"There are perhaps fifty important uranium claims on Mars and Ramsey has consolidated all of the holdings into a single major enterprise. To say that he's cornered the market in uranium would be understating the case. He has taken possession by right of seizure, and the colonists can't get to him. They're living a hand-to-mouth existence while he lives in a heavily guarded stronghold behind three miles of electrified defenses."
The kid nodded again. "Yes, that's the picture when you unscramble it, I guess. But most of it is kept hidden from the general run of tourists."
"Naturally. Ramsey has the power to keep it under wraps."
"Do you think the colonists had anything to do with Clakey's murder and Miss Ramsey's disappearance? Or I guess I should say Henry Ewers' murder."
"Clakey, Ewers—his name doesn't matter. I'm convinced that he was Miss Ramsey's bodyguard."
"But you haven't answered my question."
"I can't answer it with any certainty. Did the colonists hire a killer and book passage for him on the ship? It's difficult to believe that the kind of men who colonized Mars would resort to murder."
"But there are a few scoundrels in every large group of men. And what if they became so desperate they felt they had to fight fire with fire?"
"Yes, I'd thought of that. It may be the answer."