Worlds Apart (ThreeCon)

by Carmen Webster Buxton

  “Why are you so angry at me?” Prax asked, sitting down. “What have I done to offend you?”

  Thulan grunted, a severe sound. “I’m not angry at you. Not anymore than I am at anyone else, anyway. There’s a lot of foolishness in the world. That’s enough to make me angry right there.”

  Prax picked up his fork. “What foolishness in particular?”

  She sniffed, her anger diminishing to mere irritation. “Foolishness like the police asking Lidiya all kinds of questions about why she was here last night when she wasn’t working, and did she hear you and Tinibu say where you were going. Foolishness like thinking the poor girl had anything to do with it. As if Lidiya would do anything to hurt Mistress Trahn!”

  Prax chewed a morsel of sweet, tender fish and swallowed. It was good, as always. “That is foolish. But then, the police suspected me the first time, just because I was the one who found the intruders.”

  Thulan sniffed again and said a few words about Captain Arnuchh’s lack of common sense and her general unsuitability for her job.

  Prax let her ramble on as he ate. It reminded him very much of listening to his mother complain about Eugenie when the clan leader’s decision had failed to meet with Circe’s approval. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine he was back at his family’s campsite.

  After he finished eating, Prax went to the common room. Tinibu had just come off early watch and was sitting with Nakamura as they listened to Ogilvy play another new instrument. He called it a harp. It had a triangular frame and many strings that Ogilvy strummed or plucked. Like his bagpipes, it required a power source to play it, making the sound richer than an instrument that size could otherwise have produced.

  Tinibu was yawning, but the others were very interested.

  “That’s beautiful, Ogilvy,” Nakamura said. “You should play that for Mistress Trahn. She was saying last night at the chief’s dinner that she couldn’t find any suitable music for the wedding.”

  Ogilvy looked at Prax. “You could mention it to her, Prax, if you wouldn’t mind? I’d like a chance to play for an audience.”

  Prax nodded. “All right. It is a beautiful sound. Where did you get the harp?”

  “My father sent it to me. It was my grandfather’s. He taught me to play when I was young.”

  “You must have a musical family,” Prax said.

  Ogilvy grinned. “I do. We all sing or play an instrument, but there’s not a professional musician in the lot of us.”

  After a while, people started drifting back to their own rooms. Tinibu and Nakamura went first, and then Moreno. Chong wandered in and then wandered out again. Prax was just debating whether it was worth it to try to read a little before lunch when Chio came in.

  “Hello, Prax,” he said. “How are you doing after last night’s adventure?”

  “Fine. I wasn’t hurt, you know. I never even lost consciousness.”

  Chio grinned. “Maybe not, but from what I hear, you were pretty out of it. Ogilvy said he had to help you out of the flyter.”

  “He did. Why are you up? I thought you were working nights?”

  “I am. I had a nap already. It was too hard to sleep with all that’s going on. Do you think Thulan would let me have a little something to eat before lunch?”

  Prax held up both hands. “You go and ask her. I already used up all my good will for the day by sleeping through breakfast. She’s upset anyway, because the munis were questioning Lidiya.”

  “Lidiya?” Chio said, surprised. “Why they hell would they question Lidiya? She’s not on the security staff.”

  “No, but apparently they suspect everyone who was in the staff dining room when Tinibu said we were going to Mickey’s.”

  Chio knit his brows together into an uncharacteristically fierce frown. “The munis have a lot of damn gall bothering a sweet kid like Lidiya. There are more likely suspects around the house—me for instance. I was there.”

  “You were supposed to be there. They’re giving Lidiya a bad time because she wasn’t working last night, but she hadn’t gone home yet.”

  “So what?” Chio sounded truly irate. “The girl’s got a right to stay here if she wants to stay here. She works damn hard for Mistress Trahn. She stays late whenever there’s a party or anything.”

  Prax was surprised. Usually, Chio was the soul of patience and the peacemaker in any dispute. “No one who knows Lidiya thinks she had anything to do with it.”

  “Damn right.” Chio looked mollified, but he gave Prax a speculative glance. “Hey, Prax, you could clear her, right? You could listen to her explain why she was here and then tell the munis it was the truth.”

