The Green Memory of Fear Page 9

  The judges weren’t so sure. They consulted with their protocol bailiff, who said no, the transcripts weren’t admissible without the original source intact.

  Jaguar turned toward Dr. Senci, glaring at him.

  She became aware of a break in the proceedings. The judges whispered among themselves, reminding Jaguar of the witches in Macbeth. One of them pointed. Pointed toward her. They called the bailiff to them, whispered to him.

  He turned and faced the courtroom, cleared his throat and spoke. “The Judges request that the woman in the blue suit make her face less expressive. It disturbs them.”

  She looked to her right and her left, then at her blue suit. She pointed at herself.

  “Me?” she mouthed. The bailiff nodded. She frowned and looked toward Dr. Senci, who sat with his eyes closed, considering the nothing behind his eyelids.

  The judges continued to talk and talk and talk.

  * * * *

  They finally decided to proceed if the prosecution was willing to let Daro answer questions after his recorded interview was viewed. Now, he’d also have to answer to the defense, and Senci would be in the room while he did so.

  After this pronouncement, they called another recess. Clara grabbed Jaguar’s arm and led her toward the waiting room. “Jesus,” she said, “I wish I knew what the hell was happening here. You got any clue, I’d appreciate it.”

  Jaguar, still feeling dazed, shook her head. “Clara, what does this mean for the case?”

  “Nothing good,” she said. “Now we got Daro, in the presence of the monster man. Punto. Nothing else. It all rests on him.”

  “Where is he?” Jaguar asked.

  “At a deli down the street.”

  “Listen, you go get him. I need to report in.”

  “Okay. Don’t be too long, though. Daro’ll want you here.”

  “I know,” Jaguar said.

  * * * *

  She found a telecom in an empty office, and punched in Alex’s code, cueing his personal line so he’d pick up rather than let the switchboard field it for him. When his face appeared, she felt unexpected relief.

  He started a smile, then studied her face. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “The voxchip failed,” she told him. “No copies allowed, and no testimony as to its contents.”

  “What?”

  “The voxchip. Daro’s evidence. It played nothing. The lawyer listened to it before she handed it in and it was fine. The judges insist there’s no way anyone could tamper with it, so they blame the prosecution—for giving them sullied evidence is how they put it. And Alex—there’s more.”

  “Tell me,” he said. “Not on the lines. Just—tell me.”

  She breathed in and focused, found him waiting and receptive. She gave him all that had happened so far. The little girl, Maya, still following her. How Clara had told her about the earlier interview, the other voxchip failure, the dying cop. Then her own interview with Senci, how he made her hand grow old, what it felt like to be in the room with him with his toxic breath and his fetid energy field and his coldness. When she was through, she left him easily as a sigh.

  He rubbed at the back of his ear. Material dispersal was a Telekine skill, and the hand trick belonged to the hypnopath, But the rest. The grey energy field and toxic breath, along with what Rachel brought him yesterday. There really wasn’t any doubt left. All he had to do now was confirm what she already knew.

  “There’s something Rachel found out,” he said. “About Senci. He has a record.”

  He told her and she grew quiet. Calm. All shields up and running. All information going through the mill of possibilities. Even Protean changers couldn’t create exact DNA matches. And why would Senci shift his DNA to match a child-killer? The evidence led to only one possible explanation. They’d caught a mythic creature. A Greenkeeper.

  Jaguar’s response was typical of her. “We have to keep Daro safe,” she said. “And we have to stop this monster.”

  Alex nodded. That was the right order. Keep the boy safe, then stop the monster. If they could. “Can you block him?” he asked.

  “He’s strong, Alex. The energy drain—I haven’t dealt with that before.”

  “Nasty,” he agreed, feeling what she’d shown him from the interview. “Any residual damage?”

  “Fatigue. Depression. It passes.”

  She clenched and unclenched her jaw, her gaze moving restlessly around the room as if she expected attack. For the first time since he’d known her, Alex read fear of failure in her, a sense that she was facing more than she could handle. He saw her deliberately shake it off, bring it under control. She would not admit it to her presence.

