The Third Lynx

'It's all right,' I interrupted her soothingly. 'Just a misunderstanding.'

Her eyes narrowed slightly, flicked to my companion, then back to me. 'Look, I don't know what he's been trying to sell you—'

'But it's all cleared up now,' I said. 'You ready to go find your fiance?'

'—but this was no—' She broke off as her brain caught up to her ears. 'What?'

'We think we know where Daniel is,' I said, watching the Modhri out of the corner of my eye. 'He's somewhere in Magaraa City on the Tra'hok Unity planet of Ghonsilya.'

Penny's mouth dropped open a centimeter. 'Ghonsilya?' she echoed. 'What in the galaxy is he doing there?'

'We'll ask him when we get there,' I said, taking a step around the chairs toward her. 'Let's go get your things and say good-bye to your friends.'

'I think Ms. Auslander deserves to know first why we're going to Ghonsilya,' the Modhri said.

Or in other words, he wasn't going to let me lead him across the galaxy on a wild goose chase without something solid to back it up. 'If you insist,' I said, wishing briefly that Bayta was here. I always liked her to be around when I was being clever. 'Everyone's been assuming that Daniel stole Mr. Kunstler's Lynx. He didn't. Mr. Kunstler gave it to him.'

'He gave it to him?' Penny asked. 'When?'

'Sometime before the attempted burglary.' I raised my eyebrows toward the Modhri. 'Probably shortly after Mr. Kunstler was approached by agents trying to buy it.'

The Modhri's lip twitched, just enough to confirm my guess was right. Of course he would have tried the straightforward approach before attempting anything as risky as a burglary.

'Daniel never mentioned that,' Penny protested.

'Mr. Kunstler probably told him not to tell anyone, including you,' I said. 'The fact that the other two Nemuti Lynxes had already been stolen from their owners would have made him extra cagey with his. The point is that Daniel didn't leave Earth running from anything. He left running toward something.'

'The Viper,' the Modhri said suddenly.

I nodded. 'Exactly.'

'What Viper?' Penny asked. 'You're not making sense.'

'On the contrary, he makes perfect sense,' the Modhri said, as if unknown pieces were suddenly dropping into place. 'Mr. Kunstler was killed on his way to Bellis, where the last Hawk had been stolen. He was hoping to contact the thieves and buy the sculpture from them.'

I felt my stomach tighten. I'd already guessed that was the reason Kunstler had been on his way to Bellis. But the certainty in the Modhri's voice strongly implied that it hadn't been entirely Kunstler's idea. 'Or else he was lured with a promise to trade the Hawk for his Lynx,' I said. 'The people who killed him clearly expected him to have the Lynx with him.'

If I could have seen the Modhri's face I would have been ninety percent sure I'd nailed it exactly. As it was, I could only make it to about seventy percent. But it was enough. The Modhri had indeed enticed Kunstler onto that Quadrail and to his death. 'Unfortunately for them, the Lynx was already on its way in the opposite direction,' I continued. 'Daniel was heading toward the art museum where one of the Vipers had also been stolen, probably also hoping to wheedle the sculpture out of the thieves.'

'Or also planning to falsely offer a trade,' the Modhri said darkly.

Penny was staring at me with horrified eyes. 'Are you saying Mr. Kunstler was killed over a stupid piece of art?'

I shrugged. 'Collectors can get pretty fanatical.'

'No,' Penny said, her voice firm. Fire, and a sharp, intelligent mind. 'There has to be more to it than that.'

'You can ask Mr. Stafford when you find him,' the Modhri said. 'You'd best see now to your preparations—the Quadrail for Ghonsilya will be arriving in the station in a little over an hour. Good luck with your search, Ms. Auslander.' He turned his covered eyes to me. 'And to you as well, Mr. Compton.'

The three Halkas were nowhere to be seen as Penny and I made our way through the twisting corridor and out again into the reassuring light of the Coreline. 'We'll find Bayta and have her get us reservations,' I told Penny as we headed toward the shuttle waiting area.

'That was weird,' Penny murmured, walking very close to me. 'That man—he won't be going with us, will he?'

'I'm sure he won't,' I said. It was clearly the answer she wanted, even if it wasn't entirely true. 'But I imagine he'll have friends aboard keeping an eye on us.'

'Keeping an eye out for Daniel and this stupid sculpture, you mean,' Penny said harshly. Her fright was fading away, leaving a growing anger in its place. 'But it won't work. Daniel's too smart for them.'

'It'll be all right,' I assured her. 'Trust me.'

'I will,' she murmured. 'I do.'

I looked sideways at her. She didn't return my glance, but there was something in her profile I hadn't seen before. A softness, and some actual genuine trust.

The Modhri had been right: she was an attractive woman. She was also rich, still single, and not all that much younger than I was.

Resolutely, I turned my eyes and mind away. I was here to protect her, Daniel, and the Lynx. Nothing more.

And I would. Because what the Modhri didn't know was that Fayr wasn't waiting for me on Laarmiten, as he'd read in the message chip he'd stolen at Terra Station. Fayr was on Ghonsilya, in the same Magaraa City neighborhood where we were all heading.

I hoped he'd brought all his guns with him. Knowing Fayr, I rather expected he had.

THIRTEEN :

Penny's friends didn't understand the abrupt change of plan, of course. Given Penny's vague and rather incoherent explanation, I probably wouldn't have understood it either. One of the boys offered to accompany us, but it was a token offer and he was easily talked out of it.

Morse, in contrast, was grimly serious in his insistence that he go along. I'd expected nothing else, and didn't even bother to argue with him. I had no illusions that he would ever stick his neck out for me, but I was pretty sure I could count on him to protect Penny when the shooting started. That made him worth putting up with.

Besides, when push came to shove against unknown assailants, he might even take my side instead of leaving me to sink or swim on my own. Stranger things had happened.

Paradoxically, for the moment at least, we were probably as safe as we were ever going to be. Certainly as safe as I'd been since I stumbled into this war. We had something the Modhri wanted, and until he got it he was going to take exceptionally good care of us.

Just the same, Bayta made sure to get us our usual double compartment for the trip to Ghonsilya. Lockable doors are a good thing to have. I had her upgrade to a compartment for Penny, too, for the same reason. Bayta wondered a little about that, but I pointed out the girl was our only solid connection to Stafford and that we therefore needed to make sure she was as safe as possible. Her daddy could certainly afford the extra cost.

I did let Morse take only the standard first-class seat his pass permitted. I figured he could take care of himself, and I knew the kind of conniption the ESS accountants would throw over any unauthorized expenditures. There was nothing to be gained in getting him into any more trouble than he was probably already in over all this.

Besides, he might very well have to spring the extra cash for that locked door on the way out of Ghonsilya.