When I was sure they were both safely pinned to the floor, I moved forward to smile down at them.
“You bastard,” said Larry.
“Takes one to know one,” I said. “Now, will you listen to me?”
Larry turned his head slowly to look at Tommy. “Can you move?”
“Not in the least. Haven’t got any leverage to work with. You?”
“No.” Larry looked up at me. “All right. What have you got to say for yourself, you murderous little shit?”
I explained the circumstances of Julien Advent’s death in some detail, making sure they understood about the Sun King, and what he was planning to do while everyone was distracted running after me. When I was finished, Larry looked at Tommy.
“Do you believe him?”
“Stranger things have happened,” said Tommy.
“Our enemies have always profited by turning us against each other,” said Larry.
“And if the Sun King is the one responsible for Julien’s death, I want his heart’s blood,” said Tommy.
“You always were the vicious one in the family,” Larry said fondly.
I looked at them both thoughtfully. “You’re both being very reasonable. Don’t you feel the Sun King’s power, pressing on you not to believe me?”
“No,” said Larry. “I have to say . . . I don’t feel as utterly convinced of your guilt as I did before. Could be the Library’s defences, protecting us from the Sun King’s influence. And, of course, we are more resistant than most. Tommy being existential, and me being dead.”
“It affected Dead Boy,” I said.
Larry sniffed loudly. “That boy’s brains have been leaking out his ears for years. I’m amazed he can still put one foot in front of the other without consulting a manual. All right, say we do believe in you. That you were framed by the Sun King. How do we find the bastard?”
“My gift can’t find him anywhere,” I said. “He’s either protected by his power or by that of the Entities.”
“That leaves simple deduction,” said Larry. “We are supposed to be detectives, after all. Where would he go, in the Nightside? What would he see as a weak spot? What would he most easily recognise, or be drawn to, in the Nightside?”
“The Hawk’s Wind Bar & Grille!” Tommy said immediately. “The Sun King is a child of the sixties, right? And what’s most representative of that period here? The Bar! And being a ghost of its former self would make it a weak spot in reality! God I’m good.”
“The Hawk’s Wind disappeared recently,” said Larry. “I can’t believe that’s a coincidence. Get this thing off us, Taylor. We’re going with you.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, and I meant it. “But no, you’re not. You could fall under the Sun King’s influence the moment you leave the Library and attack me again. But I think you’re right about the Bar. Too many unanswered questions there. How did he make it disappear? Where has he sent it? Why is it so important to him? I thought it must be because the sixties incarnation of Julien Advent was in there at the time . . .”
“He is?” said Tommy.
“Call yourself a detective?” I said, not unkindly. “There has to be a connection, between the Sun King and Julien Advent and the Hawk’s Wind; but I’m not seeing it yet. I’m afraid you two are going to have to work your own way out while I get on with the job. Once you are out, if you can fight off the Sun King’s influence, it would be a help if you could intercept Razor Eddie and Dead Boy and keep them busy while I work.”
I walked back through the stacks, which seemed to edge back from me a little. Behind me, I could hear Larry and Tommy arguing.
“Can you shift your end?” said Larry.
“What do you think? You’re nearer the edge than I am, you must have some leverage,” said Tommy.
“I’m deceased, not a contortionist. Look, one of us is going to have to use all his strength and worry about the damage afterwards.”
“Good idea,” said Tommy. “Doesn’t matter if you take any damage, so you first.”
“Just because I’m dead . . .”
“Come, let us reason together . . .”
“Don’t you dare!”
NINE
Ghosts Know Everything
Getting out of the Library wasn’t a problem; deciding what to do next took rather more time. I hid in the darker shadows of the Library’s side alley and ran through my various options. It didn’t take long. I needed to talk to someone I could trust. Normally, this would have been Suzie, but . . . I thrust my hands deep into my coat pockets and frowned so hard it hurt my forehead. Who was there left, who hadn’t been poisoned against me or influenced by the Sun King? Who was there left, that I could depend on? I took a deep breath, mentally crossed my fingers, took out my mobile phone and hit speed dial for Cathy.
I used her emergency mobile number, the very private phone I gave her, in case she needed help after a particularly boisterous party. I didn’t see how anyone could listen in on my phone, after all the money I’d invested in top-of-the-line security, but I wasn’t feeling at all trusting any more. Cathy took her own sweet time picking up, and I was actually beginning to wonder if she was deliberately holding out so someone could track my position, when she finally answered my call.
“Boss? I’ve been waiting for you to call me, but I was expecting it to come through the office phone. I left this one tucked away in the bottom of my bag, for emergencies. I’m on my own here, in the office, packing up. The hen party broke up when the news about Julien Advent reached us. Suzie’s out somewhere, looking for you.”
“Yes,” I said. “I know.”
“Are you all right? Are you hurt? Every time someone rings me with the story, the details are different.”
“I’m fine,” I said. “I . . .”
“Where are you? I’ll come and get you.”
“Cathy,” I said. “You don’t believe I murdered Julien Advent, do you?”
“Of course not! How long have we known each other? I know bullshit when I hear it, boss. You never killed anyone without good cause. Hell, I’m more vicious than you. Particularly when I’ve had a few . . .”
I hadn’t realised how tense I was, until Cathy said she still believed in me. I felt my whole body slowly relax as her familiar rush of words washed over me. If Cathy had turned on me, like Suzie, I think I would have given up . . . “Meet me . . .” I said, then stopped to think again. I couldn’t bring her here because I couldn’t afford to hang around anywhere near the Library. A mob could catch up with me at any time, or Larry and Tommy Oblivion might be overcome by the influence again, the moment they left the Library and all its protections. So where could I go next that my enemies couldn’t follow me? And then the answer hit me, and I smiled briefly.
“You remember the street where we first met?” I said. “Don’t say the name! . . . But you do remember?”
“Of course,” said Cathy. “How could I forget? It was where you saved my life by rescuing me from something that only looked like a house. Is that really where you want me to meet you, boss? The area hasn’t improved, you know. It’s still where the really wild things live.”
“No-one goes there who doesn’t have to,” I said. “Hardly anyone I know would think to look for us there; and the poor bastards who live on that street tend not to care about the latest gossip.” Or would care that I’d killed Julien Advent, I thought, but didn’t say.
“And anyone who did go there looking for you would be lucky to get out alive anyway,” Cathy said cheerfully. “I’ll meet you there in half an hour, boss. I take it you’re going to need transport? Thought so. Can you get there in that time? Of course you can; you’re John Taylor, what am I thinking?”