by Lynn Rae
When she found him in the kitchen, he was collecting cookware and frowning with concentration until he spotted her. His gaze warmed and his mouth relaxed into a smile.
“You look beautiful. But you’re too thin. What would you like? Biscuits? An omelet? Hot grain cereal?”
Lia made her way into the tiny galley where she could crowd against his body under the guise of a tight fit. As she bumped her hip into his and peered into his nearly bare chiller, Colan circled an arm around her waist. Making contemplative noises, Lia shuffled her feet until her rear connected with his groin, and she pressed back against his firm body. It had worked last night. Colan’s stance shifted as her weight settled against him. Just that much contact with him made her skin warm, and heat throbbed between her legs. They’d had intercourse once in the middle of the night; a slow, leisurely encounter with lots of murmured endearments in the dark, but she wanted some physical interaction this morning.
“I’d like you, Colan,” she answered him, going the direct route since her hints hadn’t seemed to make an impression.
“You need to eat,” he whispered into her hair as his hand closed up the chiller and then fell to her thigh as he tightened his grip around her waist. And there, she felt it, his arousal swelling against her buttocks, and she breathed out a sigh of relief. Gusting out a sigh, he slid his hand between her legs, cupping her sex in a protective, possessive way which thrilled her. It was a heady realization to know that with a few movements they could be engaged in something else besides breakfast.
“I’m going to cook, not get distracted by you, Lia.” Colan’s low voice buzzed in her ear, and Lia turned to give him a smile. His hand slid away around her hip and circled along her buttocks as his fingers pressed into the crease between them. “We’ll have time later.”
“I’m not counting on that. Some neighbor will stop by and interrupt, or there’ll be another crisis and I won’t see you for days. Seize the moment.” His fingers twitched, and she jolted against him.
“Not planning ahead? What’s happened to you?” He distracted her with a kiss as he disengaged himself from her. She didn’t want to answer that he had happened to her; he’d made her so twisted up on herself she didn’t know what to think.
“Do you want to see me again?”
Lia stopped breathing as he watched her intently. So they were going to talk about it now. She’d imagined it might come up after a few more argumentative encounters, but he wasn’t big on conversations, so she supposed she should be grateful he was finally verbalizing it.
“I do, Colan. I want to see you again. Do you want to see me?” Why would he? He was an avowed solitarian, a man who explored empty planets, not at all someone who would want to couple up with her.
“I do. Like tonight. I’d want to see you again tonight.” He smiled slightly at this request, and her cautious heart melted. If that was as far into the future he wanted to plan, who was she to argue? Which was saying a lot because she preferred timelines that stretched months and even years in advance.
“Tonight it is. Where’s my datpad? I need to put it in my schedule.”
Chapter 13
The preliminary competency hearing of Riva Estep was the biggest draw on Gamaliel. It seemed everyone on planet had crowded into the half-finished courtroom. Every seat was full of native Pearlites and new settlers, all shifting and murmuring as they waited for the show to begin. Lia could have managed a better seat if she’d asked for a favor from Moca, but she didn’t want to bother the magistrate as she prepared for her first judicial activity on planet. So she was relegated to one of the outlying temporary chairs, wedged tight between a very overgrown sheller and a slim woman decked out in all the latest hiking gear still shiny and new. She could see the front of the room well enough. Moca was already in position; her symbolic staff angled just so on the table in front of her, signaling this was an official Congressional hearing.
Riva’s advocate had arrived the week before and had been sequestered with his client the whole time, so Lia was curious to set eyes on the fellow. The prosecution was in the hands of Cordon. He was already in place as well, a small datpad blinking in front of him. When Lia chatted with him earlier that day, he’d sounded completely relaxed, but she had her doubts. He was newly trained in the law as part of his preparations for this assignment, and as far as she knew he’d never appeared in an actual courtroom. Judging by Riva’s irrational actions, she might very well make a successful argument she wasn’t responsible for what she did and be sent for therapeutic treatment without a criminal trial.
