The Case of the Runaway Rhino

By Pamela Love

While I’ve faced plenty of crises aboard the spaceship Oceania, I’d never been charged by a rhino before.

Seconds from impact, I dodged the furious beast’s horn, lunged, and scooped her into my arms. “Take it easy,” I murmured, scratching behind Rhino One’s ears.

The Oceania was transporting a dozen Sumatran rhinos to Mars Station Wildlife Preserve. Successfully bringing wildlife to Mars involved genetic engineering. Rhino One, the herd’s future matriarch, was the size of a guinea pig. Her eleven future offspring—currently frozen embryos—would become no larger. They wouldn’t be megafauna, but much easier to handle and feed.

Dr. Arifin hurtled around a corner and skidded to a stop. “There she is! Thanks so much for finding her, Chief Santoso.”

He reached out for her, but I took a step back. “You know security must be present when livestock is uncrated. How did she get out? Were you giving her unauthorized exercise?”

The scientist shook his head. “She was secured when I went to bed. This morning, I opened the compartment’s door briefly while carrying a crate I’d just unpacked. She must’ve slipped past me then.”

I frowned. “You didn’t see her leave?”

He looked away. “The crate’s big. I only noticed Rhino One was missing at feeding time.”

“Show me.”

Crouching by the rhino’s crate, I said, “This lock’s easy to open, but you’d need hands to do it. What about the embryos?”

“They’re fine.” Arifin showed me the untampered cryo-tanks. Beside them were holograms of the scientist’s work: mini-elephants, tigers, and an orangutan. Future passengers to Mars, probably—the ape was even wearing a jumpsuit.

I searched the compartment, finding several potential hiding places where someone could have waited for Arifin’s exit. But how did whoever-it-was enter the cargo hold, let alone this section? “Where’s the crate you brought in?”

He glanced around as he lifted Rhino One onto an exam table. “Um, someone must’ve taken it.”

Time to investigate.

A name on the passenger manifest caught my eye. What was a trillionaire like Janu Utami doing on our old freighter when he owned a space yacht? He could buy and sell the Oceania. However, he couldn’t buy a miniature rhino. Officially, they were public property. I strode into the mess hall to interview him. “Enjoying your trip, sir?”

Utami swallowed a mouthful of rice. “Yes, indeed. It was fun to see the engine room again.”

“Again?” I raised my eyebrows.

He chuckled. “I started out on this ship. Worked my way up to second engineer’s mate before leaving to pursue other interests.” He patted a bulkhead with a calloused hand. “That’s why I’m here, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of my signing aboard. Captain Liong and I spent the night reminiscing.”

“All night?”

“Absolutely. That’s why he’s bleary-eyed this morning.” Utami himself looked wide awake and thirty years younger than his true age.

A former crew member might know some tricks to access the rhinos’ compartment. But the captain was a solid alibi—unless he was so “bleary-eyed” he fell asleep mid-conversation, leaving his old friend free to attempt Grand Theft Rhino.

“Thank you for speaking with me, Ms. Wu.”

The activist folded her arms. “This is about the rhinos, right? Those tiny atrocities, distorted by humanity into a form nature never intended. If they cannot survive at their proper size, they should be allowed the dignity of extinction.”

It was surprising Aulia Wu had been allowed on the Oceania with Dr. Arifin. When I called him, he had no idea his adversary was aboard. Was she deliberately avoiding him?

I leaned forward. “Someone released a rhino from her crate. Do you know anything about that?”

Wu ran a hand through her graying hair. “No, I’m traveling to Mars Station to petition for disposal of the embryos and neutering the rhino. I don’t play childish tricks.”

After dismissing her, I chewed on my lip, pondering the mystery. Before her fame as an animal rights activist, Wu had designed security systems. She had the technical knowledge to break into that compartment.

In fact, her past career prompted me to order a camera mounted over the rhinos’ compartment door. If I’d put any ideas into Wu’s head, I needed to ensure she didn’t do anything about them.

I returned to the scene of the crime to supervise the camera installation and give Arifin a new keycard. “Is the rhino all right, Doctor?”

“As far as I can tell.” He nodded at Rhino One, now munching some hay. Something beside the crate’s edge caught my eye. It was a snarl of finger-length auburn hair.

Picking it up, I gritted my teeth. Cormac Kelly—the only redhead aboard and a practical joker. He probably thought a runaway rhino was hilarious.

My face grew hotter by the second as I jogged to the engine room. “Kelly!” I bellowed, searching for the target of my exasperation.

“Yes, Chief?”

I spun around. Kelly’s hair was green. His boss confirmed he’d returned from shore leave like that.

I reexamined the hair specimen. Perhaps a little too coarse for human hair…

Of course it wasn’t Rhino One’s, but I bet Arifin could identify its source. I didn’t enjoy looking like a fool in front of Kelly. However, solving this mystery would be satisfying.

“Where’s the miniature orangutan, Dr. Arifin? The one you smuggled aboard.”

He started to sputter in protest, but I dangled the hair in front of his face. He slumped, defeated.

“My passenger compartment. I was a last-minute substitute for this job. Getting official permission to bring Eko along would take weeks. I couldn’t leave him behind.” He shrugged. “This morning, they both escaped the compartment, but in opposite directions. I had to grab Eko first and put him in the extra crate.”

I’d been investigating the rhino’s escape as a possible attempted theft, sabotage, or practical joke. Instead, a stowaway red ape was on its way to the Red Planet because Arifin couldn’t cut through red tape.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pamela Love was born in New Jersey, and worked as a teacher and in marketing before becoming a writer. Her work has appeared in Havok, Page & Spine, and Luna Station Quarterly. She is the 2020 winner of the Magazine Merit Fiction Award for her story “The Fog Test”, which appeared in Cricket. She and her family live in Maryland.

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