"Do you have enemies in the Senate?" Obi-Wan inquired.
Berm shook his head.
"I find that hard to believe, Senator," Obi-Wan said. "All politicians have enemies."
"Not me," Berm shot back. "Oh, I suppose I have political disagreements with my colleagues. But enemies? I do not cultivate them."
"We do not need to cultivate enemies," Obi-Wan said. "They flourish without us." He sensed that Berm Tarturi did not want to answer the question, so he tried a different tack. "Tell me about security at the Leadership School."
"I demanded a report from them that includes the data recorders from that night," Berm said. He reached over for a holofile. "Here is the report." He thrust it at Obi-Wan eagerly. "Perhaps you can find something in it. I couldn't. I had the best security experts go over it. I chose the Leadership School not only because of its reputation, but because of its security. It rivals the best in the galaxy. How could Gillam just disappear? That's what makes me think that Rana is responsible. She has a planetary treasury to draw on. She could hire the most sophisticated tech team in the galaxy to override the system. Didn't she break in here without tripping the alarm?"
Obi-Wan took a quick look at the holofile in his hands. "Everything seems in order, but I'll have the analysts at the Temple go over this. How often do you communicate with your son normally?"
"Almost every night. The school has a contact hour in the evenings.
Otherwise he is on comm silence."
Obi-Wan knew this. Students were restricted in use of communication devices except for a one-hour period. It was the time he had set up to speak with Anakin and Ferus.
"We're very close," Berm went on. "His mother died three years ago."
Obi-Wan looked down at the security report. "It says here that you last checked in with Gillam over a month ago.
Berm flushed. "There are many details at the Senate that require my attention. That doesn't mean I'm not close to my son."
"Did Gillam have special friends at the school?" "Of course. He's very popular."
"What are their names?"
Berm looked at him blankly. "Ah let me see. Hmm. I don't recall.
The stress of this whole affair has been so great, it's hard to remember every detail."
"How about vacations? Where did Gillam spend his?"
"With me, of course. Unless my duties here prevented him from joining me. Then he would spend vacations at our mountain home on Andara."
"By himself?"
"Of course not. There were servants in attendance." Obi-Wan nodded. He was beginning to get the picture of a lonely boy.
Berm seemed to sense this, for he said quickly, "But he loved coming here to visit me. He was just here a month ago. He wants to be a Senator, like me. We are very close."
"Of course," Obi-Wan said. "Let me take this message with me, and I'll keep you updated."
"Anything I can do for my son, I will do," Berm said.
"I appreciate that, Senator Tarturi," Obi-Wan replied. He believed that the Senator was sincere. But he did not believe that Tarturi had told him everything. Senators were used to concealing some of the truth in order to place themselves in the best light. It was their nature. He needed a clear view of Senator Tarturi's role in the Senate, and he knew just who to ask.
Obi-Wan tried to access the door to Tyro Caladian's tiny office, but the door stuck after it had slid open only a few centimeters.
"Tyro?" he shouted inside the crack.
"Go away," a muffled voice answered.
"It's Obi-Wan!"
"Obi-Wan! For star's sake, don't move." Obi-Wan heard the sound of crashing and banging. "I'm coming oof! Don't I'm almost there ah!"
The door slowly opened, pushed by Tyro. "Can't you" he puffed"
use your Force to help?"
Obi-Wan leaned against the door frame, watching. "I'm enjoying this too much."
Tyro
got the door all the way open. He wiped his forehead, where his fur had matted with sweat. "So happy to amuse. Thanks."
Obi-Wan strolled inside. Tyro's office was filled with plastoid boxes crammed with durasheet documents. More plastoid file boxes were stacked against a wall. Some of the boxes had been shoved against the door, causing it to jam. "What's going on?"
"I told you I'd get something on Sano Sauro," Tyro said, climbing over a box to get to a holodocument strewn desk. "I requisitioned all the documents in the Senate registry that involve his homeworld. He couldn't seal everything, just his personal docs."
"All of them?" Obi-Wan asked incredulously. "But he's been a Senator for nine years!"
Tyro ruefully surveyed the crowded office. "Well, it might take a while. But what can I do for you, Obi-Wan? I'm at your service, as always."
"What do you know about Berm Tarturi?" Obi-Wan asked. He raised a hand and used the Force to push aside a tower of documents in order to sit down.
Tyro looked from the ease of Obi-Wan's gesture back to the door he had struggled with. His ears twitched as he sat down. "I sure could use that Force of yours. Think how I could save on maid service. Anyway Tarturi.