We shook hands all around. Filled the glasses for everyone. He’d always admired Rainbow’s efforts. If there was anything he could do, please don’t hesitate.
I always say that when you do the right thing, you get rewarded. Windy did some research and was able to date the outstation a little more precisely than we had, to the end of the Imperium years.
A couple of days later she called me at home in a state of suppressed excitement.
“I think I know who the victim was.”
I’d slept late, and was just getting out of the shower. Since I wasn’t appropriately dressed, we stayed on audio. “Who?”
“Lyra Kimonity.”
“Is she someone I should know?”
“Probably not. She was the first wife of Khalifa Torn.”
Ah. Torn I knew. Attila. Bogandiehl. Torn. Three of a kind. He had finished off the Imperium, seized power for himself, and ruled four years, murdering millions, before his own guards took him out. He had seen no need for the outstations, which were simply a drain on the treasury, so he shut them down.
“Torn liked to sleep with the wives of his staff and officers. Lyra made a fuss.”
“Ah.”
“She disappeared.”
“What makes you think it was her at the outstation?”
“Most historians think he exiled her. His stooges might have misunderstood his intention, because later he changed his mind. Tried to get her back. Or maybe he just forgot his original instructions. Anyhow, the person he’d given her to couldn’t produce her. When he found out the details of what had happened-the archives don’t specify what that was-he executed the people responsible. One of them was” -she paused to look at her notes- “Abgadi Diroush. And there was a second one whom he personally drowned. Berendi Lakato. Lakato was responsible for shutting down the outstations. And Diroush headed up the team that actually did the work. In any case, Lyra was never seen again.”
“Well,” I said, “that’s good news.”
That startled her. “How do you mean?”
“Makes the artifacts more valuable. Everybody loves a monster. You don’t think he ever visited the station personally, do you?”
She let me see that she was shocked. “No,” she said, “I don’t think so. He didn’t like to travel. Afraid somebody might seize power while he was gone.”
“That’s a pity.”
“I sent you a picture of her.”
I put it on-screen. Lyra had been a red-haired beauty. Big almond eyes. A fetching smile. I wondered how she’d gotten involved with Khalifa. And it occurred to me it’s not always an advantage to look good.
“Look at the wrist,” she said.
I knew what I was going to find: the jade bracelet. And there it was. I could even make out the sprig of ivy.
“Is it the same as the one you found?”
“Yes.”
“That confirms it, then.”
“Yeah.” Lyra was maybe twenty-two when the picture was taken. “How old would she have been?”
“We can’t get it exactly, but she was still young. Twenty-seven, maybe.”
I thought about her, marooned on the station. I wondered whether they’d at least left the lights on for her.
“Something else,” Windy said. “You brought back a boatload of artifacts, right?
From the Night Angel. ”
“We salvaged a few items, yes.”
“I was thinking that we might provide you with some publicity. Help you sell the merchandise.”
“What did you have in mind, Windy?”
“Why not put the artifacts temporarily in our hands? We could create an exhibition at the museum. Put everything on display for, say, a month. I suspect that sort of event would enhance their value considerably.”
“We might consider making some of them available,” I told her. “What do we get in return?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You get a Shenji exhibition. What do we get?”
“Chase, you’re going to get a ton of museum exposure.”
“I think Survey comes out way ahead on that arrangement.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you what. Let us have the artifacts, and I’ll let your boss in on something.”
“Nothing up this sleeve,” I said.
“Hear me out.”
“What’s the something?”
“We’re approaching the sixtieth anniversary of the loss of the Polaris. ”
I tossed the towel into a hamper and pulled on a robe. “You alone, Windy?”
“Yes.”
I went out to the living room and switched over to visual. She was sitting behind her desk.
“Must be nice to be able to keep those kinds of hours,” she said.
“I’m paid for what I know.”
“Of course. I’ve always thought that.”
“What’s the something you’re prepared to offer?”
“Next week, to mark the anniversary, several books are being released. A major studio production has been put together, and one of the networks even has a psychic who’s going around explaining what happened.”
“Aboard the Polaris? ”
“Yes.”
“What’s he say? The psychic?”
“Ghosts got ’em.”
“Why am I not surprised to hear that?”
“I’m not kidding. Ghosts. More or less. Some sort of supernatural fog. Goes right through the hull.”
“Okay.”
“The guy’s good. He’s got a track record.”
“I’m sure.”
“The point is that there’ll be a lot going on about the Polaris over the next couple of weeks. We’re doing a banquet, inviting some VIPs, and we’ve been holding off on the dedication so we could do everything at once.”
“The dedication?”
“A new wing. For the Polaris. ”
“You’re just getting around to it now?”
She laughed. “You’ll have to ask somebody else about that, Chase. I’ve only been here a few years. But, off the record, I suspect it was always a bit too spooky for Survey. Seven people vanish off a ship? It was a downbeat story for a long time. I don’t think they wanted to remind anybody. Now it’s mostly legend. You know what I mean? Anyhow, we’re going to make it into a two-week-long extravaganza. Now what I think you’ll be interested in is that we’re going to sell off some Polaris artifacts. At auction.”
“Artifacts?” That was a surprise. “I didn’t know you had any.”
“They were stored at the time of the event. They’re personal items mostly, slates, pressure suits, pens, mugs, you name it. And some gear, but not much.”
“Why? I mean, why’d they go into storage?”
“There were a lot of investigations. When the big one was done, the Trendel Commission, they sold the ship and probably forgot about the stuff. Or maybe somebody thought it’d be worth hanging on to.”
Artifacts from the Polaris. They’d be worth a fortune.
“Anyway, we’ll be issuing invitations to the banquet for you and Alex.”
I couldn’t help a wide smile. “You get access to the Night Angel artifacts, and we get an invitation to dinner.”
She actually managed to look hurt. “It’s not just a dinner. Some of our most important supporters will be there. It’ll be very exclusive. It’s going to get coverage.”
“Windy,” I said, “I tell you what I’ll do. We’ll let you have selected artifacts on loan for a month. In return, we get the dinner invitations-”
“-And?”
“-We get fifteen of the Polaris artifacts at no cost prior to the auction. We’ll take a look and let you know what we want.”
“You know damned well I can’t do that, Chase. I don’t have that kind of authority.”
“Talk to Ponzio.”
“He won’t agree. He’d think I’ve lost my mind. So would I.”
“Windy, do I need to remind you that Survey is getting an outstation from us?”
“That was a gift. No strings, remember? You can’t start trying to deal for it now.”
“Okay. That’s fair enough. Not very appreciative, but fair.”
“Look, Chase, I tell you what I’ll do. I’ll give you first crack at the artifacts. A preauction sale. You can take a look at the stuff, and if we can agree on a price, you’re in business.”
“A reasonable price,” I said.
“Yes. Of course. We wouldn’t try to take advantage of Rainbow.”
“Windy, you know as well as I do there’ll be an initial explosion in prices, then they’ll settle down.”
“I’m sure we’ll have no problem on that score. But I won’t be able to see my way clear to make fifteen available.”