“Do you know where he is?” Paula asked.
“Yes.”
“Is he safe?”
“Yes.”
She took the hourly out of her pocket and unfolded it. There was no sense worrying about Saba. Below the story about the Styths was a headline in lighter print. The Council had voted to send a peacekeeping force to Venus 14, to settle the civil war there. Maybe that was why Jefferson was in Crosby’s Planet. Meddling Roland. She looked over the top edge of the hourly at Chi Parine’s aides, sitting in their row opposite her. Now the little lawyer himself came out of Wu-wei’s office, behind the courtroom, and took his place on the adversary side. He wore a yellow vest, bright as a daffodil.
Wu-wei came in, and everybody stood but Tanuojin. The audience howled until the bailiff rang for order. Chi Parine advanced swaggering toward the Bench.
“Your Excellency, there is a very serious charge being made against one party of this court.”
Paula straightened her face. She put the hourly into the pocket of her jacket. Wu-wei glanced at Tanuojin and said, “Parine, I hope you aren’t about to use my time and space for a hyde-park.”
“Your Excellency, this is entirely relevant.” Parine gestured with an outstretched hand, and an aide hurried forward with two sheets of paper. He gave one to the Bench and brought the other across the room to Paula. Parine said, “I am giving you a record of a heinous crime. A horrible crime. Of which the defenser is certainly not ignorant.”
The paper was a list of four names, addresses, ages, and causes of death. Parine spoke with relish. His voice boomed through the room.
“These four men were murdered last night. They were slaughtered, brutally and efficiently, at the office of the Committee for the Revolution.” The rapt crowd murmured. “They were slashed to pieces, as if by the claws of a powerful animal.” The crowd gave up its breath in a sensuous gasp.
“Bench,” Paula said, “would you mind requiring the adversary to show how all this is relevant?”
Wu-wei smoothed down the worksheet on the table before him with the flat of his hand. “I’ll accept that request. Parine?”
Parine stalked toward Tanuojin, who sat moveless in his chair, his head propped up on his fist. “The guards passed at least one Styth into that sector and out again, at times bracketing the time of the murder. Are you willing to surrender that man for questioning?”
“If you like,” Tanuojin said. His voice was mild. “It was me.”
The audience fell silent. Parine’s forehead creased into a frown. Tanuojin unfolded himself out of the chair. “I’m an Akellar of the Empire. I don’t savage people in alleyways.”
Wu-wei’s lips were curved into a pensive bow. His gaze went to Tanuojin’s hands. Parine said, “I don’t believe it was you. Your—colleague isn’t here. Why not? Because he’s recovering?”
Paula leaned forward in her chair. “Parine, do you have any actual evidence of any of this?”
“Your Excellency.” Parine rushed forward toward the Bench. “These four men were murdered in a manner that only a Styth could employ. One of the defense panel is missing, obviously another casualty. Since it happened at the Committee office, and these people are so well connected with the anarchists, we have no hard evidence—”
Tanuojin said, “If there really is a connection between what happened there and here, it’s between those four niggers and this one.” He waved his hand at Parine.
Parine said, “Your Excellency—” and the Bench shook his head at him.
“No, Parine. No more argument. Obviously I am the only one of us who doesn’t know what happened at the Committee office. Since neither of you wants to enlighten me, I can’t rule on your motion.” He rapped his knuckles on the table. “I’m finding you both in contempt. I’ll charge you each half a day for wasting my time and trying my patience.”
Tanuojin’s head snapped up. “I resent being called a liar.”
“I resent being lied to.”
Parine hurried forward. His flushed face clashed with his yellow vest. “Your Excellency, I consider this a grounds for protesting the conduct of the entire trial.”
“Your prerogative, Mr. Parine.” The little judge banged on the table. “I’ll break for lunch. Until fourteen o’clock. Don’t bother to sit, Tanuojin.” He walked out the little door in the wall behind his table.
Parine said, “I’ve never seen such bias in a court of this rank.” Among his staff, papercases snapped closed in a series of reports like gunshots. Tanuojin’s eyes closed. He put his head back, his hands at his sides, tired.
“I see a few of the raiding party are missing,” Parine said.
“Yes,” Tanuojin said, “but now we have General Gordon, white boy, and General Marak and Cam Savenia and you are going to wish we didn’t.”
Paula went around the table to the door to the judge’s office and knocked.
“Come in,” Wu-wei called.
She turned the latch. Wu-wei was standing at the desk on the far side of the small half-round room. He said, “Oh. Mendoza. Come in.”
She crossed the room. On the wall behind him were three or four Japanese woodcuts of women bathing and combing their hair. The little yellow judge sat down behind his desk.
“I’ll warn you, Mendoza, the past two days’ experience has not inclined me toward your people.”
“Don’t blame us for the ambush at the Committee office.” She nodded at the woodcuts. “Those are beautiful. Are they originals?” The black and white studies were of the style called “the floating world,” delighting in the ordinary.
“Yes,” he said. “ ‘Ambush’ is rather a suggestive word.”
She looked from the prints to the smooth face of the judge. “Yes, ambush. Dick Bunker is in jail on a charge of forgery in that sector. He’ll tell you what happened.” She went back out to the courtroom.
Tanuojin had gone. She stopped, surprised: Saba was sitting in the chair his lyo had been using. She crossed to the other of the big armchairs.
“Where were you? Not at prayers.”
“You two didn’t seem to need me.” He looked around the courtroom. Even in recess the audience still packed the gallery chairs. They sat eating lunches they had brought, a hundred faces moving around mouthfuls of food. Saba said, “Is he hotted up at me?”
“He’s yours, not mine. I don’t know what he thinks.”
“What has happened? Are you still going through the maneuvers with this cockspur lawyer?”
“Yes, here. The big events are all outside the courtroom.” She told him about the fight at the Committee office and General Gordon’s confession. “So we are acting as if we have the tape. To see how that makes Parine jump.”
“A fight. Was he hurt?”
“Momentarily.” She nodded past him toward the big doors at the back of the courtroom. “Here he comes.”
Tanuojin walked down the aisle, his men at his back, ignoring the hisses and insults of the crowd on either side. He swung the gate open, gave Saba a brief angry look, and came over to Paula, in the other armchair.
“Get up.”
She stayed in place as long as she dared, about fifteen seconds, and gave up the chair to him. Saba was looking off in another direction. While she brought a straight chair from the wall to the space between the armchairs, Parine led his staff down the aisle, his chest puffed round under the sunlight-yellow vest, the heavy raised heels of his shoes tap-tapping on the floor. The bailiff stood up.
“Please rise for the Bench.”