Betrayed (Cry of the Guilty – Silence of the Innocent Book 2)

by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

  “Will you sign a metal note that you know he did the killing so I can take it back with me?” Gwin asked.

  “I could, but it won’t help you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because he was long dead when you did in your guy.”

  “I didn’t kill him!” Gwin shouted.

  “Okay, okay,” Shela conceded. “But he was still dead when your guy was murdered. So all you’ll prove is that you didn’t murder the others.”

  “But he was killed like the others so the police will know that I didn’t do it.”

  “Or they will say you made the murder look like the others to take suspicion off of you.”

  Gwin didn’t want to hear any more of what Shela had to say. She turned back to Sari. “I didn’t kill him. And I’m going back to prove it.”

  “Well, you have ten years to figure out how.”

  “I’m not waiting that long.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Gwin shut her mouth. No use broadcasting her plans. Sari would find out soon enough what she meant.

  “Not going to tell me?” Sari asked.

  Gwin shook her head.

  “Okay, tell me your background.”

  Gwin started with her training, some of her trips, her assignment to find the planet, her appearance before the Assembly, the night at the Hub, and ended with her arrest and sentencing. Sari asked a few questions for clarification.

  “What’s this message you want me to deliver?” she asked at the end.

  “Would you tell Flight Director Royd to come and see me as soon as possible? Tell him I have proof that I didn’t kill that man and I need his help.”

  Sari nodded and turned away. Gwin went back to her bunk to, once more, wait for Royd to come.

  * * *

  One morning dark clouds formed in the distance. Those out in the fields watched as they slowly advanced towards the settlement. Soon they blocked the sun and the blue sky, and as they moved overhead it began raining lightly. The drops spattered the dry ground, sending up miniature dust clouds.

  Sari heard the rain hitting the canvas roof. She jumped up and ran to the doorway. Few in the village had experienced any real rain before coming here but most of them welcomed it. They surged out into the street. Sari knew it was good for the plants and crops and she was excited by it. Like others she ran in it, tilted her head to feel it on her face, and opened her mouth to taste it. But then the centre of the storm moved closer and the clouds grew darker. Lightning streaked across the sky followed by the heavy rumblings of thunder. The flashes and noise scared the prisoners. The ones who had been enjoying the rain scurried to their buildings.

  Sari was covered with mud as she stood in the barracks doorway watching the rain. Soon the storm passed and the sun shone again. Sari joined many of the prisoners who went down to the river to wash the mud off their feet and clothes.

  During the day the water that had made the canvas roofs sag evaporated and the canvas dried. By evening there was just the odd puddle in the street.

  Sari recorded the settlement’s first rainstorm.

  * * *

  “It’s customer time.” Mat stood at the door with that evening’s clients.

  “There’s five,” Rebe said.

  “That’s right,” Mat agreed. “One is for Gwin.”

  “What?” Gwin yelled. “You promised me you would contact Royd if I did two.”

  “Sometimes promises can’t be kept and the person with the request has to make more of an effort.”

  “I made my effort.”

  “Yeah,” Shela said. “She did.”

  “This one is between Gwin and me,” Mat said. “Finding this Royd took a lot more time and effort than I thought it would and I feel you owe me another one.”

  “What do you mean, took?” Gwin asked, feeling some excitement. “Did you find him?”

  Mat grinned. “We’ll, let’s just say I’m trying to decide if I should take the message to him myself or send it with someone else.”

  “So you know which ship he’s staying on.”

  “Yes.”

  “Which one?”

  “You didn’t pay for any information.”

  “How long is it going to take to get the message to him?”

  Mat had shrugged. “I guess that depends on your efforts.”

  “I’m not doing it again,” Gwin said, knowing that it would probably mean her message wouldn’t get to Royd. But there was no way she could go through another session with one of these men. “I lived up to my side of the bargain, it’s your turn.”

  Mat smirked at her. “Last chance.”

  “I won’t be blackmailed again.” Gwin glared at him. It was only because of Sari that she could be so adamant.

  “So now you have an extra man,” Rebe said. “And there is no way I’m going to allow Shela and her girls to get more than us. So either you bring one more client or one of these guys is going to be disappointed.”

  “There’s only two of you,” Mat said.

  “I told you before that won’t change the deal. We still get an equal number of clients.”

  “How are you going to handle three?”

  “Just give them to us and you will find out.”

  Mat looked at Shela. “Do you want three tonight?”

  “Sure.”

  Gwin listened to the noises behind the curtains and thought of Mikk. How she missed him, his laugh, his arms around her, his kisses and now she felt a fear that she may have jeopardized her chances of return by not complying with Mat. After all, what difference did one more man make? She’d betrayed Mikk with the first one, the next ones didn’t make the betrayal any worse. Maybe she should tell Mat she’d take one more. The thought, however, turned her stomach. She’d wait a few days and see if Sari was able to do something.

