The City and the City Part 16

"Maybe. I don't know. She wouldn't be the first person to be a letdown in writing, but she still had a reputation."

"Yolanda wasn't into Orciny stuff? That's not why she was studying with you?"

He sighed and sat down again. It was unimpressive, his lackl.u.s.tre up-down.

"I thought not. I wouldn't have supervised her. And no, not at first... but she'd mentioned it recently. Brought up dissensi dissensi, what might live there, all that. She knew my feelings, so she was trying to act as if it was all hypotheticals. It sounds ridiculous, but it honestly hadn't even occurred to me that it was because of Mahalia's influence. Was she talking to her about it? Do you know?"

"Tell us about the dissensi," dissensi," Dhatt said. "Do you know where they are?" Dhatt said. "Do you know where they are?"

He shrugged. "You know where some are, SD. There's no secret about lots of them. A few paces of back yard here, a deserted building there. The central five metres or so of Nuistu Park? Dissensus Dissensus. Ul Qoma claims it; Besel claims it. They're effectively crosshatched or out of bounds in both cities while the bickering goes on. There's just not that much exciting about them."

"I'd like a list from you."

"If you want, but you'll get it quicker via your own department, and mine is probably twenty years out of date. They do get resolved, time to time, and new ones emerge. And then you might hear of the secret ones."

"I'd like a list. Hang on, secret? If no one knows they're disputed, how can they be?"

"Quite. They're secretly secretly disputed, SD Dhatt. You have to get your head into the right mindset for this foolishness." disputed, SD Dhatt. You have to get your head into the right mindset for this foolishness."

"Doctor Bowden ..." I said. "Do you have any reason to think anyone might have anything against you?" you?"

"Why?" He was very abruptly alarmed. "What have you heard?"

"Nothing, only ..." I said, and paused. "There's some speculation that someone is targeting people who've been investigating Orciny." Dhatt made no move to interrupt me. "Perhaps you should be careful."

"What? I don't don't study Orciny, I haven't for years ..." study Orciny, I haven't for years ..."

"As you say yourself, once you've started this stuff, Doctor... I'm afraid you're the doyen whether you like it or not. Have you received anything that could be construed as a threat?"

"No ..."

"You were burgled." That was Dhatt. "A few weeks ago." We both looked at him. Dhatt was unembarra.s.sed by my surprise. Bowden's mouth worked.

"But that was just a burglary," he said. "Nothing was even taken ..."

"Yes, because they must've got startled-that was what we said at the time," Dhatt said. "Could be it was never their intent to take anything."

Bowden, and more surrept.i.tiously I, looked around the room, as if some malevolent gris-gris or electronic ear or painted threat might jump suddenly to light.

"SD, Inspector, this is utterly absurd; there is no Orciny ..."

"But," Dhatt said, "there are such things as nutters."

"Some of whom," I said, "for whatever reason are interested in some of the ideas being explored by yourself and Miss Rodriguez, Miss Geary ..."

"I don't think either of them were exploring ideas exploring ideas ..." ..."

"Whatever," Dhatt said. "The point is they got someone's attention. No, we're not sure why, or even if there is is a why." a why."

Bowden was staring absolutely aghast.

Chapter Sixteen.

DHATT TOOK THE LIST Bowden gave him and sent an underling to supplement it, sent officers to the itemised lots, derelict buildings, patches of kerb and little promenade s.p.a.ces on the river's sh.o.r.e, to scuff stones and probe at the edges of disputed, functionally crosshatched patches. I spoke to Corwi again that night-she made a joke about hoping this was a secure line-but we were unable to say anything useful to each other. Bowden gave him and sent an underling to supplement it, sent officers to the itemised lots, derelict buildings, patches of kerb and little promenade s.p.a.ces on the river's sh.o.r.e, to scuff stones and probe at the edges of disputed, functionally crosshatched patches. I spoke to Corwi again that night-she made a joke about hoping this was a secure line-but we were unable to say anything useful to each other.

Professor Nancy had sent a printout of Mahalia's chapters to the hotel. There were two more or less finished, two somewhat sketchy. I stopped reading them after not very long, looked instead at the photocopies of her annotated textbooks. There was a vivid disparity between the sedate, somewhat dull tone of the former, and the exclamation points and scribbled interjections of the latter, Mahalia arguing with her earlier selves and with the main text. The marginalia were incomparably the more interesting, to the extent that you could make any sense of them. I put them down eventually for Bowden's book.

