-Chapter Four-
"Now, then. We're settled, and no one else is present. You were about to explain to me the irrational behavior toward such an upstanding family?"
"I wouldn't choose the words irrational and upstanding, sir," objected the teacher. "But then, that's just me, and many others on this planet.
"It started twelve years ago, when Tanya Tangier was almost five. Elizabeth Claudor Tangier, a fine artist to be sure, met her untimely death. We don't know how or why; only that it happened. Thing is, her sister was visiting, and it was the first time Gerald Tangier went offworld. A week later, the woman was dead. There have been all kinds of stories. Some say it was disease, as claimed by the family. Tericitis or tetricitis, or whatever. Others say she fell and hurt herself in an accident. Some say she committed suicide. Still others say she was murdered, either by her husband who might have caught her cheating on him, or by someone else for some other reason. Maybe it was her sister, Emila Claudor, or someone else entirely. No one knows, except for the family, and they're not saying anything."
"I would think that this would be cause for sympathy, rather than hatred." The Grand Admiral gave Mr. Wilcox a pointed look. "I need not ask you if you agree with that sentiment. Quite plainly, we all know where you stand."
"And I make no apology for it. Gerald Tangier, also, has done next to nothing to discourage the rumors. He's too busy with his family business. His daughter is too much of an upstart to credibly discourage the rumors, and she was only four at the time. She would know nothing about it."
"Then why take it out on her? All that you've told me so far is no reason to behave such a way toward that family."
Mr. Wilcox stared at him for a minute, then looked away, sighing. "I just go with the flow. I show hatred because everyone else does. The Thompkins family, and the other politically aligned families on Ceurel, hate the Tangier family out of jealousy. They're not even political, and they've made something of themselves. And, I suppose, we all show hatred because . . . well, if someone did murder Mrs. Tangier, we don't want to give the murderer a reason to go after us. Distance yourself from trouble, and you avoid it."
"Occasionally," Thrawn agreed. "Then again, sometimes trouble comes even if you put a galaxy between you and it. Hating Ms. Tangier, or even acting like you hate her, solves nothing. If anything, you've made things worse." He stood, turning away from the desk and the teacher. "And with that thought, I'll leave you now. Goodbye, Mr. Wilcox."
He left the room, leaving behind a suddenly breathless man. Mr. Wilcox stared after him, long after his footsteps faded from earshot.
...
"Tericitis. Are you aware of what that is, Mr. Tangier?"
"Yes. It is where the heart is overworked. It's easily cured, but left unchecked, can kill its victim, but only over a long period of time from when the disease is contracted and when the heart gives its final beat."
"And tetricitis?"
Mr. Tangier sighed, pushing his datapad away. "I see where this is going. Please, Admiral, do not bring up something so painful."
Thrawn frowned in thought and persisted. "You say your wife died from it. So, to convince me, please describe the disease to me."
"Fine." Gerald Tangier looked up at the ceiling, sighing again. "The organs fail, and the brain slowly shuts down. It is hard to cure, and kills quickly. Anything else?"
"Did your wife really die from it?"
"Yes! Now, please, it is a very painful subject. Are you quite finished with this line of inquiry?"
Thrawn remained unfazed by his host's outburst. In fact, he seemed to have come to a realization. "I can see where your daughter's temper comes from. Push you to a certain point, and you have to release the stress."
"The same can be said for anyone, but yes. My wife is a sensitive subject for Tanya and I. So much so, we hardly talk about her. I should warn you against pushing your luck with Tanya's temper. When unleashed, it can be very volatile."
"As evidenced last night at the dinner table. And . . . where is she now?"
"Her boyfriend picked her up half an hour ago. They have jobs at a restaurant in the city."
"That's twice you've mentioned this elusive male, but you've never revealed his name."
"Arkir Varith. Good boy, from an upstanding and proper family. He's had to rescue Tanya from the local governor twice, but he does it politely, without causing an uproar. Who knows, maybe you'll meet him tonight."
"What are their jobs?" the Admiral pursued, curious. Instead of answering, Mr. Tangier just smiled.
"No, I'm not telling you. I've already told you plenty. If you want to know more – with exceptions from time to time – you will have to ask her. And now, I'll retire to my office. Feel free to return to the gallery and atelier or anywhere else in the house. If you need me again, you know where to find me."
With a resigned sigh, Thrawn did as suggested. He was trying too hard, he knew. Any attempt at inquiry would have to be taken slowly, carefully. And for all he knew, the death of Elizabeth Claudor Tangier could be irrelevant to his purpose here.