Giving the hulking and silent sheller a small smile as she shifted in her seat, Lia tried to relax. All construction was proceeding nearly one to thirteen hours ahead of schedule, and all the new arrivals’ needs were met and their persons and property accounted for. There was nothing she had to worry about or coordinate. Other than Colan.
He was scheduled to appear this morning as a key witness, and she knew he dreaded it. He’d enticed her to spend the night at his home, because she suspected he didn’t want to be near the new buildings until absolutely necessary. They’d engaged in some slow, intimate lovemaking the previous evening, and as a concession to his worries, Lia hadn’t insisted on reciprocity that morning with a quick coupling in the shower as she would have preferred. Instead, she’d been compliant and accepting as he pleasured her several times without doing anything for himself. After that, he’d made her breakfast, so who was she to complain?
There was a perceptible increase in the occupants shifting in their seats and whispering, and Lia stopped thinking about Colan and how much she liked how he used his tongue. She turned her head to see one of the courtroom’s side doors had opened, and Riva Estep entered, dressed normally in plain shirt and trousers, followed by a nondescript man in a medium blue, formal suit. He looked very quiet and non-threatening, and this made Lia suspicious. Riva appeared calmer than the last time Lia had seen her at Colan’s hut shouting about betrayal, but that wasn’t saying much.
All sorts of formal introductions and announcements took place, and the crowd fluttered and murmured in increasing boredom. They wanted action and outbursts, not dry congressional statements.
As the advocates stated the facts of the case, Lia sank into reflection about Colan Nestor. They’d been keeping company ever since he’d arrived back from his sojourn in the forest and had managed to see each other every day for the last week. He’d also managed to make sure they’d spent every night together, either in her suite or at his little house. She’d grown used to having his arms around her while she slept and having invigorating disagreements with him every morning as they dressed for work. They ate meals together in the community dining hall whenever he didn’t feel like cooking. He actually returned messages to her now; they were usually one or two words, but they were still contacts via datpad, and every time she saw one emerge on her display she felt a glow of happiness all out of proportion to the few letters which popped up on the display. It was all quite cozy and not at all what she would have expected from the avowed recluse.
Noticing some slightly raised voices from the advocates, Lia tried to make sense of what happened. Finally she had to whisper to the sheller and request an update. He rumbled back that the advocate for Riva had cited some obscure point of law which prevented Cordon from calling her to testify at this proceeding. The slim woman on Lia’s other side hushed them with a hiss, and Lia shrugged and watched Cordon. His normally perfectly groomed countenance was a little flushed at this point, and she could sense he was not pleased to have been outsmarted or out-lawed in front of such a large audience. He stood and gestured to Moca, who motioned for both he and Riva’s advocate to approach her. They made low-voiced statements no one seemed to be able to overhear despite the quiet which descended in the crowded room.
Without any explanation, both advocates retreated to their places, and Moca called in Zashi to testify. He strode in wearing an unadorned security uniform, very intimidating and profess
ional. Lia wondered why he hadn’t loaded his jacket with all the mission pips he’d earned, but the quiet security officer probably wanted to appear unobtrusive.
In a very dry manner he answered every question, did not speculate about anything, and failed to entertain the masses of people in attendance. Neither Cordon nor Riva’s advocate pressed him with many questions. Zashi inherently looked as if he’d love to start demonstrating take-down techniques on the closest available person. Within a few minutes of explaining how he’d analyzed the explosive compound, interviewed everyone, and determined the Healy boys had alibis for the two most destructive blasts, Moca excused her security chief, and he rose from his seat to stalk out. The sheller next to her grunted and mumbled he wouldn’t want to run afoul of him, and the slim woman on the other side of Lia sighed as she craned her neck to watch Zashi leave.
