I hustled on down and looked up Goblin, told him about our escalating troubles.
He was no happier than Elmo or I.
JUNIPER: INTERROGATION
Shed had no more trouble with extortionists. Somebody did tell the Magistrate
that he had killed Wally. The Magistrate did not believe it, or did not care.
Then Bullock's sidekick turned up. Shed nearly dropped a valuable piece of
crockery. He had felt safe from that. The only people who knew anything were far
away. He clamped down on his nerves and guilt, went to the man's table. “How may
we serve you, Reverend Sir?”
“Bring me a meal and your best wine, landlord.”
Shed lifted an eyebrow. “Sir?”
“I'll pay. Nobody in the Buskin can afford to give away meals.”
“Ain't it the truth, sir. Ain't it the truth.”
When Shed returned with the wine, the Inquisitor observed, “You seem to be doing
well, landlord.”
Shed snorted. “We live on the edge, Reverend Sir. On the ragged edge. One bad
week would destroy me. I spend every winter borrowing from one moneylender to
pay another. This summer was good, though. I found a partner. I was able to fix
a few things. That made the place more attractive. Probably my last dying gasp
before it gets away.” He donned his sourest face.
The Inquisitor nodded. “Leave the bottle. Let the Brotherhood contribute to your
prosperity.”
“I'll ask no profit, Reverend Sir.”
“Why be foolish? Charge me the same as anyone else.”
Shed mentally upped the tab twenty percent over normal. He was glad to be rid of
the bottle. Raven had left him stuck with several.
When Shed delivered the meal, the Inquisitor suggested,“Bring a mug and join
me.”
Shed's nerves twisted as tight as a bowstring. Something was wrong. They had
caught on. “As you wish, Reverend Sir.” He dragged over and collected his own
mug. It was dusty. He had not done much drinking lately, afraid his tongue would
wag.
“Sit down. And wipe the scowl off your face. You haven't done anything. Have
you? I don't even know your name.”
"Shed, Reverend Sir. Marron Shed. The Iron Lily has been in my family for three
generations.''
“Admirable. A place with tradition. Tradition is falling by the wayside
nowadays.”
“As you say, Reverend Sir.”
“I guess our reputation has preceded me. Won't you calm down?”
“How may I help you, Reverend Sir?”
“I'm looking for a man named Asa. I hear he was a regular here.”
“So he was, sir,” Shed admitted. “I knew him well. A lazy wastrel. Hated honest
work. Never a copper to his name, either. Yet he was a friend, after his
fashion, and generous in his way. I let him sleep on the common room floor
during the winter, because in the days of my hardship he never failed to bring
wood for the fire.”
The Inquisitor nodded. Shed decided to tell most of the truth. He could not hurt
Asa. Asa was beyond the reach of
The Custodians.
“Do you know where he acquired the wood?”
Shed pretended acute embarrassment. “He collected itin the Enclosure, Reverend
Sir. I debated with myself about using it. It wasn't against the law. But it
seemed reprehensible anyway.“ The Inquisitor smiled and nodded. ”No failing on
your part, Marron Shed. The Brotherhood doesn't discourage gleaning. It keeps
the Enclosure from becoming too seedy.”
“Why are you looking for Asa, then?”
“I understand he worked for a man named Krage.”
“Sort of. For a while. He thought he was king of the Buskin when Krage took him
on. Strutting and bragging. But it didn't last.”
“So I heard. It's the timing of their falling-out that intrigues me.”
“Sir?”
“Krage and some of his friends disappeared. So did Asa, about the same time. And
all of them vanished soon after somebody got into the Catacombs and looted
several thousand passage urns.”
Shed tried to look properly horrified. “Krage and Asa did that?”
"Possibly. This Asa started spending old money after he began gleaning in the
Enclosure. Our investigations suggest he was petty at his grandest. We think he
pilfered a few urns each time he gathered wood. Krage may have found out and
decided to plunder in a big way. Their falling-out may have been over that.
Assuming Asa had any conscience."
“Possibly, sir. I understood it to be a squabble over a guest of mine. A man
named Raven. Krage wanted to kill him. He hired Asa to spy on him. Asa told me
that himself. Krage decided he wasn't doing his job. He never did anything
right. Anyway, he never did anything very well. But that doesn't invalidate your
theory. Asa could have been lying. Probably was. He lied a lot.”
