Caliban

Leaving Tonya Welton knowing just enough that she would be bound and determined to.find out more at any cost,Kresh thought.Unless, of course, his whole story is fabricated from beginning to end and they cooked it up together. They would have wanted a detail like that in there, to account for Tonya jumping into my investigation like a ton of bricks, ready and willing to misdirect it toward every direction but the right one.

“And that’s it,” Kresh said. “That’s all you saw, and all you did.”

“Yes, sir. I assure you that I would be delighted if there were more I could tell you-but that is honestly all I know.”

And it’s enough to wipe out every start toward a lead I’ve made in this case,Kresh thought. “All right, then,” he said. “You are free to go, at least for the moment.”

Gubber Anshaw looked surprised. “You mean, that’s it?”

“That’s it for now,” Kresh growled. “Go.Now. Before I change my mind.”

Gubber swallowed hard, stood up, and went.

ALVAR Kresh watched Anshaw go and then turned toward Donald. “ All right, what have you got? Were they telling the truth?”

“Before I answer that, I must note that the situation is of course complicated by the fact that both Anshaw and Terach had a hand in my design and construction. They are therefore riot only more aware than the average citizen that I have sensors designed to serve to assist in detecting falsehoods by witnesses, they have detailed knowledge of how those sensors operate. It is possible they could be able to use that knowledge and feign the sort of responses that tend to indicate veracity.”

“Do you judge that to be likely?”

“No, sir. It seems quite unlikely that either of them is capable of the sort of fine control of their involuntary reactions required for such a gambit to succeed. Indeed, they both seemed so nervous that I would not be surprised if they both had forgotten about my capabilities in that area. On the other hand, if one or both were skillful enough to feign the biomarkers of veracity while lying, that is exactly what I would expect to detect.”

“Very well, then. I will keep in mind that your answer will be more of a balance of probabilities than a hard-and-fast answer. What is your judgment of their veracity?”

“Both men exhibited the classic suite of biophysical reactions for truthful male adults in stressful situations. They were agitated, worried, upset, but all that is to be expected. I believe that both were telling the truth-and indeed, at some pains to conceal nothing.”

Alvar nodded and sighed. “I am forced to agree. If I’m any judge at all, the two of them were both telling the truth. But if theywere telling the truth, then we are further from a solution than ever before. All they managed to do was muddy the waters. Did you noticeany sort of unusual emotional reaction that might possibly tell us something?”

“I did note several strong emotional reactions, but I doubt they will be of much use. Gubber Anshaw’s exhibited evidence of strong feeling for Tonya Welton. I will freely confess, sir, that I am no expert in the arena of human emotions, but there is much there that baffles me. I do not quite understand what there is in Gubber Anshaw that Tonya Welton finds attractive. Judging against the romantic couples I have had occasion to observe, the two of them do not strike me as, well,compatible.”

Alvar Kresh laughed, and it felt good to do so. There had not been a lot to laugh about in the past few days. “Donald, you are far more expert than you think. I would expect that every single person who knows about this affair has wondered the same thing. And wondered why Anshaw worships her, instead of being terrified by her.”

“That question also crossed my mind. She is a rather intimidating person. But what is the answer, then? How can this sort of unlikely alliance be explained?”

Kresh shook his head. “No one has ever figured that out, and no one ever will, I expect. Perhaps Tonya Welton does not care a bit about Anshaw, and is merely using him for some end of her own. She’s the sort of woman who could turn a Gubber Anshaw into a willing slave without a great deal of trouble, if she set her mind to it.”

“Do you think that is the explanation?”