“What do you need to know?” Astri asked. Qui-Gon turned to Didi. “Fligh stole two data pads. We think one of them is the key to your problem. He must have given one to you, Didi. Did he leave a case, or a bin, or anything with you? Could he have hidden something when your back was turned?”
“I would never turn my back on Fligh,” Didi said. “You have asked me this already, my friend. I give you the same answer. Fligh gave me nothing. “
Obi-Wan noticed a flush spread over Astri’s cheeks.
“What about you, Astri?” he asked.
She glanced at her father. “Well. Sometimes I used Fligh for more than sweeping.”
“You used Fligh?” Didi asked, incredulous. “After you told me I should not associate with him?”
Astri looked uncomfortable. “We were not getting enough business. I’d spent so much money on the cafŠ. If it closed you’d never let me forget it. And I knew that Fligh hung around the Senate. I paid him to pass along tips to me about which Senators would be hosting important dinners. Then I could have a head start and bid on the job. Recently Fligh came to me with two pieces of information: one, that someone might throw Senator S’orn a going-away party soon, and two, that Jenna Zan Arbor was hosting a testimonial dinner. I paid him for both tips.”
“You paid him for information? Ha!” Didi cried. “I am not the only one in this family to stretch the truth a bit!”
“This isn’t the time to reproach Astri,” Qui-Gon said sternly.
“I am not reproaching! I am congratulating,” Didi insisted.
Astri’s cheeks were pink. “Anyway, Fligh gave me a data pad for safekeeping. He told me he had just traded for it. He asked me to keep it for him. I was in the middle of something, so I stuck it in one of the ovens. The oven was broken,” she added hastily. “To tell you the truth, I forgot about it until the night we left.”
“Where is it now?” Qui-Gon asked urgently.
“Here,” Astri said. “I brought it with us. My data pad was smashed, so I thought I’d use this one.”
She reached over to a nearby table and handed it to Qui-Gon. “I haven’t had a chance to see what’s on it yet.”
Qui-Gon quickly accessed the files on the data pad. A strange code streamed across the screen.
“The files are all coded,” he mused.
“They must be Jenna Zan Arbor’s,” Obi-Wan said, looking over his shoulder. “These are probably formulas.”
“Yes. Let me send it to Tahl. She can take it to our code experts.” Qui-Gon jacked into the data pad and transferred the files to his own corn-link. He then contacted Tahl.
“Sure, send it along,” Tahl said. “I’ll get right on it and contact you as soon as we break it.”
“This is high priority,” Qui-Gon told her. He switched off the connection. “I don’t think we should wait. I have several destinations in mind. There are contacts who can hide you,” he told Didi and Astri.
“I won’t mind leaving this place,” Astri said with a shiver. “It’s awfully lonely. Just us and the lonesome wind. The caretaker told us there’s no one here at this time of year. At first we thought this an advantage.”
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon froze.
“Caretaker?” Qui-Gon asked.
“She came with the place,” Didi said. “Relax, Qui-Gon. She’s at least a hundred years old.”
“Where is she?” Qui-Gon asked, his hand on his lightsaber.
Astri looked puzzled. “She brings provisions once a day. She’s not here now.”
Qui-Gon’s uneasy feeling changed to alarm. Simultaneously, the two Jedi activated their lightsabers.
“Let’s get to the cruiser,” Qui-Gon said. “But our things - ” Astri began.
“Leave them.”
They started toward the door, but it was too late. At that moment, durasteel coverings on the windows slid down with a clang. They heard the harsh sound of locks snapping throughout the house. The snug hideaway had turned into a prison.
They were trapped. And Qui-Gon had no doubt that the bounty hunter was in the house with them.
CHAPTER 15
“What’s going on?” Didi whispered.
“Where is the lighting console?” Qui-Gon asked Didi.
“Over there.” Didi pointed to a console that was mounted on a table.
Qui-Gon strode over and powered down all the lights. Darkness dropped like a curtain. Obi-Wan could not see a thing, but he waited, knowing his eyes would adjust.
“Remember how she fought last time, Padawan,” Qui-Gon said to him in a murmur. “Her strategy is to attack those we defend in order to keep us busy. Expect her to move in their direction first. Watch her shoulders to tell you which way she will move.”