Chapter 11

The former constable and the security chief departed from the nagus’s office together. Quirk paused on the stairs and took a deep breath of the rain-sodden air. “Beautiful night,” he commented. “You can smell the fralix and the phobin quite clearly.”

Odo decided not to ask if Quirk was talking about flora or fauna. He couldn’t smell either in any event, and he had a different topic of discussion in mind. “If you don’t mind my asking, Chief Quirk, why are you looking into this matter, rather than the FCA or some other government organization?”

Quirk smiled. “This crime doesn’t rate their attention. It isn’t in their league. They deal with matters of state and planetary concerns. The high-level financial dealings that make this world go round. My responsibilities are much more parochial: personal assault, murder, mayhem. That probably represented the bulk of your casework on that space station. But here—” He gestured past the neatly manicured fungi field in front of the building, toward the lights of the surrounding Sacred Marketplace. “Here that adds up to a very small percentage of crime. In the capital city, I’m a force of one.”

“I see,” Odo commented. Quirk continued walking, but Odo held his position at the bottom of the stairs, wondering if he was required to follow. “Chief Quirk,” he called out as the distance between them grew, “am I free to go?”

Quirk turned. “That depends,” he responded. He studied Odo closely. “Did you kill Hilt?”

Odo stiffened. The question offended him. “Would you believe me if I said ‘No’?”

“Got any interest in latinum?” asked Quirk.

“None whatsoever.”

“Fine. You’re free to go.”

Odo stared at him. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Quirk took a step in the direction he’d been going, then turned back toward the shape-shifter. “Don’t leave the planet.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Odo said. “But just so you know, I do plan to continue searching for the nagus’s brother.”

Quirk shrugged. “Be my guest. Let me know if you find him. I don’t know if he was the one responsible for making that big hole in Hilt, but if Quark is still alive, he probably knows something. I want to talk to him.”

Odo nodded. Then the two investigators headed off in different directions.