"Did you see who killed him?"
Illiardi looked puzzled. "I didn't have to see. I killed him."
Barrent forced himself to speak in a calm, steady voice. "Are you sure of that? Are you absolutely certain?"
"Of course I'm sure," Illiardi said. "And I'll fight any man who tries to take credit for it. I killed Therkaler, and he deserved worse than that."
"When you killed him," Barrent asked, "did you see me anywhere around?"
Illiardi looked at him carefully, then shook his head. "No, I don't think I saw you. But I can't be sure. Right after I killed Therkaler, everything goes sort of blank."
"Thank you," Barrent said. He left the Euphoriatorium.
Chapter Fourteen
Barrent had much to think about, but the more he thought, the more he became confused. If Illiardi had killed Therkaler, why had Barrent been deported to Omega? If an honest mistake had been made, why hadn't he been released when the true murderer was discovered? Why had someone on Earth accused him of a crime he hadn't committed? And why had a false memory of that crime been superimposed on his mind just beneath the conscious level?