  “Blocking’s probably pointless,” she said. “It makes more sense to go on the offensive. If I could get into him, I might understand him better. Figure out his agenda.”

  “No,” Alex said firmly. “That’s his hook. Don’t bite it. Don’t let fear dictate your moves.”

  “I’m not afraid of him,” she said stubbornly.

  “But you’re afraid of something,” he returned. “That’s no way to go on the offensive. And you should be afraid, Jaguar. What he can do, how long he’s been doing it for—neither of us have ever dealt with anything like it.”

  “We have to do something,” she insisted. “He’s got a plan, and I need to know what it is.”

  That gave him pause. “What do you mean, a plan?”

  “Alex, he got caught,” she said, emphasizing each word. “Greenkeepers don’t get caught unless they want to. So why did he?”

  He found his heart was pounding harder than it should be. He reached for Adept space, seeking an answer, and found only darkness. Only cold.

  “I’m thinking,” he said out loud, “maybe you should get off the case. Take a shuttle back here later today.”

  “I can’t leave Daro alone with a monster,” she said.

  “Who said you would? I’ll take over for you,” he said.

  “A man abused him. He wouldn’t trust you, especially not now. If I go, he’s alone.”

  She was right. He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t deny it. “Then I’ll join you there.”

  “No. I need you clear of this. A clear voice, in case I get unclear.”

  Okay, he thought. So at least she recognized that she wasn’t omnipotent. That was also new and disconcerting. He drummed his fingers on his desk.

  “Listen,” he said, “focus on Daro and don’t engage with Senci. Not yet. You understand? He’ll try to pull you in, but don’t go there. Nobody’s better at closing off than you are, so stay as closed as possible, and keep a good physical distance from him. It sounds like he can’t do as much when he’s further away. Just deal with the boy, the court stuff. We’ll figure out what to do with Senci once Daro is out of it. You got that?”

  “I got it,” she said crisply, though her face was grim.

  “Good. How about his law guardian? Is she up to speed on any of this?”

  “As much as she can absorb. She’s on my side—and definitely on Daro’s.”

  “Are any of the judges likely to be sympathetic?”

  “Not them. They’re fish-heads. Board of Sturgeons. They asked me to make my face less expressive because it disturbs them.”

  Alex grinned. “Maybe I should tell them what it does to me.” He was glad to see her bite back on a smile.

  “You don’t take a minute off, do you?” she asked.

  “Not when I’m courting. It’s full-time work. Have you talked to Jake and One Bird?”

  She shook her head. “Not yet. I will.”

  “Right away. As soon as we’re done. If anyone can help, they can.” He cast around for anything else he could do. The only other option he could see was kidnapping her. She certainly wouldn’t leave of her own volition, and he understood why. “How’s the boy holding up?” he asked.

  “Okay so far. He’ll be there when they roll his video testimony. He has to go through questioning, with the voxchip gone
.”

  “Brave kid.”

  “A good kid. I wish I felt more assured about the outcome.”

  “I’ll call in some favors and get extra patrols down there for him. And the lawyer. She might be in danger, too.” And you, he thought. Not that she’d worry about that. “Jaguar, don’t underestimate what we’re facing,” he said. “Take care. Take a good deal of care.”

  “I will, but care doesn’t seem to help much around here. I hope I’m wrong.”

  Alex nodded. So did he.

  * * * *

  When Alex’s face disappeared, Jaguar punched in the number for Jake and One Bird’s house. After two rings, One Bird’s smiling visage appeared in the viewscreen. She turned and called, “Jake? C’mere. It’s Jaguar.”

  She heard him approach and when his angular features appeared behind One Bird’s soft and broad face he was frowning. He didn’t like telecoms. He said all that machinery got in the way.

  “It’s good to see you,” Jaguar said. “How are you?”

  “Good,” One Bird said.

  “Old,” Jake chimed in.

  Jaguar smiled. “Better than dead.”

