‘Yes,’ I said, though it had been a statement, not a question.
Saul White nodded solemnly. ‘Miss Anfield, why did the mission cleaner kill you?’
‘Objection!’ said White Suit. ‘This is speculation.’
‘We can’t put the mission cleaner on the stand and ask him,’ said Ryan’s lawyer, ‘because he’s dead.’
‘Objection sustained,’ said Wolfe.
‘Let me rephrase the question. Miss Anfield, why do you believe the mission cleaner killed you?’
I knew what he was asking me. This was my chance. ‘He didn’t understand the role I had played,’ I said. ‘Without me, the mission would have failed. Benjamin Hansen knew that and so did Orion. That’s why Orion came back for me. I saved the future; I was not a threat.’
‘No further questions, Your Honour.’
‘Thank you, Miss Anfield,’ said Wolfe. ‘You can step down from the witness box.’
Chapter 13
Back in my hotel room, I hung my suit in the wardrobe and changed into something more comfortable, a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. I lay on the bed and scanned the com-screen till I found a news channel.
They were speculating about events inside the courtroom. It was a closed trial, and none of the reporters had a clue what was actually going on. I saw myself arriving and leaving. The usual comments about star-crossed lovers were made. I saw Cassie arrive and leave, and Ben. A woman who was identified as Travis Deckard’s widow was the only witness who spoke to the camera. She accused Ryan of murdering her husband so he could be with his girlfriend.
I needed to get out. I tucked my hair inside the baseball cap Peg had lent me and crept out the back door of the hotel. So far this was still safe. The hotel backed on to a lane filled with service trucks and the stench of overflowing dustbins. Holding my breath, I hurried to the end of the lane and made my way back to the main road. A quick glance over my shoulder told me the press was still hanging around outside the front of the hotel. I’d done it.
I strolled to the waterfront and watched the pleasure boats for a few minutes. If I’d had cash instead of the stupid flexi-card that announced my identity to the world, I might have bought myself an ice cream and stayed there longer. I didn’t want an ice cream enough to trade in my anonymity.
I left the waterfront and wandered slowly through the backstreets of Lakeborough. Whereas the main streets were wide and clean and felt like they could have been any city anywhere, the backstreets had a different feel altogether. There were fruit and vegetable markets along one lane, a flower market along another, hot food traders along a third. The lanes smelt of rotting vegetables and rose petals, of sharp blueberries and fried rice. My stomach rumbled and I realised I had completely forgotten to eat lunch. It was half past four by now. I probably would have started heading back to my hotel room to order some food, but I suddenly found myself outside the gambling den where Peg and I had hidden a few days ago. Peg’s apartment was only a couple of minutes away. I had no idea whether or not he would be working, but decided to give him a try.
The greasy noodle bar underneath his apartment had a busy afternoon trade. Children, dressed in a smart blue school uniform, queued up to buy a small tub of sweet cricket noodles. Once again I wished I had cash instead of the flexi-card; there was no way I was willing to sacrifice the secrecy of Peg’s apartment for a carton of greasy noodles.
The door to the apartment complex was open so I climbed the stairs and knocked loudly on Peg’s front door.
He answered the door dressed in nothing but a pair of brown trousers and a loose vest. His feet were bare and his hair was mussed up in such a way he looked like he’d just got out of bed.
‘Did I wake you? I’m sorry. I was just passing.’
Peg smiled. ‘I wasn’t sleeping. Come in.’
He held the door wide open for me. I crossed the threshold just as someone came wandering out of his bedroom dressed in nothing but a red satin bra and pants, a dress trailing across the floor in her hand, an unlit cigar in the other. Lyra.
My face burned. ‘You have company. I didn’t realise.’
‘Lyra’s just leaving,’ said Peg. ‘She has to get back to work.’
Lyra stared at me. She seemed unembarrassed by her near nakedness and perhaps if I’d had a body as lean and taut as hers, I wouldn’t have rushed to cover it up either.
‘She works around the corner,’ he said. ‘She comes here to do her physio during her break.’
‘How was the trial, Eden? I saw you on the com-screen,’ said Lyra. ‘Did you prove that you’re exceptional or whatever it is you’re supposed to be?’
‘I’m really not sure how it’s going,’ I said. ‘I was only allowed in the courtroom for my questions.’
‘What did they ask you?’ she said, as she slipped her dress over her underwear.
‘The prosecuting lawyer just focused on our relationship. He wasn’t interested in hearing the whole story. It had nothing to do with discovering the truth. All he wanted to do was prove that Ryan went back to 2012 because he loved me.’
Lyra straightened her dress. ‘That’s a given surely. That’s always been their angle.’
‘Ryan’s lawyer asked the right questions. I think he did a good job. But Wolfe is the judge.’
Lyra swore. ‘That is bad news. Anyone else and he’d have a fighting chance.’
‘It’s not over yet.’
‘Wolfe’s been all over the news saying that the children of wealthy, influential families should be treated no different to anyone else. I think he made his mind up before the trial began.’
‘He can’t do that. He has to listen to the arguments,’ I said.
She grabbed her bag from the floor. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, Eden. After the verdict. Are we meeting at your hotel?’
‘Yes, at the hotel.’
Peg walked her to the door. ‘Come here as soon as you finish work and I’ll drive us to the Lakeview.’
‘OK,’ she said, placing one hand on his shoulder. She glanced at me and I quickly looked away. ‘See you later, Pegasus.’
The door slammed shut and I turned back to Peg.
‘I’m so sorry I interrupted the two of you. I didn’t realise –’
‘You didn’t interrupt us,’ said Peg, walking towards me. ‘We were finished before you got here. Lyra was leaving.’
‘Right. So does she usually do her physio in her underwear?’
‘She wears shorts and a T-shirt. She was just changing – it’s not the way it looked.’
I held up my hands. ‘It’s none of my business.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Lyra is not interested in me.’
I smirked. ‘She called you cute.’
‘From what I remember, that was a backhanded compliment – something about slumming it?’
‘She likes you.’
He turned away. ‘I’m not interested in Lyra, Eden. For a start, she’s Orion’s ex-girlfriend. That would be weird.’
My heart raced. ‘What?’
‘They were together for over a year. That’s a long time. I wouldn’t be comfortable. But it’s irrelevant, anyway, because I’m not interested and she’s not interested.’
‘Peg,’ I said. ‘Why didn’t you tell me that Lyra used to date Ryan?’
He shrugged. ‘I dunno. It never came up.’
‘It never occurred to you that I might want to know that?’
‘No.’
‘Is that why she doesn’t like me?’
Peg threw himself down on one of the couches. ‘She doesn’t dislike you. She’s just not the warm and cuddly sort.’
My stomach tied itself in knots.
‘What does it matter?’ said Peg. ‘It’s old news. Ry broke up with her before he even accepted the mission to 2012.’