Gilded Latten Bones (36 page)

I asked Strafa to set down in the street beneath the window of the room where Morley and I had stayed. I meant to go in the back way. But that window was wide open and no light burned behind it.

Someone had undone my masterful carpentry.

“Pop up there and see if anyone is in that room.”

“All right.” Up she went, then inside. She came back out and down. “There is no one there. The furnishings have been changed.”

“Good enough. Pop me in, then go get Morley. Please?” In case she thought I was getting presumptuous and bossy.

“Just this once. Get on.”

I straddled the broom. Up we went. Strafa hovered while I tumbled through the window. When I got up to say something she was gone.

My night vision was not acute. I felt my way through the unfamiliar layout, found the door, listened, heard nothing. I opened up a cautious crack.

Two small sconces with their wicks turned down illuminated the empty hallway. Enough light got in to show me the new layout. I spotted a lamp.

I lit that off the nearest sconce, got back inside the room, shut the door.

The furniture was all new. Paint had been applied to the woodwork, especially the windowsill. The door now had a bolt on the inside. I threw it, began a detailed inspection. I was still at that when Strafa brought Morley. He clambered through the window. She darted away.

Morley plopped into the only available chair. “What the hell are you doing? Why didn’t you just walk in through the front door?”

“Being sneaky seemed like a good idea at the time. But you’re right. Using the door would mean fewer misunderstandings when they find us squatting up here.”

“You think? I’ll go find Mike in a minute. Maybe I can talk fast enough to save you some broken bones.”

“I’ll be counting on you, buddy.”

“Sure. Meanwhile, you want to explain why we’re even here?”

“Belinda’s idea. Because the house is under siege, the Dead Man is sleeping, and there was only food enough for a few days.”

“Somebody panicked.”

“They did?” I had been thinking exactly that since I stopped moving.

“I didn’t think about it, either, till I was on my way. But, really, your house was not under attack and that crew was there illegally. How long are they likely to stay?”

“If the King stays stubborn about the law being whatever he says it is...”

“I bet the point of the exercise was to get the reaction they got. They wanted us to run.”

“You’d better see Mike. If that was the point...” I recalled seeing a barn cat pick off mice startled into flight by another cat.

“On my way.” He got up and went. “Sit tight. Whatever happens, sit tight.”

“Will do.”

I worried, though. He was bone pale. He wouldn’t last much longer.

Strafa came back. She gave me no chance to say anything this time, either.

She dropped Penny and skedaddled.

92

Miss Tea preceded Morley into the room. DeeDee followed. Mike scowled at me, at Penny, then said, “You can’t bring your own beer to the theater, and you can’t bring your own playmate to Fire and Ice.”

Penny turned a ferocious red. She made a pitifully small squeaky noise. I thought she would melt down to a puddle of goo.

I said, “That was cruel and uncalled for, Miss Tea.” I whispered, “And she’s the Capa’s little sister.”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t take it out on the kid. You’re a plenty big target yourself.”

“Morley already told you this is the Capa’s idea.”

“I can’t take my anger out on her. What were you thinking, climbing in the damned window? Which I ought to charge you for getting fixed.”

“I wasn’t thinking. I admit that.”

“You could have ended up with more holes in you than this other idiot had. Then what would I do?”

I shrugged. “Pay a specialist to get rid of the bloodstains?”

“It would’ve put the kibosh on our future together, that’s for sure.”

I said, “Huh?”

Penny squeaked in dismay.

Morley made a snorting sound. He collapsed into the only chair. He would have giggled if he was a girl.

DeeDee took up the slack. She thought that was hilarious.

And here came Crush, uninvited. Her excuse was a tray with tea, six cups, and a pound of frou-frou cookies so thin you could read through them. She was taken aback by Penny’s presence, too. “I don’t have any appointments for a while.”

Mike grumbled, “So you thought you would be nosy.”

“Yeah. I did think I’d stick my honker in.”

A hint of a smile flickered on Mike’s lips. There was a streak of affection for Crush hidden inside Miss Teagarden.

I said, “I’m glad you did, kid. I have a message for you.” I glanced at Morley. He had no advice to offer. His eyes were shut. A fussing DeeDee was in the way.

