then?”
“Breathing fire, Pop.”
“Then it behooves me to take steps.”
“The step you ought to take is to come to an accommodation.”
“Not with those swine. They—and that woman—seduced my son away . . . ”
I shut him out and gave my whole attention to the basement. As far as I could tell, nothing had changed. It seemed likely, then, that they had found nothing I might have missed. “Huh? I’m sorry. I missed that.”
He gave me a look that said he knew why. But you could not get him to talk nasty at spear’s point. “I asked if you knew someone I could retain as a guard for the premises.”
“No.” I did know someone. Me. But I was up to my nostrils with long cold lonely nights waiting for something that never happened, or that was really lethal when it did. “Wait.” A thought. “Maybe I do. The people who are supposed to make the trip to the Cantard with me. I could do us both a favor by parking them here.” Morley, too, if it put him out of the heat.
Tate looked startled. “You’re going to go? You sounded so dead set against it.”
“I’m still against it. I think it’s about as smart as raiding a roc’s nest. I don’t even see any point to it. But I told you I’d look into it. I haven’t really made up my mind yet either way.”
He smiled. He grinned. I was afraid he would try to slap me on the back and maybe loosen one of my kidneys. But he restrained himself. A very restrained kind of guy, old man Tate.
He got very serious.
“What can you do about that man’s body, Mr. Garrett?”
I figured we were going to get to that. “Nothing.”
“What?”
“Nothing. He’s not my problem.”
The old boy gulped air. Then the sly merchant came tippy-toeing forward. “You want to hold me up for a bonus? All right. How much?”
“Don’t bother. You don’t have enough. I’m not putting a finger on that stiff. It’s not my responsibility, and I don’t do that kind of work. My advice is, call the magistrates and let them handle it. You’ll be clear. He was killed during a break-in.”
“No. I don’t want anyone nosing into family business.”
“Then have your boys take him and dump him in the river or an alley somewhere down the hill.” There are bodies in the river most mornings. In the alleys, too. Unless they were someone important, they caused little comment.
Tate saw that he could not reach me through my lust for wealth. He gave that up. “You go ahead here, then. Send those men here as soon as you can. I have work to do. Keep me posted.” He ducked out.
I poked around and wondered if the evil gleam in Tate’s eye meant he thought he could put the corpse off on Morley and the triplets.
12
The flooring did its dust drop. I had noticed it several times before Tate left. I figured my sweetheart Rose was eavesdropping again. I ignored her.
Look as I might, I could not find anything missing. I settled back to give the whole business a think. It was obese with potential trouble. And I was getting near the point where I had to make a real decision.
The local end of it would take care of itself. There was nothing to investigate at this end. At the other end . . .
I did not want to think about that end yet. It would be unpleasant no matter how smooth it went. It would be unpleasant just traveling to and revisiting the Cantard.
A door opened and shut overhead. A moment later women began talking. The one with the quarrelsome voice had to be Rose. I wondered who the other one was.
A delightful aroma preceded her down the basement stairs. She proved to be a fiery little redhead with long straight hair, jade-green eyes, a few freckles, and high, firm breasts that thrust boldly against a ruffled silk blouse. There was nothing between that blouse and her but my daydreams.
“Where have they been hiding you?” I asked, jumping up to take the tray she carried. “Who are you?”
“I’m Tinnie. And you’re Garrett. And the last time you saw me I was
“Breathing fire, Pop.”
“Then it behooves me to take steps.”
“The step you ought to take is to come to an accommodation.”
“Not with those swine. They—and that woman—seduced my son away . . . ”
I shut him out and gave my whole attention to the basement. As far as I could tell, nothing had changed. It seemed likely, then, that they had found nothing I might have missed. “Huh? I’m sorry. I missed that.”
He gave me a look that said he knew why. But you could not get him to talk nasty at spear’s point. “I asked if you knew someone I could retain as a guard for the premises.”
“No.” I did know someone. Me. But I was up to my nostrils with long cold lonely nights waiting for something that never happened, or that was really lethal when it did. “Wait.” A thought. “Maybe I do. The people who are supposed to make the trip to the Cantard with me. I could do us both a favor by parking them here.” Morley, too, if it put him out of the heat.
Tate looked startled. “You’re going to go? You sounded so dead set against it.”
“I’m still against it. I think it’s about as smart as raiding a roc’s nest. I don’t even see any point to it. But I told you I’d look into it. I haven’t really made up my mind yet either way.”
He smiled. He grinned. I was afraid he would try to slap me on the back and maybe loosen one of my kidneys. But he restrained himself. A very restrained kind of guy, old man Tate.
He got very serious.
“What can you do about that man’s body, Mr. Garrett?”
I figured we were going to get to that. “Nothing.”
“What?”
“Nothing. He’s not my problem.”
The old boy gulped air. Then the sly merchant came tippy-toeing forward. “You want to hold me up for a bonus? All right. How much?”
“Don’t bother. You don’t have enough. I’m not putting a finger on that stiff. It’s not my responsibility, and I don’t do that kind of work. My advice is, call the magistrates and let them handle it. You’ll be clear. He was killed during a break-in.”
“No. I don’t want anyone nosing into family business.”
“Then have your boys take him and dump him in the river or an alley somewhere down the hill.” There are bodies in the river most mornings. In the alleys, too. Unless they were someone important, they caused little comment.
Tate saw that he could not reach me through my lust for wealth. He gave that up. “You go ahead here, then. Send those men here as soon as you can. I have work to do. Keep me posted.” He ducked out.
I poked around and wondered if the evil gleam in Tate’s eye meant he thought he could put the corpse off on Morley and the triplets.
12
The flooring did its dust drop. I had noticed it several times before Tate left. I figured my sweetheart Rose was eavesdropping again. I ignored her.
Look as I might, I could not find anything missing. I settled back to give the whole business a think. It was obese with potential trouble. And I was getting near the point where I had to make a real decision.
The local end of it would take care of itself. There was nothing to investigate at this end. At the other end . . .
I did not want to think about that end yet. It would be unpleasant no matter how smooth it went. It would be unpleasant just traveling to and revisiting the Cantard.
A door opened and shut overhead. A moment later women began talking. The one with the quarrelsome voice had to be Rose. I wondered who the other one was.
A delightful aroma preceded her down the basement stairs. She proved to be a fiery little redhead with long straight hair, jade-green eyes, a few freckles, and high, firm breasts that thrust boldly against a ruffled silk blouse. There was nothing between that blouse and her but my daydreams.
“Where have they been hiding you?” I asked, jumping up to take the tray she carried. “Who are you?”
“I’m Tinnie. And you’re Garrett. And the last time you saw me I was
Similar Books