  Jake sniffed. “When you try it, you can tell me. You got trouble.”

  A statement rather than a question. Jaguar didn’t ask how he knew. He always knew. She nodded. “I’m dealing with something big, and I have to protect someone. A little boy. He’s got a monster by the tail.” She used a Mertec word that meant pure evil, and was the equivalent of vampire in that language.

  “Tell us,” One Bird said. Jaguar did, speaking subvocally. When she was done, Jake rubbed at his balding head and One Bird chewed her lip. They looked at each other. Jake said something in his native Zuni. One Bird replied in her own Tzutijil Maya. They often carried on long conversations that way, much to the confusion of anyone who tried to follow. This talk was brief, and simple enough that Jaguar understood.

  This is it, Jake had said. It looks that way, One Bird had replied.

  Before she could ask what they meant, they turned back to her and One Bird spoke.

  “Your boundaries are weak,” she said. “Work with them. You remember how we taught you?”

  “Yes. Of course,” she said. “Anything else?”

  “You have to come here,” One Bird said.

  “I can’t,” Jaguar said. “I have to take care of the boy.”

  “Not yet,” Jake said. “When it’s over. Then you come here.”

  One Bird nodded. “You come here to us when it’s over. You agree?”

  To agree was to be honor bound, but she gladly assented. The thought of the clean air and the clear sky there sounded like her idea of heaven right now. “What do I do now?” she asked. “How do I protect Daro?”

  One Bird and Jake exchanged glances. “Stay close to him,” One Bird said. “He’ll need you to—to help him let go. You know how.” She used a word that meant releasing a spirit from bondage, used for possession or at the point of death. It was a specific energy, a specific prayer and cleansing. She hadn’t done it in a while. And if they were advising it, she’d probably need it.

  “Go over it with me,” she said.

  “Like this,” Jake said, and showed her the feel of it, reminded her of the words used and why they were used. When he was done he waited.

  She took a moment to absorb it, make it her own. “Okay,” she said. “I got it.”

  “Yeah, you do. And stay clear of the monster,” Jake added. “Don’t try anything with him.”

  Just what Alex said. She supposed they were right. They usually were. “I’ll have to deal with him sooner or later. There must be some way I can—“

  “No,” Jake cut in. “Just stay with the boy. Don’t leave him. And when it’s over, come here.”

  Jaguar let the words settle in, took another moment to formulate her thoughts, then spoke. “I don’t know if I can stay clear,” she said. “He—he pulls me.”

  They watched her in silence for a moment, feeling this. Jake passed a hand over his face and swore softly.

  “Stop listening to him,” he said. “You believe what he says. It’s a lie.”

  “It feels… true,” she said. “As if there’s something….”

  Jake started to speak, but One Bird put a hand on his arm. “There is something,” she said softly, “But not what you think, and not what he says. We’ll straighten it out when you get here. Right now, any attention you give him makes him stronger. Don’t feed him. Just be with the boy until it’s over.”

  Jake grunted an agreement, and they were silent.

  “Is that it?” Jaguar asked.

  Jake looked up, considering. “You could try the earth walk prayer,” he said.

  “Would it do any good?”

  “Probably not. But you could try it.”

  “What did you mean,” she asked, “When you said this is it?”

  Jake tilted his head at her. “Did I teach you Zuni?”

  “No. But I learned a little. And some Tzutijil. So what did you mean? Have you been expecting this?”

  “Yes,” One Bird said directly. “This, or something like it.”

  She didn’t ask how or why they knew. Probably they’d seen it in a sweat lodge ceremony or a dream. She wasn’t surprised. There were some big energies floating around this one, and they’d feel it.

  “You through, or you got something else to complain about?” Jake asked.

  She tried a grin, and it almost worked. “Not a thing. So what’s happening there?”

  “The usual. Maria Tekas needs a sweat so we’ll be doing that tonight. Jimmy’ll stay here. You remember Jimmy?”

  “I remember,” Jaguar said. He was one of many young men One Bird had done her best to get Jaguar to marry, before she’d gone to the Planetoids to work.