Mike eyed me suspiciously. Crush looked at me askance.

“It’s nothing huge. I introduced Crush to Jon Salvation at my house, the other day. He was having a bad one. She asked questions he was tired of hearing. He was rude to her. He felt bad about it later. I told him I’d apologize.”

“That was after he found out what I do, right?”

“He has no idea what you do. He wouldn’t believe me if I told him. You aren’t anything like what he would expect... No. You’re not what... Mike, can you save my dumb ass here?”

“Suppose she was a shop girl? Men. Just say what you have to say.”

I knew that. But it’s hard to remember, sometimes.

Mike added, “You don’t need to walk on eggshells. We know what we do.”

“All right. Jon felt bad about being a jerk. He knows Crush is a big fan because we both told him. So he said, if you’re around the World sometime, when they’re in rehearsal, you can come in and watch them work on his next play. Which means you get to see it before anybody and you get to see how a play gets put together. And, I figure, you’d get the answers to your questions.”

“That’s it? That’s all?” Mike demanded.

“That’s all. Her virtue would be safe.”

“Smart ass. I should ought not to believe you just because it’s you.”

What was that? “You don’t know me that well.”

“I probably know enough. Out of curiosity I had a long talk with the Capa one night. She does know you that well.”

Crush demanded, “Is that for real?”

“Which? What Mike is on about or the invitation?”

“The invitation. Mike flirting is too cerebral to be interesting.”

“Yes, then. Jon Salvation is a good guy. He’s desperate to have people like him. Most theater people are. So, if you have the time, and you want, go by there.”

Crush looked to Mike, perhaps asking permission.

Mike said, “DeeDee, you should be getting ready for your next appointment.” Once DeeDee went away, Mike told Crush, “That might be good for you.” To me, tapping herself on the left breast, “Heart of gold.” Then to Crush, “You don’t go giving it away just because this scribbler is famous.”

Crush was horrified. “I would never...”

Through all this Penny’s eyes just kept getting bigger.

Mike’s heart of gold ran maybe eight carat.

She said, “Crush, go back down to the parlor. You don’t need to take any random clients. Just sing a few songs.”

With Crush gone, she said, “She has a marvelous voice. She might not be in the life if she had found that out first.”

“Probably not as much money in singing.”

“Not with her looks. So. What’s the plan?”

“Belinda said come here, hunker down, and sit tight. That sounded like a good idea at the time but once we got here we decided it was stupid. We should have stayed where we were.”

Mike had a black look for me but the one she laid on Morley was special. Crisp chips of seared Dotes should have flaked off him. Penny’s presence saved us some ugly language.

She said, “I don’t know what I did to bring this stuff down on myself.”

“We can leave.”

“Of course you can. Any time you want. With wonder boy asleep and the Capa likely to turn up any second to ask if I’m bending over and taking it like a good girl.”

“Are you really that bitter?”

“Only on days of the week ending in ‘day.’ I have a nice business here. We like each other, mostly. We look out for each other. I do everything by the numbers. I pay off the right people without complaining. So is it really too much to ask to be left alone in return?”

“Probably not. So why not just go back to work and forget us?”

“Best idea I’ve ever heard from you.” She stamped out.

Penny said, “She isn’t very nice, is she?”

“Don’t let her fool you. That was all show.” I had seen a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

“So what now?”

“We wait. That’s mostly what I do. Sit. Watch. Wait. If you’re tired you can have the bed. I’ll get a folding chair out of the corner.”

“I couldn’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“People use it for... Well, you know.”

I knew, but I was a jaded old cynic. “A bed is a bed, girl, with some more comfortable than others. When you’re tired whatever else happened there doesn’t matter. Though you might be smart to see how big the bugs are before you take the plunge.”

“Mr. Garrett! Do you have to be a jerk all the time?”

“You bring out the worst in me. Do you want the bed or not? Because if you’re going to be all bluestocking, I’ll snag it for myself. I’m not the gentleman you think I am.”

“I believe that would make you exactly the man I think you are, sir. I will sit out the night on a folding chair, thank you.”