Play your part, Grand Admiral. The other contestants will join in soon enough.
That in mind, he returned to the gallery and continued his ruthless study of a deceased artist's paintings.
...
"I think your violin's a tad flat, there. Try tightening the strings a bit more."
"Thanks, Arkir. Boy, it feels great to be among people who don't care who I am and who my family is. Mr. Wilcox wasn't so bad today, though. He just took fifteen points off my test. But that was expected; I did slap him, after all. And . . . he didn't have me formally disciplined."
Arkir, the handsome young man who was proud to call himself Tanya's boyfriend, shook his head, the brown hair crowning his scalp moving with the action. "Part of me is surprised you did that, part of me is not – he was asking for it, after all – and part of me is proud that you finally showed you wouldn't take anymore of that."
"It was a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing. I doubt I could do it again unless similarly provoked. With Mr. Wilcox retiring, there will be less of that, I hope. Then again, Geoffrey is enough by himself. The Grand Admiral has already made it clear that he's not about to be swayed by political connections, but I think the idiot politician's son already has his sights set on his next target. If he tries a bribe, I wonder what he'll do when he's told that extortion is illegal."
"Run home to daddy and try to get the law changed," Arkir quipped. "That guy annoys me so much, sometimes I want to strangle him half to death."
"Only half?"
He laughed, giving her a playful nudge. "At least you only have him in three classes – both art classes and history. I have him in five."
"He's not out to get you all the time."
"True. We could argue semantics all day and get nowhere, sometimes. Even so, he's a royal pain in the butt. Hey, speaking of teachers, what's the new one like? I heard he was in the classes today, checking things out."
Tanya grimaced as she tested the chords on her violin again. "Please don't remind me. How's that sound now?"
"Better," he decided, checking the monitor. "It even says you're on-key. So what is it about this Grand Admiral that's got you down?"
"The fact that I have to live with him every day, and he's sticking his nose in family matters. Can't he see that we don't want to talk about how Mom died?"
"Woah, back up. He's staying at your house?"
"That's right. He was still at the university when you picked me up. I don't think I'll see much of him over break, as he's planning on visiting the art museum on the other side of the planet, but that's only cause for praise in my book. When school starts up again, though, there'll be no avoiding him. I can only hope he keeps his questions about Mom to a minimum."
"Why's he asking about her?"
"Because she was an artist, and she's the main target of all the rumors and insults. Because there're so many stories about how she died, ranging from disease, to accident, to suicide, to murder. Because he smells that something is off, and he doesn't realize it's the cheese going bad in the refrigeration unit."
"You're starting to rant, you know. How's this sound?" He played a few notes on his own instrument, and Tanya nodded as she kept an eye on the monitor. "Sounds and looks great. That is, if you're aiming for C, D, F, A, and C."
"I am," he assured her. "Ready to go out there, yet, or do you need to rant some more? I'm sure Izzy could stall a bit for us. He does play guitar, after all."
Tanya smiled at that. Their employer and friend, Izzy Montage, was willing to go to great lengths for them, be it ad-libbing as they rushed to fix some small piece of equipment, a week off – which was really only a day – if school was particularly hard, or even playing his guitar if they needed extra time to get ready. He was the reason she and Arkir were together, as they wouldn't have even noticed or spoken to each other if Izzy hadn't hired Tanya to be a musician at the Blue Moon, restaurant and dance hall – ballroom dancing, that is. It was not to be confused with a club.
As it was, their relationship remained completely secret from their fellow students at the University of Ceurel, if for no other reason than that they weren't ready for the publicity. Arkir didn't think he would have minded much, but he was fully willing to wait until Tanya was ready.
"I think I'm ready to go out there, actually. We can talk more about this later if you want, but there's not much more to it, yet. But you know, it was only a day before I snapped at him. But enough of that; Izzy's waiting, as is our audience. Ready to go dazzle them?"
"Aren't I always, Love? But why don't you just walk onto the stage? That itself will do the trick."
Tanya poked him in the ribs, laughing. "You tease. Thank you for the compliment, but I think they're here for the Blue Moon Rising's playing and singing, not me."
"Okay, you win. Together, then?"
Tanya nodded and smiled. "Together."
...
Pronunciation key:
Ceurel - "Sir-rel"
Claudor - "Claw-door"
Tangier - "Taan-gee-air"
Arkir - "Are-keer"
Montage - "Mon-tahjj"
Edited 10-21-11