Angel of Europa Read Free Page A

have loved that,” Danzig said. “Connick and Werner were drooling over those things all through training.”
    “That’s not the only thing they were drooling over.” The captain shook her head. “Forget I said that. But —” she hesitated “— do you remember Chatelain? Evangeline Chatelain?”
    “The bathyscaphe pilot?” He nodded. “Of course. My memory isn’t that bad.”
    “I wouldn’t think you would. She’s pretty hard to forget—” a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth “—particularly if you’re male.”
    Danzig tried not to take offense. Diaz was right. During the expedition’s two-year training program, there had been a lot of whispered comments among the males about who’d get Evangeline Chatelain in bed during the two and a half years it would take for the ship to complete its mission. It was a sort of sexist attitude that the men had been discouraged from taking, particularly considering that they comprised the minority of the crew, but Evangeline stood out among the women. Nor had she been exactly chaste. It had been rumored that she’d broken up with a fiancé just after the crew selection was made, and she’d wasted no time going on the rebound. Evangeline hadn’t slept with anyone during training, but Jim Kretsche had a one-night stand with her only a few days after the Explorer left Earth, and John Connick was pursuing a more serious relationship the last time Danzig had seen him.
    “She’s a very pretty woman,” Danzig murmured. “She attracts a lot of attention …”
    “Don’t be coy.” Diaz lowered an eyelid. “Every unmarried man on the ship wanted her, and I can think of one or two married men who would’ve gladly cheated on their wives for a shot at getting into her bunk.”
    “Sure, but …” Something the captain just said brought him up short. “Wait a minute. You referred to her in the past tense. Did something happen to her?”
    “She’s still alive, if that’s what you’re asking. But two men are dead because of her, and I can’t tell if it’s an accident or …” Diaz stopped herself. “She claims it was, but I have reason to suspect otherwise, and so do a few others.”
    “So that’s why you woke me up,” Danzig said. “You want me to investigate the matter and deliver an opinion.” Diaz slowly nodded. “Who were the two men?”
    “You mentioned them already … John Connick and Klaus Werner.”
    Danzig was surprised. They were the astrobiologists leading the effort to locate and identify any forms of life that might be abiding on Europa. “I assume that, if a bathyscaphe was sent down, one or both of them would have been aboard … and Evangeline was the pilot.”
    “Your assumption is correct.” The captain didn’t smile. “All three of them went down, but only Chatelain came back. The other two didn’t return.”
    “Why not?”
    Diaz was quiet for a moment. “I could tell you, but maybe you should first hear what Evangeline had to say.”
    “She’s back aboard ship?”
    “Uh-huh. I had her brought back from Europa and she’s been confined to quarters since then. Not that anyone wants much to do with her.” She shook her head. “To tell the truth, her side of the story is the most incredible part of the whole thing … if she’s not lying, that is.”

III
    E VANGELINE CHATELAIN’S QUARTERS were two decks down from the infirmary. Until the accident, Danzig would have had no problem getting there; a narrow staircase spiraled down Arm A’s companionway, its individual risers raised into position along the cylindrical well now that the habitat arms were in full rotation. His legs were still weak, though, and walking anywhere was difficult, even with the collapsible aluminum cane Dr. Phillips had found in the medical stores. But he didn’t want to interview Evangeline from his hospital bed, so against the doctor’s wishes he slipped on a pair of loafers and, leaning heavily upon the cane, made his way