Day of Honor 01_ Ancient Blood - Diane Carey [64]
“And Mr. Grant’s the only witness?”
“Yes, sir. Sindikash planetary law requires—”
“At least two witnesses for capital crime conviction. I know.”
“But Worf hasn’t made a statement yet,” Riker explained. “His cover’s blown, by the way. That’s the only way he got off the planet. Grant’s in protective custody with the City Police as a material witness.”
Picard frowned, irritated at this turn of events. “Well, this is very troublesome, Mr. Riker.”
“It’s worse than that, sir. Worf knows Grant isn’t lying. We know the kind of crimes this woman’s engineered, and there’s no doubt in my mind or Worf’s—”
“Or mine, very definitely. I would certainly find it satisfying to discover some way to convict this individual for the things she’s done.”
A voice out of the trees behind him caused a tug between Picard’s two current realities.
“Is my father in trouble, Captain?”
The captain turned. “Oh—Alexander. No, not in the way you mean. He’ll be here shortly. It’s Mr. Grant who’s in trouble.”
“Uncle Ross?” Alexander came forward out of the trees. “He’s in trouble? He’s practically family.” The boy looked at Picard, then at Riker. “I really care about him.”
Riker put a hand on Alexander’s shoulder. “We’ll all do our best to make sure that nothing happens to him.”
“You won’t let anything happen to him, will you?”
“No, son, no.”
“My father won’t let anything happen to Uncle Ross, will he?” Suddenly the boy picked up on a bit of expression that Riker allowed to slip through, and Alexander swung back to Picard. “You should at least tell me what’s happening. I deserve that. I’m a member of the crew, you know!”
Up to that moment, Picard would have happily deceived the boy into the candy-land of partial realities that children certainly deserved, but something about that declaration stopped him. Where Alexander got this perception of membership in the crew he had no idea, but that was perhaps part of the ballast of living on board a ship—there was no dividing of social structure here. There were no sailors and civilians, no adults and children. They all lived together on this dangerous island. Somehow the ship’s sense of inclusion had infected the boy, and now he wielded it with an altogether proper embrace. Alexander saw himself as eligible for the truth.
And when had Picard heard anything so utterly pure and enheartening as that?
Picard looked at Riker. “He’s right. He deserves to know.”
Dubious, Riker shifted from one foot to the other, and his blue eyes carried a spike of doubt. “There’s been a murder, Alexander. The governor of the planet has been assassinated, and your father believes the man’s wife did it.”
“Mrs. Khanty?” the boy filled in instantly.
“How do you know?” Picard asked sharply.
“I checked. When my father and Uncle Ross headed for that planet, I had Mr. Data show me the files. I read all the headlines and letters. A lot of people don’t like her, but a lot of other people think she’s practically an angel.”
Frowning away his disapproval, Picard said, “Mmm … angels are always fodder for street brawls.”
“She’s no angel,” Riker said.
“I know,” the boy answered. “Uncle Ross is too nice to go up against somebody like her. He’s not a Klingon, like me or my father.”
Mouths of babes again, Picard thought with a sigh. True enough. He gazed into the boy’s clear and decisive eyes, and could not bring himself to mollify that courage and concern.
“He’s a witness to Mrs. Khanty’s presence in the room just moments before the governor suddenly died, and apparently she assisted the dying somewhat.”
Riker nodded. “Mr. Grant needs corroboration for what he saw, according to Sindikash law, and even though Worf absolutely believes what happened, he can’t truthfully say he witnessed it.”
“Has Worf made his official deposition yet?” Picard asked.
“No, sir, not yet. Worf thinks Grant could be in danger if Mrs. Khanty isn’t charged. She’ll be able to consolidate her power