 Why did Moynihan shoot Stanley?
Red Witch of Mercury By EMMETT McDOWELL Death was Jaro Moynahan's stock in trade, and every planet had known his touch. But now, on Mercury, he was selling his guns into the weirdest of all his exploits—gambling his life against the soft touch of a woman's lips. [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Planet Stories Summer 1945. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] On the stage of Mercury Sam's Garden , a tight-frocked, limber-hipped, red-head was singing " The Lady from Mars ." The song was a rollicking, ribald ditty, a favorite of the planters and miners, the space pilots and army officers who frequented the garden. She bent her head in acknowledgment so that her bronze red hair fell down about her face. The man, who had accompanied the singer on the piano, sat at the foot of the stage, his back to the crowded tables. He did not look up at the singer but kept his pale, immature face bent over the keys, while his fingers lightly, automatically picked out the tune. Without looking up, he said: "Have you spotted him?" The night was very hot; but then it is always hot on Mercury, the newest, the wildest, the hottest of Earth's frontiers. Fans spaced about the garden's walls sluggishly stirred the night air, while the men and women sitting at the tables drank heavily of Latonka, the pale green wine of Mercury. Only the native waiters, the enigmatic, yellow-eyed Mercurians, seemed unaffected by the heat. "Here he is," she said to the pianist without moving her lips. The pianist swung around on his stool, lifted his black eyes to the gate leading to the street. The Mercurian, his yellow incurious eyes like two round topazes, sidled up. "So," said the red-head; "you have come. "I did not want to call you in, Jaro Moynahan."
 Stanley tried to poison him.
 It was an accident.  Stanley tried to poison him.  Stanley was protecting Albert Peet.  He was hired to shoot Stanley.