  Prax thought about it. “I could certainly do that. But I think Mistress Trahn wants me to keep my talent a secret. Besides, would the munis care what I say?”

  Chio shrugged. “Maybe not. But Mistress Trahn would know, and that might make Lidiya feel better.”

  Prax agreed reluctantly. At Chio’s insistence, they went looking for Lidiya. They found her in the brightly lit basement laundry, sorting through Rishi’s clothes. A frown wrinkled her brow when Chio and Prax walked in.

  “Hello,” she said, her eyes anxious. “What are you doing here? Is anything wrong?”

  “No, no,” Chio said hurriedly. “I just wanted to know something. Is it true the munis have been hassling you about why you were here for dinner last night?”

  Lidiya had almost the same color golden skin as Rishi. She was certainly capable of showing a blush. She flushed and looked as if she might tear up at any moment. “Yes, they are. That nasty woman kept asking me why I didn’t go home as soon as I could. I told her I had no particular reason to go home, but she didn’t seem to believe me.”

  Prax blinked. Lidiya was definitely lying.

  Chio clearly didn’t realize it. He rattled away, explaining about Prax’s psy talent.

  Lidiya turned her face to Prax with her brown eyes open very wide. The bright light from the ceiling cast shadows on her face, making her look secretive. “Is that true, Prax?”

  “Yes,” Prax said. “Why did you stay, Lidiya?”

  Lidiya went pale, looking almost ghostly in the odd light. “I don’t have to tell you,” she said, with a hint of desperation in her voice.

  Chio’s eyes opened wide. “What’s wrong? Go ahead and tell Prax. He’ll know you’re not lying.”

  Lidiya said nothing. Chio looked at Prax, perplexed.

  “She did lie just now,” Prax said. “She must have had a reason to go home after all.”

  Chio looked at Lidiya. “Did you have a reason to go home, Lidiya?”

  She shrugged. “If you call a neighbor’s party a reason. I never liked parties.”

  Prax shook his head. “That’s not true, either—not the part about not liking parties.”

  Lidiya gave him an irate look. “I never realized you were such an annoying person to have around, Prax. I don’t know how Mistress Trahn puts up with you.”

  Chio creased his forehead, his expression somewhere between confusion and concern. “Lidiya, what’s wrong? I know you didn’t have anything to do with the attempted snatch. Why won’t you say why you stayed here?”

  “Because it’s personal!” Lidiya glared at Chio with such a mixture of fondness and irritation that light suddenly dawned for Prax.

  “Lidiya,” he asked, “did you stay last night because Chio was there at dinner?”

  It was difficult to say who was more surprised by the question, Lidiya or Chio. They both looked at Prax, and then they looked at each other. Lidiya flushed again and dropped her eyes.

  Chio got over his surprise enough to take one of her hands in his own. “Is that why, Lidiya?”

  She turned her head away. “Yes,” she said, so softly that Prax could barely hear her.

  Chio looked at Prax, who nodded. This, at l
ast, was the truth.

  “I think I’ll leave now,” Prax said. Neither of them said anything, so he turned and left as quickly as he could. He took one, swift glance back before the door shut behind him, and he saw that Chio had taken Lidiya’s other hand and pulled her just a little closer. Prax smiled to himself. It looked as if Chio had finally found a woman.

  RISHI looked up when Praxiteles came into the little dining room. He looked not only fully recovered but very happy. She smiled back at him. “What’s happened?” she said. “You look very pleased about something.”

  “I am.” Praxiteles sat down. “But don’t be surprised if your clothes aren’t ready when you want them.”

  “What?” Rishi asked, mystified.

  He helped himself to food with brisk efficiency. “Chio was upset when he heard the police had questioned Lidiya. We went to see her because Chio wanted me to listen to her say she stayed for dinner only because she had nowhere better to go.” He picked up his fork and gave her a wicked smile. “He thought I would say she was telling the truth, but it turned out Lidiya had lied. She stayed because Chio was there.”

  Rishi stared at him. “Really? Does Chio like her, too?”