  * * *

  Mikk slowly raised the temperature on the first chamber. It was time to thaw out one of the volunteers. He’d picked the one who had been given the least amount of glucose. Presumably, if the experiment worked with that amount, it would work with the higher levels also. He watched the body temperature rise. It reached the freezing point. He stopped to allow the body to adjust to the warmer temperature. This was the crucial time. He’d learned that the temperature had to rise so infinitesimal as to almost not move at all. It would be hours before the prisoner’s body temperature would be normal.

  When he felt he’d given it enough time, he recorded that it had been an hour. If this worked, he wanted to have everything marked down so he could repeat the experiment exactly. Before touching the knobs again, he blew onto his hands and rubbed them together as if they were cold. It was a bit of a superstition with him, but in the past whenever he’d worked on something, he’d done that before the final test. It had worked before and he hoped it would work now.

  He turned the knobs and watched as the gauge moved ever so slightly. He let it sit there awhile, then moved it again. Soon the breathing began and then the shivering. So far, so good. He checked the pulse; it was what it had been before the freezing. The breathing was strong and deep as if the subject was sleeping. He wrote that down as he had done in the past experiments. He wasn’t sure if it meant the sedative was still working or if it was the result of the body’s fight to ward off the effects of the freezing and return to its natural state.

  When the temperature reached normal, he waited. Nothing more happened. No movement of the limbs, no flutter of the eyelids, no opening of the eyes. He pinched the skin. No response. He lifted an arm. It fell back limply. He opened the eyelids. There was no flicker of life in the eyes. They just stared at the ceiling. He slapped the face. No change. He shone a light on them. No movement.

  The body was alive, the mind dead.

  He groaned and slammed the lid down on the chamber. Another failure. He was becoming discouraged with the experiment. Nothing he tried seemed to work. He looked at the other four chambers with the volunteers still in them. Was it worth continuing? Shoul
d he just pull the plug on those chambers and ship the bodies out to the feeding room where they would be kept alive for a month for the families to visit before being let die?

  He didn’t know what to do. He hated to admit defeat already. Maybe one of the others might prove to be the right combination. He’d continue but it was hard keeping up his enthusiasm with all the failures he’d had.

  He wished he had Gwin to talk to. She’d always listened to his outpouring of frustration and anger at the problems he encountered in his work. How he missed her; how he wanted her here now with him. He’d insist on them setting a date for their wedding. He’d insist on her moving in with him right now. He’d do all he could to show her he loved her.

  He thought back over the weeks she’d been gone. He’d spent as much time as he could at the courts asking for information on the evidence the police had about the murder. He’d been shown the scarf and purse and knew they were hers. He’d heard how she’d claimed that a needle had been stuck in her arm and she didn’t remember anything after that. He’d read the report on her trial and her sentencing. He knew in his heart that she’d been framed but he couldn’t figure out why or by whom. Nor could he figure out how to undo it.

  He and Britt had had so many discussions about what they could do and had come up with nothing. They were at a dead end with no idea how to turn everything around.

  * * *

  Over the past few weeks Judge Jym had been trying to find out how much Tame knew of his past. She knew about his visits to Harlot Row but did she know the whole story? He’d tried asking her questions without revealing too much, but her responses had been cautious.

  He’d been over to where the courthouse was being constructed and a feeling of pride had engulfed him. This would be his court and his only. He’d returned to the transport knowing that a decision had to be made. So he’d invited Tame to his room. When she arrived, he got right to the point.

  “How much do you know about my visits to Harlot Row?”

  “Everything.”

  “What do you mean, ‘everything’?”

  “I know you occasionally visited the section that specialized in unconventional sex.”

  “How do you know that?” He’d paid an additional fee for secrecy.

  “Well, the reason I’m here is because I spent some of my evenings on Harlot Row earning extra money.”

  “You did? I never saw you there.”

  “But I saw you.”

  “So you know what I like.”

  “I do.”

  “Maybe we’d better have a session just to make sure you can handle it.”

  Tame shrugged and slowly began removing her top. Judge Jym stared fascinated. His pent-up urges quickly overwhelmed him and he grabbed her and threw her on the bed.

  An hour later Judge Jym looked at Tame lying beside him. Both of them were sweating and their breathing was just beginning to return to normal. She had a bruise on her cheek and he had some scratches on his chest and back. He’d tested her and she not only agreed to how he liked his sex, she seemed to enjoy it.

  She smiled at him. “Well, do I pass?”

  He nodded. “You certainly do.”

  “So, are we getting married?”

  “Whenever you’re ready.”

  “I think we will have Governor Lind perform the ceremony and be the first married couple on the new planet.”

  “I like that idea.”

  She snuggled up to him. “We should find out from the governor when would be a good day.”

  “Fine with me.” Judge Jym found himself looking forward to being married. He didn’t kid himself that either of them was doing it for love, but he’d actually given up on finding anyone suitable for him. And the fact that he didn’t have to worry about choosing between satisfying his urges and maintaining the decorum of his office was a relief. He now would be listed in the history of this colony as a most respected judge.

