“That’s crazy,” Roslyn said. “Why would she do all that to get to me? I’m just an ordinary server.”
The man folded his hands. “If you don’t know, Ms. Turin, I’m certain I don’t. Fortunately for you, we have video evidence of her purchasing the explosives detonated at the institution. She’s also been arrested on several charges related to her time on Arachne, which are so confidential even I can’t get my hands on them.”
Roslyn didn’t have to feign her relief. “I suppose it’s back to the Bhanushalis for me.”
“Actually, that’s something else.” The man pulled something up on his datapad. “When I looked over your record, I discovered Dr. Turin was instrumental in keeping you out of university. The case was predicated on your scoring above expectations on art history and archaeology, but your scores in the basic subjects were sufficient to win you a scholarship as well.”
“What are you saying? I can go to Chora?”
“You’ll be starting school three weeks behind schedule,” the man said. “You will have to work very hard to catch up, or else you will be back with the Bhanushalis.”
Roslyn couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “I can work hard, and believe me, sir, I will!”
“Let me get this straight,” Detective Polanski said. “You’re telling me you didn’t steal those diamonds. They were the payment for extensive repairs you made to Tegan O’Leary’s ship.”
Jack and Cobalt were back in an interrogation room on Ariadne, but at least they were together that time.
“That’s correct,” Jack said. “We had no idea they were the stolen diamonds you had come after us for.”
“Yet you ran away.”
Jack spread out his hands. “What did you expect us to do? You insisted we had stolen those diamonds, and we hadn’t. We didn’t want to go to jail for nothing. O’Leary was the one who blasted a hole in your cruiser. We were just trying to get away from her. She clearly wanted to kill us to prevent us from ratting her out.”
Polanski tapped his finger on the table. “Do you have any proof whatsoever of your claim? We have no record of Tegan O’Leary on the train that was robbed. Both of you, however, were there.”
Cobalt spoke up, surprising Jack. “The wires in her navigation computer are braided. Red, orange, and white. You’ll see they’re the same as on the Rose. Nobody does that but me.”
Polanski narrowed his eyes and nodded. “I’ll check it out.” He left the room.
Jack wanted to ask how Cobalt knew about the wires, but not in full view of the cameras, so they waited in silence for a few hours until Polanski returned.
“Your story checks out,” the detective said. “It helps that Tegan O’Leary is wanted for some secret crimes on Arachne and blew a hole in our police cruiser. I’m willing to let you go with a fine.”
“Let me guess,” Cobalt said. “The Rose and whatever diamonds we have remaining.”
Polanski smiled.
Bliss waited for Will outside his office in Chora. Lexi and Gavin had driven into town with her, but they decided to go off and have brother-sister bonding time. Bliss wished Gavin luck. Lexi had been absolutely miserable since she couldn’t become a famous singer.
Eventually, Will came down the stairs, looking rather serious.
“So?” Bliss asked. “How did it go?”
“Well enough, all things considered,” Will said. “George likes the story of aliens on Arachne better than aliens on the university campus. More plausible, he says. He’s still a little pissed about the university tuition, but I get to keep my job, and Demitrius won’t remember I told anyone about us.”
Bliss grinned. “Sounds like you’ve got everything covered.”
Will’s face remained serious. “Not everything. You kissed me, Bliss.”
Her smile fell. She’d prepared herself for an “I like you, but I’m eternally devoted to Lexi” conversation, but she’d hoped Will would be too cowardly to have it. “Yeah, I did.”
“That’s all you have to say about it?”
Bliss held out her hands. “What else is there to say?”
“You’re right,” Will said. “I can’t think of a thing.” He grabbed her arms and pulled her closer to him, and suddenly, his lips were on hers.
Happiness bubbled up in her as she returned the kiss. Will’s change of heart might not last forever, but she planned to embrace it as long as she could.
Roslyn slipped into one of the few empty chairs in her first art history class. The professor hadn’t seemed thrilled about a new student joining three weeks into the semester, but Roslyn had answered all his pre-test questions, so she could stay.
As soon as Roslyn got out her datapad and set it to record, the door swished open, and Jack walked in. He showed his datapad to the professor, who rolled his eyes and muttered something about “another new student” then gestured for him to take a seat.
He chose the spot immediately in front of Roslyn.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered.
Jack stretched his legs out into the aisle. “I’m an art history student now.”
“What? You don’t know anything about art!” She had tried to interest him in any number of pieces over the years, and he had shown little to no appreciation for it.
“Well, that’s why I’m here. To learn.” He nodded toward a student in the front row with a striped shirt and a red beret. “I figure if that schlub can understand art, I can too. Besides, if I’m an utter failure, you’ll just have to help me.” Jack winked at her.
She wanted to question him further, but the professor started class. Roslyn’s smile remained in place for the entirety of the lecture. He was still her Jack, and he would remember her someday.
Arachne's Web Page 28