Morgan's Return (15 page)

"Why was she considered to be a… nutter?" Ravindra rolled the unfamiliar word in his mouth.

"Professor Senjay—that's my grandma—was interested in Rosmenyo. Have you heard of him?" His glance flicked between them.

A tremor slid through Morgan. Pay dirt. Beside her, Ravindra's chair creaked. "We have," he said. "The menace from the stars."

Partridge's lips jerked in a momentary grin. "That's the one. Well, Grandma said he got his ideas from someone here." He stabbed a finger at the desktop. "The brains trusts at the university wouldn't come at it. They said Torreno never had anything to do with the Conflagration. The planet was out on the edge of the inhabited systems, which is why it became the capital of a new system. Grandma was adamant, but in the end she became a laughing stock and lost her position."

"What was her evidence?" Morgan asked.

"The Arch-demon Zenji. Did you come across him, or it?"

"Yes. I read the documents from Iniciara. But that's just superstitious garbage."

Partridge smirked. "Grandma speculated that Zenji was a corruption of Senjay. That name goes back to the earliest times, and the family lived out there in the islands."

Zenji. Senjay. Morgan exchanged a swift look with Ravindra. It made sense.

"That's the thing. She died trying to get the evidence to prove her theories." Partridge frowned, an angry light in his eyes.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Morgan said. "You were close to her?"

His lips twisted. "No. My mother wouldn't allow it. She moved away from here, into the city, never wanted to live here. I inherited the place after my grandmother died, and came to live here. I don't talk to my mother anymore."

The look on Partridge's face said it all. Ah, the joy of family. Morgan could relate to that. "I know how that can be. So you wish you'd known her?"

"Very much so." He waved an arm, encompassing the room. "I love all this stuff. I wish I could prove they were wrong about her, all those up-themselves, so-called experts at the university."

"What happened to your grandmother and where was she… collecting evidence?" Ravindra added a sneer to the last words.

Partridge glared at him. "I guess that's why you're here. Grandma thought those statues were down there, in the ocean." He waved long fingers behind him, at the window. "The climate has changed here since the earliest settlements. The sea has risen a long way. The cliffs this house stands on used to be much lower. There used to be many more islands in a shallower sea. My grandmother was convinced the statues came from somewhere which is now under the sea. The university said that was nonsense."

"Really?" Morgan said. She tutted. "Surely they checked?"

Partridge cleared his throat, looked away. "They did. They conducted an undersea survey which found some promising results but none of them were what Grandma was looking for. She persisted."

"She died?" Morgan prompted.

"Grandma didn't believe them, thought the authorities were hiding the evidence from her so they could steal her research. She had a submarine built, took it down to visually inspect. Some of the gear was fouled and they were forced to surface. A storm had blown up while they were down. Storms can happen very quickly in these waters. Anyway, she went out on the hull to clear whatever it was and she was swept overboard. The body was never found."

"That's sad," Morgan said. In more ways than one. Yet another dead end.

Partridge shrugged. "It is. Because I still think she was right. One of these days I'll take another a look myself."

Ravindra straightened. "You have this submarine?"

"Oh, yes. It's down there." Partridge pointed at the floor. His manner changed suddenly, as if he'd said too much. "There's a problem with it. An issue with the IS. It can't be fixed."

Ravindra stirred in his chair. "Why are you convinced the survey was wrong?"

Partridge scowled, his blue eyes bright with anger. "Grandma never explained. She said she was sure."

Now who was being difficult?
Shut up, Ravindra
. "Do you have the survey results?" Morgan asked.

The anger softened as the archaeologist turned his head to look at her. "On the system."

"Mind if I take a look? I love that stuff and you never know, I might see something."

"Sure. Show us the marine survey data, Isaac," Partridge said to the IS. "Show us the bit my grandmother was interested in."

Morgan loaded the data in a nanosecond. Sea beds and shadows, rocky canyons, shapes that might have been rocks, might have been walls, the outline of a road here, buildings there, the ghostly form of caves, even what looked like rooms. She concentrated on the section Partridge indicated. Her heart sank. Nothing but seascape. "They're right. There's nothing to see." It was so fucking frustrating. Every time they seemed to be getting somewhere, they hit a brick wall.

"Why did your grandmother think whatever she believed was here, was connected to Rosmenyo?" Ravindra asked.

"She was never so much interested in Rosmenyo past the view that the man got his ideas from someone else. That comes from the notion Rosmenyo played with genetic modification. I think that's clear enough if you read the texts from Iniciara and ignore the superstition."

Morgan nodded. "Agreed."

"Well, I think my distant ancestor was doing something like that, too."

"But wouldn't lots of people be playing with genetics? Surely it was common enough."

Partridge licked his lips. "It's frowned upon. At least in some respects."

"What respects?" Morgan asked.

"For animal husbandry yes, for people no."

"Is that why your grandmother was disgraced?" Ravindra pressed.

Frowning, Partridge shook his head. "Not… really. It was about what's down there under the water."

Morgan wasn't sure she believed him.

"Do you have any relics from this ancestor?" Ravindra asked.

Shaking his head, Partridge snapped, "No. nothing."

The man would never make a good liar, Morgan thought. Even if his pulse hadn't sped up.

Ravindra leaned forward. "I think you have. May we see it?"

The archaeologist's lip curled. "Not a chance."

Morgan glanced at Ravindra. Now who was doing it all wrong? "Will you let us help you? Looks like we have the same aim."

"Seems to me this is all a one way trip. I tell you what I know and you do what? No. Sorry." Partridge folded his arms.

