Shadows Linger

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?

Chapter Twenty-Four

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?”