Tor nodded.
“It's a restroom.”
The boy must really have to go bad, Tor realized, since the penalty for stealing something that expensive would be a lot worse than the humiliation of wet pants. Plus, the shop had a restroom, and Debbie would have let him use it if asked. She was nice like that.
Tor slipped a truth device on the boy, he'd taken to wearing several over the last days. For some reason when one person needed one, several often seemed to at the same time. Then they questioned the kid, who tried to lie first thing, of course, which made sense, having been caught with the stolen device in his hand. He wasn't stupid though, after the third wrong answer and black aura streaking out of nowhere he cringed and just started telling the truth. Karina nodded encouragingly, still holding a weapon on him. It wasn't as dangerous as she'd claimed, but could still kill him, not having a shield or armor on.
“So… I got into town three days ago and went walking, because I was bored… and met this girl, Lilli? She has One brown eye and one green, it's exotic. She said so several times. Anyway she's good looking enough and I don't exactly have a lot of friends here, right? She told me that she'd get her friends to, you know, spend time with me, if I got her something from here. She didn't say what it had to be, just something. I didn't know what it was, it was just closest the door. God, don't tell my parents! Just… dump my body somewhere or… send me off to a mine! I'm strong, I can work hard, and I promise I won't run away or anything. I give my word.”
Odd thing was, he was telling the truth. His offer to go to a mine for forced labor willingly was an honest one. How bad were his parents if dying or a life of hard labor and an early death were honestly preferable?
“How about this, if you’re willing to die anyway, I'll give you this device… no, wait…” Tor looked at the display and picked out a bed and a decorative light display. Girls liked pretty things, especially shallow ones that weren't too bright, like Lilli. He traded the restroom out and explained what he was doing.
“These, they're probably more what would tickle her, don't you think Kari?”
Karina blinked, then nodded.
“Yeah. That would do it. All you have to do is help us catch her setting up thefts. I mean, she's really doing it, and corrupting a nice boy like you, who did you say you were?”
“Um, Jerral Derring. Countier Fourth. Third now… my sister died…”
“Karen.” Tor fought the grief from his voice, but not all of it left. She'd been his friend, they fought the fire in Ross together, he missed her and it showed enough Jerral's eyes went big as he nodded. “So you're Davies brother? Well, as half your punishment we're turning you over to him for the week then. He's in town. Expect a few beatings. Can't save you there, and you know, you kind of deserve it. This was about the dumbest thing I've heard of in months. Still, is it a deal? You may even get some sex out of it. If so, have fun. Meet us back here in the morning, if she tries to send you again or if you find out about her sending someone else, not just here, but to any shop or… anything really. Deal? No parents involved at all, if that's what you want.” It was, it turned out, a deal. This boy was truly afraid of Count Derring.
The one time Tor had met the man he hadn't been wild about him either, but it was a stressful day, so Tor had decided to cut the man a little slack. This… Well it didn't say anything good about the guy at all, did it? The boy left, but promised to do what they asked, in exchange for some beatings from his brother, and a chance to not have the guards called. Tor took back the Truth device and sent the boy to collect his reward. He wondered if he'd actually get anything for it?
Box came out of the back room holding a tray of delicious smelling hand pies and set them on the display rack, smiling hugely when he saw Tor and Karina.
“Hey! Well, as I figured, my little friend dried up and blew away about the time she figured out I wouldn't steal from my sister for a bit of tail. Well, plenty of fish, and it's King's week. If you can't get laid then, when can you…” He looked at Karina and winked.
“Begging your pardon for the language miss… unless you’re interested? In that case I'm-”
That earned him a slap on the arm from his sister who’d walked up behind him, “You! Keep that up and you'll drive off half the female customers. Word gets around you know, the Capital isn't that big. Tor, I wish I had you back as my assistant this week. This one’s a dog, and only half decent as a baker. Say… care for a job?” She laughed at her own words, but Tor nodded.
“Yes. Kari here too. She has no real experience, but she'll work hard and won't complain. Oh, and we both work for free, so that's a plus. We'll even take the morning shift? We both have duties later in the day and we may not be able to make it each morning, but…”
Debbie clapped and Box looked pleased rather than put out. Maybe he thought he could score with “Kari” if she was going to be around? The man wasn't bad looking, so maybe he could? It was worth it for him to try, as Tor could now attest. If nothing else it gave him something to look at other than his sisters customers.
Debbie sold them the hand pies for Bonita's father, trying to give them to him, but he wouldn't hear about it. After all, it was a business and besides he wanted to buy all the things he could from her possible for the King’s week celebration, which meant increasing production greatly. Box both liked and didn't like that when he realized what it meant.
“Ahg, never getting laid again, am I? That schedule won't even leave time for a professional girl… Well, I'll live. Done without before a time or two. Or six. Hundred? Six hundred? That sounds about right. See you both tomorrow?” Worried about getting some or not, the decent looking man eyed “Kari” pretty intensely then.
Speculatively.
It was just on the verge of creepy to Tor, but that might just be jealousy. Karina seemed pleased enough at the lingering glance, didn't she?
As they walked out, strolling so they could talk without calling attention, a dozen hand pies in a nice covered basket they'd bought across the street from Debbie's, Karina turned on him.
“So, working in a bakery is our cover, so we won't be noticed?”
“No… that's just for fun. I'm on vacation, remember? This way we can spend time co-opting all your old friends against Lilli and then turn her over to the King personally for leading a theft ring and coercing people into it. I mean without it being work, directly. That's obvious, right? I mean, you wouldn't be doing it, except for fun, or as a lark at least, right? So your dad will have to agree that I'm not doing anything too work adjacent?” It was kind of a real point, if a bit of a trick. Not that the King wouldn't know, but he might let it slide.
Tor kept talking, working through it all on the fly.
“He'll… probably go easier on her than we would, not wanting to punish her just for hurting your feelings, but it's a real crime and she does kind of have to pay for it. I could look the other way if it was just me, but if she's stealing from Debbie, who else is she doing it to? Besides, this is all new information and you're not part of her group now in any way, so we don't have to mention anything you did back when. Really we should try to get the others out too if we can. It sounds like they weren't any more guilty than you were.”
That got a nod and a guilty look at the ground. She'd done her share of things she wasn't too proud of she murmured. Then she told him that she hadn't been able to get in touch with the others at all, but then, while she knew where they lived, for the most part everything had always gone through Lilli, so short of visiting, she didn't know what to do. The answer seemed easy to him.
Visit.
It might be hard on Karina, he warned, if they were truly on Lilli’s team still and had decided to hate her now, but it would give them a chance to get out from under the ax before it fell if they were clever enough to take the chance.