Venus of Shadows (32 page)

"I have a bond," Risa said. "I can't live like a Plainswoman."

"I'm not saying you should. Malik's awakened a need in you, one that you didn't feel before, one that grows. Now you believe he's the only man who can satisfy it, but that isn't so, and you should find that out. Surely you know of a few men who might make good bed-partners and who would be discreet. When you learn that one of them can satisfy you, too, you won't cling to Malik so much. You wouldn't have to demand what he might not be able to give. You could then see exactly what you can have from your bondmate — a deeper love, perhaps, or a lasting friendship, or a bond as parents of your child. You wouldn't confuse that with your other needs anymore." Bettina shifted in her seat. "It's a pity that Malik wasn't younger when you met."

"I wonder if that would have made any difference."

"Why do you think your parents were able to love for so long?" Bettina said. "They met when they were very young, so they didn't have too many burdensome memories to hold them back from each other. Oh, they had their problems and their times apart — Iris was a Plainswoman — but when they were older, they had the memory of that early love to bring them together again. They knew it was possible to reach out to each other and share themselves without restraint. That's why an early love is so important. It's why the most lasting bonds are often among those who come together when they're young, before they're hurt and scarred. Age doesn't bring wisdom in love, in spite of what some will tell you — only caution and a desire to protect yourself."

Bettina rested her narrow face against her hand. "Malik has too much of a past — his old life, his disappointments, his intellectual pride. Find what you need somewhere else. When you're not clutching at your bondmate so much, he may feel freer to offer you more. If he doesn't, you'll have something for yourself. Malik isn't the only one holding back, you know. You do the same — you always have."

"It's the way we have to live here, Tina. We can't just forget —"

The door opened suddenly; Paul stepped into the room. "Sorry to interrupt," he said, "but Istu Marnes is on the screen, and he wants to talk to Risa. He says it's important, but he won't say what it's about."

"Talk to him here." Bettina rose and left the room with her son. Risa slid off the table, went to the small screen on the desk, and opened a channel.

Istu Marnes's dark brown face appeared. "We have a problem," he said quickly. "A woman's been killed."

"What?"

"Murdered — or so it seems."

Risa sagged against the narrow desk. "It can't be. There must be some mistake."

"No mistake. The victim was Nora Toland. One of her housemates found her body at first light in the house's common room. Three men were seen leaving the house earlier. They're confined in the Administrative Center at the moment."

Risa leaned toward the screen. "But why —"

"Nora's household called me after a physician told them nothing could be done for her. I took what steps I could and then called Jeannine. She'll be at your house soon. To save time, she'll fill you in on what I told her when you're both on your way to the main dome. We'll have to have a Council meeting now, with all of us present, and make it appear we're in control of this until we figure out what to do. Tell your team you won't be working today, but don't say exactly why — they'll find out soon enough."

Risa nodded, unable to speak.

"I'll get hold of the other Council members. Get here as soon as you can."

*  *  *

Jeannine Loris had been one of the first settlers to move into Oberg's recently completed southwest dome. She and her daughter's family had disassembled their house in the main dome, left the stone foundation for another household to build upon, and moved to the newer dome, where, Jeannine claimed, there would be more space, at least for a while. That she would also be farther away from the new arrivals was an additional benefit.

"I knew we'd have more trouble," Jeannine muttered to Risa as they left Risa's house, "but I never expected this."

"Tell me what Istu told you."

The middle-aged woman lacked Istu's conciseness, but Risa had heard most of the story by the time they were inside the main dome. Nora Toland's body had been found, and her household had summoned Gupta Benares. The physician had determined that the cause of death was a severe blow to the head, an injury he might have been able to treat had the victim been taken to the infirmary immediately. One of Nora's housemates had called Istu, the Council member nearest to the house; by the time he arrived, neighbors were already gathering, at the scene. One neighbor, an engineer named Yakov Serba, had described the three he had seen leaving the house when he was returning home late from work.