“Suit yourself. Turn the lamp down when you’re ready. And don’t lock the door. People will come to see us at some point.”

Yes. I was that way with the kid. She wanted to be part of the household on Macunado Street, I would treat her like family.

I climbed into the bed.

It was a far better bed than the one it had replaced. It was miles better than the cot.

It was a comfortably cool night so I just stretched out on the covers. Despite the excitement, the strange bed, and the fact that I had had nothing to drink, I fell asleep immediately. Despite the fact that even after she turned the lamp down I could see a sour-faced teenager scowling my way if I cracked an eyelid.

93

“So what is this?”

Was that Belinda?

“Do you believe this?”

The question died in a great, roaring snore from Morley Dotes.

I was on my back, the right side of me pressed against the wall. I did not feel inclined to be awake and sociable so I pretended I was asleep.

Strafa said, “I thought yours would give in to temptation first.”

“Obviously you thought wrong.”

I detected some amusement in both voices.

I rolled toward them, away from the wall.

All right.

I got it.

I wasn’t alone.

Penny had her back to me. She was balanced precariously on the edge but she was in the same bed. And the old women were having fun with that.

That folding chair must have gotten awful hard.

When I rolled she moved too, both of us into the slight depression in the middle.

Belinda and Strafa each said something that did not flatter me.

But for Penny I would have said something juvenile to irritate them.

Then Strafa won me back. “We’d better get Penny up first. Carefully. Otherwise, she’ll die of embarrassment.”

“Really? She’s snuggled up to him in the same bed.”

“Please. Be empathetic for one minute of your life.”

Wow. That was my girl telling Belinda Contague to develop a human side. A-maz-ing!

Belinda bowed to Strafa’s demands because Strafa was the Windwalker, Furious Tide of Light, who could turn her into a pond’s worth of frogs.

I went on pretending to be a sleeping frog in need of the kiss of a princess. I did nothing while Strafa extricated a muzzy Penny from a situation likely to cause a panic attack.

DeeDee and Mike turned up before the ladies started on Morley and me. They brought a meal suitable for the empress of the Combine and her dearest henchfolk. DeeDee fussed over Morley till Mike, high on surviving the night, herded her out.

Miss Tea had little to say, otherwise. She stood by looking grim. She was extremely unhappy.

Strafa read her perfectly. “We’ll clear out shortly, ma’am.”

Belinda nodded. “As soon as Mr. Dotes is fed and ready to travel.”

Strafa said, “We blundered. We misread a situation completely, then panicked.”

“Misread, huh?” I said. “Like how?” Her angle might have been different.

“The Palace Guards were all for show. Prince Rupert wanted somebody to see that he could come down hard on busybodies.”

“Rupert didn’t send them. The King did.”

“Whatever, Rupert is at the house now.” Strafa’s laughter was pure music. “Wait till you see his headgear. He is
determined
not to have his mind read.” She described a monster rat’s nest of silver mesh and tangle. “We never told him that the Dead Man is asleep.”

“We?” Had there been a party while I was away?

“Easy, boy.”

Belinda said, “You’ll have to get used to him getting his exercise by jumping to conclusions.”

Strafa said, “If we hurry, lover, I can get you there before Rupert’s men finish cleaning up.”

“That doesn’t sound good. What happened? What did you do?”

“Well... After I moved Penny and Playmate, Bell and I started picking off Palace Guards. You were right. Some were patrolmen from the Hill.”

“Picking off? What does that mean?”

I was a little loud. Mike had to pop out to the hallway to reassure her security goons.

Belinda said, “Is it too much to ask that you just relax and listen, Garrett? What possible use is there to you bellowing and stomping like a bull in rut?”

“It helps me pretend that I have some kind of control over my own life.”

Miss Contague let loose a championship sigh. She looked at Strafa. “And you really want to partner up with this dope?”

“He’ll be all right. You’ll see. He just needs a chance to relax. He’s been away for a long time.” She gave me a big happy puppy dog look.

How the hell can you go on being grumpy when a beautiful woman looks at you like you’re the culmination of the man-creation process and she just adores you? How, when you look back at her, get caught up in a little heavy breathing, and she gets just a hint of virginal blush to her cheeks?