"No. He said the killing had frightened him; he wanted no more such work."
I looked at the map, at Yoroch Pass. I said, "Where is he buried? Was the body brought back?"
"That would have been impossible. Unfortunately impossible."
"So he's still there. Is the grave marked?"
"I wouldn't know. The guard buried him, he'd know."
"How was he killed?"
"Shot. Shot from ambush."
"What about the guard? Where was he?"
"Right there. Oh, right there. He was shot too, wounded, left for dead. But the wound was slight, he was fortunate."
"Very fortunate."
"He radioed, told us what had happened. We sent a ship for him. He buried your brother, and when our men got to him they brought him back to the city."
"He buried my brother before the ship got to him?"
"You must understand the conditions," he said. "The ship couldn't go directly to Yoroch Pass. No air vehicle of any type could possibly make a landing anywhere in the Evening Mountains or to the east of them. You can't imagine the jagged, broken conditions there, and never being sure which is solid rock and which is merely a flimsy superstructure of ice."
I said, "What about a helicopter?"
"Possibly. A one or two man vehicle, possibly. But those mountains are full of Anarchaotians, trappers, press gangs, all sorts, and an aircraft would be an incredible prize for them. A two man helicopter would barely touch ground before it would be attacked. No, we sent a large plane to a landing field here, two days' march from Yoroch Pass, and sent a party of five men in to get Lastus and bring him out."
"Is that the guard's name? Lastus?"
44
"Yes. Piekow Lastus." Suddenly he looked up and said, "Ah! Perhaps you've solved my problem."
"I don't understand."
"It has to do," he said, "with your brother's ring. His college ring."
"I remember it."
"It so happens your brother and I attended the same engineering university, though of course at different times. Just the other day I saw one of our door guards wearing a ring that looked very familiar, and which turned out to be your brother's. As I wormed the story out of him, Lastus had naturally robbed your brother's body before burying him, and that's standard practice here, and this guard, who had been one of the five sent to bring Lastus back, had seen the ring on Lastus' finger and had by threats and intimidation forced Lastus to give it to him. You understand, that's the way Me works here. Outside the towers, of course, outside the towers."
"You've got the ring?"
"Yes, indeed. Yes. I've had it three days, and I haven't entirely known what to do with it. It should be sent to the next of kin, of course, in this case the parents, but how to explain its turning up so belatedly or its not having been buried with the body? llie customs on Anarchaos are difficult to explain in a letter."
"I can see that," I said.
He said, "But now I can give the ring to you! Would you mind? You'd relieve me of quite a responsibility, quite a responsibility."
I said, "Mr. Goss, you are nothing more than you seem—a good man, fussy, a bit of a bureaucrat. Why were you wary when I first asked you to tell me about my brother's death?"
He blinked at me in amazement, and blushed with embarrassment, trying to start a dozen sentences at once, so that for half a minute or so he merely garbled at me. Finally he shut his mouth, swallowed, licked his h'ps, and said, "I simply do my job, Mr. Malone; that's all I do, I simply do my job. I hate complications that aren't my concern, aren't my fault. I'm no good at this sort of thing, at conniving, at—at— Your brother's death was a tragedy, a tragedy, but it's done and over. Nothing can bring him back. And nothing can be done about it, not here, not on Anarchaos. Nothing."
45
"Ill take the ring," I said.
"Thank you," he said, trying for stiff formality. Then, more honestly, he said, "I considered your brother a friend of mine, Mr. Malone, despite the difference of our ages, our positions. I admired him, I expected some day that he would be my supervisor. I wish something could be done, and I'll help in in any way open to me. I can say nothing more than that. I'll get you the ring."
It was in his desk drawer. He found it right away and gave it to me and I put it on the ring finger of my left hand, where it felt artificial but comforting, like responsibility.
I said, "Do you know where I can find LastusP"
"I'm sorry, no. But one of the guards knows him well, and should be able to tell you. Lingo, his name is. He should be on duty at the main door right now."
"Is he the one who had the ring?"
"Yes."
"Lingo," I said.
Goss and I shook hands at his door, where he assured me again he would offer me assistance of any sort, "in any way open to me." He seemed ashamed of this escape clause even while he was saying it.
XII
lingo looked like a shaved gorilla, wearing sunglasses and fondling an automatic rifle. At first he professed total ignorance of Lastus or anything else I might want to talk about, and then he more openly stated bis position: he wanted trade information for money.
"I have money to give Lastus," I told him, "but nobody else. If Lastus wants to split with you later, that's up to him."
"How much you got for him?"
"It depends."
"On whatr
"On things that aren't your business." I showed him impatience which wasn't entirely feigned, saying, "If you won't tell me where to find him, I'll get the information somewhere else."
"Give me the money," he said, "and I'll see he gets it"
46
"Of course. Goodbye, Lingo."
"Wait a second," he said, as I turned away. When I faced him again he said, "You're the brother of that surveyor got killed, the one Lastus was with."
"That's right."
"That's what you want to talk to him about, how your brother got killed."
"Right again."
He glanced upward, toward the top of the tower. "And nobody cares? They don't mind you asking questions?"
"No. Why should they?"
He shrugged heavy shoulders.
I said, "I might have some money for you after all. Who would mind? Who do you think would mind, and why?"
He shook his head. "You give your money to Lastus. I'm np part of it."
"You can tell me where to find him."
He considered, and then said, "Why not? It can't make any diiference."
Except for the center of the city, where the towers were, the streets of Ulik—all the streets of all the cities, in fact-were nameless, mere dirt roads flanked by thrown-together shacks and huts and hovels. This namelessness made directions difficult to give, and Lingo eventually had to draw a map, showing me how many blocks to go in this direction, and then which way to turn, and again how many blocks to go, until I should at last arrive at the place where Lastus was living. When we were both satisfied that I could find Lastus without too much trouble, I left Lingo and went out to the auto, still sitting where I'd left it yesterday.
I had made only one stop between leaving Goss and ap-approaching Lingo, and that was at the guardroom on the first floor, near the elevator, where I reclaimed my weaponry, all of which was once again in place on my person. The throwing knife in its sheath was a pleasant presence between my shoulderblades, and the pistol, the gas can, the lead pipe and the other knife were comforting weights here and there in my clothing.