The Immaculate

Death wrapped her greedy fingers around Don Lombardi’s throat on a steamy summer night. Detective Jenna Johnson strode past the weeping and wailing of what she assumed was her victim’s next of kin. She stopped and took in the crime scene. Lombardi was sprawled in a chair at the head of a large table laden with a bounty of food and shining silver. The walls were lined with what Jenna identified as historic oil paintings. A scrolling iron chandelier lit the room. The space didn’t whisper, but screamed wealth. Don had spent five decades wheeling deals and trading precious commodities to build his fortune.

His tongue lolled out of a mouth dripping with brown-tinged saliva. His eyes were wide with surprise, reddened from burst blood vessels, his pupils were so constricted that all Jenna could see was icy blue. Jenna paused in the doorway and ran her scanner over the room. The bright blue beam passed over the body and furniture, recording the room into her holo-program. Sliding the device into her pocket, she walked over to the body. Crouching down, she lifted his hand and examined the chocolate covered fingers. She leaned closer to his face and sniffed. Chocolate. What was left of a large slice of chocolate cake lay on delicate china in front of Don.

“Isn’t there an old earthling saying, what was it...death by chocolate?” Jenna glanced up as her partner walked in the room. David shook his considerable mane of hair, a trait inherited from his Martian mother, out of his red-hued face as his golden eyes took in the scene.

“I’m sure our vic wasn’t expecting his death from this chocolate.” Jenna scooped a little of the cake into an evidence tube.

“Look at this place, how much you think it's worth?”

Jenna glanced around the room. “A floating mansion this size? Gotta be in the millions”

“Shit. Sitting in here stuffing his face. How many drifters do you think this could feed?”

Jenna thought of the millions of people who lived drifting from island to island. Stowing away on the medical and provision ships. David was right. This spread alone could feed dozens of them. The mansion could sleep many more.

“Let’s talk to the wives, find out what happened” Jenna took one last glance at the scene and turned.

“Is that them wailing?” David scratched his chin.

“Ya, I ran them on the way here. Twenty-six, triplets. They’re half mer”

“Mer-people? No wonder we can hear them from here.”

As Jenna pulled open the door, she tried not to wince as the wailing amplified.

The women were huddled on a couch. A uniform stood in the corner, a thin bead of sweat dripping down his face.

“We’ve got it officer, take a break” he shot her a look of relief as he hustled out the door. His ears would be ringing for an hour.

Jenna risked her own eardrums and sat down on the table in front of them, “ladies” she raised her voice over their keening cries. Three sets of tear-drenched lavender eyes glowed at her. They sniffled as they clutched each other.

“I am sorry for your loss. I know this is a difficult time, but can you tell me what happened tonight?”

The woman on the left hiccuped loudly, “we were having dinner in, Donnie had steaks flown in this morning.”

“We were planning our trip to the Eastern Islands next month. We wanted to go shopping on Fifth Avenue” the one in the middle chimed in, the gills on her neck fluttered as she wept.

“How long have you been married?” Jenna studied the women.

“Almost a year. Our anniversary is in two months. Donnie was going to take us to Europe to celebrate, so we wanted to get a new wardrobe,” the third’s voice hitched.

“Where did the food come from?” six eyes stared at her, the middle elegantly shrugged her shoulders.

“Don’t know.”

“Oh, but the cake was special. Donnie said it was sent by one of his clients”

“Did he say who?”

Three heads shook, “No, but he was excited about it. He said it was real chocolate, not that fake stuff.”

“Did you have any?”

“We don’t eat sweets.”

“Okay, well please stay here on the Western Islands. My partner and I will be in touch.” She nodded towards David as he put away his notes.

They made their way back to the dining room just as the medical team lifted the large body, stretching him into a transport pod. The medical examiner leaned over. He slid a long needle in the body and opened the holo-screen. His spidery fingers danced as he set the gauge.

“Time of death?” Jenna stood next to him to see the readout.

“Approximately 7 p.m” Dr. Cuer's voice was as rich and smooth as the chocolate smeared around the corpse’s lips.

“Cause?” Jenna ran a hand through her short blonde hair.

“Hmmm, now this is interesting. Poison, from a calabar bean.” The doctor scratched his nose as he read the results.

“Calabar bean?” Jenna's sharp green eyes narrowed, she pulled out her pocket comp and started a search.

“Yes,” his fingers tapped a few more times, “origin is Africa. When crushed and consumed it attacks the nervous system. With the amount he consumed, there is no way he could have survived.” He studied the readout, “it was in the cake.”

“It was historically used for criminal justice. If the accused ate it and survived, they were innocent. If they died, they were guilty,” Jenna read.

Dr. Cuer’s elegant brows raised, “well then. I guess he was guilty.”

The medical team programmed the pod for the morgue and dropped it into the water as Jenna climbed into her cruiser with David.

“Who poisons a guy with a seed from a continent that no longer exists?” David settled back and secured his safety harness.

Jenna put the boat in reverse, “where do you get the poison when that continent sank more than five hundred years ago?”

Jenna sped towards Western Enforcement Island.

“I checked the kitchen, they’d already gotten rid of the package the cake came in so I put in a request to the trash ship. They’ll meet us at the Island with Lombardi’s pick up.”

“Great.” Jenna slowed as they approached the island. She hopped out and tied the boat as a large ship slowed in front of the dock.

“Hey, got some trash for ya”

Jenna stepped back as they tossed a bag over the side. It landed with a thunk at her feet.

Jenna sneered up at the toothless man, “Gee, thanks” she said as she nudged the leaking bag with her foot.

Her partner hunkered down next to her and pulled the bag open. Pawing through, he tugged out a glossy white box with chocolate frosting smeared on the edge. An unopened envelope was tapped to the top with ‘Don Lombardi’ scrolled across the top. David slid his finger into the envelop and pulled out a single sheet of paper,

The Glutton shall be judged

-The Immaculate

“The Immaculate?” Jenna's stomach tightened. “Don Lombardi won’t be the only one judged.”