  * * *

  Gwin glanced up to see Sari standing in the doorway of the dormitory watching her, a grim look on her face. Gwin wondered how long she’d been there since no one had announced her. The look slowed Gwin’s movements as she rose and walked to the door. She was going to get bad news.

  “Did you find him?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “You did?” Maybe she was wrong. “Which ship is he on?”

  “He’s on the Nostra.”

  “Did you get word to him?”

  “Yes.”

  Gwin felt a surge of elation at that one word. “What did he say?” she asked eagerly. “Is he coming to see me today?”

  “No.”

  “No?” Gwin was confused. “But that doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t he come to see me? Did you tell him that I’m innocent and I can prove it?”

  “Yes.”

  “And?” It sure was hard getting the information out of her.

  “He said he didn’t know you and for me to leave him alone.”

  Gwin stared at her and then shook her head. “No, he wouldn’t say that. There must be some mistake. Are you sure you were talking to the right man?”

  “Yes. Flight Director Royd, the one who discovered this planet with you.”

  “But he knows me,” Gwin insisted. “Why would he say he didn’t?”

  “I talked with some of the crew members and there are some rumours going around that I think you should know about. Can we sit on your bunk?”

  Gwin’s heart was sinking as she led Sari to her bed. “What are they?”

  “It seems that when Flight Director Royd was put in command of this fleet he was also put in charge of buying these ships and securing the fuel and provisions for the flight. Some of the crew are saying that he bought these ships at a lower price than what he claimed to the Leaders and he pocketed the difference. And they say he is getting a kickback on all the fuel and supplies bought for the voyage.”

  “They’re saying Royd did that?” Gwin asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Yes.” Sari let the idea sink in then said, “I think you should go back over everything that has happened since you and he discovered the planet.”

  “But I’ve told you everything.”

  “Yes, but now look at it from his point of view.”

  Gwin instantly grasped what Sari was hinting at. Her first thought was how angry Royd had been about being passed over for promotion. Then there was all the time he’d spent on the computer, as they were flying back from this planet, and his secret meeting with Zudo on Pidleon. If all those were proof that he had deceived the Leaders then the next step was for her to acknowledge that he had been part of the frame. For, in order to be able to work with Zudo, the last planet they’d visited had to be chosen for the colony. That planet was this one. And her trying to get the Leaders to pick a different planet would have put an end to his scheme. It was all so clear to her now she wondered why she hadn’t seen it before.

  “I’m sorry,” Sari said.

  Gwin looked at her and nodded. “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “Well, I at least now know the truth and where I stand.”

  Sari left and Gwin returned to her bunk wondering what she was going to do. She wished fervently that she’d clued into Royd before trying to contact him. But the idea that he had turned on her had simply never occurred to her, probably never would have occurred to her if Sari hadn’t pointed it out. So, in her ignorance, she’d given herself away. However, by his actions, so had he.

  She would have to go back to her first plan of sneaking onto a returning ship. It would be harder to do now because Royd knew her well enough to realize that she wouldn’t stay put. He would try to make sure that she didn’t get a chance to leave the planet. But her desire to return to Mikk and her life was strong.

  She also wondered if Mikk had been able to do anything to help prove her innocence.

  Chapter Seven

  Government House, the dormitories, police station, warehouses and other lesser
buildings were as complete as they were going to get for now. The grains and vegetables were growing. The animals were thriving. The big move to the permanent buildings began. For the last time, the prisoners took their beds apart. They carried them to the dormitories where they had been assigned. The buildings smelled of fresh wood and old canvas.

  Governor Lind had her furniture and clothing moved into Government House. The police officers checked out their residence that was separate from the station. The supplies that were going to be needed by the settlement until they were self-sufficient were carried from the ships to the warehouses.

  Too late Governor Lind realized that the two warehouses were too small. As many as possible of the crates and bundles were packed to the roof inside them with the rest placed haphazardly against the outside walls. During the stacking some of the sacks broke open and the contents spilled onto the ground. No one bothered to pick them up. She would get a third warehouse built as soon as possible.

  The Federer was chosen as the ship to stay behind for emergencies and to go for supplies if necessary. The Treachern was also staying but for a different reason. Its captain and crew refused to fly it, citing it was unsafe. They were moved to a different ship and the engine stripped of many of its parts so it couldn’t be started.

  The captains were organizing their ships in preparation to lift off at Governor Lind’s signal.

  * * *

  The moves into the dormitories and other buildings were complete. The canvas from the tents served as the roof but that didn’t bother the prisoners. The guards were leaving on the ships so these solid walls would keep out any wild animals that came around at night. They felt safer.

  Gwin lay on her bed, glad to be inside an actual building again. She knew that her time had run out. Governor Lind had announced this morning that she planned a big send off for the spaceships tomorrow. Since arriving on the planet, Gwin had scouted the areas where the ships sat. There had only been one guard at the door. But there was no reason for her to try and board. She’d have to hide for weeks without being discovered and how would she eat?