“What was the relationship between Asa and Raven?”
“There wasn't any.”
“Where is Raven now?”
"He left Juniper right after the ice broke up in the harbor.''
The Inquisitor seemed both startled and pleased. “What became of Krage?”
“Nobody knows, Reverend Sir. It's one of the great mysteries of the Buskin. One
day he was there; the next he wasn't. There were all kinds of rumors.”
“Could he have left Juniper, too?”
“Maybe. Some people think so. Whatever, he didn't tell anybody. The people who
worked for him don't know anything, either.”
“Or so they say. Could he have looted enough from the Catacombs to make it
worthwhile to leave Juniper?”
Shed puzzled that question. It sounded treacherous. “I don't. ... I don't
understand what you're asking, sir.”
“Uhm. Shed, thousands of the dead were violated. Most were put away at a time
when the wealthy were very generous. We suspect a sum of gold may have been
involved.”
Shed gaped. He hadn't seen any gold. The man was lying. Why? Laying traps?
“It was a major plundering operation. We'd very much like to ask Asa some
questions.”
“I can imagine.” Shed bit his lip. He thought hard. “Sir, I can't tell you what
became of Krage. But I think Asa took ship for the south.” He went into a long
song-and-dance about how Asa had come to him after falling out with Krage,
begging to be hidden. One day he had gone out, returned later badly wounded, had
hidden upstairs for a while, then had vanished. Shed claimed to have seen him
from a distance only, on the docks, the day the first ships sailed for the
South. “I never got close enough to talk, but he looked like he was going
somewhere. He had a couple bundles with him.“ ”Do you recall what ship?”
“Sir?”
“What ship did he take?”
“I didn't actually see him board a ship, sir. I just assumed he did. He might
still be around. Only I figure he would have gotten in touch if he was. He
always came to me when he was in trouble. I guess he's in trouble now,eh?”
“Maybe. The evidence isn't conclusive. But I'm morally convinced he was in on
the looting. You didn't see Krage on the dock, did you?”
"No, sir. It was crowded. Everybody always goes down to see the first ships off.
It's like a holiday." Was the Inquisitor buying it? Damn. He had to. An
Inquisitor wasn't somebody you got off your back by selling him into the black
castle.
The Inquisitor shook his head wearily. “I was afraid you'd tell me a story like
that. Damn it. You leave me no choice.”
Shed's heart leapt into his throat. Crazy ideas swarmed through his head. Hit
the Inquisitor, grab the coin box, make a run for it.
“I hate to travel, Shed. But it looks like either Bullock or I will have to go
after those people. Guess who'll get stuck?”
Relief swamped Shed. “Go after them, Reverend Sir? But the law down there
doesn't recognize the Brotherhood's right. . . .”
“Won't be easy, will it? The barbarians just don't understand us.” He poured
some wine, stared into it for a long while. Finally, he said, “Thank you, Marron
Shed. You've been very helpful.”
Shed hoped that was a dismissal. He rose. “Anything else, Reverend Sir?”
“Wish me luck.”
“Of course, sir. A prayer for your mission this very evening.”
The Inquisitor nodded. “Thank you.” He resumed staring into his mug.
He left a fine tip. But Shed was uneasy when he pocketed it. The Inquisitors had
a reputation for doggedness. Suppose they caught up with Asa?
JUNIPER: SHADOW DANCING
“I think I was pretty slick,” I told Goblin.
“You should have seen that Shed,” Pawnbroker cackled. “A chicken sweating like a
pig and lying like a dog. A one-man barnyard.”
“Was he really lying?” I mused. “He didn't say anything that conflicted with
what we know.”
“What did you learn?” Goblin asked.
“I think he was lying,” Pawnbroker insisted. “Maybe by not telling everything he
knew, but he was lying. He was into it somehow.”
“You keep hanging around the Lily, then. Keep an eye on him.”
“What did you learn?” Goblin demanded.
Elmo came in. “How'd it go?”
“Great,” I said. “I found out what happened to Raven.”
“What?” he and Goblin both demanded.
“He left town. By ship. The first day the harbor was open.”
