No, don’t ask me to explain that.
By this time I had blended into the background of the public house, and no one was really looking at me, so at least I didn’t have that to worry about. In fact, Kiera, while I was nervous about Timmer, I wasn’t really worried about anything; it seemed that the time for worrying was well past; besides, I had plans to make, and the time to worry is when you don’t have anything else to do. I’m not sure who said that; I think it was you.
An hour later she came back and sat down. She looked at me. There was no expression on her face.
I said, “Well?”
She said, “I’ve asked the local magistrate for a seizure card. Just temporary, of course; until the investigation is over.”
“For me?”
“Yes, for you. Of course,” she added, “I don’t know your real name, so I had to mark it ‘name unknown,’ but I know that you have information about Fyres’s death, and that’s what we’re investigating.”
“I understand. When will it go into effect?”
“In about fifteen minutes.”
“Fifteen minutes,” I repeated. “All right.”
“Until that time,” she said carefully, “I cannot legally stop you from leaving the city, or even this public house; but I would ask, from one loyal citizen to another, that you consider your duty to the Empire and remain here, as a gesture of cooperation.”
“Here?”
“Yes. The card will be served here.”
“Will you be remaining here as well, to serve the card?”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible; I have to act on the information that you’ve given me. But, ah, someone will be by to serve it as soon as it’s ready.”
“About twenty minutes, then.”
“Or less.” She stared off at nothing. “Someone will be arriving with it, directly from the magistrate.”
“And where is the magistrate?”
“A quarter of a mile away. To the east.”
I nodded. “All right,” I said.
I started to drink some more wine, then thought better of it. Wine sometimes affects me very quickly. “I’m afraid,” I said slowly, “that I’m going to have to decline. I’ll be running from the seizure, so you will have to send someone after me to serve it.”
“I thought you might,” she said. “Unfortunately, I cannot, at this time, detain you.”
“I’m already being hunted,” I pointed out.
“Not by the Empire.”
“No,” I said. “That’s true. Not by the Empire.”
“With some crimes, the Empire looks for the fugitive harder than with other crimes. And there are even some crimes, some very serious crimes, that never get properly handled, and where descriptions are lost or mixed up.”
“I understand,” I said.
She rose to her feet. “Too bad I can’t stay to serve the card,” she said. “But duty calls.”
“In a very clear voice,” I said.
“I’ll see you again,” she said.
“Why, yes. If I’m arrested—”
“Detained.”
“Detained. Right. If I’m detained, then, no doubt, I’ll be at City Hall tomorrow, being interrogated.”
“And if you’re not?”
“Who knows?” I said. “You know, I rather like this place. It’s especially nice at this time of the evening.”
“Yes,” she said. She opened her mouth as if she had something else to say, but closed it again, leaving whatever it was unsaid. Then she stood and left without any ceremony whatsoever.
I waited a decent interval—say, about a minute—then I settled the score, got up, and went outside. It was a lovely, crisp day, with the winter not yet arrived. The street was almost empty of people. I looked around carefully, as did Loiosh, and we consulted.
There were about a hundred places to choose from in an area like this, but I settled on a doorway right next to the public house—it was deep, and quiet, and didn’t look like it got much use. I slumped against it and sent Rocza into the air.
I stood there for perhaps twenty minutes. A few people walked by but none of them noticed me. One elderly Teckla walked past me to go into the building whose doorway I was occupying, but even he didn’t appear to notice me as I stepped out of his way. You taught me how to do that, Kiera; you said it’s more attitude than anything else. Maybe you’re right.
“Rocza says he’s coming, boss.”
“The right way, or the wrong way?”
“The right way. From the east.”
“Can’t ask for better than that.”
I let a dagger fall into my hand. It was one of the new ones. I wiped the hilt on my cloak, as much for luck as for any other reason, then took my position.
Domm walked right past me. There was a rolled-up piece of paper in his hand, no doubt the seizure card, naming some nameless person who happened to be me as a witness wanted for questioning in an Imperial investigation.
Pretty serious stuff.
I fell into step behind him, and I left nothing to chance, nor did I speak. Afterward, I continued past, walking easily, as if nothing had happened. I turned a corner, and then another, and Rocza informed Loiosh, who informed me, that no one was following me. Interlude
“Did it seem to bother him?”
“Killing Domm? I don’t think so. Should it have?”
“I’m not sure. I suppose I would have been happier if it had, but—”
“You’ve changed, Cawti.”
“So has he.”
“Not as much as you have.”
“From what you’ve told me, I’m not sure that’s true.”
“Come to think of it, neither am I. But ...”
“Yes?”
“There’s so much you’re leaving out. I can see the gaps in your story.”
“I told you—”
“I know, I know.”
“In any case, that was about it.”
“And there’s another gap.”
“Cawti—”
“Sorry. You mean, you just left after that?”
“Pretty much, yes. There was a bit of excitement that proved to be nothing, and we got some reassurances, and then Vlad took Savn and went away for parts unknown, and I came back home where I found your letter waiting for me.”
“Tell me about the excitement that proved to be nothing, and about the reassurances.”
“All right. What is it?”
“I don’t know, Kiera. It’s good to hear this, but it just makes me want to find out more.”
“Are you going to try to?”
“Not if you don’t want me to.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“All right.”
“Should we have more tea?”
“I think something stronger.”
“Good idea.”
“And then some food. I’ll buy.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
“Is there a hint of irony there, Cawti?”
“No, actually, I don’t think there is.”
“And then I came back here,” he concluded.
“What next?”
“As I said, we arranged that I’d meet her tomorrow evening at that same place, and she’ll give me the deed to this chunk of land. And that is the story of my latest triumph.”
“Triumph,” I repeated. “Will it still be a triumph tomorrow, when you walk into that public house to find yourself arrested, if you’re lucky, or surrounded by Jhereg if you’re not?”
“She promised,” said Vlad smugly.
“And what,” I said, “makes you think you can trust her?”
“Instinct,” he said.
I bit back a nasty reply. As much as we’d both bungled these last few days, I still trusted my own instincts, so I could hardly blame him for trusting his. The thing is, I didn’t trust his.
He said, “Okay, maybe that was one more screwup. But, Kiera, it felt right. Loftis was her friend, and her superior officer, and an associate. I don’t know, maybe she hated his guts. But—”