The side door opened to allow Zashi’s exit, and as soon as he disappeared, Colan appeared and frowned at everyone around him. Lia found herself sighing with her own measure of longing. He strode over to the witness seat and lowered himself into it, legs sprawled, hands bunched up on his hips as if he expected someone to take a swing at him.
Cordon asked him to identify himself, and Colan did, annoyance creasing his features. Lia could almost hear him thinking everyone here knew him so why did he have to tell anyone his name? Colan then answered all the expected questions about how he had come to be involved in the standoff, and in much less time than she’d expected, Cordon declared he was finished and thanked Colan for his responses.
Throughout Colan’s testimony, Riva had stared at him, or whispered in her advocate’s ear. Lia knew he had to be terribly uncomfortable between having to appear and give his testimony and having the woman who’d threatened to blow him up watching him from a few meters away. The opposing advocate rose, and Colan scowled even more.
“Citizen Nestor, we’ve heard how you came to be called in by Chief Zashi to talk with Riva Estep. There is no dispute from my client on this. However, we do dispute the reason she wanted to speak with you.”
Colan shrugged, and Lia wondered why it mattered. The woman had killed people in a misguided attempt to stop the settlement of this planet or draw attention to some theoretical hive collective sentience, or something else equally outlandish. Colan had merely been involved to help his friend.
“Magistrate, we would like to stipulate that Citizen Estep’s actions were motivated by passion unrequited and a strained personal relationship, not part of any political or criminal conspiracy. She acted without full command of her reason and should therefore be tried as an impaired adult.”
Lia, along with what seemed to be the rest of the crowd, sat back in confusion at this claim. Passion and personal relationships? The large sheller next to her grunted and narrowed his eyes. The woman next to her smiled and settled in for the show.
Moca blinked at this change in direction and nodded for the advocate to continue. Colan hadn’t taken his gaze off the man since he’d started to speak, and he grew very still in his chair.
“Citizen Nestor, we contend that Riva Estep requested your presence because she was still in love with you and was desperate to see you again.”
Gasps and whispers erupted around Lia, and she shook, too shocked to make a sound. Her stomach cramped, and she hunched in her seat, still watching Colan as he stared at Riva as if he wanted to lock her back up in the lab with her explosives. Moca raised her staff to request order as she served the citizens a quelling stare. Colan glanced at the advocate as the whispers quieted.
“Were you going to ask me a question?”
Some people tittered, but Lia felt lightheaded. Riva and Colan? Was that possible? Was that why the woman had been so upset when she’d found Lia in Colan’s hut? The thought that he’d gone from her to the mad bomber made Lia’s skin run cold, and she tried to repress a wave of nausea. It made a disgusting sort of sense. Riva was an unattached female of an appropriate age, and they’d had plenty of time to get to know each other. Unlike Lia, who’d fallen for Colan’s rough-edged attractiveness as soon as she’d seen him. She shouldn’t be angry. Or jealous. They’d never spoken to each other about monogamy. She’d just assumed he reciprocated her inclinations. At the very least, he could have mentioned he was having intercourse with another person in the settlement. Not that she had reassured him either. Bah, what a convoluted mess this was. Lia shook her head to clear her muddled thoughts and caught Colan looking at her. He stared intently at her, but broke eye contact when the advocate spoke up again.
“In the interest of making our argument, I will need to question our witness about facts outside the realm of the incident at hand.”
Moca made a nod of approval, and Colan’s face tightened as he stared at the man.
“Cit. Nestor, were you involved in a sexual and personal relationship with Riva Estep?”
“Kind of hard to have sex without it being personal.” The crowd tittered at Colan’s sarcastic remark, but Lia felt even more awful, her stomach heating with dread. Colan would be so angry his private life was going to be entered into public record, forever linked to a murdering woman.
“Some do manage to separate them.” The advocate turned to the residents with a knowing smirk, and the woman next to Lia laughed. Lia didn’t. She wanted to slide under her chair. “So Citizen, you confirm you had both a personal and sexual relationship with Riva Estep?”