"You couldn't ask for a more reliable witness than Yakov Serba," Jeannine said as they moved past the slender trees surrounding the Buddhist temple. "Everyone knows he'll be on the Council himself someday."

"Was he sure?" Risa asked. "The light would have been very dim."

"He was sure. The door opened while two of them were still inside, and there was plenty of light there. He saw enough of the third to see that he had blond hair. Anyway, he'd seen them all before because they'd come to Nora's house a couple of times. When he described them, the others in her household said they knew who the men were. No signs of any forced entry were found, so it seems Nora let the three inside."

To hear of a murder was bad enough; to think someone could die at the hands of those invited into her house made Risa shudder. She had been assuming that the men were intruders who had entered while everyone was asleep in order to steal, and that Nora might have surprised them in the act. Someone clever enough, with the right tools, could find a way to circumvent a palm-print lock or enter through a window, but the chance of being caught was great.

Her security had rested in the knowledge that she could trust most of the people around her and that the few who engaged in misdeeds were almost always called to account. When they were not, it was only because their victims, for whatever reasons, refused to complain. A new evil had entered her world.

"Istu finally convinced everyone to go about their business," Jeannine continued, "which must have taken some doing, given the circumstances. He and Yakov, along with a few others, went with the household to the tents near the bay and found the three men."

"They were new settlers, then," Risa murmured.

"Did you expect anything else? Yakov identified them, and Nora's housemates confirmed that they'd come to the house before. They didn't deny that, but they insisted Nora was alive when they left. They're in the Administrative Center now, under guard. A few people in Ishtar volunteered for that job."

"Ishtar?"

"Nora Toland's a member — was a member. One of her housemates said she'd been trying to interest the three men in the group. Maybe that's why she invited them in — probably thought she'd snag some new members. Why they killed her, I can't begin to guess."

"Maybe they didn't," Risa said. "If they deny it, what proof do we have?"

Jeannine halted in front of the white rectangular building that was used as a church. "Who else could have done it?"

"I don't know, but —"

Jeannine took her arm as they walked on. "We've got trouble enough, Risa — don't borrow more. It doesn't look as if anyone else came to that house, so you'd have to accuse the people who live there. You can't seriously believe —"

"It isn't impossible. I've heard enough complaints about troubled households, and so have you. Unless we can prove —"

The Administrative Center lay ahead, directly under the main dome's wide disk of light. The building's two wings were set at right angles to a central one-story structure that had served as a shelter after the dome had been erected. Risa recalled the day more than twenty years ago, when she and her father had first come to Oberg. They had been full of hope as they looked out over the empty grassy plain and low hills; Chen had told her this world would be safe from the evils of the old.

Only a few people had gathered outside the Center, most of them in the blue garb of pilots and the red and black sash of Ishtar. They stared at her in silence as she and Jeannine approached the building. Evar was among them; his blue eyes gazed at her steadily.

The two women went inside. Others were sitting on the floor of a large, empty room. Outside a door on Risa's left stood four young men in Ishtar's sash.

The door directly opposite that one opened; Istu Marnes beckoned to Risa. This room was where the Oberg Council usually met on those occasions when they felt the need to discuss matters in person or to hold hearings. Istu did not speak until the door closed behind them. Alain al-Kadar and Curcio de la Cruz were seated behind a low table near one wall, a large screen to their right.

"We're all here now," Istu said as he ushered the two women to cushions, "and I've got some more information. Yakov and a few others searched the tent of the three we're holding, and found a spot where something had been buried. They dug it up. A large stone carving of a bear was there, along with a shirt. The carving had been wiped, but traces of blood were found on both the stone and the shirt. Two housemates of Nora's identified the carving as one the dead woman owned, and then Yakov took it and the shirt to the infirmary. I just had a message from one of the physicians — the blood is Nora's. And there's something else." Istu heaved a sigh. "Three bracelets were found in one man's pack. Seems those were Nora's, too."