"Everything is negotiable," Ravindra said.

Anger flashed in Partridge's eyes. "Not a man's integrity." His eyes narrowed, his expression becoming crafty. "I'll tell you what, you tell me where you saw these statues, let me verify that information, then I'll share everything I have."

"The planet is outside Coalition space." Ravindra's voice took on a formal note, the tone he used when speaking with politicians.

"That's just too bad, isn't it? Or maybe very convenient." Partridge rose to his feet. "Let me escort you out."

Chapter 13
 

"T
hanks for seeing us, Mister Partridge. I'm really sorry we can't do business. Do contact us if you change your mind." Standing on the front porch, Morgan held out her hand and Partridge shook it in that way these humans had.

Ravindra let the irritation bubble. The man was too familiar with her, and she with him. And the way Partridge looked at her…
Stop this foolishness
. How the fellow looked at Morgan was immaterial. Why did the man refuse to work with them?

"It's a shame." Ravindra lifted a shoulder. "It seems we both want the same thing. Ah, well. I'm sure we'll be able to hire a submarine, or charter a boat to take us to the site."

Partridge would never make a diplomat. His eyes widened, then his lips curled into a patronizing grin. "You can try. But that site's a bit too close to the Temple. Nobody'll take you out there. Sorry."

"The Temple?" Ravindra knew Morgan would already be looking it up.

"Used to be a temple to Ushas, the Goddess the planet was named after," Morgan said. "I get the idea it has other uses?"

"When people disappear, that's where they end up." Partridge led them down the path to the skimmer. "Sorry to have wasted your time."

Ravindra watched the set of the man's shoulders. This man was in two minds. He'd bet Partridge wanted to trust them, but was afraid.

"Look, Mister Partridge, we need your help," Morgan said. "It seems to me we're after the same thing. Surely we can come to an arrangement?"

She was pleading, something Ravindra had never seen her do before. And he didn't like it.

"To put it another way, what can we offer you to help us?" Ravindra said. "You don't seem to need money."

The tip of Partridge's tongue appeared between his lips. The sea boomed on the cliffs below. At last he said, "Where do you come from?"

"Coromandel, a world outside the Coalition."

"Would you take me there? With my secretary? Or better still, to Torreno?" He rushed the words.

"You want to leave here?"

"I do. If you help me find proof of my grandmother's work, I can present that at the university in Torreno. And we can… escape the oppression here."

Morgan turned to Ravindra, a half-smile lurking around her lips.

"We could manage that," Ravindra said.

The archaeologist ran a hand back through his hair and sighed. "I'm taking a risk. You're probably wondering why I'd trust you. But sometimes, the universe moves in mysterious ways."

"So you cannot just leave on your own?" Ravindra said.

Partridge shook his head. "I'm afraid to try. I think they're keeping an eye on us."

Ravindra exchanged a glance with Morgan. "Did you sense anything in the house?" he asked in Manesai?

"No. Certainly not in the rooms we entered. But that doesn't mean they're not being followed when they go out."

"Mm. An eccentric recluse is safe enough here in his house on the cliff. All right. You agree it's worth the risk?"

"Oh, yes. I've been going over that survey data again. I think there's something down there."

In that case, there was nothing to discuss. "We'll take you to Torreno, Mister Partridge," Ravindra said. "Provided we have something to show for working with you."

The man cleared his throat. "As I said, going too close to the Temple is dangerous. But you can have my grandmother's hand-written notes."

"I'd like a look at your underwater site," Morgan said.

Partridge frowned. "I told you, it's dangerous."

Morgan's eyebrows arched. "There's a risk in going to this place?"

"There is, because of its location. I've been warned. I strayed too close to Temple waters once before and I was boarded. Forget about it. It isn't worth the pain."

"What if I fix your sub for you, Mister Partridge?" Morgan folded her arms. "I want a face-to-face look at that canyon in the survey. If there's something down there, maybe it will prove your theory once and for all."

A tick jumped in Partridge's cheek. "What makes you want to look? You said the survey's clear."

"Yes, but I've had second thoughts. Let me show you. Why don't we go back inside?"

Partridge hesitated. "If the house is bugged, that could be dangerous."

"I'm pretty sure it's not. I have programs in my implant that alert me to anything like that. A military thing, you know? Besides, we're just looking at old pictures, right?" Morgan smiled at Partridge, confident, assured. Ravindra had seen that smile convince hardened commanders.

It worked. Partridge turned on his heel and led them back into his circular study, where she directed the data to the screen, first the underwater pictures and then the analysis superimposed.

Staring at the image, Ravindra couldn't see anything untoward. By the look on Partridge's face, he couldn't, either.

"What are we looking at?" Ravindra asked.

"It's too neat," Morgan said. "You know when you're using a cloak on a starship? It's hidden to sensors because the beams aren't reflected. It feels a bit like that."

"But the rock face shows," Ravindra said. Partridge nodded.

"Yes. But this is an x-ray image that shows what's under the rock, detects cavities and so forth. See here?" She created a pointer, directed it at a point. "It shows you the shapes, different depths, different densities. Now look here." She moved the pointer.

Ravindra frowned. "What? It looks fine to me."

She shook her head. "It's too even."

"I'll take your word for it. What of it?"

Partridge's voice interrupted them. "Will someone tell me what's going on? I don't understand this technical jargon."

"What I said," Morgan replied. "I think maybe something's been hidden. But I can't tell unless I go down there and look."

Ravindra kept his face straight. Partridge tugged at his lower lip. "I think they put something on my sub, something they can track."