A Planet Named Joe

by Evan Hunter

I told him the body of Colonel Leonard Walsh had been discovered in the jungle. He was barely alive when he'd been found. I'd administered aid but his knife wounds had proved to be fatal. He died shortly after I found him.

"Awful," the captain said, "awful."

I nodded sympathetically.

"Did he say anything? Did he give you any idea? I mean, did he say who did it?"

"Yes," I said. "He told me who murdered him."

We were standing near the platform of my ship, waiting for them to prepare for blastoff.

"Well who, Major?" he asked. "Who did he say did it?"

"Joe," I explained. "A native named Joe."