nd Grundy, and not doing so well. Lomax
brought up a haymaker as I arrived, and started to shout something.
But Grundy was out of Muller's grasp, and up, swinging a wrench. It
connected with a dull thud, and Lomax hit the floor, unconscious.

I picked Grundy up by the collar of his jacket, heaved him around and
against a wall, where I could get my hand against his esophagus and
start squeezing. His eyeballs popped, and the wrench dropped from his
hands. When I get mad enough to act that way, I usually know I'll
regret it later. This time it felt good, all the way. But Muller
pushed me aside, waiting until Grundy could breathe again.

"All right," Muller said. "I hope you've got a good explanation,
before I decide what to do with you."

Grundy's eyes were slitted, as if he'd been taking some of the Venus
drugs. But after one long, hungry look at me, he faced the captain.
"Yes, sir. This guy came down here ahead of me. Didn't think nothing
of it, sir. But when he started fiddling with the panel there, I got
suspicious." He pointed to the external control panel for the engine
room, to be used in case of accidents. "With all that's been going on,
how'd I know but maybe he was gonna dump the fuel? And then I seen he
had keys. I didn't wait, sir. I jumped him. And then you come up."

Wilcox came from the background and dropped beside the still figure of
Lomax. He opened the man's left hand and pulled out a bunch of keys,
examining them. "Engine keys, Captain Muller. Hey--it's my set! He
must have lifted them from my pocket. It looks as if Grundy's found
our killer!"

"Or Lomax found him!" I pointed out. "Anybody else see this start, or
know that Lomax didn't get those keys away from Grundy, when _he_
started trouble?"

"Why, you--" Grundy began, but Wilcox cut off his run. It was a shame.
I still felt like pushing the man's Adam's apple through his medulla
oblongata.

"Lock them both up, until Dr. Lomax comes to," Muller ordered. "And
send Dr. Napier to take care of him. I'm not jumping to any
conclusions." But the look he was giving Lomax indicated that he'd
already pretty well made up his mind. And the crew was positive. They
drew back sullenly, staring at us like animals studying a human
hunter, and they didn't like it when Peters took Grundy to lock him
into his room. Muller finally chased them out, and left Wilcox and me
alone.

Wilcox shrugged wryly, brushing dirt off his too-clean uniform. "While
you're here