Tinnie scowled, sensing more trouble. I feared she was psychic. Just when the evening was starting to roll, too. But that was my kind of luck. Wasn't it? "Thank you, Gerris."
The note said: Must see you now. Critical. R. The handwriting was primitive.
R? Who or what might R be? Who would know where to find me tonight? Relway? Who else? And didn't that stir up the mixed feelings?
"Now what?" Tinnie demanded, her psychic side simmering.
"I don't know. But I can't ignore it."
"Right now?"
"Maybe sooner." It would be significant. I didn't doubt that. Relway wouldn't contact me unless it really did matter.
"You're going to ditch your date?"
"What? Oh. Damn. No. I shouldn't be gone long. And she isn't a date, Tinnie."
"Maybe not. But I see how she looks at you when you're not paying attention. Like she wants to devour you."
"Kind of like I look at you even when you are paying attention?"
The ghost of a smile twitched the corners of Tinnie's mouth. "Right, Garrett. Try that line when I have time to notice. All right. I'll tell her why you ran out."
"Huh?" That didn't sound promising.
"I know you. You'll go out there and either get yourself knocked over the head and dragged off or you'll get interested in something and forget everything else or there'll be a pretty girl and your pig-dog nature will take over and—"
"You wound me, woman. Now that you acknowledge my existence again how can I possibly stay away more than minutes at a time?"
"I'm wearing new shoes, Garrett. Specially made. Don't pile it up too deep."
"And they're the most amazing shade of green I've ever seen. They set off your eyes perfectly." Maybe I didn't need to find out what Relway wanted. Not tonight, anyway.
I looked into Tinnie's eyes for a few long seconds. No. I definitely didn't want to find out what Relway had.
Her devil smile wakened. "Go on. Take care of it. Then get your big goofy self back in here. We'll see if maybe this threat to the Weiders doesn't require you to stay all night so everybody is protected."
Whoo-hoo! I moved out with a real bounce to my step.
"Mr. Garrett! Mr. Garrett!"
"Yes, Mr. Gresser?"
"Two more of my men have deserted. What am I supposed to do? How can I manage?"
Why me? Maybe Gilbey and Genord were fleeter of foot. "I'm here to handle gate-crashers and bad boys, Gresser, not to make sure Mr. Weider's guests are well served. You're the professional. Surely you know your business better than I. Why not grab a tray yourself?" I pushed past him.
I almost made it before Alyx caught up. She pushed up close, radiating availability. "Where're you going, Garrett?" She looked so damned kissable I had to bite my tongue. Why is it always feast when I can't do anything about it and famine when I can?
"I've had an emergency message, kid. I've got to go out for a few minutes. But I'll be right back." I glanced back to see if Tinnie was scowling. I didn't see her.
I did see Kittyjo watching from a shadow thirty feet away. She didn't look nostalgic for the good old days when we'd been very close friends till she changed her mind. She did look troubled. I winked at Alyx and headed for the door.
Maybe Kittyjo would warn her off me. That would be useful. I don't deal well with temptation.
Morley has a personal rule he recommends often: Yield to temptation whenever you can because every opportunity might be your last. I don't subscribe to that completely. Yielding could bring on the lastness. But I'm weak when blonds, brunettes, or redheads are part of the temptation.
On the other hand, a good rule of thumb would be: Never get involved with a woman crazier than you are. The trick there is to recognize the craziness before you get pulled in. Some hide it well. Kittyjo did.
As I departed a raw-throated Gerris Genord began to croak for attention. It was time Ty and Nicks made their announcement.
43
I stopped to see the security guys out front. They knew me. I told them I'd be right back. I stepped into the street, watching for the Goddamn Parrot as well as whoever wanted to see me. I didn't expect Relway himself. Relway prefers to stay out of sight. But the little guy emerged from the darkness like a whispering ghost. I squeaked, "You startled me."
"Sorry." Like hell. He smirked. "Sorry about interrupting your evening, too. But you have to see this."
"It's big enough to bring you out personally?"
"I'm here because every player in the rights game is here. That's significant. Something I have to look over with my very own eyes."
I wondered if he had people inside. I wondered again, aloud, as we walked. I got only silence in response. Which was answer enough for me. It was likely that several of Gresser's workers were secret police. Poor Mr. Gresser.
"It's quiet tonight," I observed. That wasn't a good sign, really. Not in TunFaire, where, by day or by night, completely quiet streets generally mean big trouble.
"Very."
The silence deepened as we walked.
The flicker of torchlight shone around a corner. We had walked only a few blocks, to the far side of the brewery. The torchlight had no noise attached. No excitement. We weren't headed toward a street party or toward a riot.
We turned a corner.
There was my missing wagon. There was my venomous new equine acquaintance. Four men surrounded them. Three carried torches. The fourth held a short spear to the spine of a man lying facedown in the street. Two of the torchbearers wore Gresser's corporate livery. How did they get away unnoticed?... Hell. They didn't. Gresser did complain. But the guys covering the front hadn't mentioned them... . Were they Relway's people, too? Of course they were. Which meant they were everywhere. Too bad I couldn't con them into doing my job for me.
The wagon was open on the side I'd been about to investigate when somebody decided to put me away for the night. Or a slab of sky had fallen on my noodle.
Relway told me, "These guys saw you get knocked down. They thought it might be interesting to trail the wagon and see what was going on."
I forbore complaint. I now had a notion about one guard who might be in with Relway.
The fellow with the spear forced the captive to keep his head turned away. Relway didn't want his face seen.
These four would be among his best and most trusted men, then. I tried to memorize their faces without being obvious.
"Shit!" I said softly when I looked inside the wagon. "This is what I was afraid of when—" Three corpses had been stuffed in there. Two were naked. Tom Weider still wore the dirty nightwear he'd had on when I was wrestling Carter and Trace. "Aw, shit," I said again. I couldn't express my despair any more articulately. This would crush the old man.
"You know them?"
"These two are Weider's kids, Tom and Kittyjo. The other one worked on the brewery's shipping dock. His name was Luke. He was helping tonight because he liked his boss. I don't think he was getting paid. He had four kids. We got a major problem here, friend. An enigma compounded by a mystery, as they say."
"Please be a little more specific."
"I saw all of these people in obvious good health inside the Weider place after this wagon left. I saw Kittyjo as I was coming out the door to meet you."
Relway grunted. "That doesn't sound good."
"Listen. We had gate-crashers who kept disappearing into the crowd whenever you weren't looking. But we never came up short on a head count."
Relway had to say the nasty word first. "Shapeshifters?"
"I'm willing to bet. Or, at least, somebody who always has some pretty tricky little spells handy."
"Changers have never been a problem here. But—"