Writer: Dave Wood

Penciller: Gil Kane

Inker: Gil Kane

Synopsis: At a spaceball game in New City, Star Hawkins listens to the conversation of two pwople he suspects of being members of the notorious Nine Planets Gang. He hears them say that they'll be pulling their next job at eight o'clock that night and where it will be, but as he gets up to leave, he trips and hits his head. He is rushed to the hospital, where Ilda meets him and a police officer, who tells the two of them that the Nine Planets Gang are expected to retire after that night's job, so if they're not caught at it, they'll never be caught. Ilda then says something which reminds Star that he had a clue from one of their crime scenes entered into her cranium file. The clue was a flower petal, which, upon analysis, turns out to be a rare Martian multoid. Star and Ilda leave the hospital and head for a flower shop that sells the multoid. As Star talks to the owner, Ilda's fancy is caught by a flowerpot, which she accidentally breaks, revealing a tiara which had been stolen by the Nine Planets Gang inside. The shop owner admits to being a fence for stolen goods, and, as Star and Ilda have him arrested, they examine the tiara. They find some odd dirt stuck to it, which could only have come from the spaceport. They go to the spaceport and spy on two people retrieving a car from a secret garage. Ilda and Star reveal themselves and take down the two, but they are merely car thieves and do not know emough about the Nine Planets Gang to help Star and Ilda. Star decides to give up, but Ilda insists on making a phone call before they head to Star's home. When they get there, Star is shocked to see his bill collectors waiting for him. He runs away, and Ilda informs him that it's eight. Star remembers that the Nine Planets Gang was planning to rob the New City Aviary, and he and Ilda go to stop them from stealing many valuable rare birds. They get there on time, and Ilda uses an ultrasonic whistle to break open the birds' cages (while the doors to the outside were locked). As the Nine Planets Gang is handed over to the police, Star remembers the bill collectors who Ilda had brought knocking on his door. Ilda reminds him that he will now have the reward money with which to pay them.

Detective rating: Great detection, although there's a bit of a coincidence that Ilda broke the pot, which was necessary for the two of them to prove the robbery and look elsewhere. 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.

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