Cruel Zinc Melodies

‘‘It’s under control, Luther. The kid gangsters are off to the work camps. Belinda Contague has developed a business interest in the neighborhood. That should discourage vandalism. The kids who created the big-ass bugs have been hammered into line. We won’t see any more of those.’’

Luther pointed down and raised a brushy eyebrow. ‘‘And that?’’

‘‘That’s still a work in progress. What can be done is being done. Inertia is our ally. It should be asleep again now. For another hundred generations, one hopes.’’

Luther wasn’t comfortable with that. He was a guy who wanted absolute solutions. But those are the solutions that come by burying the problem in corpses.

I said, ‘‘There was mention of a ghost sighting. That what’s bothering you?’’

‘‘Some. But it was Lolly doing the whining. Which didn’t start till he got told he couldn’t have the afternoon off. First damned day back, he’s already wanting time off.’’

‘‘Going forward, keep it as cold as possible in here. If it starts to warm up inside but not out, I need to know right away.’’ That wouldn’t close the matter. Max wouldn’t let the dragon business slide, hoping it would go back the way it was. What had awakened once could awaken twice. He’d want some solid assurance.

‘‘Not my problem,’’ Luther confessed. ‘‘I’ll get the place built. The rest is up to you.’’

I liked his attitude. It was a dramatic improvement. ‘‘I’ll do what I can.’’

‘‘That’s good, Mr. Garrett. Hey, I’ve got to go. It’s a holiday tomorrow. I promised I’d get home at a reasonable hour tonight.’’ Just reminding me that he had a life when he wasn’t standing around jawing. ‘‘We’re having a birthday celebration for my kid.’’

People do go on living and changing when they’re not onstage with you.

Luther left. I decided to give the World the once-over before I followed suit. One last detailed snoop before I took a quick run home for supper. I’d come right back. There were things I wanted to do when I wouldn’t be interrupted.

Creak and a puff of cold air. I figured it was Saucerhead coming to find out what I wanted him to do. It was Tharpe, yes, but following stubby little Deal Relway himself. Tharpe’s shoulders hunched in a combination expressing apology and an appeal for instructions.

I shrugged. It couldn’t be too bad. The man who never left the Al-Khar had come out alone. Meaning he’d have to get back out on his own.

‘‘Can I help you?’’ That most a

‘‘Wanted to see the scene of the crime with my own eyes. Nice coat. Beaver?’’

‘‘I think so.’’

‘‘We nabbed Belle Chimes.’’

‘‘Good for you. I knew you could do it.’’

‘‘Then we lost him before we could get any serious answers.’’

‘‘He escaped from the Al-Khar?’’

‘‘He didn’t get away. He was taken away. Custody transferred. By order of Prince Rupert. You have any idea why?’’

‘‘You’re better positioned to guess than I am. You work for the man.’’

‘‘I do, don’t I? And I don’t have a clue what goes on inside his head.’’ He kept wandering. Was he looking for one of the infamous ghosts?

We should tame them. We could turn them into another paying attraction. Spend some quality time with your dead folks in exchange for a few pieces of silver.

Relway stopped pacing. ‘‘Then there’s the guy we found way down in the underground last night. All chopped up and out of his mind. Bad actor known as Urban Jack Tick-Tack.’’

No way I could claim ignorance. His troops had been there with me. ‘‘He attacked some dwarves I know. Their little girl came to me for help.’’

‘‘And you sent her to Tharpe. We talked to the dwarf girl. We talked to Urban Jack. We talked to Tharpe’s crew. And we talked to the red tops who were there. Some curious conflicts in testimony turned up.’’

‘‘That happens with witnesses.’’

‘‘Yes. The dwarf claimed her family was attacked by a monster. Tick-Tack says he was minding his own business. The dwarves ambushed him.’’

‘‘Five levels underground, where they were being paid to keep intruders out?’’

‘‘Jack does think he was in the right. Says we can get the answer from his boss. Who, according to him, was down there, too, but must’ve ducked out when the red tops turned up.’’ Relway resumed pacing. ‘‘He can’t explain how.’’

‘‘He claimed to be a red top himself, earlier in the evening.’’

‘‘Um?’’

I told him about Urban Jack’s cautionary visit to The Palms.

‘‘Felhske again.’’

He was worried. And began dropping hints that he was having interesting thoughts. ‘‘A curious thing happened just before I left to come here. Urban Jack was transferred to the custody of Prince Rupert, too.’’

‘‘That is curious. What does it mean?’’

‘‘That’s what you’re going to tell me.’’

‘‘I don’t think so. I’d need some idea of what you’re talking about, first.’’

‘‘Of course you would. Wouldn’t you?’’

Now he’d come at me from some unexpected direction, to get me off balance. And to give me time to get worried about what he might already know.

‘‘You fired one of my people here. I’m not happy about that, Garrett.’’

‘‘Tough. He was an asshole. Trying to provoke rightsist shit. We’re building a theater. That political crap, and your games, are just ignorant bullshit.’’

‘‘On the whole, I’m not pleased with you, Garrett.’’

‘‘On the whole, I don’t give a damn, Relway. You need somebody to please you, get yourself a wife.’’

He produced a smile just thick enough to be noticed. ‘‘You were at a tailor shop yesterday afternoon. Prince Rupert was there, too. What was that about?’’

Thanks to a nugget found in Lurking Felhske’s head, him knowing didn’t surprise me. ‘‘You’d be in the know if the prince wanted you to know. Right?’’

Deal Relway didn’t bluster or threaten. He preferred either a direct approach, or something very subtle, when he thought intimidation was appropriate. Too, he liked knowing his footing was safe before he laid the intimidation on heavily.

I said, ‘‘I wish there was some way to get this through. We’re on the same side. But I don’t see that meaning I have to kowtow for us to get along.’’ I controlled a temptation to observe that his rightsist provocateur wasn’t the only asshole involved with the Unpublished Committee. I suffered another maturation spasm. ‘‘Gently put, it’s not all about Deal Relway and his demons. It’s a bigger world and in that world most people don’t give a rat’s ass about Deal Relway’s personal happiness. They might applaud what Deal Relway does but figure he ought to stick to rounding up bad guys. He should forget about sculpting the realm to feed his own obsessions.’’

What maturity spasm was that? I was taking a two-hand yank on the king’s beard. Some mad part of me must be totally confident that Rupert would bail me out the way he had Tick-Tack and Belle Chimes.

Rupert wanted his own necromancer, eh?

Relway said, ‘‘Did we know each other in a past life where we were deadly enemies?’’

‘‘What?’’

‘‘This friction. I came here with good intentions. Meant to talk a little, swap some information, try to find out what’s going on behind my back. But the second I see you my hackles go up. I want to smack you around till you develop a case of basic ma

I had so much antagonism yearning to be free I could’ve yammered for ten minutes. The new and improved Garrett stepped up. ‘‘It’s the way you treat people.’’ I had to say something.

He had an answer right there, ready to go. He saved it.

I didn’t have to hear him say it to know he believed he gave people what they’d earned.