Justice
By Kurun t’Gath
Translated from the Kashlanin
(99.3% accuracy)
© 2025 by Walter Reimer

Thumbnail art by  morgdl


[b]Six.[/i]


Yezhef g’Zherin, birth name Chudar, age 117, taught at Public School #517, the same school that Yifan-sir had taught. Once I had reentered my vehicle, I contacted the school administrator and after identifying myself asked to interview Yezhef-sir.

“He is proctoring an exam at this time, Captain-Inspector,” the administrator said. “Education Department policy forbids that he be interrupted until after the examination period ends.”

“When is it expected to end?” I asked.

“Seventh cycle,” she replied. “There will be a two-cycle interval before the next exam period.”

The time was nearly a cycle away. “Understood,” I said. “Please let g’Zherin-sir know that I want to speak with him, and please contact me when he is ready. I will wait.”

The administrator agreed, and I redirected the vehicle to a small food shop, where I purchased a cup of hot beverage. The weather was mild, but the beverage was welcome. I sat in the vehicle, thinking as I drank.

Yifan and Kinan had married Vikan-ma’am and had two children each from her. Interviewing their children regarding the murder would be unnecessary, as none of them were on the planet at the time. The marriage appeared from Kinan-sir’s testimony to be a harmonious one until Vikan-ma’am had married Yezhef. She had one daughter from him. One of her early mates had felt threatened for some reason that eluded me. I needed to question Yezhef-sir.

My [personal access device] alerted me to an incoming message. I opened the device and smiled when Yezhim’s image appeared. “My love,” I said.

“Are you busy, beloved?” he asked. I gestured negatively and he said, “I have gotten a message from the adoption service.”

“Truly? What is their message?”

Yezhim smiled widely. “Our application has been approved.”

“Even if I was busy, I would thank you for informing me,” I said happily. After twenty-nine years together, Yezhim and I felt that we could be good parents and had applied to the planetary adoption service. There were very few parentless children throughout the Empire, and many couples applied every year. We had talked about meeting a female Person to have a child, but we both had objections. “Did the service tell you if there was a child available?” I asked.

“Sadly, no,” Yezhim said, “but it’s a good thing that we have been approved.” He smiled, and I smiled back at him. “Are you doing well?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “You?”

“A long day of watching students take examinations,” he replied. Yezhim knows better than to ask about my investigation, and after a few more fractions of conversation he broke contact. It was close to one cycle, so I left the vehicle and entered the school, where I was met by the administrator.

“Because of the time constraint,” she said to me, “he is having his midday meal. I hope that will not be an inconvenience.”

“No, it will not be,” I said, and she left me at the door of one conference room. I entered to see a male Person seated at a desk and eating. “Yezhef g’Zherim-sir?” I asked.

His fur was a very light shade of brown, and he was not wearing a [mourning-band]. “You must be the investigator,” he said with his mouth full.

“Captain-Inspector t’Gath,” I said. “May I sit?”

“Please yourself. May I continue eating? There isn’t much time between examination sessions.”

“Yes, please continue, g’Zherin-sir. My mate is also a teacher, and he is also an exam proctor. I will keep my questions brief,” I said as I opened my [personal access device]. “Where were you the night Yifan died?”

“Upstairs,” he replied, “and asleep with Vikan and Kinan. The first sign anything was wrong was when my daughter came upstairs to tell us that she had found Yifan and had called Emergency Services.”

“Did you go downstairs?”

“We all did. Vikan and I comforted Veridh. Kinan looked at Yifan and began to cry. I was crying as well,” Yezhef added.

I made a note and asked, “Did you get along with Yifan?”

He seemed irritated by the question. “We met here, at the school. It was Yifan who introduced me to Vikan and Kinan.” He took another bite of his [bread-and-meat roll] and chewed for a moment. “Vikan was the one who asked me to marry into the group,” he said with a [thoughtful] expression.

“And you and Vikan had a daughter,” I said.

He gestured affirmatively and swallowed before saying, “She was Vikan’s last child.” He glanced at me. “She is unable to have more children. I will not betray her privacy to tell you why.”

“I understand,” I said. “But I respect your privacy and hers, and her condition is not [germane] to this case.”

“Good.”

His demeanor intrigued me. There was still more than a cycle to go before he was needed for another examination, and he seemed to be in haste. “I am told that you argued with Yifan,” I said.

He glared at me. “Kinan told you that?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Did you?”

Yezhef-sir scowled and set his [bread-and-meat roll] on his plate before wiping his hands. “Yes, we argued. We would argue about policy here at the school as well as the various curricula.” He almost smiled. “We would also joke [good-naturedly] about which service was better, Fleet or Support.” His tailspur scratched the back of his right ear. “But after Veridh was born, it did not stop there.”

I waited.

“He thought that I had something to do with Vikan being unable to have more children after Veridh’s birth,” Yezhef-sir said.





<NEXT>

<PREVIOUS>

<FIRST>