Jefecra was getting annoyed. An hour of questioning and Lordbug was still denying everything. He himself was starting to wonder. Lord Kehala had been very clear. He had inside information, he said. He couldn’t reveal his source because it would put his man at risk. Reluctantly, Jefecra had agreed to bring Lordbug in, although it was not his way. He wanted to speak to Kehala’s man first. You have to be methodical about these things.
Then he had seen Lordbug at the execution. He had been jumpy as if he was expecting something. He had seen him look at the sky, had seen the bird. It must have been under Lordbug’s control, but they had searched him and had found no Glyph. Maybe someone else was assisting. Lordbug had impeded the guard when they had tried to prevent Sudisir escaping. He had distracted them – he had seen that with his own eyes.
He left Lordbug in his cell and went back to his desk. The evidence from the murder had been cleared away and filed neatly in small wooden boxes. Kehala had told him to concentrate on Sudisir’s execution, so the murder investigation was on the back burner now. He had tried to keep it to the back of his mind but thoughts kept popping up. Why had the body been left in such a conspicuous place? Why not hide it?
No, he had to focus. Lordbug and perhaps others had aided the escape of a dangerous criminal and he had to get a confession. Kehalar had explained that Lordbug’s part in Sudisir’s initial capture had been a smokescreen. In fact, he had tried to help him evade capture. No, it was Arka that had subdued Sudisir. But she trusted Lordbug. Maybe he moved her into the University so he could keep an eye on her. He needed Finara to bring Arka to him. Without her, he could not be sure.
Facts! He needed more facts. He skimmed though his notebook. The interviews with Finara and Bevon about the rat. The number 7 leapt off the page. Bevon had said the tail was bent into the shape of a seven. Maybe, just maybe, worth a try. He was clutching at straws now.
Returning to Lordbug’s cell, he dismissed the guard and sat opposite Lordbug.
“You are making this very hard for yourself,” he began.
Lordbug ignored this.
“All you have to do is tell me what you know and you can go home. You will be helping yourself, Lordbug.”
Lordbug looked at Jefecra. He was doing a good job hiding his temper, he thought. What could he tell him? If Jefecra found out that Lordbug had been spying on a group of influential and ‘respectable’ members of Hydlaa society, he would have him arrested charged and incarcerated. He would think the worst. But as far as his involvement in Sudisir’s escape went, he couldn’t prove a thing; all Lordbug had to do was keep quiet.
Jefecra looked pensive. It was time to take a gamble.
“Let me show you something,” he said.
Taking a sheet out of his notebook, he drew a figure seven on the paper and handed it to Lordbug. His expression flickered, just long enough for Jefecra to perceive surprise and alarm.
“You see, I knew about this all along,” he crooned, “I suggest now would be a good time to tell me what you know.”
Lordbug’s mind raced. It was inconceivable that Jefecra was a member of the Seven. He had suspected that they had someone working for them in the guard, but the Captain? There was an uneasy silence, but Jefecra knew Lordbug was thinking. It was all a matter of timing. He stood up and walked behind Lordbug’s chair.
“Come on Lordbug, we have known each other a long time.”
He leant over so that his face was level with the side of Lordbug’s head. Lordbug looked ahead, his gaze fixed on the cell wall.
“I know that you know about this. I also suspect this has something to do with the murder we are investigating (where did that come from? he thought). You don’t want to get mixed up in that business, now do you? So just tell me what you know about seven.”
Lordbug shifted uncomfortably. The stakes had suddenly got higher. He still harboured doubts about the identity of the dead man. If he was their man, the guard might have found a link to him. What if he had a message on him? What if they had identified him? They would soon find out that Lordbug knew him.
“And I was rather hoping you might want to help us with this…If you had, of course, we might have been willing to help you too. A word in the right ear, you know.”
Jefecra stood perfectly still, his head level with Lordbug’s cheek. He could see a slight twitch in his eyelid; he knew he was getting there.
Lordbug sighed. “Just tell him!” a voice shouted in his head, “He’ll know sooner or later. Just tell him the truth!”
And so he started, slowly at first, to tell Jefecra about the Seven. How he had become aware that the criminal business in Hydlaa was gradually being taken over by this group. How he had managed to get a man on the inside, how he was starting to get information out, how he had realised that they were going to rescue Sudisir. And, yes, the dead man was probably their spy. He realised that now, in spite of the message.
“And why did you not come to me?” asked Jefecra.
This was a tough one. Lordbug could hardly tell him that he suspected that the Seven had men in the guard, could he? But that was how they had managed to avoid being found out. A change of guard here, a red herring there. Someone had been manipulating Jefecra. He wasn’t going to take that easily. And, Lordbug could not prove it; he had no names.
“I know you respond to facts,” said Lordbug, “I wanted more proof.”
It was a good answer, and Jefecra had to agree.
“But in doing so, you sent a man to his death?”
Lordbug looked down. This is what most deeply troubled him.
“Tell me everything you know.”
Lordbug nodded. He felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
