Maori dead? I tried to contain my jumble of emotions. Holding my mom, I looked over her shoulder at Dr. Cabin.

“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “Maori was fine this morning. She was bright and perky, and particularly excited when we had a group of alien visitors. After the tour finished, I went to visit her and I found her lying motionless in her cage. Upon examination, I realized she’d stopped breathing. We tried resuscitation, but to no avail. I am so very sorry. I really can’t explain what happened.” Dr. Cabin’s face sagged.

My mind reeled. “I know you did your best. Sometimes things just happen. I think you need to do a necropsy on Maori however. Perhaps it’ll help you understand what happened.” And I needed the reassurance.

“Of course. I’ll do it first thing tomorrow. And, again, I’m so very sorry for your loss.” He rubbed his arms.

“Mom, let’s go home.” I needed to get her away from the clinic and Maori’s body.

She nodded, and gathered her things. It only took us a few moments to get home.

“I can’t believe this happened,” said Mom. “When I left yesterday, Maori was fine. A little weak, and that’s why Dr. Cabin kept her overnight. He said she was jumping around today.”

“I know. It doesn’t make any sense.” I didn’t understand how this had happened.

My com rang.

“Tari, it appears the Tristorians have decided to pull out of the competition,” said Inspector Hayden.

“Why would they do that?” I asked. “From what I’ve heard, they’re almost destined to appoint the next president of the BRITE Alliance.” I shook my head.

“Where did you hear that?”

“From a couple of people but, in particular, from that alien you stuck me with. Dino and I’ve been having discussions about the various races.”

I thought for a moment. “Perhaps the Tristorians want to pull out because of the poisoning—after all they did lose a member of one team.”

Thomas said, “That’s possible. However, your comment about being the next leaders is interesting. I’ll check into that. Perhaps the Tristorians are trying to do an end run to throw us off guard. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

I decided to leave this rumor in the hands of the diplomats. I had other things to worry about. Grieve over Maori is what I did for the rest of the night.

The next morning my staff and I spent hours going over the murder at The Peak.

“Sarge, I’m not getting any feel for the murderer of Skitem-Carry. In fact, why murder a bowling official? There’re lots more of them to take over his officiating duties. It makes more sense to kill bowlers since they’re needed for the competition,” said Harrison.

“I understand what you’re saying. In fact, the competition is down two bowlers already. Ugon killed Keepe Style, and Reene Tane died from food poisoning. I’m sure you’ve noted those are both Tristorian bowlers.”

“Is that significant?” asked Brian.

“It could be. Bear in mind, the Tristorians are close to becoming the new leaders of the Alliance.”

“Possibly,” said Dino. “A couple of other worlds have a slim chance.”

I interrupted. “From my point of view the water is still muddy. One thing we do know is that the medical examiner confirmed Keepe Style’s wound was cauterized around the edges. So Dino’s earlier suggestion was correct, and our murder weapon possibilities have been narrowed down a lot. Brian, I want you to research weapons that would fit our profile.”

A look flickered over his face, but I couldn’t decide whether it was annoyance or something else.

“Harrison, would you check over the camera feed from The Peak, please. I know it’s already been done, but go back further and see if anything or anyone piques your curiosity. Check out the other cameras again, too.”

“Will do,” said Harrison, and he started pulling up videos on his computer.

“We need to try and see the big picture. Everything that’s happened must tie in together.” I turned to Dino. “Do you know what I mean about the big picture?”

“I do. We have a word kakle which somewhat translates to what you’re trying to say. Everything is connected by strings.”

“Is kakle part of your pattern recognition?” I said.

“Yes, it is,” said Dino.

Kakle triggered a thought. “Harrison, you and I have another project. Put the STEP machine through its paces for the washroom and areas at The Peak, and send me the results. I’m in a pattern recognition kind of mood.”

Harrison gave a thumbs up.

“Okay, Dino, let’s work on the big picture for a couple of hours,” I said.

After our heads began to hurt, Dino and I took a lunch break in the cafeteria and spent time discussing the Itlan Race. Another unusual bunch, it seemed to me. For example, although they could be sneaky and underhanded, they were extreme conformists. Over hundreds of cycles, their rituals and clan behaviors had not changed. To compensate for their ritual conformity, they had become quite competitive. In particular, they did not like to lose sporting competitions.

I continued to find Dino’s descriptions of their planet intriguing. A water world, they lived in floating homes, and boats formed their major form of transportation.

“Itlans grow water plants for vegetables, and eat fish,” Dino said. “The little land they possess is devoted to raising food animals and other plants.”

A call interrupted my education.

“I expedited the results of the bloods tests on Reene Tane who died from food poisoning this morning,” said Raj. “According to the Tristorian medics, we have a problem.”

“What do you mean?” Enough already with the problems.

“Reene had ten times the level of poison in his system. All the Tristorians had been poisoned, but Reene had been targeted. You have another murder on your hands.”

“Are you sure? I thought you said he was susceptible— more so than the others?” I wanted to pull my hair out.

