‘It shouldn’t be necessary to remind you that you are involved in a wrongful-death investigation.’

‘I can’t talk about my work. I’m sorry,’ Trina said, not looking sorry at all.

‘Tell me about the race,’ Ysbel said. ‘Was that really your idea?’

Goodwill was sitting beside her. They had agreed that he could sit in on the interview as an observer, and for his benefit they were talking in the natives’ common tongue.

‘It was my fault,’ Trina said. ‘After I beat Joyous in the time trials, he had to win the auction. It was a matter of pride. He named a price I couldn’t possibly match, and that would have been that, if I hadn’t challenged him to another race.’

‘The race around the island.’

‘The deal was, Joyous would loan the drawing to the agency if I won. For scanning, authenticity checks, replication and so on. That way, we’d have had an exact copy, and Joyous could keep the original.’

‘And if you lost?’

‘He would have regained his standing and self-respect, and I would have had to pay him my final bid price.’

‘So he would have kept the map no matter what.’

‘It was the only way I could tempt him into taking up the challenge. I know how to handle speedboats, and had the measure of him from the time trials. If it hadn’t been for the accident, I definitely would have won.’

Ysbel felt Goodwill stir beside her. She changed tack, telling Trina that she needed to establish a timeline, asking where and when she had challenged Joyous Hightower.

‘At the gathering before dinner. I made sure that it was in front of witnesses, so that he’d have to accept or lose face.’

‘By other witnesses you mean other guests?’

‘There were servants too. More servants than guests.’

‘Was Solomon Firststar present?’

‘I was hoping he would be, but he was drawing up a sales agreement,’ Trina said.

‘For this map.’

‘Exactly.’

Ysbel said, ‘Had you been drinking or using any kind of psychotropic?’

‘Hightower had been drinking wine. It’s the new thing with young and rich natives. I don’t touch alcohol, or any other drug.’

‘You were sober, he wasn’t.’

‘He wasn’t drunk.’

‘But he had been drinking.’

‘I used his pride against him, not his lack of sobriety.’

‘You challenged him to a race, he accepted. What happened next?’

‘We set up a starting position, agreed where the race would end. The other guests were making bets, and someone had a servant fetch something to signal the start. One of those tribal banners.’

‘And Solomon Firststar. Had he finished drawing up the sales agreement? Did he help make arrangements? Was he there for the start of the race?’