Inspector Graham and Altman spun around.
Jim didn't have to. He was facing the hatch.
Altman blanched; backed away; stopped, and held his ground.
"Brad!" Jim shouted unbelievingly and rushed forward to grasp his arms as the Fleury's skipper leaped off the side of the ramp. He was haggard but smiling.
"Who's this?" the inspector asked.
"This is Conally, the skipper of the Fleury," Jim explained jubilantly.
The inspector started, looked at the form on the apron, back at Brad, then at Altman.
"A trick!" Altman cried hoarsely. "I see it all, inspector. It's a damned trick! I've been roped in!"
He was putting on a rather good act, Brad thought. But he went along with his story anyway. As Brad unfolded the incidents of sabotage, threat, assault, refusal to assist, pirating cargo, plotting murder and disregard of Space Code Regulations, he watched Altman gain more control over himself.
"I realized about an hour before spillthrough," Brad was approaching the end of his account, "that the Fleury was no longer holding the spilled cargo in an orbit because its grav system wasn't working. Whatever crates broke free from the holds also broke free from the ship's system and were no longer being dragged down the descending node toward spillthrough. They were remaining stationary on the arc—where Altman was sure to pick them up.