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"Hard to believe, isn’t it?" Klinn set his plate to the side. "I try to get along with everyone."
I reserved my side eye for another time. "Can you think of a person who would have reason to be irritated with you?"
“Let’s say I used to have a toxic co-worker.”
Gravix hissed, and breadcrumbs flew from his mouth. "Don’t tell her about Riven, boss."
Klinn set his fork down. "I don’t have to anymore, do I?"
"Who’s Riven?" I wanted to keep us all on track.
Klinn paused in thought before he carried his plate to the sink. "He used to be a small crime boss in Kajal and around the outer nebulas. Now he’s on the way to making it big by smuggling xenite ore. Whole cities and space stations can run on the stuff.”
"What’s he want with you?"
"I anonymously tipped a patrol unit off to one of his mining sites."
Things were getting interesting. I left my bread on the plate. "What made you want to rat out a partner?"
His face hardened. "He caused Lumi, my crewmember, to have an accident in the mine." He nodded his head towards a folded chair tucked between the fridge and the wall. "There used to be four of us."
The atmosphere became heavy. I regretted the glib tone I used to discuss Riven before. "I’m sorry."
My apology hung in the air. Gravix and Zorbluk wouldn’t look at me. Klinn gave a small, somber nod. "Thanks, detective. I appreciate it."
No other words were spoken in the kitchen for several minutes. I thought about the new information I received from the three of them. "Does Riven look like you, Klinn?"
"No. He’s not nearly as attractive."
"Probably not as modest, either. I asked because I'm trying to figure out how he might have framed you. He’s got a far reach if he can go from here to Earth."
"He has help. That’s partly why I broke out of jail. If he’s after me, bystanders are gonna get hurt."
Did Klinn expect me to believe he had an altruistic reason for breaking out of prison? My first reaction was to dismiss. However, this wasn’t the first time he mentioned not wanting to harm anyone. I needed serious proof of him wanting to leave a life of crime for good.
For the time being, I wanted to hear more about this Riven guy. "You’re saying Riven has the people and money to go after you?"
"He has citizens and those in the crime underworld in his pocket."
"It doesn’t surprise me. He sounds like the criminals on my planet."
Klinn appeared satisfied. "Then I made a good decision to seek your help after all."
“You don’t need to butter me up. I already have my reasons for wanting to solve this and get home.” I passed on the rest of my breakfast, putting my plate in the sink. If this Riven guy was a bigger threat, then he warranted an investigation. “Any starting points for where to look for your old colleague?"
The three alien males looked at each other, then at me. "He’s like the wind." Zorbluk’s voice took on a philosophical tone. "You sense his presence, but you can never see him."
Klinn clapped him on the shoulder. "Zorbluk downloaded a few philosophy texts before we left Earth. He’s right, though. Riven stays hidden."
I considered other ways we could smoke him out. "Somebody has to know where he is if he’s got a network. I’m sure you have acquaintances we can ask."
"There’s one in Malecor Station." Klinn sighed. "I told you, though, I’m not in the game anymore."
"Do they know that? You’ve been away for a while. Let’s find your friend at this space station and talk to them."
He impersonated a gecko by blinking several times. "That’s your plan? You want me to go searching for people I used to know and start chatting them up?"
"Well, if you didn’t treat my com link like a fastball, I might have a more efficient way of getting the scoop on Riven through my agency’s criminal database."
