the only Bond novice at Saint P’s.”
“But she
was
. Jael, Saint P’s isn’t closed to Bonds, but the number who apply is infinitesimal. The odds are against there being two Bond novices here at the same time, and I know none of the rest of the novices are Bonds. Well, there’s a couple I can’t vouch for personally, but I’ve asked around—subtly, of course—among the ones I’m on good terms with, and there aren’t any Bonds. Not now. That means Mariet isn’t here any more, and
that
means—”
“It’s a true-weight ray of light, and thank the God. Thanks to you, sister.”
She hesitated then, and he heard an uneasy laugh.
“Well, I wanted to give you that first, because I have more to report, and it’s not so encouraging. I told you I’d eliminated all but two of the novices for one reason or another—height, weight, VP ident. Well, today I . . . I got voice recordings from the last two.”
Jael pulled the towel up around his shoulders, feeling a chill in the air.
“And you eliminated them, too?”
“Yes. I’ve eliminated
all
the novices. But, Jael, I can’t believe Lady Adrien would be here as anything but a novice. Not unless Thea’s hiding her in a secret dungeon. It doesn’t make sense. Lectris is here, Mariet
was
here—I’m convinced she was Betha—so Lady Adrien
must
be here.”
“Val, I know.” He could understand her desperation, but the hint of panic in her tone cut to his heart. “Let’s look it over on a cool slant.”
“Maybe
you
should look it over. I think I’m past a cool slant.”
“All right, have you looked at this? Maybe after Bruno pinned Mariet, Adrien left Saint Petra’s.”
“No, not if she’s one of the novices. I run a head count every day at sunrise and sunset vespers. There were thirty-seven novices before Betha’s murder, and thirty-six afterward, and no new novices have come in. That would never be kept secret.”
“Then the gist must be in the elimination process.”
“Jael, I’ve gone over every piece of information I have, and every novice, time and time again.”
He said lightly, “And I thought you were gimming us all this time while you lounged off the days.”
That brought a laugh, even if it was brief.
“Of course I was. Saint Petra’s is just a resort spa in disguise. All right, Jael, I’ll start at the beginning again. I’ve missed something, but the God help me, I don’t know what it is. I’ll start on the tall ones. Maybe one of them is wearing padded shoes. Does SI have any detectors for that?”
“I’ll check with Ben.” He leaned back in the chair, his smile fading into an introspective frown. “Val, there’s more here that doesn’t make sense. Why is she still in hide? She must know Selasis already buried her.”
“Maybe she’s hoping for a contact with Alex—with the Phoenix—before she makes a move.”
“She isn’t making the contact easy.”
“Of course not. We can’t be sure how much she knows, and even if she’s sure Selasis is satisfied
now
that she’s dead, what if something turned up to make him realize Bruno made an error? I wouldn’t be breathing easy if I were her.”
“No, I suppose not. Well, at least you’re behind the walls, Val. You’ll line in on her sooner or later.”
“But how much time do I have? Later may be too late. Too late for . . . for Alex. Jael, I’ve been thinking about . . .” She hesitated, then went on firmly, “We’ve talked about it before, and I know you don’t agree with me, but I still think I should try to approach Sister Thea and show her the medallion.”
“Val, we have to assume Thea’s protecting Adrien with all she’s got. You go to her with that medal and tell her to show it to Adrien, what can she do? If she takes it, she’s admitting Adrien’s there, and your word that you’re friendly won’t carry any weight. In her place, I’d toss you and the medal out of Saint Petra’s on the minute. Remember, she’s already seen a murder
“But she
was
. Jael, Saint P’s isn’t closed to Bonds, but the number who apply is infinitesimal. The odds are against there being two Bond novices here at the same time, and I know none of the rest of the novices are Bonds. Well, there’s a couple I can’t vouch for personally, but I’ve asked around—subtly, of course—among the ones I’m on good terms with, and there aren’t any Bonds. Not now. That means Mariet isn’t here any more, and
that
means—”
“It’s a true-weight ray of light, and thank the God. Thanks to you, sister.”
She hesitated then, and he heard an uneasy laugh.
“Well, I wanted to give you that first, because I have more to report, and it’s not so encouraging. I told you I’d eliminated all but two of the novices for one reason or another—height, weight, VP ident. Well, today I . . . I got voice recordings from the last two.”
Jael pulled the towel up around his shoulders, feeling a chill in the air.
“And you eliminated them, too?”
“Yes. I’ve eliminated
all
the novices. But, Jael, I can’t believe Lady Adrien would be here as anything but a novice. Not unless Thea’s hiding her in a secret dungeon. It doesn’t make sense. Lectris is here, Mariet
was
here—I’m convinced she was Betha—so Lady Adrien
must
be here.”
“Val, I know.” He could understand her desperation, but the hint of panic in her tone cut to his heart. “Let’s look it over on a cool slant.”
“Maybe
you
should look it over. I think I’m past a cool slant.”
“All right, have you looked at this? Maybe after Bruno pinned Mariet, Adrien left Saint Petra’s.”
“No, not if she’s one of the novices. I run a head count every day at sunrise and sunset vespers. There were thirty-seven novices before Betha’s murder, and thirty-six afterward, and no new novices have come in. That would never be kept secret.”
“Then the gist must be in the elimination process.”
“Jael, I’ve gone over every piece of information I have, and every novice, time and time again.”
He said lightly, “And I thought you were gimming us all this time while you lounged off the days.”
That brought a laugh, even if it was brief.
“Of course I was. Saint Petra’s is just a resort spa in disguise. All right, Jael, I’ll start at the beginning again. I’ve missed something, but the God help me, I don’t know what it is. I’ll start on the tall ones. Maybe one of them is wearing padded shoes. Does SI have any detectors for that?”
“I’ll check with Ben.” He leaned back in the chair, his smile fading into an introspective frown. “Val, there’s more here that doesn’t make sense. Why is she still in hide? She must know Selasis already buried her.”
“Maybe she’s hoping for a contact with Alex—with the Phoenix—before she makes a move.”
“She isn’t making the contact easy.”
“Of course not. We can’t be sure how much she knows, and even if she’s sure Selasis is satisfied
now
that she’s dead, what if something turned up to make him realize Bruno made an error? I wouldn’t be breathing easy if I were her.”
“No, I suppose not. Well, at least you’re behind the walls, Val. You’ll line in on her sooner or later.”
“But how much time do I have? Later may be too late. Too late for . . . for Alex. Jael, I’ve been thinking about . . .” She hesitated, then went on firmly, “We’ve talked about it before, and I know you don’t agree with me, but I still think I should try to approach Sister Thea and show her the medallion.”
“Val, we have to assume Thea’s protecting Adrien with all she’s got. You go to her with that medal and tell her to show it to Adrien, what can she do? If she takes it, she’s admitting Adrien’s there, and your word that you’re friendly won’t carry any weight. In her place, I’d toss you and the medal out of Saint Petra’s on the minute. Remember, she’s already seen a murder
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