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Larry replaced the board and we returned to the room where Rastov hung. We searched thoroughly, but it did not seem to be present.
«I don't think he killed himself,» I said finally. «Somebody overpowered him while he was drunk or hung over, then did that to him. They wanted it to look as if he did it to himself.»
«He was pretty strong,» Quicklime responded. «But if he'd started in drinking again this morning, he might not have been able to defend himself well.»
I relayed our conjectures to Larry, who nodded.
«And the place is so messy you can't really tell whether there was a struggle,» he said. «Though, for that matter, the killer could have straightened some furniture afterwards. I'll have to go to the constable. I'll tell him I dropped by, found the door open and walked in. At least, I'd visited here before. It's not as if we'd never met. He won't know we weren't that well acquainted.»
«I guess that's best,» I told him. Returning my gaze to the corpse, I said, «Can't tell from his clothes either. Looks as if he'd slept in them, more than once.»
We moved back to the front room.
«What are you going to do now, Quicklime?» I asked. «You want to move in with Jack and me? That might be simplest, us closers sticking together.»
«I think not,» he hissed. «I think I'm done with the Game. He was a good man. He took good care of me. He cared about people, about the whole world.
What's that human notion, compassion. He had a lot of that. It's one of the reasons he drank a lot, I think. He felt everybody else's pain too much. No. I'm done with the Game. I'll slip back to the woods now. I still know a few burrows, a few places where the mice make their runs. Leave me alone here for a while now. I'll see you around, Snuff.»
«Whatever you think is best, Quicklime,» I said. «And if the winter gets too rough, you know where we live.»
«I do. Good-bye.»
«Good luck.»
Larry let me out and we walked back to the road.
«I'll be going this way, then,» he said, turning right.
«And I'll be going this way.»
I turned left.
«See you soon for the follow-up on this,» he said.
«Yes.»
I headed home. «And you will lose a friend», the old cat had said that, too. It had slipped my mind till now.
Jack was not in, and I did the rounds quickly, leaving everything in good order. Stepping outside then, I located his spoor and tracked him to Crazy Jill's.
Graymalk watched me from atop the wall.
«Hello, Snuff,» she said.
«Hello, Gray. Jack is here?»
«Yes, he is in having a meal with the mistress. He ran low on supplies and she decided to feed him before their trip.»
«Trip?» I asked. «What trip?»
«A shopping trip, into town.»
«He did say something about being low on necessaries, and needing to visit the market soon… .»
«Yes. So he's sent for a coach. It should be here in an hour or so. It will be exciting to see the town again.»
«You're going, too?»
«We're all going. The mistress also needs some things.»
«Shouldn't we stay behind to guard the places?»
«The mistress has a very good daylong warding spell, which she will share. It will also capture likenesses of attempted trespassers. I understand that a part of the reason we are going this way is to see whether anyone tries such a thing. Everyone will see our coach go by. On our return, we may learn who are our most important enemies.»
«This was decided recently, I take it?»
«Just this morning, while you were out.»
«This may be a good time for it,» I acknowledged, «with the big event only a week from tomorrow, and in light of the way things have been going.»
«Oh?» She rose, stretched, and jumped down from the wall. «There are new developments?»
«Walk with me,» I said.
«Where?»
«To the vicarage. You said we have an hour.»
«All right.»
We left the yard, headed south.
«Yes,» I told her as we went, «we've lost the mad monk,» and I recounted the morning's events.
«And you think the vicar did it?» she asked.
«Probably. He seems our most militant player. But that's not why I wanted to visit his focus. I just wanted to learn the location of the room where he keeps Lynette a prisoner.»
«Of course,» she said. «If he has the Count's ring and the Alhazred Icon as well as the pentacle bowl, he could do some pretty nasty things between now and next week. You said they mainly increased his technical prowess, and I thought you meant for the ceremony. But he could hurt people with them right now. I asked the mistress.»
«Well, that's technical.»
«But you acted as if it weren't important.»
«I still don't think it is. He'd be a fool to use the actual tools that way, when he should be relying on his own abilities. The tools have a way of producing repercussive effects when they're used extracurricularly. He could wind up hurting himself badly unless he's a real master, and I don't think he is.»
«How can you be sure?»
«I doubt a master would run around with a crossbow, shooting at bats, or plan a human sacrifice when it's not absolutely necessary, just to be safe. He's insecure in his power. A master aims at economy of operations, not proliferation.»
«That sounds right, Snuff. But if he's too insecure mightn't he be tempted to try an operation with the tools against the rest of us, anyway, just to narrow the field and make things easier for himself later on?»
«If he's that foolish, the results are on his own head.»
«And the person he directs the power against, don't forget that. It could be you.»
«I understand you're safe if your heart is pure.»
«I'll try to remember that.»
When we reached the vicarage she led me around to the rear.
«Up there,» she said, looking at a window directly overhead. «That's her room.»
«I've never seen her about,» I said.
«I gather from Tekela that she's been locked up for several weeks.»
«I wonder how securely?»
«Well, she hasn't come out, to my knowledge. And I told you I saw a chain around her ankle.»
«How thick?»
«That's hard to say. You want me to climb up and take another look?»
«Maybe. I wonder whether the vicar is in?»
«We could check the stable, see whether his horse is there.»
«Let's do that.»
So we headed to the small stable in the rear and entered there. There were two stalls, and both were empty.
«Off on a call,» she said.
«What do you want?» came a voice from the rafters.
Looking up, I beheld the albino raven.
«Hello, Tekela,» Graymalk said. «We were just passing by, and wanted to see whether you'd heard the news about Rastov.»
There followed a moment's silence, then, «What about Rastov?»
«He's dead,» Graymalk said. «Hanged.»
«And what of the snake?»
«Gone back to the woods.»
«Good. I never liked snakes. They raid nests, eat eggs.»
«Have you any news?»
«Only that the big man has been about again. There was an argument at the farmhouse and he went out to the barn for a time and crouched in a corner. The Good Doctor went after him and there was more argument. He ran off into the night then. Went back later, though.»
«That's interesting. I wonder what it was about.»
«I don't know.»
«Well, we'll be going now. Good-bye.»
«Yes.»
We departed and returned to the vicarage. Graymalk looked back.
«She can't see us from that rafter,» she said. «Do you want me to climb up?»
«Wait,» I said. «I want to try a trick I learned from Larry.»
I approached the back door and I checked the stable again. I could see no flash of white.
Rising onto my hind legs, I put a paw against the door for balance, held it a moment, then dropped it to join the other in pressing on the knob toward its center. I turned my body as I made the effort. I had to try three times, adjusting my grip. The third time it went far enough to make a clicking sound and my weight caused the door to swing inward. I dropped into a normal position and entered.