Shadows Linger

“Ah. I begin to see the light. This is about hush money.” “There you go.”

Shed’s thoughts scurried like frightened mice. He couldn’t afford hush money. He had to find another way out. But he couldn’t do anything right now. He was too confused.  He needed time to get himself together.

“How much?”

“A leva a week would buy a first-class case of amnesia.”

Shed goggled. He sputtered. He choked back his protest. The extortionist made a what-can-I-do? gesture. “I have problems too. I got expenses. A leva a week. Or take your chances.”The black castle flickered through Shed’s thoughts. Low cu

The man gri

The man left. Shed said, “Lisa, I have a job for you. Worth a bonus. Follow that man. Find out where he goes.” He gave her five gersh. “Another five when you get back, if it’s worth it.” Lisa zipped out in a whirl of skirts. “He wandered around a lot,” Lisa reported. “Like he was killing time. Then he headed down by the Sailmakers’. To see that one-eyed moneylender.”

“Gilbert?”

“Yeah. Gilbert.”

“Thank you,” Shed said thoughtfully. “Thanks a bunch. That casts light on the problem.”

“Five gersh worth?”

“Sure. You’re a good girl.” He made a suggestive offer as he counted.

“I don’t need money that bad, Mr. Shed.”

He retreated to his kitchen, began preparing supper. So Gilbert was behind the extortionist. Did Gilbert want him financially pressed? Why?

The Lily. Why else? The renovations made the place that much more attractive a steal.

So. Assume Gilbert was opening a campaign to snatch the Lily. He had to fight. But this time nobody could help him. He was on his own.

Three days later Shed visited an acquaintance who operated on the nether edge of the Buskin. For a consideration he received a name. He visited the man attached, and left him with two pieces of silver.

Back at the Lily, he asked Lisa to tell her favorite customers that Gilbert was trying to force them out by spreading lies and making threats. He wanted the Magistrate suspicious of accusations leveled against him later.

The morning of the next payoff, Shed told Lisa, “I’ll be gone all day. Anybody comes looking for me, tell them to come back after supper.”

“The man I followed?”

“Him especially.”

At first Shed just roamed, killing time. His nerve worsened with time. Something would go wrong. Gilbert would come back rough... But he wouldn’t dare, would he? That would tarnish his reputation. Shed’s rumors had him on the defensive now. People would make their loans elsewhere if he pressed.

Shed found himself a woman. She cost too much, but she made him forget. For a while. He returned to the Lily at sunset. “He came by?” he asked Lisa.

“Be back, too. He looked put out. I don’t think he’s going to be nice, Mr. Shed.”

“That’s the way it goes. I’ll be out back working on the woodpile.” Shed glanced at a customer he’d never before seen. The man nodded, departed through the front door.

Shed chopped wood by lanternlight. Now and again he searched the shadows, saw nothing. He prayed nothing would go wrong.

The extortionist stormed out the kitchen doorway. “You trying to duck me, Shed? You know what happens if you mess with me?”

“Duck you? What do you mean? I’m right here.”

“You weren’t this afternoon. Now that girl of yours gives me a hard way to go, trying to steer me away. I like to had to pound her before she’d tell me where you were.”

Very creative. Shed wondered how much Lisa suspected. “Save the dramatics. You want your money. I want your ugly face away from my place. Let’s get on with it.”

The extortionist looked puzzled. “You talking tough? They told me you were the biggest coward in the Buskin.”

“Who told you? You working for somebody? This not a freelance play?” The man’s eyes narrowed as he realized his mistake.

Shed produced a handful of copper. He counted, counted, counted again, put a few coins away. “Hold out your hands.”

The extortionist extended cupped hands.

Shed had not expected it to be this easy. He dumped the coins, grabbed the man’s wrists.

“Hey! What the hell?”

A hand clamped over the man’s mouth. A face appeared over his shoulder, mouth stretched in a grimace of effort. The extortionist rose to his toes, arching backward. His eyes widened in fear and pain, then rolled up. He slumped forward.

“All right. Perfect. Get out of here,” Shed said.

Hastening footsteps faded quickly.

Shed dragged the body into shadow, quickly covered it with wood scraps, then dropped to hands and knees and began collecting coins. He found all but two.

“What are you doing, Mr. Shed?”

He jumped. “What’re you doing?”

“I came to see if you were all right.”

“I’m fine. We had an argument. He knocked some coins out of my hand. I can’t find them all.”

“Need help?”

“Mind the counter, girl. Or they’ll steal us blind.”

“Oh. Sure.” She ducked back inside.

Shed gave it up a few minutes later. He would search again tomorrow.

He got antsy waiting for closing time. Lisa was too curious. He was afraid she would look for the missing coins and find the body. He did not want her disappearance on his conscience, too.

Two minutes after he closed, he was out his back door and heading for his wagon and team.

The tall being was back on duty. He paid Shed thirty pieces of silver. As he was maneuvering to leave, though, the thing demanded, “Why do you come so seldom?”

“I’m not as skilled as my partner.”

“What has become of him? We have missed him.”

“He’s out of town.”

Shed could have sworn he heard the thing chuckle as he went out the gate.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Juniper

Ru

A long time had passed and nothing had happened. The Taken were not pleased. Neither was Elmo. He dragged me into his quarters. “Were the hell did Raven go,Croaker?”

“I don’t know,” I told him. As if he were the only one disturbed. I was scared and getting more so by the day. “I want to know. Soon.”

“Look, man. Goblin’s done everything but torture people trying to pick up his trail. He flat vanished. He got wind of us somehow.”

“How? Will you tell me how? We’ve been here half our lives, it seems like. And nobody else down there has noticed. Why should Raven be any different?”

“Because we were around looking for him. He must have spotted one of us.”

“If he did, I want to know that. You hike on down there and light a fire under Goblin’s ass. Hear?”

“Right. Whatever you say, boss.” Though he commanded the advance party, technically I outranked Elmo. But I was not about to press for prerogatives at the moment. There was too much tension in the air.

There was stress throughout Duretile, and I did not understand most of it. I remained on the periphery of the Taken’s study of the black castle. Just another messenger boy, a foot-slogger bringing in data from the city. I hadn’t the slightest notion what they had discovered by direct examination. Or even if they were studying the castle directly. They could be lying back, afraid they would alert the Dominator to their presence.

One of the men located me in Elmo’s quarters. “Whisper wants you, Croaker.”

I jumped a foot. Guilty conscience. “What for?” I had not seen her for weeks.

“You’ll have to go see. She didn’t say.” He sneered, hoping he would see an officer in the soup. He figured I was in trouble.

He figured that; so did I. I dawdled as much as I dared, but eventually had to present myself. Whisper glared at me as i entered. “You people haven’t found a damned thing down there. What are you doing? Dogging it? Taking a vacation? Well, say something.” “I...”