  Praxiteles grinned at her as he nodded. “I think that’s why he was so upset.”

  Rishi crowed with delight. “I always knew there was someone Lidiya was fond of, but she would never tell me who it was.” She considered this development, wondering how likely it was that it would work out well for both parties. “I hope Chio’s not the kind to take these things too lightly. Lidiya is very old fashioned about sex, rather like you in some ways.”

  Before Praxiteles could answer, a thought came to Rishi. She let loose a Shuratanian swear word and sat frozen with her fork still held in the air.

  “What’s wrong, lady?”

  “I’ve been very stupid. The answer’s been right under my nose all along!”

  “What answer, lady?”

  “Chio was right,” Rishi said, excited to think she had found a solution to their problem. “Come on, Praxiteles. Let’s find Hari.”

  She jumped up and ran through the kitchen door, not even looking back to see if he was following. She didn’t stop to answer a startled Thulan’s questions, but rushed through the door and into the hallway, and then sped down it until she came to the door to the security wing.

  Praxiteles caught up to her in the security wing hallway. Rishi went to Hari’s office so seldom, it took her a moment to remember that there were no door chimes. Finally, she knocked firmly.

  “Come,” Hari’s voice called, and the door opened.

  Rishi blew through the door with Praxiteles behind her. When Hari looked up from his desk, he had a plate of food in front of him, and a screen of information displayed on his monitor.

  In spite of her hurry, Rishi stopped to make a disapproving noise. “You really should stop working long enough to eat lunch properly.”

  Hari looked amused. “Did you leave your own meal on the table to rush in here and tell me that?”

  “No,” Rishi said. “I had a thought. Why don’t we just line up all the staff and have them say that they’re not involved? Praxiteles will know who’s lying.”

  Hari swiveled in his chair so that he faced her. “I thought of doing something like that. I decided against it, at least at this stage.”

  “Why?” Rishi asked, annoyed at having her plan disparaged. “I want to know who it is!”

  “So do I,” Hari said. “But not at the expense of morale. How would you feel if your boss made you stand up and swear you weren’t guilty of betraying his or her trust? What if we do it, and none of them is lying? Then, too, we’ve kept Praxiteles’ talent pretty quiet. I’m not sure I want to blow that secret out of the water.”

  Rishi resisted the urge to stamp her foot. “I want to know, Hari. I want to feel safe again.”

  “I know you do, girl. Arnuchh is doing background checks on everybody. Let’s give her a few days and see what she turns up.”

  “All right,” Rishi agreed reluctantly. “But it seems a waste of time. Praxiteles could tell right away.”

  Hari looked at the Elliniká. “I know he could tell if the answer was the truth; I just don’t feel comfortable asking the question.”

  “Maybe I could find out without your asking?” Praxiteles said. “A few people know about me, it’s true, but not all of them. I still hear lies, occasionally.”

  “From whom?” Hari asked.

  “From a lot of people,” Praxiteles said. “Draghnachh lied to Thulan the other day when she told her she had finished inventorying the silverware.”

  “Did you tell Thulan it was a lie?” Hari asked.

  Praxiteles shook his head. “It wasn’t any of my business. I don’t think Thulan would have thanked me if I had.”

  “Anybody else?” Hari said.

  Praxiteles hesitated. “Are we counting Lidiya?” he asked Rishi.

  “Don’t worry about that,” Rishi said. She explained about Chio and Lidiya in two succinct sentences.

  “I didn’t know Lidiya had it in her to cherish a secret passion,” Hari said. “Rishi’s right, don’t count that one.”

  “Well, there was Wolly,” Praxiteles said. “He lied last night when Tinibu asked him to come out with us. He said he was too tired, and he wanted to read a book.”

  Hari looked unimpressed. “Maybe he was just being tactful? Or maybe he wants people to think he reads more than he does?”

  “I don’t know,” Praxiteles admitted. “All I know is he said he wanted to stay home, but he didn’t mean it.”

  “How well do you know him?” Hari asked. “Does he know about your psy talent?”

  Praxiteles debated. “He lived out until just recently. He never plays poker, and he’s not in the common room that often. I don’t think he knows.”

