Excerpt: Ad Astra por Mortalitas

Her first suspect was the assistant.
The smug smile that he gave her as he ushered her towards Astara Mining Unlimited's COO Allison Faulkner's former office was enough to strain her nerves. Not to mention that he was so devastatingly beautiful that anyone she knew, male or female, would commit any number of sins to see if his kills in bed matched up with his good looks. He also had the nerve to tell her with a straight face that nothing had been removed or disturbed in Ms Faulkner's office or personal quarters other than the removal of her body.
Right. Did he really believe that in the eight days it had taken her to transit from Mars out to the asteroid 1996 VT5 that they had not take the opportunity to remove any sensitive or incriminating files?
It all added up to have this man grating on her nerves in the fifteen minutes since she had met him.
"You and Inspector Yei have been granted full access to all relevant areas that Ms Faulkner frequented, including her office and official quarters." They paused at a door and he gestured at the keypad. "You will also have priviliges in all public areas including the employee cafeteria and recreational facilities. Anywhere else that your investigation takes you, please make a request and we will review to assure that there are no company sensitive areas affected."
"Right." At his indication she placed her finger on the pad and keyed in the code that he had given her. "Given that she was COO in your company, it would see that she would be involved in many 'company sensitive' areas."
"If our law review section deems it necessary to the prompt completion of your investigation into her murder, then I'm sure they will be more than willing to waive that clause."
"I'm sure. I'll also need a report on who's accessed her office in quarters in the two weeks preceding her death."
"Inspector Yei has already requested that list Inspector Davis. I offered to send it directly to your PACs, but he said it should be sent to your hotel rooms." Ms Faulkner's former assistant (who's name she couldn't remember) paused. "I was under the impression that you would be residing in quarters here at Astara Headquarters."
"It must be some type of mis-communication on our parts." She was not going to confess to this man that her new partner had apparently made reservations at some off- asteroid hotel without her knowledge.
He smiled smugly. "I see."
The door slid open in a very futuristic flourish and revealed her new partner bending over the desk in the office. He was dressed somewhat casually in dark grey slacks and a dark green, collarless button up shirt with no tie. It made her feel overdressed in her dark blue pantsuit with light blue stripes. He looked up as the door opened, revealing the same face that she had been studying in his profile for the past eight days since she had been assigned this case.
"Thank you." She tossed over her shoulder at the assistant. He nodded and left, the doors closing behind him.
Inspector Yei gave her a small smile and sat down the flexsheets he had been reading through. His features spoke to someone of Chinese heritage, which fit with his file where his citizenship was listed as being a member of the Chinese Outer Colonies. He wore his straight black hair in a shaggy cut that looked more that he was overdue for a haircut than a true style. What struck her most about her new partner was his startling hazel eyes.
"I hope you're the new partner they assigned me."