The purser helped the mayor get seated, then disappeared. In his place five waiters carried in large dishes. The mayor tossed his cigar into a pot intended for that purpose at the end of the table. This was an official full-course meal. The menu was full of popular Mandala favorites, explained the mayor. Considering that I didn’t recognize most of the dishes, this made sense. The wine and all the ingredients were shipped especially from Mandala. Even the hors d’oeuvres were rich and extravagant. On the other hand, the wine was very light, and was in perfect harmony with the food. Even though the mayor was as skinny as a mummy, he was a top gourmet with a healthy appetite. I wonder what he did with all those calories. That’s the one secret I really wanted to find out!
During dinner we made small talk. Yuri asked the waiter, and he soon came back with a silver platter. On it was one kalium capsule, and he set it on the floor in front of the outstretched Mugi. Mugi respectfully swallowed the capsule in one gulp. That was Mugi’s food for the day. Kalium capsules may be expensive, but their simplicity is hard to top.
Before long it was time for dessert, and then after-dinner tea. The tea also came from Mandala. It had a rich aroma and was just a little sweet. The waiters cleared the plates and set candlesticks decorated with fresh flowers on the table. The curtains were closed, and the candles were lit. All five waiters gave a deep bow and disappeared back into the kitchen.
It was just us and the mayor remaining in the dining room.
“Well then…,” started the mayor, taking in the aroma of his tea in an overly fancy gesture, his eyes closed as if in a trance. I bet when he carries his cap, his pinky sticks out.
“Shall we think about getting down to business?”
To check the flavor, he took one small sip of tea.
“There are many things we’d like to ask you about,” I said.
“As do I to you,” the mayor said, glancing up and meeting my eyes. “Why is it that you didn’t come to me, the requestor, once you arrived?”
Ooh, that was a rather pointed question.
“Well, here’s what we did,” I answered nonchalantly. “After arriving and getting a car, we made our way into town. We then met the handsome sheriff. After that we were wrapped up in a murder case involving the same invisible fangs. We went to find Landis, and the owner showed up.”
“See! We just hadn’t had time to get to you!”
“Sounds suspicious to me…”
Yuri raised an eyebrow to this comment. The nerve. We don’t owe him anything more than a rough outline of our day, if that, even.
“I have already been made aware of what you have done and what you have seen since arriving,” said the mayor, a little laugh slipping out from the corner of his mouth. “I didn’t contact the WWWA and request their help as a whim or a joke. As a Mandala government official placed in charge of Chakra, I took this case very seriously, and therefore made my request. Please don’t forget it.”
“It’s not as if we were avoiding you, you know,” said Yuri. “We have a way we go about conducting our own investigations. There was nothing we needed to hear from the requestor before starting. We did what we could to talk with the victim and closest witness, Landis…”
“And what were the results?”
“At this point there are none.”
I shrugged my shoulders and raised my open palms face up. The mayor’s left eyebrow began to shake up and down.
“Let’s take some time to have a thorough talk today. Having WWWA Crime TCs come all the way to Chakra to just wreak havoc on Aslaville will not reflect well on me.”
Did he really go there?! I felt a hot pain tear through my chest. How sarcastic! How rude!
“May I ask a question?” inclined Yuri, lowering her head as she looked into the mayor’s eyes. Her lips formed a loving smile. She is the master at this reverse move. I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, and could never fake not being mad like she can.
“How did you find out about Landis’ incident?”
Yuri brought her hands together, interlocking her thin, pale fingers.
“Even his employer, the owner, didn’t know about it.”
“Oh, that?” asked the mayor, pulling a cigar from his pocket. With our permission, he lit the cigar.
“My position isn’t decorative, and my work isn’t for show. Officially I am the governor of Chakra. But the person in economic control is, without a doubt, the owner. However, the head of administration is me, no matter how you cut it. Even recognizing the level of self-governance the citizens hold, I am the one who holds the true power.”
“So you receive and send information,” I said.
“That’s one small part of what I do,” said the mayor calmly, in an attempt to downplay the issue.
“So you are saying you employ a separate public safety system, outside of the sheriff, correct?” asked Yuri, piling on to the question.
“It’s nothing as grandiose as that.”
The mayor’s eyebrow began to shake again. This appeared to be a habit of his.
“They are less than ten full-time staff. They are prohibited from conducting criminal investigations. It’s a modest operation, believe me.”
“So you receive your intel from them, and now you are checking it. That’s how the Landis case got on your radar.”
“I have a responsibility to do it.”
“What are you saying?”
“The owner.”
The mayor’s voice got tiny, and he leaned in as he said it.
“Owner?”
“He is with Lucifer.”
Wha—!
I stopped breathing. Without thinking, I leapt up onto my chair, shaking to keep my balance. The tea Yuri was drinking got stuck in her throat, and she started coughing violently.
That… that is insanity. To think that someone entrusted with the development of an entire planet could be a member of Lucifer. It’s crazy!
Lucifer is a gigantic organized crime organization with influences in every corner of the galaxy. They are extremely loyal, and work under a strict order of rules. They are known for being inhumane, audacious, and very crafty. In a word, they are evil. After space pirates, they are humanity’s greatest enemy, as designated by United Galactica. In our work, we have had some cases where the crimes committed were somehow connected to Lucifer—more accurately, a lot of cases.
“Do… do you have positive proof of this?” I gasped finally catching my breath and getting my voice back.
“No,” he said, waving his hand. “If we did, don’t you think we would have arrested him by now? We got our hands on the information, but not on any proof, so there is little I can do about it. And then as we are working on it, this bizarre incident takes place. I thought we had a real chance then. By having a criminal investigation occur on Chakra, I figured we could get the owner to show his true colors. With that in mind, I contacted the WWWA.”
“Hmm,” I said, nodding.
Hmm. What the hell was he talking about?