Tammy Robinson was a very frightened young woman; Wil didn't need police experience to see that.  She paced back and forth across the room, hysteria sparking from the high edge in her voice.  "How can you keep me in this cell?  It a dungeon!"

The walls were unadorned, off-white.  But Wil could see doors opening onto a bedroom, a kitchen.  There were stairs, perhaps to a study.  Her quarters covered about 150 square meters - a little cramped by Wil's standards, but scarcely a punishing confinement.  He stepped away from Della Lu and put his hand on Tammy's shoulder.  "These are ship's quarters, Tam.  Della Lu never expected to have passengers."  That was only a guess, but it felt right.  Lu's holdings were compact, built both vertically and horizontally.  All the advanced travelers could take their households into space - but Lu's was designed to stay there, to be a home even in solar systems without planets.  "You are in custody, but once we get to Town Korolev, you'll get better housing."

Della Lu tilted her head to one side.  "Yes.  Yelén Korolev is going to take care of you then.  She has much  better -"

"No!"  It was almost a scream.  Tammy's eyes showed white all around the irises.  "I surrendered to you Della Lu.  And in good faith.  I won't tell you anything if you... Korolev will -"  She put her hand over her mouth and collapsed on a nearby sofa.

Wil sat down beside her as Della Lu pulled up a chair to sit facing them.  Lu 's black pants and high-collared jacket looked military, but she sat on the edge of her chair and watched Tammy's consternation with childlike curiosity.  Wil cast a meaningful look in her direction (as if that would do any good) before continuing.  "Tammy, there's no way we'll let Yelén get at you."

Tammy was upset, but no fool.  She looked past Wil at the spacer.  "Is that a promise, Dela Lu?"

Lu gave an odd chuckle, but this time she didn't blow it.  "Yes.  And it's a promise I can keep."

They stared at each other a silent moment.  Then the girl shuddered, her whole body relaxing.  "Okay.  I'll talk.  Of course talk.  That's the whole reason I stayed behind: to clear my family's name."

"You know what's happened to Marta?"

"I've heard Yelén's accusations.  When we came out of that strange, overlong bobblement, she was all over the comm links.  She said poor Marta got marooned in the present... that she died there."  Frank horror showed on Tammy's face.

"That's right.  Someone sabotaged the Korolev jump program.  It lasted a century instead of three months, and left Marta outside of stasis."

"And my dad's the chief suspect?" Incredulously.

Wil nodded.  "I saw your father arguing with Marta, Tam.  And later she told me how your family wants the people of Town Korolev to join you....  Your plans would benefit if the settlement failed."