“He die young, did he?” Pella asked.
“Yes,” Amaranthe said. “It’s a hard life, Iknow.”
“Got that right,” Raydevk said.
“Can’t blame people for wanting to bettertheir lot,” Pella said.
“Is that what you’re doing at the Games?”Amaranthe asked.
“I told you,” Raydevk said, quick to speakover Pella, Amaranthe sensed, “I’m just down there to enjoy my timeoff.”
“I’d think you’d want to spend more of thattime with your family.”
“Don’t you judge me.” Raydevk scowled andpointed a finger at her face. “I take care of my family realgood.”
“I’m sure you do,” Amaranthe said.
“Then what exactly are you accusing meof?”
Sicarius paused at the curtain leading to thechildren’s sleeping area. His ear was cocked. Had he heardsomething?
“The boys are sleeping in there,” Pella said.“No reason to go in.”
Amaranthe could not tell if she was hidingsomething, or simply did not want enforcers scaring herchildren.
Sicarius pushed the curtain aside. A five- orsix-year-old boy stumbled out and collapsed at his feet. Someonelistening at the “door,” apparently. Eyes round, the boy stared upat Sicarius.
“Are they here?” a young voice queried fromthe darkened sleeping area. Soft thumps sounded-bare feet runningacross a thin carpet. “Ma, you said we could come say, ‘Hello,’when Uncle Drovar came.” A boy younger than the first charged outof the room as he spoke, and he would have crashed into Sicarius’sleg, but Sicarius lifted his foot, removing the obstacle.
When the boys realized they had strangevisitors, in intimidating uniforms no less, they grew quiet andslunk over to their mother. She lifted a finger, as if she mightsend them right back to bed, but Sicarius slipped into the vacatedarea. A light came to life. A good time to search, but Amaranthewished he would get her that note first. He would be a smootherpickpocket than she.
“Mister Raydevk,” Amaranthe said, “you’re notaccused of anything yet, but it’s clear you’re not telling thetruth. If you don’t answer my questions honestly, we’ll beauthorized to take you to the magistrate for further questioning.Are you sure you don’t know anything about the missingathletes?”
“I don’t know anything.”
The older of the two boys left his mother’sside to peer into the sleeping area.
“If you did know something,” Amaranthetold Raydevk, “and it led to the arrest of those who spawned theplot, it’s possible we could work a deal where your punishment waswaived.”
Raydevk hesitated, but only for a second. Hespread his arms wide. “What would a miner have to do withkidnappings?”
“I only said athletes were missing, not thatthey were kidnapped,” Amaranthe said. “How do you know someone istaking them?”
“Er, I don’t. I mean, the newspapers saidthat, didn’t they?”
“No.”
“Just a guess, then,” Raydevk muttered.
The boy peering into the sleeping area leanedin further. “What are you doing, mister?”
His mother stepped around the younger one andstretched out a hand to grab him, but the boy slipped inside.
“Do you want to see my models? I have animperial warship, the first steam ferry, and Da’s friend made me areplica of the city’s ice breaking ship.”
Amaranthe figured Sicarius would ignore thequestions, but he was pragmatic to the point where he probablywouldn’t think twice about tying the boy up to keep him out of theway. She stepped toward the curtain to make sure nothing like thathappened, but knocks at the door made her pause.
Raydevk cursed under his breath. His wifewinced.
“Problem?” Amaranthe asked.
“No,” Raydevk said. “Wrong address.”
Nobody said anything for a moment, but thenthe knocks came again-multiple fists striking the wood. “Ray,what’s the hold up? You two entertaining the neighborhood from thefire escape again?”
The wife’s face flushed red, and even theminer had the sense to appear mortified.
“Why don’t you let that wrong address in?”Amaranthe asked. “Maybe they know something about the missingathletes.”
“Come on, Ray, we have to go. Meeting startsin ten minutes.”
“Meeting?” Amaranthe smiled even as Raydevkcursed. She supposed she should not feel pleasure at watchingsomeone’s lies falling apart, but fate usually tormented her, so itwas nice seeing someone else have trouble.
“I…uh…I’ll just answer that,” Raydevksaid.
He backed toward the door, watching her as hewent, and she sensed he meant to try something. He wore no weapons,but he might have one stashed in the flat. A small table with adrawer leaned against the wall near the door. Amaranthe easedbehind the sofa, figuring she could duck for cover if need be.
Raydevk reached for the doorknob, though, notthe drawer. “You gentlemen will have to come back another time,” hesaid loudly without taking his eyes from Amaranthe. “There’s anenforcer lady here who’s talking to me about-” He flung the dooropen and darted into the hall. “Run!”
Surprised, Amaranthe did not reactimmediately. The coward had left his wife to deal with theenforcers while he ran off with the boys? The wife gaped at theopen door, as startled as Amaranthe. All the men had taken off, andfootsteps thundered in the stairwell at the end of the hallway.
“Si-Corporal Jev,” Amaranthe called.
Sicarius strode out.
“I need you to follow that…” The grinningboy riding Sicarius’s leg and clutching a toy boat made her pause.Well, Sicarius hadn’t tied the child up. That was good. “Our minersare off to a secret meeting. If you could extricate yourself, I’dappreciate it if you’d find out who they’re meeting and where.”
Without a word, Sicarius unwound the boy fromhis leg, deposited him on the sofa, brushed past Amaranthe, andslipped out the window. He vaulted over the fire escape railwithout bothering with the ladder.
“How come that man can’t talk?” the boyasked.
“He can talk. He’s just not the chatty type.”Amaranthe eased around the sofa toward the door. She doubted Pellawould run off and leave her children behind, but there was no needto tempt her. As she was shutting the door, her hand brushed herpocket, and something inside crinkled. She slipped her fingers inand slid a piece of paper out-the note Raydevk had stashed. WhenSicarius had been close enough to him to retrieve it, she did notknow, but she itched to unfold it and read it.
“My brother isn’t chatty either,” the boysaid.
Conscious of the mother’s gaze upon her,Amaranthe slid the note back into her pocket. She would check itlater.
“He liked my boat,” the boy added.
Amaranthe wondered how that deduction hadbeen made if Sicarius hadn’t said anything. “I’m sure he did. It’svery nice.”
“Marl, Denny, go back to bed,” Pellasaid.
Marl, huh? Amaranthe wondered if Books wouldbe flattered to know a boat-loving toddler shared his name.
“Where did Da go?”
Pella dragged her hands through her hair. “Idon’t know. Just go to bed, please.” She shoved them toward thecurtain and sank down in a chair.
Amaranthe thought that “I don’t know” soundedauthentic, but she perched on the sofa across from the woman,intending to find as many answers as she could. “Ma’am, mindanswering a few questions?”
“Do I have a choice?” Her bleak smile held nohumor.
“Not really, no.” Though she had a goodmemory, Amaranthe withdrew a notepad and a pen. It might help herappear official. “Do you know what he’s involved with? He’s notresponsible for kidnapping athletes, is he?”
“No, no, he wouldn’t do that. I don’t evenknow why…” Pella shrugged. “I’m not sure what he’s up to.”
“It’s strange that he’s home for the week,isn’t it?”
“Yes, he never gets this much time off.He…I shouldn’t be betraying his trust to you, should I? A goodwife is supposed to keep the books and her husband’s secrets.”
“You do know,” Amaranthe said, “that the lawno longer requires a woman to go to jail with her husband if he’sconvicted of a crime, right? Unless she’s found to be anaccomplice….”