“And because Raffaele loved Ronald, she would seek him out as the stag seeks the doe—though it’s backwards in this case—and put them back on track?”
It sounded ridiculous, put like that, and he had realized how ridiculous weeks before. “Something like that,” he said, in a tone of voice that admitted the foolishness. She didn’t pursue that, but came back to the current problem.
“So now she’s on Patchcock, with Ronald and George, and—what’s wrong now?”
Kevil spoke up, his famous voice completely under control, its power blunted. “They didn’t know that Ottala Morreline disappeared there months ago, after disguising herself as a worker and infiltrating a workers’ organization. We are fairly sure she was found out, and killed. We hadn’t told them, because we didn’t have any idea they would suddenly hare off to Patchcock from the Guerni Republic—it’s hardly on the direct route.”
“Raffaele,” her aunt said, “always had a nose like a bloodhound. Give her a sniff of intrigue, and she would follow it through any amount of boring coverup.”
“Really?” Bunny asked. “I hadn’t known that.”
“She’s not your niece. And I’m not sure she knows it herself. But it’s one reason I asked her to start going through my files, to test my hypothesis. And sure enough, she discovered one little fiddle after another—spooked the accountants concerned, and delighted me. So if she headed for Patchcock from the Guerni Republic, then whatever you sent them there for is connected to Patchcock.”
“But it couldn’t be—unless—”
“You might as well explain,” Aunt Marta said, “because I’m not leaving until you do.” She looked about as moveable as a block of granite, and while technically they could call Security to haul her away, neither of them was willing to get in that much trouble.
“Let’s see,” Kevil said. “We have now involved five or six major families—”
“At least,” said Aunt Marta. “Don’t stop now.” She sounded dangerously cheerful.
Bunny shrugged. “All right. It’s the rejuvenation drugs. And others. Lorenza—” He paused to be sure she knew which Lorenza; she nodded. “—Lorenza had been dealing illegal neuroactive drugs through the upper crust, and we suspect she might have been involved in tampering with rejuvenation drugs. When we looked into it, our supplies are supposed to be manufactured in the Guerni Republic. But they’re shipped on a route that could allow the Compassionate Hand—whom we know Lorenza was working for—to get access to some or all of them.”
“Not healthy,” Aunt Marta commented. “I’m glad I manufacture my own.”
“You what?”
“Well, not personally. But if you think I’m going to put things into my body that have been manufactured by people who might be my enemies, think again. You know I have pharmaceuticals—”
“Yes, but you can’t—but no one in the Familias is licensed—”
“By the Familias. Don’t be stuffy, Bunny. We’re over near the border; I have a valid license from Guerni, and we manufacture a small supply. Enough for me and my people, and a small . . . er . . . export.”
“You smuggle,” Kevil said flatly. Her eyes went wide.
“Me? Smuggle? Surely you jest. I do international trade with the Guernesi, who the last time I heard weren’t enemies.”
Kevil opened his mouth and shut it again. Bunny would have been amused if he hadn’t been worried—he had never seen Kevil at a loss for words. Perhaps he didn’t have an aunt of his own, and wasn’t familiar with their unique abilities.
“I wish we’d known that,” Bunny said, hoping to regain control of the situation. It wouldn’t work, but he could try it. “We needed reference samples—that’s why we sent Ronnie and George. We could have simply asked you.”
“Assuming that my starting materials haven’t been adulterated. If I remember correctly, the starting materials come from several sources. Come to think of it, quite a bit used to come from Patchcock, before that unfortunate incident.”
“The Patchcock Incursion,” Bunny said, just to make sure they were talking about the same thing.
“Yes. Once the Morrelines took over, exports dropped; I assume the damage to the infrastructure limited production. And perhaps they found other markets; I don’t think I’ve seen quotes on their production when we’ve been in the market for materials.”
“That’s odd,” Bunny and Kevil said at the same time, and looked at each other. Raffa’s aunt looked thoughtful.
“You’re right. It’s been years—they should have everything back up to speed. The Morrelines have been gaining in the Index.” She blinked, and a slow grin spread across her face. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what Raffa found out—where the materials are going.”
“If they were going to the Guerni Republic, why would she care?” Kevil drummed his fingers on the desk. “And besides, raw materials are raw materials. They may have found something else to make with the same starting material, something more profitable.”
“Than rejuvenating drugs? You jest.” Marta pursed her lips. “I hate to tell you this, if you don’t already know, but the profit margin is . . . ample. Quality control is a bitch—you have to have really good chemists keeping an eye on it, because the lazy ones keep thinking they’ve found a shortcut. The Guernesi warned me about that—there’s an alternate synthesis that looks good but is much more sensitive to minor variations in processing. I’ve had a research team on it for twenty years now, and we haven’t found a way to improve the Guernesi process.”
“So . . . you can’t think of anything more profitable to do with the substrate?”
“Not unless they’ve discovered an alchemical stone that lets them transmute it to whatever’s highest at market. No—if it’s being produced in the quantities it was, the only thing more profitable than selling to me and to the Guernesi would be vertical integration. Produce it themselves.”
“And Raffa could have figured that out.” It was not quite a question; Marta nodded.
“If not in detail, enough to follow the lead. Especially if the samples you provided gave the Guernesi any clue—isotopic analysis or something like that.”
“Are you a chemist?” Bunny asked bluntly. One did not usually inquire into the formal training of Family Chairholders, who were presumed to be broadly educated. But Marta seemed more comfortable with this than he had ever been with the food chemistry that underlay part of his family’s fortune.
She grinned. “As a matter of fact, yes. It was a way of avoiding something my parents wanted me to do, so I completed a doctorate. Then I did post-doc work at Sherwood Labs—not that it would interest you, the details. In the long run, it was more fun to be a rich dabbler with time for other interests than a full-bore researcher, though I may spend a rejuv or so going back to it someday.”
“It’s all very interesting,” Kevil said, “but we’ve got three young people headed into far more trouble than they anticipate, and I don’t see any way to warn them—or help them.”
“I shall go, of course,” Marta said. “It is, after all, my niece. And I understand the chemical side. But I shall need assistance.”
“Yes. Of course.” Bunny looked at Kevil, who looked back. Neither of them could leave.
“You won’t want to involve Fleet directly,” Marta said. “Not after what happened last time. But don’t you have a tame Fleet veteran—that woman Cecelia de Marktos hired? Raffa told me about her, how she helped with that mess on your planet—”
Bunny choked at the thought of anyone considering Heris Serrano “tame.” Still, it was a better idea than the nothing he’d had. If only Brun weren’t with her . . . he really didn’t want Brun on Patchcock, along with her old cronies. Rejuvenation would fix the gray hairs, but not the fatal heart attack he felt coming on.
“I suppose—yes. Possible. She’s a long way off, but we can signal—” If something else hadn’t happened to the ansibles, which had only been back up for a day; messages were backed up and only emergency traffic could get through with its usual speed.