“Good.” She smiled. “Then we’ll be able tofinish quickly.”
“Uh, right.” Raydevk eyed several of thecabinets and clothing-draped stacks. Seeking somewhere to stash hisjournal?
“Mind if we come in?” Amaranthe asked.
Sicarius invited himself in, slipping pastAmaranthe to stand inside the doorway. Pella stepped, no, stumbledbackward. Hm, Amaranthe might find Sicarius’s appearance heroic inthe uniform, but he still intimidated others. The cold unwaveringstare perhaps.
“Thanks,” Amaranthe said brightly. Shestrolled in and displayed her warrant oh-so briefly to Pella.“Corporal Jev has orders to search the premises. I hope this won’tinconvenience you terribly.”
“Search?” Raydevk’s voice squeaked. “Whatfor?” His eyes darted about in his head, searching again. Stilltrying to get rid of that journal? He focused on a credenza in acorner by a cook stove. “Can I get you a drink?”
“No, thanks,” Amaranthe said.
Regardless, he darted for the credenza,opened a door, and withdrew glasses and a bottle of applejack.“I’ll just have a taste, if you don’t mind.”
Loosening one’s tongue was not a particularlygood idea for a liar-a possibly criminal liar-faced with enforcers,but Amaranthe saw no reason to object. Raydevk met his wife’s eyes,widening his own in some signal.
“Why are you folks here?” Pella asked.
“A group of miners has been implicated in aconspiracy against the athletes at the Imperial Games,” Amaranthesaid, trying to surprise reactions out of Pella and Raydevk. Shedid not truly expect these people to have much-if anything-to dowith the kidnappings, but one never knew. “The missing athletes, tobe precise.”
Pella glanced at her husband and rushed tosay, “We don’t know anything about that.”
Raydevk had his back to everyone, ostensiblypreparing a drink, but he froze at Amaranthe’s words. He jerked hishead at Pella and she burbled on, giving some story about the menwinning time off at a company lottery and simply going to the Gamesto relax.
Amaranthe barely listened. She was watchingRaydevk. Still fiddling with his drink, he tried to hide hisactions as he set the journal on the credenza and opened it. Hecoughed to cover the noise he made ripping the top sheet off. Heused the movement of returning the bottle to a shelf to slip thatpage into his pocket.
“Corporal Jev,” Amaranthe said. She trustedSicarius had seen the inept legerdemain and hoped he interpretedher head tilt as would-you-be-so-kind-as-to-retrieve-that-for-me.“Begin the search.”
Sicarius gave her a hard look, no doubtwondering why they were dickering around instead of simply takingwhat they needed. She flicked her fingers, hoping he would playalong a little while longer. These people were not experiencedcriminals, and they would likely give her everything they knewwithout the need for force.
“You’re not going to disturb the children,are you?” Pella asked.
Amaranthe had forgotten they were sleepingbehind one of the walls of clutter. She trusted Sicarius with herlife, and she resented that doubt curled into her at the idea ofsending him in to deal with a couple of kids on his own, but whathe had shared of his history did not lead her to believe he wouldbe good with them. Granted, the order to dump decapitated heads onthe floor with five-year-old Sespian watching had been EmperorRaumesys’s command, but still.
“We’ll check them last,” Amaranthe said.Together. She hoped Sicarius did not read the reason for herhesitation in her words. She trusted him. She did. She just figuredthat even at his most innocuous, he would scare children.
“Mister Raydevk, where do you work? BlackPeak?” she asked while Sicarius went through shelves and drawers inthe room.
“Yes.” He took a swig of applejack, though hehad appeared more relaxed before the alcohol touched his lips.
Yes, Amaranthe definitely wanted that paper.“Then it’ll be easy enough to check up on this story about alottery and winners.”
Raydevk froze again, the amber liquid to hislips. He recovered and shrugged. “I imagine so.”
Pella scraped her fingers through her hairand chewed on her lip.
“You and other miners have been seen at theImperial Games a number of days this week,” Amaranthe said. “Careto explain what you’re doing there?”
“Just watching the athletes and enjoying mytime off.”
Amaranthe decided to try talking aboutherself instead of asking questions. It might put the man at easeand make him more likely to slip with his comments. “It’s fortunateyou got that much time off. My father was a miner. He neverreceived more than a couple of days off in a month.” Though he hadonce come all the way into the city to watch Amaranthe’s race eventhough he had to get right back on a train to make it to work thenext morning.
“He die young, did he?” Pella asked.
“Yes,” Amaranthe said. “It’s a hard life, Iknow.”
“Got that right,” Raydevk said.
“Can’t blame people for wanting to bettertheir lot,” Pella said.
“Is that what you’re doing at the Games?”Amaranthe asked.
“I told you,” Raydevk said, quick to speakover Pella, Amaranthe sensed, “I’m just down there to enjoy my timeoff.”
“I’d think you’d want to spend more of thattime with your family.”
“Don’t you judge me.” Raydevk scowled andpointed a finger at her face. “I take care of my family realgood.”
“I’m sure you do,” Amaranthe said.
“Then what exactly are you accusing meof?”
Sicarius paused at the curtain leading to thechildren’s sleeping area. His ear was cocked. Had he heardsomething?
“The boys are sleeping in there,” Pella said.“No reason to go in.”
Amaranthe could not tell if she was hidingsomething, or simply did not want enforcers scaring herchildren.
Sicarius pushed the curtain aside. A five- orsix-year-old boy stumbled out and collapsed at his feet. Someonelistening at the “door,” apparently. Eyes round, the boy stared upat Sicarius.
“Are they here?” a young voice queried fromthe darkened sleeping area. Soft thumps sounded-bare feet runningacross a thin carpet. “Ma, you said we could come say, ‘Hello,’when Uncle Drovar came.” A boy younger than the first charged outof the room as he spoke, and he would have crashed into Sicarius’sleg, but Sicarius lifted his foot, removing the obstacle.
When the boys realized they had strangevisitors, in intimidating uniforms no less, they grew quiet andslunk over to their mother. She lifted a finger, as if she mightsend them right back to bed, but Sicarius slipped into the vacatedarea. A light came to life. A good time to search, but Amaranthewished he would get her that note first. He would be a smootherpickpocket than she.
“Mister Raydevk,” Amaranthe said, “you’re notaccused of anything yet, but it’s clear you’re not telling thetruth. If you don’t answer my questions honestly, we’ll beauthorized to take you to the magistrate for further questioning.Are you sure you don’t know anything about the missingathletes?”
“I don’t know anything.”
The older of the two boys left his mother’sside to peer into the sleeping area.
“If you
Raydevk hesitated, but only for a second. Hespread his arms wide. “What would a miner have to do withkidnappings?”
“I only said athletes were missing, not thatthey were kidnapped,” Amaranthe said. “How do you know someone istaking them?”
“Er, I don’t. I mean, the newspapers saidthat, didn’t they?”
“No.”
“Just a guess, then,” Raydevk muttered.
