Bitter Gold Hearts

______ LIV ______

Who DID kill Amiranda Crest? It was the question of the case. I'd begun to suspect we'd never get an answer. Only one person knew— maybe—and he or she wasn't talking.

"I have a suggestion, Mr. Garrett," the Stormwarden said in a tone that made it clear it was a command. "You take your friends, and the ogre, and Amber, and go back to TunFaire. I'll finish here. When you've settled your accounts, bring the ogre to my home."

From the corner of my eye I caught Morley making a little jabbing motion with his thumb. He thought it was time to go and he was probably right. I said, "You were going to work on our wounds."

"Yes." No sooner said than done. Crask and Sadler were awed. With Saucerhead's help they grabbed Skredli and dragged him out the front door. He hollered and carried on like he thought the Stormwarden was going to save him.

"Into the carriage," I told them.

Morley raised an eyebrow and jerked his head toward the house.

"Her problem. You, get down," I told the man who had driven down the the Stormwarden and Willa Dount. "Amber. Get up on the seat. No. Don't argue. Just do it. Shut him up, Saucerhead." The Stormwarden's man backed away from us, looking at me like he was looking death in the eye. He went around the side of the house instead of going inside. "Sadler, you drive. Crask, keep the ogre under control."

They gave me dark looks. I didn't care. I wanted words with Morley and Saucerhead as we walked up the slope.

"Roll."

They rolled. We trudged along behind. I looked back once. The Stormwarden's man was headed across the clearing. Evidently he understood what was going on and wanted to be far away.

Morley spoke first. "I don't like the way she took over all of a sudden, Garrett."

And Saucerhead, "You don't ever want to go to her place again."

"She'd hand me my head. I know." We walked until we reached the woods. I told Sadler to stop. "You guys understand what was happening down there? What the old bitch was thinking?"

Crask knew. "She's going to rub them. Then she's going to arrange something for us because she don't want nobody around who knows she did it to guys like her old man and Gameleon."

I looked up at Amber. She wanted to argue, but she shivered. After a moment, she said, "I think I saw the change come over her before you did, Garrett. What are you going to do?"

"If we took a vote, none of us would go for letting her do what she wants."

Morley said, "Kill them all and let the gods sort them out."

Saucerhead said, "It isn't like they're innocent. Except maybe the Dount woman."

"Amber. Where will Willa Dount stand?"

"I don't know. She's been into things like this with Mother before. Mother would trust her to keep her mouth shut. But Mother seemed a little crazy. She might include Willa with the others. She had to be guilty of something, even if she didn't kill anybody."

"Yeah. She was guilty of a lot. But not the killings. I don't think."

Friend Skredli flopped in the back of the carriage. A scream came from the farmhouse. "Gameleon," Morley said. "I figured she'd start with him."

"She'll stay with him for a long time. Amber. Do you see the position we're in?"

She didn't want to.

"Your mother plans to kill those people, then kill us so we can't accuse her," I reiterated. "Right?"

Weakly, "Yes. I think so."

"What options does that leave us?"

She shrugged.

I let her stew it awhile. "You think she thinks we're dumb enough not to see that?"

Nobody thought that. Skredli thumped around again. Nobody paid any attention.

"Does she think we'll go back to town and try to insure ourselves? Or does she figure we'll do something about it now?"

"How well does she know us?" Morley asked.

"I don't know. She told me she checked me out when she hired me."

"She expects us to move now, Garrett."

Saucerhead said, "She'll never be more vulnerable."

Amber snapped, "Wait a damned minute!"

"Sweetheart, you said yourself—"

"I know. But you can't—"

"You think we should let her hunt us down instead?"

"You could get out of TunFaire. You could—"

"So could she. But she won't. And neither will we. TunFaire is home. Crask. Sadler. What do you think?"

They huddled and muttered for half a minute. Crask elected himself spokesman. "You're right. We're in it with you for whatever you have to do. If it looks practical."

Gameleon had stopped yelling. He'd probably passed out. After a pause, the Baronet took up the song. I moved downhill a little, to where I could see the farmhouse. "I wish I knew more about her skills. Can she tell we're up here? Does she know exactly where we are?" I looked at Amber.

"Don't expect me to help you, Garrett. Even if she does plan murder."

I surveyed the others. They were waiting on me. "I have a suggestion. You take the carriage and go home. Or to my house, if you want. Then you won't be involved. You won't know anything."

"I'll know who came home."

"But that's all you'll know. Get along now. Saucerhead, drag the ogre out before she leaves. You can drive the damned thing, can't you, Amber?"

"I'm not completely helpless, Garrett."

"Scoot, then."

She scooted.

The Baronet had stopped yelling. Donni Pell was tuning up. I said, "We've got to assume she knows we're here. It makes no sense to bet the other way."

Crask asked, "So how you figure to get to her?"

"Something will come to one of us."

Morley gave me a hard look. It said he knew I had something in mind already. I did, but the seed hadn't yet sprouted.

"It's going to be dark soon," Saucerhead predicted. "That what you're waiting for?"

"Maybe. Let's have a chat with friend Skredli."

We set him up against a tree. The others stood behind me, baffled, as I squatted. "Here we are again, Skredli. Me with an idea how you can get out of this with your butt still attached."

He didn't believe there was any such idea. I wouldn't have in his place.

"I'm going to give you a chance to bail me out of a jam. You do it, the worst off you can be is with a head start from here to the farmhouse. I hear you can pick them up and put them down when you want."

A flicker of interest betrayed itself. "Untie him while I explain," I said. "He'll need to get loosened up."

Saucerhead did the honors, not gently.

"Here it is, Skredli. You go down in the field and get your buddies loose. Then you hit the Stormwarden. Take her out. Then give a holler and light out. I have business in that house so I won't be after you. No promises about Saucerhead, but you'll have your head start."

He looked at me hard.

"What do you say?" I asked stonily.

"I don't like it."

"How does it stack up against your current chances?"

I never knew an ogre with a sense of humor. Skredli stunned me when he said, "You talked me into it, you smooth-talking son of a bitch."

"Good. Get up. Work the kinks out." I took one of the witch's crystals from my pocket. This one didn't need to be stomped for activation. "This little treasure here," I said. "It's from the same source as the spell that had everybody puking awhile ago. And that had everybody spinning when we raided your place in Ogre Town. Just so you know it's the real thing, Skredli." I shoved it into his pocket, said the proper word. "If you try to take it out, or if you do anything that makes me want to repeat that word, it'll blow up. It'll tear you in half."

"Hey! We made a goddamn deal!"

"It stands. I'm just trying to make sure your side does. The spell isn't good for more than an hour, and the crystal won't activate if you're too far away for it to hear me yell. I figure the farmhouse is barely in yelling distance. You follow me?"

"Yeah. You human bastards never let up, do you? Never give a guy a break."

"That's the way you want to look at it, Skredli, that's all right with me. Long as you whack the witch."

Skredli drained a long, put-upon sigh from his long-suffering body. "When?"

"As soon as it's dark." Minutes away. I could distinguish the farmhouse only by looking to one side of it. Five minutes later I told Skredli, "Anytime you feel like getting started."

"How about next New Year's?" He started down the slope.