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I goggled at him. Those words and Silver together make no sense.
“If you encounter Melissa Cohen, try to use a minimum amount of force to apprehend her. I asked this partly because Dierdre Cohen-Rossi has had a difficult life. If her daughter is possessed by the Wendigo, I want to try to exorcize her before lethal measures are taken. I’ve asked Walker to experiment on the scrap of shadow he has, as well. If it is a part of her, or of the Wendigo, possibly it can be used as a way to free her from the possession.”
Common wisdom had it that there was no way to be free of possession, but Silver and Walker were in no way common. And if they did figure out a way, it would be of benefit to everybody. However, there was no way I could let this pass.
“So you and Deirdre Cohen-Rossi were an item at some point?” If it was true, he'd probably turn an interesting shade of puce.
He stared at me, genuine astonishment on his face. “No.”
“What is she to you then?”
“A person I've known since her earliest childhood. Why are you interested?” Silver surveyed me with narrowed eyes.
“She and Melissa visited with Elise a little while ago. When she was there, it felt like she had a lot of emotional workings hanging on her. Like the one Cohen tried to hang on me. Did you know about that? I mentioned it to Walker.”
Silver’s mouth tightened. “I remove those when I see her. She won't say who puts them on her.”
I blinked at him. “It's not like it's blazingly obvious. Why does she put up with it? Why don't you do something about it?”
He stood in a sharp flicker of movement. I tensed, there was a lot of anger contained there though none of it was directed at me.
“Deirdre and Elise are the last of the Rossi family. It's one of the four First Families. If the family were to become extinct it would have a seismic impact on Guild politics. That's why both of them married and had multiple children. All those children can choose to take the Rossi name exclusively, and when they reach adulthood there's a lot of pressure on them to do just that. Neither of them could choose to be single.”
Silver walked to the terrarium with the scorpions in it. “Back in the day, Deirdre fell in love with Cohen. I assume he cared for her as well, but he loves the political power that he's been able to get from being associated with her more than I think he can love any human being. And over the 20-plus years of their marriage, it's become quite obvious. He's not as clever as he thinks he is. I'm well aware of the emotional manipulation magics that he uses to keep her... passive.”
I jumped as he turned to face me. Again the movement was so fast.
“As a Judge, I'm bound to follow the letter of the law. I can find no way to help her unless she asks for that help. I cannot act against Alan Cohen so long as he holds the presidency without compelling evidence. The laws that I have to follow have been carefully crafted to keep me from interfering. When the Guild was being founded the legislature was aware of the limitations that have been placed on the Judges. They took full advantage of it when they formulated the law to protect their power.”
He returned to his desk. “And that is partly why this investigation is important to me. If it leads to his door, I can finally do something to help someone I've known since early childhood.”
The compassion in his voice bothered me. Whatever Dierdre’s life had been, it must suck, even if she was rich and from a powerful family.
Even so, I hadn’t noticed great care or compassion being taken with the wellbeing of millions of other people. Or was there something in the laws that prevented him and the other Judges? Maybe I should try to find out. In the meantime, poking at Silver would keep things normal.
I made an unkind smile curl my lips. “It’s good to have connections.”
His answering smile was satirical. “It is. One final duty before your month of vacation. Kara Dumont is due to go outside the city in the next day or two with Joan Cameron for a botany field trip; accompany them, please.”
I left before he could think of more chores. This time of day, the people movers were full and it took some time to get back to Walker’s house. Someone rerouted the mover twice while I was on it, but since nobody shot at me, I figured it was normal traffic.
It was midafternoon by the time I got home from what would normally have been a ten-minute trip. True to his word, Silver forwarded background information to me. I read through it in my room after supper, when Elise took Dmitri to his room for stories before bed. We’d taken to switching nights, so we could catch up with work every other evening.
The territory covered the northern portion of Miraj, called the Upper Peninsula. The information contained in the packet painted disturbing patterns.
I’m not an academic, not like Chance, but the facts rang ominous bells in my head. There was no way Silver could have missed the big picture once the facts were gathered.
No emigration. No income growth. Little financial activity not directly related to the territory Administrator and his two key assistants. It screamed corruption that didn’t care if it was noticed. The Administrator, brother to the President, was protected from on high. Silver had his limits. The Guild was huge, and he had enough to do putting out fires, rather than looking into why quiet places remained quiet.
Except Flint had connected the area to an ongoing inquiry.
This meant that I needed to try to build a real case, rather than just stabbing people who deserved it. Especially if it led to doors in high places.
And even with the incentive of bringing a high politician down, the plight of the people who lived there moved me. They were trapped somehow, and I had to figure out a way to prove it. Even with limited rights, the people who lived outside the cities weren’t slaves.
Slavery was reserved for noncitizens like me.
And Dmitri.
