No volunteers. I picked Tyler. He didn't bother to conceal his resentment as he described the events of his morning. They were dull. They dovetailed. They didn't point a finger. He added another Dellwood sighting to the list. "Kaid?" I said. "How about you?" Another dull tale, mostly to do with the patrol. The idea wasn't working out. Only Dellwood and Cook—ninety percent—were out of the noose. "Dellwood, it's probably a waste of time but go ahead."
His report was only slightly less detailed than Cook's. He didn't put me on anybody's trail. Most everyone had had time to go do it to Hawkes. Well, you can't leave the stones unturned. "Thank you all for your patience and cooperation. I'll talk to you again, for as long as it takes. No killer is invulnerable. If you think of anything, let me know. I'll hold your name in confidence. You can go."
They headed for the door in a pack, forgetting that I had the key. Jennifer remembered first. She hollered for it, as ladylike as a wolverine in a bad temper. I tossed it to her. "One thing, folks. I've seen another woman around the house." I described her. "I want to know who she is. Secret or not."
Mostly they gave me baffled looks. A couple looked like they wondered about my sanity. They all went out except for Dellwood, who brought the key to the writing table. "I'll put the General to bed now, sir. If you don't mind."
"I don't if he doesn't."
"Go, Garrett," the old man said, proving he hadn't been asleep. "I'm not alert enough to continue. See me after breakfast."
"Yes sir." I got up and went out. It was after midnight. I was tired. Should I grab a few hours? Sleeping would be a real problem now the old man had made me a target.
No. Snake first. The way things were going, he probably didn't have anything I could use. On the other hand, he might. If he did I might not have to worry about getting the ax in my sleep anymore.
I headed down the hall. And got distracted immediately.
I spotted that woman again. She was on the balcony across from the head of the General's hall. My balcony. I froze, watched her just sort of drift along in a daydream. She didn't notice me. I darted to the stair leading to the fifth floor, stole to the east wing, crept down to the balcony below.
All for nothing. She was gone.
I'd have to trap her if I wanted to talk to her.
I wanted to.
The mind plays games. She was getting a grip on that part of me inexplicably immune to Jennifer's fetching charms.
17
As long as my room was just down the hall, I figured it would be wise to stop for some extra equipment. A sap and a sheath knife might not be enough if tonight's party got somebody excited.
The bit of paper between the door and the doorframe was the way I'd left it. But it was a decoy, meant to flutter down and catch the eye. The real telltale was a hair I'd left leaning against the door two inches in from the handle side frame. It couldn't be replaced by somebody who stayed inside.
The hair was out of place.
Go on in? Or just walk away? I presumed somebody was waiting. There hadn't been time for a comprehensive search since the adjournment.
I considered getting comfortable and waiting them out. But every minute I wasted was a minute longer before I heard from Snake.
How about we just surprise the surprise party?
I got a shield off the wall, a mace, dug my key out, turned it in the lock, kicked the door in hard enough to mash anybody waiting behind it, went in with the shield up to take the blow of somebody against the wall on the other side.
Nobody. And it was dark in there. Someone had snuffed the lamp again.
I backed into the hall fast, not wanting to stand there in silhouette. A man with a crossbow could fix me up good.
Someone came toward the doorway, just far enough to be seen. "It's me." Morley Dotes.
I glanced along the hall. Nobody. I went inside.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I shucked the shield and felt around for a lamp.
"Curiosity. Thought I'd see what was happening."
I got the lamp going and the door shut. "You just walked in?"
"Anybody could. They don't lock the doors."
"How'd you find my suite?"
He tapped his nose. "Followed my honker. We elves have a good sense of smell. Your suite is so heavy with the stink of meateater, it's easy to pick out."
He was putting me on. "You're here. What do I do with you?"
"Any developments?"
"Yeah. There's another dead one. While I was in town this morning. So tonight the old man calls a meeting, tells everybody who I am and says I'm going to nail hides to the wall. Meantime, he burns his will. Anything from town?"
"Saucerhead made some rounds. Didn't find much. Some of those medals, you know how many they handed out? Every hock shop in town has a bucket full. The only ones worth anything are the silver ones. People on the Hill are worried about their silver supply."
The Hill is TunFaire's heart. All the biggies live there, including a gaggle of witches and wizards and whatnot who have to have their silver if they want to stay in business. Silver is to sorcery as wood is to fire. Since Glory Mooncalled whipped up on everybody in the Cantard, prices have soared.
But that was of no concern now. "What about the candlesticks and stuff?"
"He found a couple of things. Maybe. The people who had them didn't remember where they got them. Literally. You know Saucerhead. He can be convincing."
Like a landslide. You didn't talk when he said talk, chances were you would real quick. "Great. There's a dead end."
"He's going to try again tomorrow. Pity your thief didn't take something special so somebody would remember him."
"Thoughtless of him. Look. I've got an appointment with a man who says he knows the killer. Maybe. I'd like to see him before he changes his mind about talking."
"Lead on, noble knight." Morley rags me about being romantic and sentimental. He has his moments himself—like turning up here. He'd never admit he was concerned about me swimming in a school of sharks. He'd just claim he was curious.
"This is a real haunted house," he muttered as we stole downstairs. "How can they stand it?"
"Maybe they're right when they say there's no place like home. Maybe you don't notice after a while."
"Who's the brunette I spotted when everybody charged out of the hall across the way?"
"That's the daughter, Jennifer. A dead loss, near as I can tell."
"Maybe you don't have what it takes."
"Maybe not. But I think it's bad chemistry." We hit the bottom of the stairs. Nobody was around. We headed for the back door. There was a sliver of moon out, just enough to keep me from stumbling over things. Morley had no trouble. His kind can see inside a coffin.
"At least it's straightforward. No dead gods. No vampires. No killer ogres. Just greedy people."
I thought about the woman in white and hoped she wasn't supernatural. I didn't know how to deal with spooks.
Morley grabbed me. "Somebody moving over there."
I didn't see anything.
Somebody tripped over something.
"Heard us," Morley said. He took off.
I went to the stable, called, "Snake? Where you at? It's Garrett."
No answer. I stuck my head inside. I didn't see anything. The horses were restless, muttering in their sleep. I decided to circle around outside before I risked the inside.
Wavering light spilled between boards on the north end, near the west corner. It was feeble, like the light of a single guttering candle. There was a narrow door. I'd found Snake's hideout. "Snake? You there? It's Garrett."
Snake didn't answer.
I opened the door.
Snake wouldn't be answering anybody in this world again. Somebody had stuck a knife in him.