The Mountains of Mourning

pulled something from the pocket of his loose jacket — Miles's finger tightened on the trigger — but he only put it to his mouth and bit. An apple. The crunch carried clearly in the damp air, and the faint perfume of its juices. He ate about half, then stopped, seeming to have trouble swallowing. Miles checked the knife at his belt, made sure it was loose in its sheath. Ninny's nostrils widened, and he nickered hopefully, drawing the young man's attention. He rose and walked over to the horse.

The blood pulsed in Miles's ears, louder than any other sound. His grip on the stunner was damp and white-knuckled. The young man fed Ninny his apple. The horse chomped it down, big jaw rippling under his skin, then cocked his hip, dangled one hind hoof, and sighed hugely. If he hadn't seen the man eat off the fruit first Miles might have shot him on the spot. It couldn't be poisoned… The man made to pet Ninny's neck, then his hand drew back in startlement as he encountered Dea's dressing. Ninny shook his head uneasily. Miles rose slowly and stood waiting. The man scratched Ninny's ears instead, looked up one last time at the cabin, took a deep breath, stepped forward, saw Miles, and stood stock still.

'Lem Csurik?' said Miles.

A pause, a frozen nod. 'Lord Vorkosigan?' said the young man. Miles nodded in turn.

Csurik swallowed. 'Vor lord,' he quavered, 'do you keep your word?'

What a bizarre opening. Miles's brows climbed. Hell, go with it. 'Yes. Are you coming in?'

'Yes and no, m'lord.'

'Which?'

'A bargain, lord. I must have a bargain, and your word on it.'

'If you killed Raina…'

'No, lord. I swear it. I didn't.'

'Then you have nothing to fear from me.'

Lem Csurik's lips thinned. What the devil could this hill man find ironic? How dare he find irony in Miles's confusion? Irony, but no amusement.

'Oh, lord,' breathed Csurik, 'I wish that were so. But I have to prove it to Harra. Harra must believe me — you have to make her believe me, lord!'

'You have to make me believe you first. Fortunately, that isn't hard. You come up to the cabin and make that same statement under fast-penta, and I will rule you cleared.'

Csurik was shaking his head.

'Why not?' said Miles patiently. That Csurik had turned up at all was strong circumstantial indication of his innocence. Unless he somehow imagined he could beat the drug. Miles would be patient for, oh, three or four seconds at least. Then, by God, he'd stun him, drag him inside, tie him up till he came round, and get to the bottom of this before breakfast.

'The drug — they say you can't hold anything back.'

'It would be pretty useless if you could.'

Csurik stood silent a moment.

'Are you trying to conceal some lesser crime on your conscience? Is that the bargain you wish to strike? An amnesty? It… might be possible. If it's short of another murder, that is.'

'No, lord. I've never killed anybody!'

'Then maybe we can deal. Because if you're innocent, I need to know as soon as possible. Because it means my work isn't finished here.'

'That's… that's the trouble, m'lord.' Csurik shuffled, then seemed to come to some internal decision and stood sturdily. 'I'll come in and risk your drug. And I'll answer anything about me you want to ask. But you have to promise — swear! — you won't ask me about… about anything else. Anybody else.'

'Do you know who killed your daughter?'

'Not for sure.' Csurik threw his head back defiantly. 'I didn't see it. I have guesses.'

'I have guesses too.'

'That's as may be, lord. Just so's they don't come from my mouth. That's all I ask.'

Miles holstered his stunner and rubbed his chin. 'Hm.' A very slight smile turned one corner of his lip. 'I admit, it would be more — elegant — to solve this case by reason and deduction than brute force. Even so tender a force as fast-penta.'

Csurik's head lowered. 'I don't know elegant, lord. But I don't want it to be from my mouth.'

Decision bubbled up in Miles, straightening his spine. Yes. He knew, now. He had only to run through the proofs, step by chained step. Just like 5-Space math. 'Very well. I swear by my word as Vorkosigan, I shall confine my questions to the facts to which you were an eyewitness. I will not ask you for conjectures about persons or events for which you were not present. There, will that do?'

Csurik bit his lip. 'Yes, lord. If you keep your word.'

'Try me,' suggested Miles. His lips wrinkled back on a vulpine smile, absorbing the implied insult without comment.

Csurik climbed the yard beside Miles as if to an executioner's block. Their entrance created a tableau of astonishment among Karal and his family, clustered around their wooden table where Dea was treating Pym. Pym and Dea looked rather blanker, till Miles made introduction: 'Dr. Dea, get out your fast-penta. Here's Lem Csurik come to talk with us.'

Miles steered Lem to a chair. The hill man sat with his hands clenched. Pym, a red and purpling bruise showing at the edges of the white tape circling his chest, took up his stunner and stepped back.

Dr. Dea muttered under his breath to Miles as he got out the hypospray. 'How'd you do that?'

Miles's hand brushed his pocket. He pulled out a sugar cube and held it up, and grinned through the C of his thumb and finger. Dea snorted, but pursed his lips with reluctant respect.

Lem flinched as the hypospray hissed on his arm, as if he expected it to hurt.

'Count backwards from ten,' Dea instructed. By the time Lena reached three, he had relaxed; at zero, he giggled.

'Karal, Ma Karal, Pym, gather round,' said Miles. 'You are my witnesses. Boys, stay back and stay quiet. No interruptions, please.'

Miles ran through the preliminaries, half a dozen questions designed to set up a rhythm and kill time while the fast-penta took full effect. Lem Csurik grinned foolishly, lolling in his chair, and answered them all with sunny good will. Fast-penta interrogation had been part of Miles's military intelligence course at the Service Academy. The drug seemed to be working exactly as advertised, oddly enough.

'Did you return to your cabin that morning, after you spent the night at your parents'?'

'Yes, m'lord.' Lem smiled.

'About what time?'

'Midmorning.'

Nobody here had a chrono; that was probably as precise an answer as Miles was likely to get. 'What did you do when you got there?'

'Called for Harra. She was gone, though. It frightened me that she was gone. Thought she might've run out on me.' Lem hiccoughed. 'I want my Harra.'

'Later. Was the baby asleep?'

'She was. She woke up when I called for Harra. Started crying again. It goes right up your spine.'

'What did you do then?'

Lem's eyes widened. 'I got no milk. She wanted Harra. There's nothing I could do for her.'

'Did you pick her up?'

'No, lord, I let her lay. There was nothing I could do for her. Harra, she'd hardly let me touch her, she was that nervous about her. Told me I'd drop her or something.'

'You didn't shake her, to stop her screaming?'

'No, lord, I let her lay. I left to look down the path for Harra.'

'Then where did you go?'

Lem blinked. 'My sister's. I'd promised to help haul wood for a new cabin. Bella — m'other sister — is getting married, y'see, and -'

He was beginning to wander, as was normal for this drug. 'Stop,' said Miles. Lem fell silent obediently,