The Only Witness

She looked her son in the face.

Solan blinked and stepped backward. "Juno needs you in the kitchen,"

he said more quietly. "He is not clear about which service platters you would like to use for di

"Fine. I will go and discuss it with him," Zanita replied.

"Good. Then come back to the party."

Zanita did not acknowledge the fact that her son had just given her an order. Instead she followed him easily out of the library. She did not turn around as the door quietly closed behind her.

After waiting a few moments, Lena left the room as well. Minutes later she met up with the Jedi in the guard station.

"I assume you heard all of that," she said. "He infuriates me, talking to his own mother like that. Sometimes I wish she'd really put him in his place." Her voice quieted. "But I suppose that might get her killed.

" Lena paused while her quick mind moved on to the next thought. Her eyes were suddenly lit with excitement. Qui-Gon wasn't sure if it was the thrill of escape or the result of the meeting with her mother-in-law.

"Isn't it great?" she asked, perhaps a little too brightly. "Zanita is going to help us. I knew she would. Leave it to a woman to understand that the violent ways of the crime world can only lead to destruction and hate."

Qui-Gon could not help but think of Je

But he didn't say anything.

"Anyway, I'm very relieved. The meeting couldn't have gone better."

"It does look as though your mother-in-law is willing to help you get testimony," Qui-Gon agreed. "Let's just hope she keeps her word."

Lena nodded as she turned back to the security screens. "We still have to get out of here without being discovered," she said. She looked at each screen in turn, noting the whereabouts of everyone in the house. Qui- Gon knew she was trying to figure out the best time to leave.

"Follow me," Lena said after a moment. She slid open the guard station door and peered into the hallway. She motioned to the Jedi, and they all stepped out of the room. Zanita was still in the cooking quarters with Juno, so they left through another, rarely used entrance at the side of the mansion.

As they made their way outside, Qui-Gon considered the Cobral family.

On the surface they appeared like any other family — close and loving, but not without tension. Beneath the surface, however, lay dark ties. There was fear there, and possibly hatred as well.

Of course, this did not entirely surprise Qui?Gon. A family that ruled a planet with corruption and violence was bound to have a sinister web woven within it.

Distracted by his own thoughts, Qui-Gon did not sense any nearby danger. It was Obi-Wan who cried out first.

"Look out!" he shouted, pushing Qui-Gon and Lena away from their landspeeder.

As the three of them tumbled to the ground, a huge metal statue thundered down where they had been standing. It crashed into the front end of their landspeeder, missing them by mere centimeters.

Their vehicle was destroyed. And if not for a few seconds of warning, they might have been killed, too.

Chapter 6

The Jedi and Lena were still on the ground when Zanita and Juno came rushing out the cooking quarters door. Qui-Gon felt Lena tense at the sight of the servant, and for a brief moment Juno glared at her. But his face shifted quickly into a look of concern.

"Are you all right?" he asked, holding out a hand to help her up.

Lena got to her feet on her own and brushed herself off. "Fine," she replied briskly. She casually sca

Qui-Gon was impressed with Lena's composure. And he didn't need to glance at his Padawan to know that Obi-Wan was as well.

Zanita's turban was askew, and the older woman seemed slightly out of breath. But she did not show any surprise at the fact that Lena had come to her home with two companions she had never met.

"We really must strengthen the base of that statue," Juno said, eyeing the giant metal sculpture on the ground. "It's quite unsafe."

"Quite," Qui-Gon agreed dryly.

"Zanita, do you remember Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Ji

Qui-Gon knew instinctively that Lena was trying to lead her late husband's mother away from saying out loud, or even somehow suggesting, that she had never met them before. He guessed that this was because of Juno's presence.

"Of course," Zanita replied easily. "How nice to see you again."

Qui-Gon smiled with a graciousness he didn't feel. "And you as well,"

he said, taking her hand for a moment in the Fregan custom.

Juno appeared a

Clearing his throat loudly, he stepped toward the group. "You must come inside and rest," he declared. "We have a medical droid who can examine you for injuries."

Qui-Gon tried not to grimace as he realized that a family like the Cobrals probably needed its own medical droid. But there was something odd about Juno's offer. Qui-Gon was quite sure that in spite of the look of concern he wore, the servant was not truly worried about their welfare.

Perhaps he had other motives for wanting to get the group back inside the house.

"I'm sure that won't be necessary, Juno," Zanita said pointedly.

"Lena and her friends were just leaving." She looked around furtively.

After the exchange with her son in the library, Qui-Gon guessed that the mention of going inside — or the possibility of someone coming out — made her nervous.

"You can borrow a landspeeder, Lena," she added. "It's the least I can do."

Lena smiled at her mother-in-law. 'That would be most appreciated,"

she said. "Thank you, Zanita."

Juno scowled at Lena, then started off toward the vehicle storage building.

"Lena knows where the landspeeders are housed, Juno," Zanita said.