  “He’s not married yet,” One Bird said. “Believe it?”

  “Guess he hasn’t found the right woman.”

  “Or he found her and couldn’t hold onto her. You can see him when you come.”

  “Sure,” Jaguar said. “Listen, thanks for the advice.”

  One Bird reached a hand out and touched the screen as if she was touching Jaguar’s face. “Remember who you are,” she said. “Stay near the boy.”

  “We’ll do what we can from here,” Jake added. “And we’ll see you soon.”

  Without goodbye, they disappeared from the screen. They never said goodbye to her. They had no word for it.

  * * * *

  The return of the Judges was a letdown in tension. They ordered a recess until the morning, when they’d watch Daro’s taped interview and have him answer follow-up questions in the presence of Dr. Senci and his lawyer. If the lawyer had questions after that, he could ask them. Philip and Susan seemed confused by the whole sequence of events, and after a brief conference with Clara, Philip pulled Jaguar aside.

  “The prosecution’s fallen on its face, hasn’t it?” he asked her in a low voice.

  “No,” she said. “The voxchip was destroyed. We don’t know how it happened, but it’s not Clara’s fault.”

  He wasn’t convinced. “I wish I’d hired a private attorney. Didn’t seem necessary at the time, but now....”

  “There’s nothing anyone could do. Just take Daro home and see that he gets some rest.”

  Daro, hearing his name, turned from Clara, who was giving him a pep talk, toward Jaguar. “You’ll come over tonight?” he asked.

  “Of course,” she said. “Just lemme get out of this stupid suit, and we can have a catch.”

  Clara nodded at her. Good idea, her eyes said. Be there with him. Be there for him.

  So she went back to her hotel, changed her clothes and went back to the Karas house. Susan told her Daro was out back, in his woodshed. Daro said she could find him there. Jaguar read resentment at this permission, not given lightly. But she wasn’t here for the parents. She was here for Daro.

  She walked across the yard to the small shed and knocked on the door. He mumbled somethi
ng, and she went inside. He was sitting on a high stool at a worktable, a piece of smooth wood growing smoother under his hands. Curled shavings cluttered the floor and the space carried their clean, sharp scent.

  She closed the door. The shed walls were plastered with posters of his favorite musicians—Tamo Boruni and the Blasters. He’d told her about them. The Blasters sang about real stuff, he said. War and fear and the dark man who came in the night for you.

  He looked up at her, his face pale and tired.

  “Me again,” she said. “How’re you doing?”

  “How do you think?” he asked, scowling. He saw her wince in response, and was glad of it. There. Some of his pain gone. Then he blushed, ashamed of himself, though he didn’t know why. Every time he turned around he felt ashamed of himself. Every question another lawyer or shrink asked him he felt ashamed. Sometimes he was sorry he ever told.

  “I brought you some mint,” Jaguar said. “It helps keep your mind clear.”

  She held out a thick bunch, dried and wrapped. He eyed her suspiciously, then took it from her, held it up to his nose and breathed in deeply.

  “That’s what you smell like,” he noted.

  He toyed with the bundle, put it on the worktable next to him. “Thanks,” he said, then went back to his task, smoothing wood. Smoothing it, soothing himself.

  Jaguar leaned against his workbench and watched. His hands moved without breaks in motion. She pointed at the tool he was using. “What’s that?” she asked.

  “An adze. Don’t you know an adze when you see one?”

  “I do now. Old tool, isn’t it? Aren’t there electronic versions?”

  “Yeah. I tried one once. They’re noisy. Feel this,” he said, reaching over and taking her hand in his, bringing it over to the curving piece he was working at. He pressed her hand against the wood and rubbed it back and forth. It was silky and clean.

  “Nice,” she said. “Like glass.”

  He nodded, and released her hand. That was the first time he’d ever touched her. She brought her hand up to her face and breathed in the scent of wood.

  “Is it mahogany?” she asked.

  “That’s right,” he said. “You can tell by the smell?”