Mitkos thought about that and said, ‘Even if the bailiff is telling the truth about his uncle’s monograph, I can’t help wondering why he contacted you now, long after the case was closed.’

‘He had to travel to his tribe’s territory to check out the monograph, and spent some time trying to persuade them to raise a claim against Joyous Hightower over possession of the map. After the tribe’s aunties decided it wasn’t worth the trouble, he turned to me.’

‘It’s a dispute between natives. Nothing to do with us.’

‘That figure suggests otherwise,’ Ysbel said. ‘And it won’t be hard to check Pilgrim Saltmire’s claims. There should be a copy of his monograph lodged with the Library of All People.’

‘And I suppose you want to go look for it.’

‘I could go on my own time. A day there, a day back.’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘Or someone from the Concord station could stop by the Library. Make a copy of the monograph and send it to me.’

‘These are strange and difficult times. And this involves the matter of the bears. I’m sure you know how sensitive that can be. Separatists and agitators would love to get hold of something that suggests we were messing around with the bears long before First Contact,’ Mitkos said. ‘It’s also possible that this might be bait for a trap. If we show an interest, separatists could claim that it validates what the map seems to show. That we plan to suppress or destroy it to cover up the truth, and so on.’

‘That seems a little paranoid.’

‘In strange and difficult times, it’s advisable to be somewhat paranoid.’

‘I’m getting the idea that you aren’t going to give me permission to visit the Library or meet up with Goodwill.’

‘That’s right: I’m not. But I will, out of a smidgen of curiosity and a great deal of caution, allow you to search our records for mention of this map, or anything similar. And I want you to do deep background checks on the natives involved, too. Are they members of, or are they otherwise involved with, any of the separatist groups? Have they ever worked for any of our agencies? If they did, who were their contacts, what were the circumstances? So on. Have you told anyone else about this?’

‘Not yet.’

‘Good. Keep it that way. Work on your own, report directly to me.’

Ysbel hadn’t told Mitkos that Trina Mersdaughter’s partner was studying the behaviour of feral bears; she still couldn’t work out how that might be connected to the map and the little figure standing next to a bear city, but it was suggestive. And as Mitkos had pointed out, it was also potentially explosive, given the matter of the bears and the long and difficult history they shared with the natives.