“That’s what we thought but that was before we got the toxicology results. By the way, chemical testing has become complicated with all the races to consider.” Raj shook his head. “Anyway, a Tristorian poison had been put into one of their food items, but Reene’s portion had obviously been spiked.”

I made the announcement about the possible murder to the rest of my crew after Dino and I returned from lunch. Disbelief met my statements.

“Maybe the poison was improperly mixed, and the victim got an unusually concentrated amount,” said Harrison.

“Possibly, but he got approximately ten times the amount, so it seems unlikely. Regardless, it’s still a death,” I said, “and we’ve been told to investigate. So let’s get over to Revolutions and do our jobs. We need to find everyone who had access to the kitchen last night, and this’ll not be an easy task.”

We swarmed all over Revolutions. At least some of the officials weren’t in our way because they were taking advantage of the rest day. However, bowlers filled Revolutions practicing in anticipation of Round Two.

Tracking down who had access to the food last night took a monumental amount of work. We pushed together a couple of tables in the restaurant and tried to make a time- line with the information we’d gathered.

Smith approached and said, “Tari, can I speak to you for a moment?”

I got up and walked a few steps away.

“I have a problem upstairs, and I thought I would bring it to you first,” said Smith.

“No more dead bodies I hope?” I really did hope there weren’t any!

He ignored my words. “There’s a group of humans and Rheinon who won’t leave the casino. They’ve been there for over twenty-four hours.” Smith wiped his forehead with a cloth.

“Since when have you been open twenty-four/seven?” I hadn’t seen Smith this agitated for quite some time.

“Since the start of Round One. Business has been pretty good, and because some of the aliens seem to be on a different schedule, I decided a couple of days ago to give staying open continuously a try. As a result, business is even better. It’s been a little stressful organizing the necessary staff, but I’ve made it work.”

“So what exactly do you want me to do about this party of gamblers? I assume they’re gambling.”

“Yes, they’re gambling. You need to get them out of the casino, and back to their homes or accommodations. They’re starting to smell and get out of control. They’re a disruption to the other patrons, which is not good for business.” Smith paced back and forth as he uttered these words.

Three of us went upstairs and observed the casino for a few moments. Smith had accurately described the situation. We found the party of culprits, human and Rheinon, from the noise they made.

I introduced myself and said, “I think it’s time for you all to go home and get some rest.”

An abundance of glances resulted. “We will not leave,” said a Rheinon. Pretty pushy, I decided.

Dino stepped in. “Let me talk to my countrymen.” They walked a few steps away. After a couple of moments, during which I studied the silent humans, Dino returned.

“I will take these Rheinon away. We have come to an agreement. I will explain later.” Dino gestured at them and they all walked away.

I turned around and glared at the human culprits. Without a word, they packed up and left.

Not really understanding what’d just happened, I decided to quiz Dino later. In the meantime, I went back to our roundtable. The detectives brought me up-to-date on the timeline, and who’d been involved. So we divvied up the interviews. Brian and I set out to interview most of the Tristorians from the banquet. Thankfully, the majority involved were practicing or milling about Revolutions.

We first talked to our favorite Pirktr, Fite Deel. No happier during this interview, I suspected he would take another try at removing me from the cases.

“Detective Sergeant, you seem to be trying to kill off every Tristorian. Can you tell me why?”

“Pirktr, I’ll ask the questions. For example, did you go into the kitchen during the banquet last night?”

He hesitated. “I did. I wanted some extra mirl for my dinner, and the wait staff was slow.”

Fite Deel complaining about wait staff didn’t surprise me. I easily envisioned Fite being impatient. “Who did you see in the kitchen?” I said.

“I was not studying the room. They were people from each race. The only individuals I recognized were Cleare Folo and Carl Hender.”

“What were they doing?”

“Cleare walked out carrying a plate as I entered the kitchen, and Carl was talking to a human cook.”

“Detail your moments in the kitchen.” So far, he had responded to my questions.

“I picked up a small bowl of mirl and left. I didn’t want my food to get cold.”

Although Fite annoyed me, he’d provided some useful information. We next spoke to Carl Hender. His restlessness triggered my radar. “Carl, tell me about the banquet last night,” I said.

“All the players and officials were there. And the police, as you know. The banquet was pretty good. Apparently, some of the alien food had been prepared properly so there was much discussion about that.”

“Did anything unusual happen?”

“Not that I noticed. It was a pretty quiet meal—pleasant but quiet.”

“So tell me why you were in the kitchen,” I demanded.

Carl’s eyes widened. “Ah, ah, I just wanted to check on one of the food items. I’m allergic to some types of seafood and I saw something that looked like chopped up shrimp in one of the dishes.”

“Did you see anyone that shouldn’t have been in the kitchen?” I asked.

“Not really. However, it’s hard for me to tell about the aliens.”

“Let me be more specific. Did you see any bowlers or officials in the kitchen?”

“No, although I did pass a Tristorian bowler coming out of the kitchen.”

My intuition wouldn’t let it go, so I said, “Carl, I’ll need to speak with you again. See me at police headquarters this afternoon at six.” Carl tugged anxiously at his clothes, but readily agreed to the meeting.

