Murder on Mars

By L.F. Crawford

Titan Intergalactic Investigator Wolf Steele has spent almost 20 years among Firsts, or non-genetically engineered humans, much of that time as a homicide detective. Now he’s been sent to Mars for what should be an uneventful six-month assignment. But within twenty-four hours of his arrival, someone murders a young woman, with more to follow--all nearly eighteen, black, and like everyone shipped off to Mars, unwanted. He learns he’s being set up to take the rap. As he races to stop the real killer, he discovers his old partner and friend is desperately searching for one of the targeted girls--in order to save her. Wolf also encounters the woman he loves. But as he uncovers more secrets and traces them from Mars to Moonbase, he discovers that the murders and his involvement lead back to his parents and brother--leaders of Titan currently on Moonbase for negotiations with First Leader--negotiations that could end in war, if Wolf does not stop the killer and unearth the truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: L.F. Crawford
• Release date: Sep 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465735768

Book preview

Murder on Mars

Copyright © L . F. Crawford, 2011

Smashwords Edition ISBN 978-1-4657-3576-8

Cover art by Jiselle Crawford

For other books by Crawford and/or Butler: http://www.LouiseCrawfordbooks.com or http://www.LFCrawford.com or http://www.RamonaButler.com

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted to any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

Chapter One

The Knowing

…black female—eighteen—strangled—on the floor of her room—brothel manager—waiting—Commander Wilson—yes, sir…

Wolf heard the junior enforcer’s sentences, broken into disjointed phrases with each gust of wind. The junior was speaking to Wolf’s friend and one-time partner, homicide investigator Magic Wilson. The two humans, or Firsts in their own vernacular, were several hundred feet away, at the bottom of the knoll. Wolf sat in the aircar up at the top of the small hill.

Magic gestured at him.

Wolf wasn’t sure if Magic wanted him to stay in the aircar or join the two men. Guessing the latter, Wolf left the passenger side of the transport.

Fine particles of sand blew against his face and stung his cheeks, forcing him to shield his eyes as he waded through the dry, swirling red dust.

The two men below continued their conversation. Wolf slogged toward them through a patch of deep copper sand.

The seven-foot black man, Magic Wilson, towered over the junior enforcer. Their voices grew indistinct with the next gust of wind. Wolf paused, halfway between them and the transport and swept the area with his gaze.

Sectors 1, 2, and 3 of Mar’s northeast surface were smooth and dark with an occasional protruding dirt knoll indicating a structured shelter underneath the ground. High above, the computerized highway grid resembled a checkerboard of blue light beams, and formed a backdrop for the muck-colored sky. The magnetic grid also worked like an atmospheric shield, enclosing a breathable mixture of gases beneath its pattern. They made Wolf feel like he’d dropped into a life-sized video game.

…..Dawes, shit—should be here—poor girl… Magic appeared caught up in his dialogue with his junior enforcer.

Wolf stayed where he was. The smell of Firsts disturbed him, disturbed all Titans, although he’d been among them so long, he’d grown used to it. He thought of the homicide and wondered who the dead girl was? Would anyone miss her here on Mars?

Studying the barren landscape, Wolf felt as if the very air were warning him away. He suddenly wished he’d never come here, didn’t have to face the dead girl up ahead or delve into her past. His stomach tightened, anxiety chewing at his big frame while fear gnawed at his mind. Between the two, he thought, there would soon be little left of him. This place, as Firsts would say, gave him the creeps. No, not just his place, this planet.

He realized that Magic was returning to the aircar, and turned and retraced his footsteps. Grit crunched and slid under his boots, stirring up more dust. He coughed and wiped his face with his hand. His inner vision, a psychic energy his people called The Knowing, flared to life like a torch within his mind. He acknowledged it with a silent prayer and opened his mind to the power. He touched upon the dead girl’s last struggle. This girl had desperately wanted to live. She had a future planned. She had known something important. A secret so vital that someone had stolen her life away before she could tell it.

Hey, Wolf, you all right? Magic’s voice drew closer.

Abruptly, the vision sank into the blackness which lay on the perimeter of his vision and swirled back into Mars dry red dust again. Wolf blinked and took a deep breath. His black friend’s face blurred before him

He cleared his throat and retreated a step. Yeah, I’m okay. Where’s the body?

Inside the shelter. Magic waved his arm towards the base of the hill. Wolf watched as Magic pulled a wind-breaker out of the aircar and slipped it on.

She was strangled? Wolf asked.

Magic nodded, his expression taut with tension. Maybe you should go on to your quarters. You’ve only been here a day and space-lag is hell. I can handle this.

For the twenty years Wolf had lived among Firsts on Homebase, part of that time working with Magic, he’d never felt so much tension around his friend as now. For a moment, Wolf felt blind, everything dark. Blooming within his thoughts was a vision of a hand. The Hand, a First symbol of friendship, Magic Wilson’s hand. There was something hidden inside it.

No, I’m fine, Magic. Let’s go. Wolf lied. They headed down the long, sloping incline to where the junior enforcer waited.

Wolf? Magic’s voice sounded edgy.

Up ahead, Magic’s J.E. spoke into his comm unit, his back toward Wolf.

I’m okay. Let’s go. Wolf managed a grin, though inside he felt lightheaded from the thin atmosphere and sick at what lay ahead. Homicide. Just the word made Wolf’s skin ripple and his body hair bristle.

They continued in silence, slipping down the final few yards of the slope, while Wolf reflected on the junior enforcer’s earlier scrambled words, drawing another conclusion. Commander Wilson. So Magic was finally promoted from Chief Inspector. His friend now outranked him.

Wolf’s congratulations died on his lips as Magic’s J. E. swung his head in Wolf’s direction, seeing him clearly for the first time. The enforcer’s eyes narrowed in disgust.

Ape man! Ape man! He heard the First children’s taunting voices all over again in his mind.

Magic gripped Wolf’s elbow, a familiar gesture reminiscent of their team work on Homebase. His sharp voice cracked like a whip on rock. Don’t let this fuzzy muscle-bound hulk fool you, Adams. Wolf is the best ‘double-eye’ you can ever hope to work with.

"Now that