irritated by the program's decision, but he seemed concerned enough now. He wouldn't be very happy when he found out that Kyle might have been kidnapped. But how could the thieves have taken Kyle out with them? Had they folded him into a crate or hidden him under a tarp? Pretended he was a drunken friend and let him sprawl against the driver?
'They must be storing the crates someplace until they can get them out of the city,' she said, out loud. 'And if they aren't hiding them on Secundus, they would have had to take them through one of the sector gates last night. The crates and Kyle, both.'
'The sector gates are locked after midnight,' Amcathra replied at once. 'The theft could have occurred before then, but I think it would have been carried out much later, when nobody would be walking around the campus.'
'So if they transported the crates to another sector, they either lied to a lictor to let them through late at night or waited and passed through this morning,' Taya finished.
'It's unlikely they'd call attention to themselves by going through after lockdown. If I were a thief, I'd leave the sector the next day, probably a few hours after the gates had opened again,' Cristof said. 'Actually, breaking the load into several wagons, or a wagon and some handcarts, would be even smarter.'
'It's still worth questioning the gate guards. They might have noticed Kyle, since he was hurt.' Taya wanted to run off to interview the gate guards herself. She cursed the crutches that slowed her down.
'Where's the nearest cart gate?' Cristof asked.
'A few miles east.' Amcathra turned to Cristof. 'Go to the station. I want a tracking hound brought to the engine room and lictors questioning the students in the dormitories. I will inquire at the cart gates, starting at the nearest and proceeding west. You may rejoin me when your messages have been delivered.'
Cristof gave the lictor a sour smile. 'So, I'm trustworthy enough to run your errands but not investigate your crimes?'
Amcathra pulled a narrow black wallet out of his coat pocket and handed it over. Cristof flipped it open, then looked up.
'I thought you were going to wait for the captain's approval.'
'This is a field decision. I will clear it with him later.' Amcathra was as stone-faced as ever. 'I recommend you do not speak to your brother without another lictor present, and if you do speak to him, do not promise him anything you cannot deliver.'
'I understand.' Cristof slid the wallet away. 'Thank you, Janos.'
'Why are you still here?'
Taya grinned at Cristof as they headed out the University gate. 'Are those papers what I think they are?'
'My credentials. I'm back on the job.' He sounded pleased, although he was clearly trying to hide it.
'He was going to give them back to you all along, wasn't he? Because you're friends.'
'He's my supervisor, Taya. Not my friend.'
'Men.' Taya laughed. 'So, what are we going to do now?'
He stopped, outside the University gates, and looked askance at her crutches.
'I need to deliver the lieutenant's messages and start investigating these leads. I'm going to be running all over the city. How do you feel?'
'Tired,' she admitted. 'And my leg's starting to hurt, but I'm not supposed to take any medicine for another half an hour.'
'I'm sorry.' He frowned. 'Maybe you should rest for a few hours. It's not that I don't want your company, but you might hurt yourself trying to keep up with me.'
'I'm not going to go stuff mail bags.'
'They'll give you the day off, won't they?'
'I don't want to sit around the eyrie all day, either.' Taya let her gaze climb up the side of the mountain, over stacks of houses and shops to the mansions of Primus. The stubborn part of her wanted to stay with Cristof, but the practical part of her knew that she'd only slow him down. 'Do you think Viera's ready for visitors yet?'
'I'm sure she'd like to see you. But she's not very happy right now.'
'Well, she wouldn't be. But I want to see her again.'
'Should I look for you there?'
'I don't think I'll be staying long. I might go down to that bar Lars mentioned. Is there any reason I can't tell them about Kyle?'
'You'd better not. We don't have any proof that he's involved. That hair and blood could have come from a janitor or one of the engineering team. It's too early to tell.'
'But—'
'Please, Taya. There's no sense frightening his friends if he's just off visiting his mother or spending the day with his girlfriend, is there?'
'Hmph.' Taya wasn't so sure Kyle had a girlfriend, but she let it pass. 'Okay, but if you haven't found anything by this evening….'
'I'll find you, and we'll talk about it.'
'Promise?'
'I promise.'
'Good.' Taya leaned on her crutch and touched his face. 'No matter how late.'
He nodded, looking preoccupied. 'Take a hack and charge it to me if you have to.'
Taya sighed and dropped her hand. Whatever romantic stirrings Cristof had felt earlier that day had vanished in the excitement of the new case.
'What's wrong?' He blinked, focusing on her again.
'Nothing,' she said, ruefully. 'I'll see you later.'
She spent two hours with Viera, which was longer than she'd expected to stay. Viera had welcomed her with relief and pressed her for all of the details of the previous day's adventures. As Cristof had warned, she was still furious with Alister.
'My family took him in when his parents died,' Viera raged. 'I looked up to him as though he were my own brother. And when I got married, I welcomed him into my house, fed him at my table — and he betrayed me!'
Taya nodded, watching the exalted pace back and forth across the parlor. She'd seen Viera take a dose of something medicinal, but it hadn't done much to calm her down.
'I don't blame you for being angry,' she said. 'He betrayed a lot of people.'
At last Viera dropped back onto her sofa, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief.
'I wish he'd died with Caster,' she said at last. 'It would have been easier if they'd both been victims. Finding out he killed my husband… it's like losing him all over again.'
Taya didn't ask which ‘him’ she meant. Instead, she pushed out of her chair and limped over to sit next to Viera.
'I wish I could help. I'm sorry I've brought so much pain to you.'
Viera shook her head, sighing.
'It's not your fault. I'm glad Alister was caught. I hate it, but I'm glad for it.'
Taya nodded, understanding.
'You can't stay away,' Viera added. 'I've already lost too many people.'
'As long as you want me to keep visiting, I will,' Taya promised.
She left some time later, sobered and depressed. What would have happened if she'd agreed to Alister's ruse and pretended he'd survived the explosion? Viera and Cristof both would be happier, and Alister wouldn't be under a sentence of death. But no. She thrust the thought away. One way or the other, the lie would have come out and destroyed them. It wouldn't have been possible to keep the secret forever, and it would have made her an accomplice to his crimes.
'Taya!'
She looked up and saw Cassi sitting on top of a hack, her ondium wings bright in the afternoon sun. Taya limped across the street and saw her friend had found Gregor and Bolt.
