an honest, energetic man.
"Mr. Drake," he said as he sat down in a chair in the cell, "you have
refused to speak to anyone but me. I am, of course, perfectly willing to
be of any assistance, but I am afraid I must warn you that any statement
made to me will be used against you at the trial."
Drake leaned back in his own chair. One thing nice about Thizar, he
reflected; they had comfortable jails.
"My Lord Prosecutor," he said, "I'd like to make a statement. As I
understand it, Belgezad claims he was gassed, along with a police guard
who was with him. When he woke up, the necklace was gone. He didn't see
his assailant."
"That is correct," said the Prosecutor.
Drake grinned. That was the way it had to be. Belgezad couldn't possibly
have bribed the cop, so they both had to be gassed.
"If he didn't see his assailant, how does he know who it was?"
"You were followed from the palace by Jomis Dobigel, who saw you put the
necklace into the baggage locker. There are several other witnesses to
that."
Drake leaned forward. "Let me point out, my Lord Prosecutor, that the
only evidence you have that I was anywhere near the palace is the word
of Jomis Dobigel. And he didn't see me _inside_ the palace. I was
outside the wall."
The Prosecutor shrugged. "We admit the possibility of an assistant
inside the walls of the palace," he said. "We are investigating that
now. But even if we never find your accomplice, we have proof that you
were implicated, and that is enough."
"What proof do you have?" Drake asked blandly.
"Why, the necklace itself, of course!" The Prosecutor looked as though
he suspected Drake of having taken leave of his senses.
Drake shook his head. "That necklace is mine. I can prove it. It was
made for me by a respectable jeweler on Seladon II. It's a very good
imitation, but it's a phoney. They aren't diamonds; they're simply
well-cut crystals of titanium dioxide. Check them if you don't believe
me."