Will Archer looked down in time to see him force open the dead man's clenched left fist. As the fingers came back, a greenish, glowing object the size and shape of a brazil nut lay exposed. Or was it green? All the colors of the spectrum seemed to appear in flickering succession as Dr. Grimwood picked it up almost reverently, yet the predominant effect was of cold green fire.
After a moment, the doctor spoke softly: "So that's it! Farian jade!"
"Farian jade!" Archer echoed. "I've heard of it. Plenty valuable, isn't it?"
Dr. Grimwood nodded. "Fabulously. There are only a few hundred pieces known to exist, and their combined value could purchase a fair-sized, habitable planet!"
Evans' normally wide, dark eyes were bulging myopically. "Do you think these guys stole it?"
"Hard to say," said the doctor. "But, putting two and two together, it looks more like they made a find somewhere back on the planet. If so, there should be more of the stuff around, or some information—" He felt about in the dead man's clothing, and presently pulled some papers from an inner pocket.
"Here we are!" he said, unfolding them. "The Farian coordinates, a rough topographical map of the region, and written directions. They must have struck it rich—a find of only a dozen pieces could be worth twenty million dollars. They possibly decided to take out only a few pieces at a time and pass them off as stolen goods elsewhere in the system, legal protection being of dubious effectiveness where Farian jade is involved. But it was evidently too big a strike for their psyches to withstand."
Stokely stepped from the open hatch, his eyes fixed on the jewel in Dr. Grimwood's hand. He reached for it, held it up and studied it at several angles, then passed it back, his face inscrutable throughout the actions.