“Brian,” I said after Carl left, “find Cleare Folo, please.” I needed to follow up on his presence in the kitchen. While Brian went off to find Cleare, I thought about Carl. He tried too hard to hide something, but I would find out what it was later.

“Sarge, you need to talk to this cook. She has some in- formation which I think you’ll find useful,” interrupted Harrison.

A Rheinon sat down before me.

“And what is your name?” I said, before Dino could make introductions.

“Zoni A Tait. I am here to cook Rheinon food.” “Did you cook for the banquet last night?”

“Yes, I prepared Rheinon food.”

That much I’d figured out. “Did you see anything un- usual while you were in the kitchen?”

Zoni told us a great deal, some of it gossip, but mostly information relevant to our investigation.

“Excellent,” I said. “Thank you for this information, Zoni. You may go. However, I may need to talk to you again.” As she nodded, and then left, Dino bounced enthusiastically, obviously anxious to tell me something. “Whatever it is, Dino, we’ll discuss it later. We have another interviewee waiting.”

After we’d settled Cleare at our table—no sitting for Tristorians—I said, “Cleare, it’s been mentioned you were in the kitchen last night. Why were you there?”

“I was getting a plate of food.”

“Surely there was enough food at your table.”

“I wanted a special mixture of foods, and we had run out.”

“Did you see anyone in the kitchen you didn’t think should be there—other than yourself, of course?”

Cleare’s hair seemed to move. “I had every right to be there. I saw a human official, but I do not know his name. The rest seemed to be cooks and serving staff.”

“What was the human official doing?

“Leaving the kitchen. He sat at our table.”

I remembered the seating list did have Carl at the same table as Cleare. “Did you notice anything else?”

“No. My thoughts were on the competition.”

His comment made me ask, “You haven’t been bowling in the competition, have you?”

“I have been practicing, but I am a spare, so I did not bowl in Round One.”

“Would you have liked to?”

“Of course.”

“You will be bowling in Round Two, though, since one of your teammates is dead.” Cleare did not respond, but I decided to leave the conversation at that, and said, “I may need to talk to you again.”

The interviews ground to a close, so we packed up and went back to police headquarters. After an hour at my desk, my com rang.

“This is Dr. Cabin calling regarding Maori.”

Oh, I so missed Maori. “I take it, you’ve finished the necropsy?”

“Yes, I just finished it, and I...” He hesitated. “…I ah, have some indications that concern me.”

“What do you mean?” I didn’t understand what he was trying to say.

“Her organs all seemed intact—no apparent indications of any problems. The only thing unusual was the smell when I opened her up.”

His mention of cutting Maori open threatened to overwhelm me. I took some deep breaths. “A smell?”

“Yes, very unusual. I would like to send a sample of her blood to be tested. Can you expedite that?”

“I certainly can. Send her blood sample to the ME, and I’ll let him know to watch for it. Is there anything particular he should be looking for?”

“Poison. Alien poison. Tari, I think she was poisoned, and I want to get to the bottom of it.

“As do I, Dr. Cabin.” The mention of aliens and poison in the same breath triggered a memory: the mention of alien visitors at the clinic shortly before Maori’s death. But I didn’t comment on it to the doctor. We said our goodbyes and rang off. I commed Raj immediately. He acted a little surprised by my request for the blood test, but he promised to rush it through.

“Ma’am, do you know who killed Reene Tane?” asked Dino, after I was off the com.

“I have a guess, but I need more information. It’s looking positive for murder, not just food poisoning,” I said. “Dino, I have a question. There’s a rumor…” It had surfaced in an interview with a Bremen. “…that Earth will be asked to withdraw from the tournament. Do you know anything about this?”

“The rumor is true. The subject is currently being dis- cussed amongst the IBC. However, I would not worry about it. Earth has no chance of winning so that should end the discussion.”

His comments weren’t exactly reassuring. “Ambassador, tell me about difficulties the alien races are having on Earth. Is there anything I need to worry about—from a police point of view?”

“You have gone back to calling me Ambassador.”

I hadn’t noticed my actual words. I shrugged and Dino continued.

“Yes, there are some difficulties, but we are working with everyone to sort things out. For example, the Bremens cannot understand why humans do not have hair that is all the same, like the Tristorians. The Bremen have been told humans do not have clans so they think the hair colors de- note affiliations. And they get really confused because humans use so many words they do not—like connecting words.”

“I think I understand what you’re saying.” Confused, I opted for agreement with Dino, although their concerns seemed almost trivial.

“And the Tristorians have the same problems with humans they have with everyone else. They do not understand why everyone does not have four legs.”

I had to laugh. “If anyone has any questions about humans why don’t you get them to talk to me? It’ll help my own understanding.”

Dino smiled and said, “You have come a long way, Detective Sergeant.”

I remembered this time to be a little more informal. “Thank you, Dino.” I quickly shifted to another subject. “Can you give me a quick rundown on intergalactic politics? I know that’s not a small subject, but how does it affect this competition? I know you’ve given me some information about the races, but I think I need to know more about their politics.”

“Actually, this competition has become the crux of intergalactic politics. Political clout will be determined by the outcome of the bowling competition.”