Colan’s face flushed and he nodded once. Lia’s stomach decided it did not like that acknowledgement and began to burn and roil with emotions she couldn’t categorize. She decided to duck her head behind the shoulder of the person sitting in front of her so she wasn’t in Colan’s line of sight any more.
“And you were aware she wished to maintain this relationship to the present?”
Colan shook his head, and the advocate pressed, “We need you to answer; you knew she was still amenable to continuing a personal, sexual relationship with you.”
Colan shifted in his chair. Lia could see his left arm move, and she risked a glance up at him to find he scanned the crowd, looking for her; his mouth drawn into a sharp line. She ducked down again.
“Yes, I was aware, but I wasn’t—”
“Your intentions or indiscretions are not yet part of this line of questioning, Citizen Nestor. We need to establish Riva Estep’s state of mind. She was distraught, desperate.” The advocate again turned to the crowd and raised an eyebrow as if to say ‘look at this man, trying to avoid responsibility for the emotional state of his lover’. The woman next to Lia shook her head at the perfidy of love, echoing the motion of several others in the audience.
Moca narrowed her eyes and spoke up in her best magistrate tone. “No need for speculation. Please arrive at whatever point you’ll make soon.”
“Would you confirm you knew the reason Riva requested your presence was because of your personal relationship, not because you hold any sort of official position in the safety of the settlement?”
“I suppose. But we weren’t invol—”
“Thank you, Citizen Nestor. Now we will explore what might have driven Riva Estep to such an extreme length to gain your attention that night. Would you confirm you had indicated an interest in initiating a sexual relationship with another woman recently? Just before this incident?”
The crowd gasped with this salacious bit of innuendo, and Lia’s face burned with embarrassment. Colan leaped to his feet and pointed his finger at the advocate’s nose. A security officer took a step toward the front, and Colan sank back to his seat. “None of your damned business; she has nothing to do with this!”
Lia curled even farther behind the person in front of her, which gave her a new viewing angle of the front tables. Riva’s face trembled as Colan’s words echoed in the room, and she sobbed like a betrayed lover. Which she apparently was. Now Lia was the other woman in this sordid little mess. Crack and blast.
One of the new security people walked toward Colan, and she assumed he was being en
couraged to remain in his seat. Swallowing against the pressure in her throat, Lia sent her gaze in another direction. Only the floor was safe, so she stared at the sheller’s incredibly battered boots as the advocate started in again.
“Was Riva Estep aware you were involved with another woman?”
“I don’t know what she was aware of. She manufactured explosives and killed people so—”
“Magistrate, if you would inform the witness to answer the question and not proffer inflammatory opinions—”
“How is stating a fact an inflammatory opinion?” Colan interrupted with a growl, and Lia shivered at the rage she heard in his voice.
“It’s not your fact to state, Citizen Nestor. Your facts begin and end with your relationship with Riva Estep and how your promiscuous behavior created an untenable emotional environment for my client.”
“My promiscuous—” Colan’s voice deepened with disgust. Lia risked a glance up to see he stared at the advocate as if he wanted to shove him in the room with Riva and her explosives. The side door opened and Zashi marched in, likely alerted by one of his staff about the charged atmosphere. He glanced from Colan to the advocate and scanned the crowd.
“Yes. Didn’t Riva Estep interrupt a liaison with another woman at your house the night of the fourth?”
“What? What liaison?”
Colan sounded confounded, and Lia remembered that encounter. She’d left quickly, but apparently Riva had read a lot into her presence in Colan’s house. Or read into it very accurately, considering that soon after, Lia and Colan had actually begun a personal, sexual relationship. This all sounded very bad.
“As a matter of fact, Riva’s anguish at the realization you were engaged in intimate relations with another woman, Citizen Nestor, drove her to seek a way to gain your attention and harm herself.”
