"This way," Ty murmured weakly.
Alyx trotted along. She might be up for a fight before long.
Ty directed Nicks to the foot of the steps to the front door. He beckoned me. "I couldn't sleep, Garrett. My back was aching and my leg was burning. I decided I'd get some work done if I was going to be awake anyway. I dragged poor Lance out and made him come down here with me to talk about how we were going to bring the furnishings back. I was in the chair, right here, looking back along the hall, when Gerris said something from up there. I was surprised to see him. He said someone was at the door. He wanted instructions. He seemed rattled. Lance said he'd take care of it."
"Nicks," I asked, "would you walk through Lance's role? Alyx, scoot up there and be Genord."
A snooty voice suggested, "Why not let Genord be Genord?" Genord stepped out of the gallery, which continued to grow behind Max and Gilbey.
"Perfect. You be Genord, then. And we'll walk through it."
Nicks positioned Ty according to his instructions. He told me, "I was saying something to the effect that I hoped Dad wouldn't insist on putting that ugly rust-bucket suit of armor back by the green colonnade when Gerris spoke."
Genord, now at his post, stepped into sight and announced, "Sir, there's a very abusive young man here who insists on being allowed inside."
"That's not quite right. I think he used the word obnoxious," Ty told me. "What's he want, Gerris?"
Genord replied, "He just wants in, sir."
Ty said, "That's when Lance said he'd take care of it. He was exhausted. He didn't want to be awake. He was in a mood to be very rude to somebody. I told him, ‘Kick his butt down the stairs if you have to.' He went straight to the door."
I looked up at Genord. He told me, "I stayed with him. Just in case. I wasn't alert enough. Something did happen. And it was over before I could react."
I nodded. "Go ahead. Nicks?"
Genord moved Nicks into position at the door, returned to his own place.
"Freeze," I told them. "Genord. Is this where everybody was? Exactly. Ty? Were you still looking up the hall?"
Genord nodded. Ty told me, "No. I was looking over my shoulder like this. But I couldn't see anything. Lance or Gerris."
I didn't have to bend or squat to see that he was right. You had to be two giant steps to his right even to spot the tail of Nicks' skirts.
"But you saw it all?" I asked Genord. I was down to the unexpected eyewitness.
He nodded. "The man was in shadow, though. And I was turned toward Master Ty when Lancelyn squawked."
"But you got a look at the visitor when you answered the door, didn't you?"
"I'd recognize him if I ever saw him again."
"Did you recognize him then?"
"Excuse me?"
"I'm wondering if he might not have been here for the betrothal party. Possibly as one of Gresser's serving crew."
"I see where you're going. I don't think that's possible. Though if you assume that the assassin was a shapechanger, he could have been here before in a different guise. But didn't you lock all of them up?" Genord seemed to be enjoying himself now. Was he fond of being the center of attention?
Block observed, "Evidently the guy wasn't out to kill just anybody. Otherwise, he would've sliced you up when you opened the door. And he must not have wanted in all that badly or he would've just made his entrance over you and Ty. He's already made one kill. He'd have nothing to lose by another."
I snapped, "He say anything to you?"
Genord appeared rattled again. "Uh. Yeah. Let's see." Genord's snooty accent evaporated. He closed his eyes. After a deep breath he uncorked a string of rude demands for the return of a missing girlfriend. I frowned. So did everyone else. Genord stumbled. "Uh. That's what it sounded like to me. I was puzzled. That was one reason I deferred to Lancelyn. I couldn't imagine that the man had come to the wrong house." There is no other residence near the Weider mansion.
I exchanged glances with Block. The puzzle was growing bigger. I said, "I mean did he say anything after he hit Lance. But before you answer that, tell me, are you saying that this killer was accusing Lance of stealing his woman?"
"No." Genord appeared to be surprised by the question. "Not exactly. Well, he didn't use any names. But he must've meant Lacelyn because he kept accusing Lancelyn directly. Then he did what he did and I think he was completely stricken by it afterward. I think he panicked and ran away."
Ty said, "There couldn't have been any girl, Genord. And you know it. I didn't hear what was said but I know a girl couldn't possibly have been the real problem. Lance told you why himself, Garrett."
"Yeah. His thing for Kittyjo." Not to mention that only a psychic killer could have counted on Lance answering the door if he had a quarrel with Lance. "What was this guy wearing, Genord?"
"What?"
"He wasn't naked, was he? Give me an overall impression. Upscale? Down? Neat? Rumpled? Threadbare? How was his grooming?"
Genord paused. He didn't seem to have thought about his much. "Uh... Almost military? Yeah. That's what I'd call it. His manner was crisp. Like the training sergeants we all recall so fondly."
He could have been describing himself.
He was recovering fast, turning almost cocky again. A changeable guy, Gerris Genord.
Block asked, "Did you notice an armband? Or medals. Or anything else that might connect him to a freecorps or a rightsist group?"
"I didn't see anything to connect him to anybody or anything but death. But he stayed in the shadows."
I took a couple of steps to the side, looked up toward the door. I told Block, "Colonel, let's you and me walk through this ourselves."
Block looked puzzled but his instincts had been right when he had asked for a re-creation.
Genord frowned, troubled again.
I said, "I'll play the killer. You go be Genord. Genord, get out of the way. Nicks, you be Lance again. Ty, don't move at all. All right?"
"Not a muscle."
"Ahem," Tinnie said. "What're you trying to prove?"
"I'm trying to understand what happened. Something isn't right. This doesn't make sense."
Genord glowered.
I checked the layout. The players were in place. I stepped outside—without closing the door, so the bogeyman couldn't get me without somebody noticing—then walked through the murder with Gerris Genord directing. Reluctantly. Then we did it again so I could see things from Lance's viewpoint. Then I told everybody, "Go back to the dining room."
Tinnie tarried. I winked. She went but not without a frown.
Block asked, "You got something?"
"Maybe. It all may hinge on what could turn out to be a stupid question."
"Seemed to me... I had a gut feeling... But a lot of times murder just doesn't make sense."
This one might not make sense even if it was right. "I think it happened pretty much the way we walked through. Nobody contradicted anybody."
"But?"
"The question. What was Gerris Genord doing awake and answering the door in the middle of the night?"
"Shit. You're right. I never thought of that."
"You felt it. Or you wouldn't have had a hunch. You didn't see it because Genord is supposed to answer the door."
68
"Sorry. Just family right now," I told Tinnie. "Nicks, you qualify." I considered before telling Gilbey, "And you."
He was irked because I'd thought about it.
"Let's go to yonder corner. Drag over some chairs." I dragged one for myself. I gathered them in a circle, knee to knee.
"What is it, Garrett?" Max Weider was experiencing a resurrection of will. Maybe he thought something was getting accomplished. I hoped I could maintain the illusion.