"Stephen Goldin - The Sword Unswayed" - читать интересную книгу автора (Goldin Stephen)

to think of it."

She shook her head and looked back at the stage, where Banquo's ghost was currently spoiling Mac's
party. "One royal murderer at a time, shall we? Let yourself be transported, woman."

She got through the rest of the play with only vile shadows of Gloucester intruding here and there, then
called the cast around her and gave them her opinions. Even she didn't think the comments were up to
her usually inspired insights. She chalked it up to a lack of sleep.

When the rehearsal was finally over and she disengaged the veering set, she found four messages waiting
for her. Two were routine business calls, the third was from Bian Dinh asking to meet as soon as she
finished rehearsal, and the fourth was from Detective Hoy. "I thought you'd find it amusing that the
authorities on K'tolu'tan want to try your friend, Ms. Dinh. Not only for murder, but for `perversion of
common morality,' which seems to be almost as serious there."

***

"The problem," Hoy said when she called him back, "is that K'tolu'tan has always kept to itself. It has no
`mutual justice' treaty with us. We can't arrest her or force her to stand trial here. And even if she faces
the charges on K'tolu'tan and their court finds her guilty, we're not legally obligated to enforce the
sentence. The most they could officially do is bar her from teeping there ever again."

"Then she has nothing to worry about."

"I wouldn't say that. They could teep one of their own people over here to execute her and, by the same
laws, we couldn't prosecute him. I'm sure you can see the diplomatic results."

"The reverberations could go on for years, maybe decades."

"That's just what my chief thinks. Interpol can't take this any further. Maybe you could."

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Something brilliant."

"Thanks, but my prescription for brilliant pills lapsed last month."
"Nonsense. You've got a background in interstellar diplomacy, you're used to negotiating on other
people's behalf, you've even cracked a murder case. I'm sure you'll do almost as good a job as I could."

"You floor me with your confidence."

"I'll keep that in mind," Hoy smiled. "On the floor can be fun. By the way, do you know what sort of
company you're keeping? Your Ms. Dinh has a rap sheet longer than a five dollar hooker's."

"All in college, lots of arrests, only a few convictions, all misdemeanors, mostly DTP and resisting, right?"

"You know her pretty well, I see."

"She was one of the firebrand radicals in college, both on Earth and at Polycultural Institute on Pna'Fath.
Always agitating for some just cause, the more lost it was, the better."