Jeannine sat down and brushed back a lock of graying hair. "I guess we have proof," she said. "What do we do now?"

Curcio de la Cruz looked up. "There'll have to be a hearing. And then what? Do we give them a reprimand, or sessions with a Counselor? Do they make reparations? What kind of reparations would be enough for something like this? We never expected to hold a hearing for murderers."

Alain al-Kadar frowned at the pocket screen on the table in front of him. "Maybe they don't deserve a hearing."

Risa seated herself. "We'd better review everything Istu's discovered and look at the records of these three men. Then I think we should talk to them." She still felt numb from the shock of hearing about this murder. "We have to find out exactly what kind of men they are."

*  *  *

The Council members were silent as the three men were led into the room, their hands behind their backs. Risa saw then that their wrists were bound. The four who had volunteered to guard them lingered at their sides.

"No telling what they might do," one of the guards said as he adjusted his red and black sash. "We thought it'd be wise to restrain them a little. Do you want us to stay?"

"You might as well," Risa replied, "although I doubt they'll make matters worse for themselves by threatening us."

The guards stepped back. Two of the accused were staring at the floor; the third gazed directly at Risa. She had expected to see fear and perhaps repentance, but his dark eyes gleamed with defiance. He was tall; she had to strain a bit to look up at his face. He had to be the one named Ciceron Davan, and his record was mixed at best. He had worked as a mechanic in one of Earth's ports before going to the camp outside Tashkent; he had also hired himself out as a guide to travelers. Chen, who had seen several of Earth's ports, had told her that such guides were often thieves who preyed on the unwary.

She studied the other two men briefly. The small Chinese man had to be Chang Ho, who had been given work as a chemical laboratory assistant here. The blond man was Alexei Osipov; apparently stern words from the others on his greenhouse team about his bad temper had produced little result.

Everything in her recoiled from these men. Her hands trembled a little; she kept them under the table, where the three could not see them.

"We're going to ask you some questions," Risa said. "This meeting will be recorded, so think carefully about how you reply. As you know, we don't have any of the devices Earth's police sometimes use in questioning, but don't assume you can deceive us. Our recording can be analyzed later if necessary, and vocal stresses and facial expressions can reveal a few things."

"We've said what we have to say," Ciceron replied. "We were invited to the woman's house. We'd been there before — she met me a couple of weeks ago and started telling me about this group she's in — Ishtar."

"Seems rather late for a visit," Risa said.

"She'd been working later shifts in refining. I told her she could just stop by our tent before going home, but she said it'd be better if we came by. That's all that happened. Everyone else was asleep when we got there, and we talked, and then we left. I don't know what happened after that."

Chang Ho lifted his head; his eyes shifted uneasily before he looked down once more. The three did not yet know what had been found inside their tent; Istu had mentioned that to the Council during their review. He had also said something else — that an analysis of perspiration stains on the blood-stained shirt showed that it had been worn by the tall man.

"Your answer puzzles me a little," Risa said quietly. "You see, your belongings were searched after you were brought here. A couple of bracelets were found, ones that belonged to the dead woman. I'd like to know how they got there."

Chang Ho stiffened; Alexei Osipov, she noticed, seemed a bit paler. Ciceron's lip curled. "She gave them to me," he replied. "She knew it'd be a while before I earned enough credit to buy anything like that, and said she didn't need them. That group she's in always talks about how everything's going to be shared someday."

Alain al-Kadar cleared his throat; Risa motioned to him to be silent. The other Councilors were still; they were in the habit of allowing Risa and Alain to ask most of the questions during hearings. She had learned how to seize on contradictions, assess someone's veracity, and ferret out the truth.

"You say the bracelets were a gift. We can verify that statement with her household."

Ciceron shifted on his feet. "They might not know. She probably didn't tell them everything she did."