thing.”
“So why am I not being bludgeoned?”
“Too many witnesses, for a start. I’m glad you didn’t come sneaking back around to the House. I might not have had a choice, in that instance.”
“Me, at the Lethway home? You have me confused with someone else.”
“Sure I do.” He opened his eyes and turned toward me. “She’s not always been a drunk, Markhat. You ought to know that.”
“Who?”
A hint of menace crossed his face. “You know damned well who. Mrs. Lethway. You spoke to her, didn’t you?”
“Briefly. We didn’t have much of a conversation.”
He nodded. I decided to fill the silence before one of us thought better of consorting with the enemy.
“You just admitted Carris has been kidnapped, you know. I don’t think your boss would appreciate that.”
“Funny thing, Mr. Markhat. You know who hired me, eleven years ago, and why?”
“Nope.”
“Mrs. Lethway. Bodyguard. For her and the kid. While Mr. Lethway was off squeezing extra pennies out of his precious mines.”
My heart began to pound. I hoped it didn’t show.
“But here you are, working for the patriarch.”
“Kid grew up. House Lethway has its own security. Mr. Lethway doesn’t like it when the Missus leaves the House. When he settled back in Rannit, she didn’t need me anymore. He did.”
I’d found an ally- all I had to do was hope he didn’t reluctantly, and with deep and heartfelt regret, murder me.
“Mr. Lethway doesn’t seem too concerned about his son.”
“Mr. Lethway doesn’t give two damns about anything but getting another crown richer.” He realized he was speaking too loud, and he took a breath. “I don’t think he plans to pay any ransom, Mr. Markhat. He’s stalling them. Begging for time. That’s not the right way to handle a thing like that, is it?”
“I’m afraid not. Kidnappers don’t practice much patience.”
“They sent an ear in a box last week.” He swallowed and got control of his voice again. “Think it was his?”
I sighed. “I hate to say it, but yes. Probably so.” I let that sink in. “How are they communicating?”
“We get letters. They come here, all hours, delivered by street kids who got the letters from weedheads who got the letters from people they can’t describe. They pay the weedheads in smack and weed right after they deliver, and not one of them has been able to remember a thing. Even when I helped them try to remember.”
I nodded. Using weedheads as couriers was a common practice in Rannit’s thriving kidnapping industry. Most don’t recall their own names after years of puffing weed.
“The letters. Can you get them?”
Mr. Pratt shook his head. “He burns them after he reads them, Mr. Markhat. Doesn’t want a scandal.” He spat into the street. “Bastard even burned the ear.”
I cussed. There wouldn’t even be any evidence to turn over to the Watch, if I somehow surmised who the kidnappers were.
“How much are they asking?”
He let his eyes wander the street before speaking. Maybe he thought a bit too. But eventually, he spoke.
“That’s another funny thing, Mr. Markhat. I don’t think they’ve asked for money.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I can read, Mr. Markhat. Emily-Mrs. Lethway-she taught me. The letters are two, sometimes three pages long. I haven’t been able to read one up close yet, but who takes three pages to say ‘Give us so much money or else?’”
“So if it’s not money, what is it?”
He looked up at the sky and shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe it’s some rival in the business, demanding that Lethway move out of their territory. Maybe it’s some union thing. Who knows what motivates the rich, these days.”
“Same thing that always has. Money or the means to lay hands on it.”
“Cynic.”
“Bet on it. Look. Any chance you could snag one of these letters before Lethway gets it?”
“Been trying. He’s a hawk where they’re concerned, though. Haven’t even come close yet.”
“Keep trying.” I wondered if I could believe a word of this. But I couldn’t see any angle to it. If Pratt wanted to finish what Lethway had started in the Troll’s Den, all he had to do was invite me to a quiet room upstairs. He hadn’t.
“Did they ever mention a deadline?”
“He let that slip once.” Pratt gave a date.
It was also the date of the wedding. I cussed under my breath.
“What?”
“Nothing. Probably nothing. Same day as the wedding. They probably picked that on purpose, to give it a little extra emphasis.”
“Makes sense. I looked into the Fields. Bakers. Carris loves the girl. Don’t think they’re involved.”
I just nodded.
“So where does all this leave me and you, Mr. Pratt?”
“Well, Mr. Markhat, in a moment, I’m going to stand up and grab you and make a big show of threatening you. You’ll say something smart and push off. I’ll report you spun a line of nonsense and tried to bribe me.”
“Won’t your boss know we talked for a long time?”
“He’s in a meeting with the mining union right now. My partner is out back having a snort. Miss Marchin will tell the boss we talked, but as long as she sees us arguing that’s all she’ll tell.”
“You take a lot of chances.”
He shrugged. “So do you. Look, Markhat. I like the kid. I like the lady. I’ve got some money of my own. If you can find out who’s got Carris, and where they’ve got him, I can sure as Hell pay you a fee and go and get Carris myself. “
“I’m already working for his fiancee. But when I find out who took Carris, I’ll be back around to talk. I won’t accept any payment, but I might ask a favor. You in turn will refrain from decapitating me. Deal?”
He laughed. “Deal. Now. You can punch me, if you want. Not in the jaw. I just had these teeth fixed.”
I rose and backed away, into what I was sure was Miss Markin’s view. I put up my hands in a stay back gesture.
Mr. Pratt came roaring off the bench and clamped those beefy paws hard on my shoulders and gave me a powerful shove.
“Next time you come around dis place, I feed you to the ogres,” he bellowed.
I took a step forward, but didn’t swing. Whistles blew, and a pair of blue-capped Watch sergeants came charging out of a cafe.
“What’s the problem here?” demanded the first.
“White shoes after Armistice Day,” I replied.
“Beat it, both of you.”
I turned on my heel and made for my borrowed carriage, a smile on my face and a song in my heart.
Chapter Eleven
Neither smile nor song lasted all the way across town. I had time to kill before my meeting with Tamar,