“Darling, too?” Goblin asked. “You see her around? What do you think?”
Pawnbroker mused, “Bet that Asa went with him. Old Shed said they both left the
first day.”
“Could be. I was proud of myself, catching him with that. Looks to me, now, like
this Shed is our only outside loose end. He's the only one who knows what
happened to them. No Shed, nobody to maybe tell Bullock or the Taken anything.”
Elmo frowned. The suggestion was more in keeping with his style than mine. He
thought I'd put it forward seriously. "I don't know. Sounds too simple. Anyway,
we're starting to get noticed down there, aren't we?"
Goblin nodded. “We're supposed to be sailors who missed our ship, but people are
comparing notes, trying to figure us out. If Shed got killed, there might be
enough fuss to get Bullock wondering. If he gets wondering, sooner or later the
news would get back to the Taken. I figure we ought to save heroic measures for
heroic circumstances.”
Pawnbroker agreed. "That Shed's got something to hide. I know that in my guts.
Croaker told him about the raid on the Catacombs. He hardly blinked. Anybody
else would have whooped off and spread the news like the plague.“ ”Kingpin still
watching him?“ I asked. ”Him and Sharkey and Tickle are taking turns. He ain't
going to be able to pool without we know about it."
“Good. Keep it that way. But don't mess with him. We just want to keep him away
from Bullock and the Taken.“ I faded away into my thoughts. ”What?” Elmo finally
asked.
“I had an idea while I was talking to Shed. Bullock is our main risk, right? And
we know he'll stick like a bulldog once he gets on a trail. And he's on the
trail of this Asa character. So why don't we con him into going south after this
Asa?”
“I don't know,” Elmo muttered. “He might find him.” "What's he want him for?
Questioning about a raid on the Catacombs. What kind of cooperation is he going
to get someplace else? Not much. Way I hear it, the cities down the coast think
Juniper is a bad joke. Anyway, we just want to buy a little time. And if he does
catch up with Asa, I figure he catches up with Raven, too. Ain't nobody going to
bring Raven back. Not if he thinks the Taken are after Darling. They tangle,
I'll put my money on Raven. Cut out the only source of info. Temporarily or
permanently. See what I mean? And if he does kill Raven,then Raven can't talk."
“How you going to talk Bullock into it?” Elmo asked. "It's dumb, Croaker. He's
not going to go haring off after some minor suspect.“ ”Yes, he will. You
remember, when we came here, he had to translate? How do you figure he learned
the lan-guage of the Jewel Cities? I asked him. He spent three years there
looking for a guy who wasn't any more important than Asa.''
Goblin said, “This mess gets crazier every day. We got so many cons and lies
going I can't keep track of them anymore. I don't think we better do anything
except cover our asses till the Captain gets here.”
I often had a feeling we were making things worse. But I could see no exit,
other than to keep coping and hoping.
“Best way out,” Elmo observed laconically, “would be to kill everybody who knows
anything, then all of us fall on our swords.”
“Sounds a little extreme,” Goblin opined. “But if you want to go first, I'm
right behind you.”
“I've got to report in to Whisper,” I said. “Anybody got any brilliant ideas
what I should tell her?”
Nobody did. I went, dreading the encounter. I was sure guilt smouldered in my
eyes whenever I faced her. I resented Elmo because he did not have to endure her
daily fits of ire.
Bullock was almost too easy. He was packing almost before I finished handing him
my line of bull. He wanted that Asa bad.
I wondered if he knew something we did not. Or if he'd just worked up an
obsession with the mystery of the invaded Catacombs.
Whisper was more of a problem.
She told me: “I want you to send somebody with him.” I had had to tell her
something, so had told her most of the truth. I figured the chances of anybody
tracking Asa and Raven were nil. But. . . . She seemed a little too
interested,too. Perhaps she knew more than she pretended. She was, after all,
one of the Taken.
Elmo picked three men, put Kingpin in charge, and told him to stick a knife in
Bullock if he looked like needing it.
The Captain and Company were, I was told, in the Wolander Mountains a hundred
miles from Juniper. They faced a slow passage through tough passes, but I began
to anticipate their arrival. Once the Old Man showed, the weight would be off
Elmo and me. “Hurry,” I muttered, and returned to tangling our skein of deceits.