“What are we going to witness?” Josh noticed that Sapphire didn’t look so shattered, though she was pale and blinking in the light of a clear Grisel morning. It was Sig who seemed oddly uneasy and fidgety.
“Brewster,” Saph said. “Winnie is going to question him. She’ll make a recording of everything, but she wants live witnesses, too.”
“Live witnesses, but mostly silent ones,” said Winnie. She had reappeared from the next building, which was Brewster’s own dormitory. “It’s important that you observe everything, but once we’re inside I don’t want you to say one word unless I ask you a direct question. No matter if it seems to make no sense, you all keep quiet—except Sig, who will ask one question and make one statement that he and I have already discussed. Can you do that?”
The other three stared at Sig. He shrugged, but his face gave nothing away.
“All right,” Sapphire said at last, and the others nodded.
“But I have a question before we go in,” Topaz said. “Was the drink that he was going to give us poisoned?”
“It was.”
“Then why do you need to question Brewster? I don’t see him confessing to anything. And you’ve got enough evidence already, haven’t you?”
Winnie nodded. “More than enough, if all we needed to do was prove that Brewster was guilty of attempted murder, and maybe of actual murder—though that will be harder to prove. But I want more. I want to use him to snare Unimine.”
“How?” Topaz asked. “I thought you said they’re really cunning types, who’ll vanish at the first sign of trouble. I can’t see them trying to save Brewster.”
“They won’t. Not in a million years.”
“So how can you use him to catch them?”
“You’ll see in just a few minutes.” Winnie glanced at her watch. “All right, he’s been awake and alone in there for over half an hour. He’s had time to think about things. Let’s go.”
Josh couldn’t speak for the others, but his stomach was tight with tension as they went inside. Sol Brewster might not scare Winnie Carlson, but he still scared Josh.
The man was sitting in the biggest chair in the room. Broad gray restraining straps held him at forearms, wrists, waist, ankles, and knees. It was difficult to read his facial expression, because his mouth, chin, and cheeks were daubed with an orange ointment. He gave the trainees one glance of loathing, then looked away.
“Are you ready to cooperate yet?” Winnie asked. “I’ve told you what I want. You didn’t set all this up by yourself. Unimine is in it, too. I need the details of that. And I’d like some practical help, too.”
Brewster said nothing. He did not even look at her.
“You know, you ought to be a bit more appreciative,” she went on. “I didn’t have to wipe those spices off your face, and wash them out of your mouth. I could have let you sit there all night, and this morning you wouldn’t have been able to speak even if you wanted to.”
That persuaded him to look at her—not in appreciation, but with a glare of hatred and anger. Josh noticed something odd. Brewster seemed to have shrunk since the previous day; and Winnie seemed to have grown. She had become the dominant one, clearly in charge.
“You probably think you know exactly where you stand,” Winnie said. “I told you who I am, and why I am on Solferino. I had to. My job requires that as a representative of SDSI state my true identity when making an arrest. And I’m sure you know all your rights. I’ve accused you of certain things, including multiple murder, but you don’t have to defend yourself to me. In fact, you don’t have to say one word, until we’re back Sol-side and you have your own legal counsel. You probably figure that you’re better off sitting tight. We can accuse you of all sorts of things, you feel, but we can’t prove them.”
Brewster did not smile, but his head nodded a fraction of an inch and he gave her a sneer of contempt.
“And if I were the only person on Solferino,” Winnie went on, “you’d be quite right in all your assumptions. But I’m not. The trainees are here, too.” She pointed at Josh and the other three, standing in a silent row facing Brewster. “They are underage, all of them. It would be quite irresponsible for me to leave them alone on Solferino, while I was taking you back through the node to a Sol-side arraignment and trial. So I have a problem, don’t I? I have to be in two places at once. I asked these four—the oldest of the trainees, as you know—if they had any suggestions as to how to solve my problem.”
For the first time, Brewster seemed puzzled and faintly alarmed.
“Nothing bad, of course,” said Winnie. “I have explained to them that although you are legally a prisoner, you cannot be mistreated in any way. Even if they felt that you deserved to have the shit kicked out of you—which they do—I cannot allow it.”
“Damn right.” Brewster relaxed again. “I know my rights.”
“I’m sure you do. Very well.” Winnie turned to Sig. “Why don’t you ask Mr. Brewster your question?”
Sig walked to stand directly in front of Brewster. “Agent Carlson insists that you made a deal with the Unimine conglomerate, to get rid of us and leave them free to take over Solferino and obtain mineral development rights here. Is that true?”
Brewster shook his head. “It’s total bullshit. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I work for Foodlines, and only FoodLines. I have no deal with Unimine, and I never had one.” He gave Winnie Carlson a confident glare. “Try to prove anything different, and you’ll make a fool of yourself.”
“I hear you,” said Winnie. “All right, Sig. Now make your suggestion.”
“Even if you are innocent of every charge, Mr. Brewster, according to Agent Carlson you must return at once through the node network to Earth, where you will be formally tried. However, it is not necessary that Agent Carlson accompany you. She must reach Earth in time for your trial, but she does not have to leave here at once. We trainees would like Agent Carlson to remain with us, until someone else can be sent out to continue our training. So the question becomes, who could accompany you to Earth, and be responsible for your safekeeping? We suggest that the job be given to Unimine. They are already present in the Grisel system, working on Cauldron. If we send them a message, they can pick you up from here and have their next ship take you to Earth. Please think about this possibility. If you agree, Agent Carlson will make the request of them at once.”
Brewster thought—but not for long. He lowered his head to his chest, then a second later raised it to glare at Winnie. “Damn you, Carlson. This wasn’t their idea—it’s yours.”
“I will deny any such suggestion, Mr. Brewster. It sounds like an excellent idea, although as I say it had not occurred to me. Unless you have something more to tell me, I will go now. I will use our crippled message equipment to send a request for assistance to the Unimine work force on Cauldron.”
“You can’t do that!” Brewster fought against the straps, his face turning red with effort. After a few seconds of useless struggle, he slumped back in the chair.
“All right, Carlson.” He croaked the words like an old man. “You win, damn you. I’ll talk.”
“And will you cooperate, in any way that I request?”
“I’ll cooperate. Just get me a drink of water.” He raised himself a little in the chair. “And get rid of those damned—those—”
“ ‘Trainees’ is the word you are looking for.” Winnie nodded to Josh and the others. “All right, you can go. You do not need to be here for this. In fact, it is better if you are not.”
They trooped out, into a Solferino morning so bright that they all had to shield their eyes. Grisel, high in the sky, seemed almost golden.