Whispering Nickel Idols

20

I checked Dead Man. He wasn’t stirring. I told Dean, “I’m going out. I’ve got stuff to do.” I mapped a route in my head. Morley’s place, Temisk’s office, then the Bledsoe to check on the burned woman.

“You have your stick?”

“What?” His asking startled me.

“Shouldn’t you be ready for the worst? Considering recent events?”

I gawked. That was out of character. But he was right. And didn’t know the half. A lot of bad guys saw me at Whitefield Hall. Some would believe I was hooked up with Belinda.

I loaded up on self-defense devices, a few enthusiastically disapproved by the city Watch.

The boys at The Palms weren’t pleased to see me, but they didn’t haul out any cleavers. For a wonder, though, I caught Morley working for the second day in a row.

“What’s going on?” I asked Puddle. “What’s his problem?”

Puddle’s face exploded in a big old ugly, broken-tooth grin. “He’s down here getting in da way. He don’t got to be upstairs.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“One a dem silver-elf womens is here.”

I chuckled an evil chuckle. “It took me a long time… Hey, buddy! I came to see what you think about last night.“

Morley pulled up a chair. “Sit. Puddle, tell Skif we want a pot of tea. The real stuff. My friend doesn’t like weed leaves.”

“You don’t really drink herb tea, do you?”

“I serve it. You give the marks what they want. I’ve heard a rumor, says you’ve already had some excitement today.”

“A double dose. Some Green Pants guys tried to break in. Then Block showed up, wanting to know all about everybody’s business.”

“And you told him?”

“The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I don’t know nothing about nothing. He mostly wanted to know what happened to Belinda and Chodo after the party. He didn’t care about the fires, the riot, or the dead men.”

“Belinda better take care of Chodo. We’re picking up storm warnings. Some of the underbosses are getting ambitious.”

“Rory Sculdyte?”

“Teacher White, too.”

That wasn’t good. Though they do tend to kill only each other. Which Relway would encourage wherever he could. “Figures. They got out alive.”

“You said the Green Pants Gang hit your place again?”

“Yes.” Stupid me, I’d been too excited about being able to get out. I hadn’t gotten the promised reports from John Stretch and Melondie Kadare. “Block’s gang has them. He claims he has all but two locked up now. One of those two is following me right now.”

“We can take care of that.”

“You might want to be better prepared than yesterday.”

“Same guy?”

“I think so.”

“Not to worry. Help is on its way. About last night. What happened?”

“You were there.”

“I was kitchen help, Garrett. I didn’t see anything.”

“You saw as much as I did. Probably more. You had a whole crew in there and none of them were blind.”

“I’m sure it was your fault everything turned weird. Weird things happen when you’re around.”

“Only because of my unfortunate taste in friends.”

“You’re a misfortune for anyone who gets close to you. What’s the thing with Block and Chodo?”

I explained.

He said, “There was a lot of confusion. Somebody might’ve grabbed Chodo.But you would’ve heard about that from Belinda. She’d want Daddy Garrett to save her again.”

“Maybe.”

“Want some advice, Garrett? Stay away from Belinda. No telling how hairy it might get, but she isn’t likely to be the winner.”

I drank the tea Skif brought. “They’ll be that knee-jerk?”

Of course they would. The Outfit includes the most old-fashioned people alive. They don’t want a girl running the show.

I mused, “I wonder, though. Last night fell apart on Belinda, but it didn’t go the way anybody else expected, either. She’s no dummy. And she’s got a big head start.”

“She remains, still, just a woman.”

“I’m telling you, don’t underestimate her. Especially if you suddenly notice yourself between her and somebody giving her a hard time.”

He nodded. I doubt that he meant it. He asked, “Where are you headed from here?”

“Harvester Temisk’s place. Then the Bledsoe.”

“You can stand that place?”

“I don’t hold any grudges.”

“I mean, it’s the antechamber of one of your most pedestrian human hells. I get the wet-spine creeps just thinking about it. Let alone getting close enough to smell it.“

I held my tongue. TunFaire’s poor depend entirely on that nightmare establishment for what little medical attention they receive.

“I know what you’re thinking, Garrett. And I don’t care. You know perfectly well where the road paved with good intentions leads.”