  Hari sat up straighter and reached for his terminal. “Just a sec. I didn’t know before that Tinibu had asked him to go with you guys. I don’t think Tinibu was that specific about what he said and to whom. Hold on while I check something.”

  Hari hit a few keys, and the monitor display changed totally. He flipped through several screens, looking for something. “Here it is. Wollongong did go out last night, shortly after you three left. He didn’t stay out very late though. He was back in an hour.”

  “Do you think he’s it?” Rishi asked anxiously.

  “I can’t say for sure,” Hari said. “A bunch of folks went out last night, and some of them were in the dining room at the right time, too. Moreno was one, and Chong was another. Of course, Moreno lives out, so you’d expect him to leave. Sarrano was on call. He didn’t leave, but he made several outside calls.”

  Hari sat with his brows drawn together and his eyes scrunched almost shut.

  Rishi recognized the signs of internal cogitation. “What is it, Hari? You only do that when you have an idea.”

  “Do what?” Hari said. “I was just thinking we could put Praxiteles’ talent to use very discreetly. We could have him sound Wolly out on why he went out, where he went, and what he did. No one else would have to know. If it’s a dead end, then that’s that. No harm done.”

  Praxiteles nodded. “I could do that.”

  Rishi frowned, seeing flaws in the idea. “I don’t know, Hari. Praxiteles is wonderful at many things, but lying isn’t one of them.”

  Hari looked at Praxiteles and then back at Rishi. “What do you suggest?”

  “Get someone who’s better at lying to strike up the conversation. Just be sure Praxiteles is in the room.”

  Praxiteles looked almost hurt. “I can lie when I have to.”

  Rishi held back a sigh. He really didn’t realize how much his face gave him away. “Don’t be silly, Praxiteles. You haven’t had any practice at it. We need someone with more experience for this job.”


  Hari nodded. “She’s right. We don’t want to give the show away. What do you think, Rishi? Maybe Rurhahn?”

  “No,” Rishi said. “Rurhahn would have a hard time making it seem natural to ask the right questions. How about Tinibu? We’re sure of him, too. I mean sure he’s not the leak. He’s ordinarily very truthful, but he used to like to play practical jokes. He was good at keeping a straight face for that, wasn’t he?”

  “Darn good,” Hari said. “He got me one time, but I made him pay for it. Tinibu would be a good choice. He already knows about your psy ability, doesn’t he Prax?”

  “Yes,” Praxiteles said. “He was there when Qualhuan figured it out.”

  “All right then,” Hari said. “The question is, how do we get him the information without being obvious about it? We’re already a little obvious right now, what with you two rushing in here in the middle of lunch.”

  “I can explain it to Tinibu,” Praxiteles said. “I could drop by his room without it causing any comment.”

  “Sounds good,” Hari said. “Just make sure he knows what kind of questions he has to ask. We need for Wollongong to say where he went last night, and what he did. If he lies, we give him to Arnuchh as a likely candidate.”

  Rishi led the way back to the dining room as quietly as she could. No one seemed to notice they had left except Thulan, who was still grumbling about their food getting cold. Rishi apologized and made an excuse about remembering some detail of the wedding arrangements.

  “I want everything settled soon,” Rishi said as she and Praxiteles sat down. “Hari won’t take time off from work and go away with Anika unless he knows everything is taken care of here.”

  “You’re very fond of Hari, aren’t you, lady?” Praxiteles asked.

  “I love him more than anyone else except you. When I lost my family, Hari and Parnochh kept me going. Hari took care of me, and Parnochh took care of the business.”

  “Is Parnochh a friend of your family?”

  Rishi nodded. “He knew my grandparents. He watched my father grow up, and then my brothers and my sister and me.” The thought of her siblings brought a familiar pang, but it seemed less painful now, to think of that time. Was it because she had truly put it behind her, or was it because she had Praxiteles in her life? Probably it was both. “When I lost them all, Parnochh found someone to run the business and teach me what I needed to know at the same time. He has his own company, you know, but he let his nephew manage it for long enough to get everything set up at Trahn. We could have lost everything if he hadn’t stepped in and helped me out.”