Kresh looked around the room at all of them. Leving, Devray, Welton, Melloy, Beddle, Verick, Phrost, Caliban, Prospero. The humans among them looked edgy, upset, nervous. Even the two robots looked a bit ill at ease. As well they might. “Fredda, you’re here because I assumed you’d want to see the end of it. You’re in the clear. As for the rest of you,” he said, “I have a problem. A very simple problem, but one with no simple solution. And my simple problem is this: It has come to my attention that you’re all guilty.”
It took a full ten seconds of stunned silence before they started shouting their denials.
“ALL GUILTY OF different crimes,” Kresh said. “But guilty just the same. You were the one that did it, Cinta.”
Cinta Melloy looked startled. “Me? Are you out of your mind? I might have a little dirt under my nails, but I didn’t kill anyone.”
“No,” Kresh agreed, “you didn’t. But you were the one who gave me the clue I needed. “ And it did no harm at all to rattle you and everyone el. \”e in the room by saying it that way, Kresh thought.
“What clue was that?” said Cinta.
“At the fire,” Kresh replied. “You said something about not being invited, and showing up anyway. ”
“That’s your big clue?” Cinta asked.
“That’s my big clue.”
“I hardly see how those words are the basis for accusing anyone of murder,” Prospero said.
“Oh, you and Caliban don’t need to worry about murder charges either,” Kresh said. “You are here precisely because I no longer suspect you. You have cleared yourselves of all charges-aside from attempted blackmail-without anyone realizing it.”
“How so?” Caliban asked.
“By not connecting the term ‘Valhalla’ to a garbled rendition of its meaning, “ Kresh said
“Alvar-Governor Kresh-for stars’ sake stop playing games!” Fredda said. “Just tell us whatever it is you have to tell us.”
“Be patient, Fredda,” Kresh said. “We’ll get there. ” He turned to the robots. “Caliban, Prospero, you told Donald. Now tell me-and I would urge you not to hold anything back, if you value your survival. When you came here, to this office, to meet Grieg, what was your plan?”
“To threaten him with the simultaneous exposure of every scandal on this planet if he decided to exterminate the New Law robots,” Prospero said.
“And you made this threat?” Kresh asked,
“We did, couching it in the most polite terms possible, “ Prospero said. “However, he did not seem at all upset or perturbed by it. ”
“I would go further than that,” Caliban said. “He seemed rather amused by the idea, as if he didn’t for a moment think we would carry it out.”
“And would you have?” Kresh asked.
The two robots looked at each other, and then Caliban spoke. “We were to meet the next day and begin preparing our materials for release,” Caliban said. “Then we heard that Grieg was dead, and of course canceled the plan. ”
“How did you get your information. ” Fredda asked.
“Slowly,” Prospero said. “Gradually. The rustbacking network is full of tipsters and rumormongers. And there is an old axiom to the effect that those who would seek the truth should follow the money. We studied a great number of transactions, legal and otherwise. They taught us much.”
“Tell me some of what was in that material,” Kresh said. “No, better still, let me tell you. You had proof that Simcor
Beddle here was taking Settler money-perhaps without knowing that he was taking it. ”
“But I-” Beddle began.
“Quiet, Beddle,” Kresh said. “You’re not Governor yet. Right now you’ll speak when spoken to. ” He turned back to the robots. “You also had proof that Sero Phrost and Tonya Welton were in the smuggling business together. ” Another little stir of reaction, but Phrost and Welton both had the sense to keep quiet. “Proof that Tierlaw Verick’s bidding group had been bribing government officials. Verick was also linked to the rustbackers-along with half the planet, it seems to me, but I doubt you would divulge that little tidbit.”
“Now just a moment,” Verick protested. “I did no such-”
“Quiet, Verick. ” Kresh said. “And you also had proof that Commander Devray and Captain Melloy here were both in possession of proof of criminal acts in high places and were not acting upon that information.”
Devray and Melloy seemed about to protest, but Kresh cut them off. “Not a word, either of you,” he said, with enough steel in his voice to silence both of them. “Both of you did have such information, and both of you informed Governor Grieg of it. Justen, you told him about Tierlaw’s bribery, and, Cinta, you told him about Sero Phrost smuggling Settler hardware and passing the proceeds to the Ironheads. I’ve seen Grieg’s files. I know. Grieg didn’t do anything about the information, either, for the same reasons you both kept quiet.”
“And what reason would that be?” Phrost demanded, daring to speak.