Between the City and the City was tendentious. You could see it. There are secrets in Besel and in Ul Qoma, secrets everyone knows about: it was unnecessary to posit secret secrets. Still, the old stories, the mosaics and bas-reliefs, the artefacts the book referred to were in some cases astonishing-beautiful and startling. Young Bowden's readings of some still-unsolved mysteries of Precursor or Pre-Cleavage age works were ingenious and even convincing. He had an elegantly argued claim that the incomprehensible mechanisms euphemistically slanged as "clocks" were not mechanisms at all, but intricately chambered boxes designed solely to hold the gears they contained. His leaps to the was tendentious. You could see it. There are secrets in Besel and in Ul Qoma, secrets everyone knows about: it was unnecessary to posit secret secrets. Still, the old stories, the mosaics and bas-reliefs, the artefacts the book referred to were in some cases astonishing-beautiful and startling. Young Bowden's readings of some still-unsolved mysteries of Precursor or Pre-Cleavage age works were ingenious and even convincing. He had an elegantly argued claim that the incomprehensible mechanisms euphemistically slanged as "clocks" were not mechanisms at all, but intricately chambered boxes designed solely to hold the gears they contained. His leaps to the therefore therefore were lunatic, as he now admitted. were lunatic, as he now admitted.

Of course there would be paranoia, for a visitor to this city, where the locals would stare and stare furtively, where I would be watched by Breach, of which s.n.a.t.c.hed glances would not feel like anything I had experienced.

My cell phone rang, later, while I was sleeping. It was my Bes phone, showing an international call. It would p.i.s.s credit, but it was on the government.

"Borlu," I said.

"Inspector..." Illitan accent.

"Who is this?"

"Borlu I don't know why you ... I can't talk long. I ... thank you."

"Jaris." I sat up, put my feet on the floor. The young unif. "It's..."

"We're not f.u.c.king comrades, you know." He was not speaking in Old Illitan this time, but quickly in his own everyday language.

"Why would we be?"

"Right. I can't stay on the line."

"Okay."

"You could tell it was me, couldn't you? Who called you in Besel."

"I wasn't sure."

"Right. This call never f.u.c.king happened." I said nothing. "Thanks for the other day," he said. "For not saying. I met Marya when she came over here." I had not given her that name for a while, but for the moment when Dhatt had questioned the unifs. "She told me she knew our brothers and sisters over the border; she'd worked with them. But she wasn't one of us, you know."

"I know. You set me on that track in Besel ..."

"Shut up. Please. I thought she was at first, but the stuff she was asking about, it was ... She was into stuff you don't even know about." I would not preempt him. "Orciny." "Orciny." He must have interpreted my silence as awe. "She didn't give a s.h.i.t about unification. She was putting everyone in danger so she could use our libraries and our contacts lists ... I really liked her, but she was trouble. She only cared about Orciny. He must have interpreted my silence as awe. "She didn't give a s.h.i.t about unification. She was putting everyone in danger so she could use our libraries and our contacts lists ... I really liked her, but she was trouble. She only cared about Orciny.

"Borlu, she f.u.c.king found found it, Borlu. it, Borlu.

"Are you there? Do you understand? She found it..."

"How do you know?"

"She told me. None of the others knew. When we realised how ... dangerous she was she was banned from meetings. They thought she was, like, a spy or something. She wasn't that."

"You stayed in touch with her." He said nothing. "Why, if she was so ...?

"I ... she was ..."

"Why'd you call me? In Besel?"

"... She deserved better than a potter's field."

I was surprised he knew the term. "Were you together, Jaris?" I said.

"I hardly knew anything about her. Never asked. Never met her friends. We're careful. But she told me about Orciny. Showed me all her notes about it. She was ... Listen, Borlu, you won't believe me but she'd made contact made contact. There are places-"

"Dissensi?"

"No, shut up. Not disputed: places that everyone in Ul Qoma thinks are in Besel, and everyone in Besel thinks are in Ul Qoma. They're not in either one. They're Orciny. She found them. She told me she was helping."

"Doing what?" I only spoke at last because the silence went on so long.

"I don't know much. She was saving them. They wanted something. She said. Something like that. But when I said to her once 'How d'you know Orciny's on our side?' she just laughed and said 'I don't, they're not.' She wouldn't tell me a lot. I didn't want to know. She didn't talk about it much at all. I thought she might be crossing, through some of these places, but..."

"When did you last see her?"

"I don't know. A few days before she ... before. Listen, Borlu, this is what you need to know. She knew she was in trouble. She got really angry and upset when I said something about Orciny. The last time. She said I didn't understand anything. She said something like she didn't know if what she was doing was rest.i.tution or criminal."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. She said Breach was nothing nothing. I was shocked. Can you imagine? She said everyone who knew the truth about Orciny was in danger. She said there weren't many but anyone that did wouldn't even know how much s.h.i.t they were in, wouldn't believe it. I said 'Even me?' she said 'Maybe, I maybe already told you too much.'"

"What do you think it means?"

