cause him to pause as soon as he realized who I was, what I knew.
I had a few such places in mind, but getting Lethway inside them would require a bit of kidnapping on my part, and that wasn’t anything I cared to do. So I needed Pratt, who knew Lethway’s habits and haunts intimately, to suggest something more suitable.
Of course, that would also leave me open to a double-cross on Pratt’s part, but if I failed to see that coming I deserved whatever I got.
Finding Pratt turned out to be easy. I asked my driver to roll by the Lethway offices without stopping, just to see who might be milling about. And, praise whatever Angel handles wild strokes of good luck, there was Pratt out front, hands in his pockets, talking with three other suited musclemen right by the bench we’d shared. I didn’t dare stop or wave, and I didn’t think he’d seen me. But when I signaled the driver to turn around, there was Pratt, neither huffing nor puffing, tapping at my door.
I flung it open. He was inside before the carriage even slowed. Away we went, just another black carriage rolling down a busy street.
“I’ve got something,” said Pratt.
“Letter from the kidnappers?” I kept my voice low. I trusted the driver but Pratt had no reason to do so.
He nodded and produced an envelope. I gathered from the size of it there was more than one page.
I took it, but didn’t open it. “Lethway seen this?”
“Not yet. Since it’s opened, he won’t ever see it. I’m taking a huge chance here, finder. Tell me it was worth it.”
“Oh yes. Because, Mr. Pratt, I’ve got something too. Something that’s going to get Lethway talking, whether he likes it or not.”
Pratt raised an eyebrow. “They sent his son’s severed ear, and he didn’t blink. What have you got?”
“Ruin. Poverty. Maybe even the gallows. Your boss did bad things during the War, Mr. Pratt. I’ve got the proof. Now all we’ve got to do is use it.”
“You sure about this?”
“I’m sure. It’s what he’s most afraid of. All I need is a quarter of an hour with him, Mr. Pratt. A quarter of an hour, someplace he can’t murder me outright. You know his habits. Tell me when and where.”
Pratt pondered this.
“You don’t have to be involved,” I said. “I know he’s still your boss. We can keep you out of it.”
He made a derisive snort. “I’ve had enough of Colonel Lethway,” he said. “It’s time I sought employment elsewhere.”
“Careful with that. He might take offense. You know things Lethway doesn’t want known.”
“I’m going to take his wife when I go,” he replied. “So I’m not overly concerned with Colonel Lethway’s delicate sensibilities. Let him try something. But you know what, finder? I don’t think he’ll bother.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“My problem. My worry. Let’s use whatever you’ve got to pry the bastard’s mouth open. I think he knows who’s got Carris.”
“I still think you should stay out of this as long as possible. You’re in a position to see things, hear things. Some of them might help bring Carris home. After that…”
I shrugged. Pratt was a grown man. If he felt like taking Lethway’s wife and slapping his face on the way out the door, that was his decision to make.
“Lethway. He has a woman.”
“On the side?”
He nodded and swallowed. He’d crossed the line, and he knew it and some of his bravado was fading.
“She has a place on Galt. He goes there twice a month. Before, they dine at a fancy place on Killjay.”
“The Banner?”
He nodded. “First Tuesday of the month. Last Friday. Never misses a date. Bastard.”
I counted days in my head.
“So they’ll be dining at the Banner tomorrow night?”
“Seven sharp. You thinking about making it a threesome?”
I grinned. “I might. He can’t have my head cut off between courses. Wait. Does he own the place?”
“Nope. They don’t even like him. He’s a lousy tipper.”
Wheels began to turn.
“I can be nearby, if you want.”
“Do you usually go?”
“No. Guess he’d rather I not see him and her together. He’ll have Rupert and Guinness. They’ll be a couple of tables over. Rupert carries a pair of long knives. Guinness prefers his fists.”
“Sounds like I can say my piece and get out alive.”
“You can, if you’re half as good as you think you are.”
“Ha. All right. Seven, the Banner, tomorrow night. If you can get away after Curfew, swing by my place on Cambrit. I’ll tell you all about it.”
He nodded. We’d passed Lethway’s offices. Pratt was sweating, and it wasn’t from the heat.
“I’ll make the block. You can get out around the corner.”
He stuck out his hand.
“However this goes, finder, I thank you.”
I shook it. “Let’s bring Carris home.”
“Yes. See you tomorrow night, then.” And with that, he was gone.
I didn’t wave, and he didn’t look back. I hoped Lethway was as disinterested as Pratt seemed to think. In my experience, the rich take more than a passing interest in anything and everyone around them that has the potential to separate them from their money, and Pratt fit that description.
“Where too?” called the cabman.
“Back to the Barracks,” I replied. Time to see if Darla’s charms lingered sufficiently to allow crusty old Sergeant Burris to bend a few rules.
I had a suspicion Darla’s big brown eyes would do precisely that. Pratt and Mrs. Lethway. Burris and my Darla. Hell, me and my Darla.
Angels, what fools these mortals be.
Chapter Fifteen
Pratt’s stolen letter wasn’t as much help as I’d hoped.
There was the usual cavalcade of threats, accompanied by graphic descriptions of what Carris would suffer unless their demands were met. The ear was mentioned, and it was noted that the next delivery would be a foot. Then a hand.
What didn’t appear was a demand for money. Instead, there were two pages of questions, festooned with mining jargon.
There were also queries about carbon and sand. The whole mess was more industrial small talk than ransom demand. I couldn’t see where withholding it was worth watching your kid dismembered.
Industrial espionage by a competitor? Maybe, I decided. But why not take the time-honored route of dropping a few crowns in front of clerks or shipping managers?
Why not just watch wagons come and go and count them yourself?
I lapsed into a snooze well before we reached the Barracks. That was getting to be a bad habit.
The smell of smoke awakened me, though, blocks from the site.
I felt the carriage slow. Whistles blew. The smoke began to billow up, the single column becoming two columns and then three before merging into a single monstrous shaft of smoke that rose up to blot out the sun.
