"But I didn't kill Benji," Natasha shrieked, moving to the edge of the bed. "I swear I didn't. You have to believe me, Jessa."

When she realized we weren't buying her Lieutenant Colonel Polk act any longer, she referred to me as Jessa instead of Colonel. Although I found her shift in attitude quite intriguing, I knew I still couldn't trust her to tell us the truth.

"Then, my husband was murdered," I concluded; my breath became raw in my throat. I bunched my fists tightly. I wanted to do Natasha bodily harm. Again, I took a deep breath and resumed, "I have a source who says you have been exchanging our information for Crimson Fleet money."

Natasha steepled her fingers, staring at them. "Maybe I have. Maybe I haven't."

"You had the motive and the means to kill my brother," Nate ground out his words between clenched teeth. "Now if you don't tell us who killed Ben and why, you will be going to prison for his murder."

"CHIP, play disk," I instructed the computer.

When I saw Ben's face, I unconsciously ripped my hand away from Nate.

"Agent Benjamin Masters' Log, January 8, 2150...Agent Austin and I have infiltrated Bravo Ait without incident. We are in search of the crew of the Washington. So far we haven't been able to locate them. We, however, have happened upon a compound. It was pretty easy to make it past the guards. We entered the TravelTram, but before we pressed any buttons, the TravelTram plummeted ten or more floors," Ben told his computer, sitting in a large chair in the landing craft again.

Each log we viewed took place in that vessel. I deduced that Austin and Ben must have set it up as a Command Post.

Ben continued, "When we exited the TravelTram, we found ourselves in what appeared to be a deserted basement. Two men approached us. Austin pulled me into a nearby closet. From there, we watched the men enter what looked like a laboratory. It had test tubes, bunts and burners and a locked cabinet. Labeled bottles with a different colored solution in each filled the shelves upon shelves that lined the lab. After we were sure they were in the laboratory, we peeked through the window and eavesdropped on their conversation. They hovered over a set of plans."

Ben looked around as if he thought someone might be listening to his log. He had black circles under his red eyes. What had been keeping him up nights? The plans for the biological weapon? Or something else?

"'Once we finish this weapon, we will fill it with RY-987. We will put one of our agents on every Freedom Alliance StarVessel. Then poof! Every member aboard will be dead,' one of them–a fair-skinned, white-haired man with a British accent– told the two men we saw going in the room. Austin and I will continue to search for the missing Washington officers. Masters out."

Nate and I looked at each other.

"Now we know how Ben stumbled upon–" Something on the computer screen caught my attention.

"Benji," a dark-haired woman purred, draping herself on the arm of the chair Ben was sitting in. The date across the bottom of the screen read September 2, 2150.

"CHIP, stop disk," Nate charged the computer, grasping my hand again.

This is the Spacestastic Mysteries Podcast. We are continuing science fiction, mystery author Annagail Lynes’ first novel in the science fictions series Jaguar and Peacock Series, Who Killed Ben?

Federal Agent and seasoned SpaceVessel Commander, Jessa Strazzer, emerges from the wreckage of a devastating accident that claimed the life of her beloved husband, Ben. Returning to her duties with a heavy heart, she grapples with grief and unanswered questions, determined to uncover the truth behind the tragedy that shattered her world.

As Jessa sifts through the remnants of her past life, she stumbles upon a mysterious box of items left behind by Ben. Within its depths lies a chilling revelation: the accident that claimed Ben's life was no mere mishap, but a deliberate act of sabotage.

This is Episode 5 – Was There A Moment? If you have not subscribed, hit the bell to be notified of new episodes.

Transcript: https://annagaillynes803633422.wordpress.com/2024/06/15/who-killed-ben-episode-5-was-there-a-moment/

If you sign up for updates at https://tinyurl.com/lcsnovel, you will receive a free digital copy of Annagail's novel, The Last Chance Station, which is set in the same universe as The Jaguar and Peacock Series, but which follows the cases Colonel Alexandra Madrid solves with her partner, Tony Ashton, on a SpaceBase on the edge of space explored by the Freedom Alliance.

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