"What do you know about Orciny, Borlu? Why the f.u.c.k would anyone think Orciny was safe to f.u.c.k with? How d'you think you stay hidden for centuries? By playing nice? Light! I think somehow she got mixed up working for Orciny, is what I think happened, and I think they're like parasites, and they told her she was helping them but she found something out, and when she realised they killed killed her." He gathered himself. "She carried a knife at the end, for protection. From her." He gathered himself. "She carried a knife at the end, for protection. From Orciny." Orciny." A miserable laugh. "They killed her, Borlu. And they're going to kill everyone who might trouble them. Everyone who's ever brought attention to them." A miserable laugh. "They killed her, Borlu. And they're going to kill everyone who might trouble them. Everyone who's ever brought attention to them."

"What about you?"

"I'm f.u.c.ked, is what. She's gone, so I'm gone too. Ul Qoma can go f.u.c.k itself and so can Besel and so can Or-f.u.c.king-ciny. This is my good-bye. Can you hear the sound of wheels? In a minute this phone is going out the f.u.c.king window when we're done and say-onara. This call's a good-bye present, for her sake."

By the last words he was whispering. When I realised he had rung off I tried to call him back but his number was blocked.

I RUBBED MY EYES for long seconds, too long. I scribbled notes on the hotel-headed paper, nothing I would ever look at again, just trying to organise thoughts. I listed people. I saw the clock and did a time-zone calculation. I dialled a long-distance number on the hotel phone. for long seconds, too long. I scribbled notes on the hotel-headed paper, nothing I would ever look at again, just trying to organise thoughts. I listed people. I saw the clock and did a time-zone calculation. I dialled a long-distance number on the hotel phone.

"Mrs. Geary?"

"Who is this?"

"Mrs. Geary, this is Tyador Borlu. Of the Besel police." She said nothing. "We ... May I ask how Mr. Geary is?" I walked barefoot to the window.

"He's alright," she said finally. "Angry." She was very careful. She could not decide about me. I pulled the heavy curtains back a little, looked out. No matter that it was the small hours, there were a few figures visible in the street, as there always are. Now and then a car pa.s.sed. So late, it was harder to tell who was local and who foreign and so unseeable in the day: the colours of clothes were obscured by streetlamp light and the huddled quick night-walking blurred body language.

"I wanted to say again how sorry I was about what happened and to make sure you were alright."

"Have you got anything to tell me?"

"You mean have we caught who did this to your daughter? I'm sorry, Mrs. Geary, we have not. But I wanted to ask you ..." I waited, but she did not hang up, nor say anything. "Did Mahalia ever tell you she was seeing anyone here?"

She only made some sound. When I had waited several seconds I continued. "Do you know Yolanda Rodriguez? And why was it the Bes Bes nationalists Mr. Geary was looking for? When he breached. Mahalia lived in Ul Qoma." nationalists Mr. Geary was looking for? When he breached. Mahalia lived in Ul Qoma."

She made the sound and I realised that she was crying. I opened my mouth but could only listen to her. Too late as I woke up more I realised that I should perhaps have called from another phone, if my and Corwi's suspicions were right. Mrs. Geary did not break the connection, so after a little while I said her name.

"Why are you asking me about Yolanda?" she said finally. She had pulled her voice together. "Of course I met her, she's Mahalia's friend. Is she ...?"

"We're just trying to get hold of her. But..."

"Oh my G.o.d, is she missing? missing? Mahalia confided in her. Is that why ...? Is she ...?" Mahalia confided in her. Is that why ...? Is she ...?"

"Please don't, Mrs. Geary. I promise you there's no evidence of anything untoward; she may have just taken a few days away. Please." She started again but controlled herself.

"They hardly spoke to us on that flight," she said. "My husband woke up near the end and realised what had happened."

I said, "Mrs. Geary, was Mahalia involved with anyone here? That you know of? In Ul Qoma, I mean?"

"No." She sighed it. "You're thinking 'How would her mother know?' but I would. She didn't tell me details, but she ..." She gathered herself. "There was someone who hung around with her, but she didn't like him that way. Said it was too complicated." complicated."

"What was his name?"

"Don't you think I'd have told you? I don't know. She met him through politics, I think."

"You mentioned Qoma First."

"Oh, my girl made them all mad." She laughed a bit. "She got people sore on all sides of it. And even the unifiers, is that what they are? Michael was going to check them all. It was easier to find names and addresses for Besel. That's where we were. He was going to check them all out, one at a time. He wanted to find them all, because ... one of them did did this." this."

I promised her all the things she wanted me to, rubbing my forehead and staring at Ul Qoma's silhouettes.

Not later enough, I was woken by Dhatt's phone call.

"Are you still in f.u.c.king bed? Get up."

"How long before you ..." It was morning, not that early.

"I'm downstairs. Hurry up, come on. Someone sent a bomb."