Страница 66 из 99
"How is it you know Sebastian?" I said. "Have you worked with him too?"
"You have got to be joking," said Molly, curling her lip. "I wouldn’t touch that man with a disinfected barge pole. He works alone because no one else trusts him. He’s a two-faced, treacherous little turd who’s screwed over pretty much everyone at one time or another. However…he can be the man to go to when you need to get your hands on a certain item that no one else can supply, legally or illegally. Sebastian can get you anything, for the right price, as long as it’s firmly understood that there isn’t going to be any provenance. Or any protection if the original owner discovers you’ve got it. You can also be absolutely sure that there won’t be any refund if the item in question turns out to be not entirely what you thought it was. It’s up to you to be sure before you hand over any money. Buyer beware, and carry a bloody big stick."
"And this is the man you thought might help me?" I said.
"I’d better phone ahead," said Molly, producing a bright pink phone with a Hello Kitty face on it. "Make sure he’s in and that he’ll agree to see us."
"Might not be wise, using my name over a standard phone, on an open line," I said. "My family have people who listen in on everything."
"Don’t teach your grandmother to throttle chickens," said Molly.
"I haven’t spoken over an open line in years. The angels themselves couldn’t listen in on one of my calls without actual divine intervention on their side."
She moved a few steps away while she punched in the number. I leaned back against an ornamental stone wall and considered my situation. I wasn’t impressed with the two rogues Molly had introduced me to so far. Oddly John had gone mad, and the Mole was well on his way in the same direction. Both of them trapped in prisons of their own making. And this Sebastian sounded like a real scumbag. How could I trust anything a man like that might tell me, even if I could persuade him to talk? But time was pressing, and I had to get answers from somewhere. If nothing else, I was pretty sure I’d know the truth once I heard it. That I would recognise it somehow. My left arm hurt like hell, even though I had my hand tucked into my belt to carry some of the weight. I massaged the muscles with my other hand, but it didn’t help. The pain beat sickly in my left shoulder and down into my chest. The strange matter was spreading inexorably through my system. Three days, Molly had said. Maybe four. Maybe not. I had to get my answers soon, while they were still some good to me.
Time was against me…
Molly turned off her phone and put it away. "He says he’ll see us, but only if we come over right away. It’s just a few minutes’ walk from here. But Eddie…try to be nice to Sebastian. He can be a real pain in the arse, but…he really does know things that no one else does. Is there anything you might know that you could offer him in exchange? Some family secret, perhaps, from after his time? Sebastian loves secrets. He can’t sell them on fast enough."
"I am wise," I said, "and know many things. And I shall be perfectly polite to Sebastian. Right up to the point where he refuses to tell me something I need to know, and then I will bounce him off the nearest wall until his eyes change colour. I really feel like beating the snot out of someone obnoxious. It’s been that kind of a day. Is any of this going to be a problem for you?"
"Hell," said Molly. "I’ll hold his arms while you hit him."
Sebastian turned out to have a magnificently appointed second-floor apartment over a very refined and upmarket antiques shop called Time Past. I took a quick peek through the window. The shop was full of those delicate kinds of items where, if you have to ask the price, you definitely can’t afford them. Molly peered over my shoulder, sniffed dismissively at the lot, and then rang the bell beside the discreet side door. There was a name card beside the bell, and it wasn’t anything like Sebastian Drood. After a lengthy pause, while Sebastian checked us out in some unobtrusive and probably highly arcane ma
The stairs ended in another door, solid oak barred with cold iron and silver. It opened by itself as Molly and I approached, and we filed through into the gorgeously laid-out apartment beyond. Sebastian was waiting for us. He stood, carefully poised and elegant, in the middle of a bright spacious living room, and waited for us to come to him. Sebastian was tall, handsome, and oh so sophisticated. You could tell. He’d put a lot of effort into making sure you could tell. He had to be in his late sixties, but his hair was still jet-black, and his face had a certain taut look to it that spoke of frequent face lifts and regular Botox injections. He had cold blue eyes and a smile that came and went so quickly it meant nothing at all. He wore a white roll-necked pullover above casually expensive slacks with the kind of handmade shoes you have to take out a second mortgage to pay for. The roll neck hid the gold collar around his throat, but I could tell it was there.
"Molly! Eddie!" he said in the kind of deep rich voice you only get by practicing, probably in front of a mirror. "Do come in. Delighted to see you both."
He shook us both firmly by the hand but didn’t sit down or invite us to. It seemed we weren’t expected to stay that long. Sebastian produced an antique silver snuffbox from his pocket and opened it with a flourish. A hidden mechanism played a tinkly version of "The British Grenadiers" while Sebastian tapped out two small mounds of dark powdered tobacco onto the back of his hand and snorted them up one nostril at a time. He then sneezed explosively into a silk handkerchief before putting it and the snuffbox away again. It was a performance designed to impress. If it had been anyone else, I would have applauded.
"That stuff’s worse than coke," said Molly. "You’ll see; one of these days the whole inside of your nose will just drop out."
"I like my vices old-fashioned," said Sebastian, quite unconcerned. "I find the qualities of the past so much more satisfying than those of the present. As you can see…"
He indicated the contents of his apartment with a graceful wave of one long-fingered hand. It was sumptuously appointed, every item of the highest quality. Upon the waxed and polished bare board floor stood antique furnishings from a dozen different periods carefully arranged and presented so the different styles wouldn’t clash. Original paintings on the walls, each carefully illuminated by concealed track lighting. Plus a handful of Victorian pen-and-ink erotica, ranging from the cheerfully vulgar to the actually appalling. There was even a glass and diamond chandelier hanging from the ceiling. And yet for all the effort that had gone into it, I couldn’t help thinking Sebastian’s living room looked more like a showcase than a room where someone actually lived.
"Very nice," said Molly. "Very…you. Is that antiques shop downstairs yours as well?"
"Oh, of course. It makes for very good cover when I want to bring in something new that I’ve just…acquired. I have this delightful young lady who runs the shop for me. Charming little filly. She’s really just a golem with a concealing glamour spell, but the customers never seem to notice. Now then, Eddie; let us talk business."
"Yes," I said. "Let’s."
He looked me over as though I was something he was considering buying, probably against his better judgement. "So; you’re the latest rogue. Old goody-two-shoes Eddie, no less. The whole area’s been full of family looking for you. I’ve hardly dared step outside my flat. I was actually quite shocked when I heard the news. I’d gone to such pains to hide my presence from you, all these years…and now you’re an official disgrace, just like me. Do you know why I left the family, Eddie?"