Page 203 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Investigating the Mystery of the Talking Plant
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PKU officers went to the receptionist’s desk, where they found Miss
Woswoot staring dreamily at the wall.
When she saw them she exclaimed, “Captain Kaga! Lieutenant
Lugo! I thought you were at the Science Center.”
“We have concluded the investigation into Bulakko’s death,” said
Kaga solemnly. “Please call PKU Security and have them send an
officer over here right away. Tell him to report to me at the back door
of the alien quarters, not the PKU entrance. And don’t let any aliens
past this desk tonight; one of your guests is a murderer.”
“Oh!” she gasped. “I—I’ll call right away, sir!”
“And don’t worry: your involvement with Mr. Farnitt will not be
brought into this.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Come on, Lugo. Let’s go wait by the back door. I’ll need you to
convince Security to arrest Commander Quex.”
As they walked back down the silent corridors o£ the alien quarters,
Lugo asked, ‘‘How did the commander get mixed up in this? He
always impressed me as a superior officer and a gentleman.”
“I was looking through the records for each of the emissaries’
planets and discovered that Quex had been head of the mission that
made the deal with Too-Rasoo for the pikary crystals. I’m pretty
certain he gave that old amphibian a sizable kickback in order to get
that agreement signed. It earned him the promotion to commander,
and Too-Rasoo his title of doctor. The two probably did not meet
again until, by chance, Drast sent an emissary to an exhibition, and
Quex happened to be in charge of it.”
“What do you think it was that the sonopor heard them say’?”
“I’m not sure, but any reference to what they had done on Drast
would be very damaging to both of them if it were made public. After
the incident in the Tzigian gallery at the opening, Quex and Too-
Rasoo got together and decided to silence both Bulakko and the
fungus. Quex himself destroyed the sonopor; he had easy access to it
all night long.”
“I see,” said Lugo, “but Dr. Too-Rasoo was the only alien with a
solid alibi. It’s a fact that he can’t live without going under pressure at
regular intervals. He couldn’t have faked that.”
“No he couldn’t fake it. An incident that occurred while I was on
my way to Pontenga made me think about the biophysics involved. I

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