enough, we now have a murder mystery on our hands. Great. Bloody marvelous. All
right, what do we do? Reveal who we are and take charge?'
'Are you crazy?' said Hawk. 'The penalty for impersonating Quality is death by
dismemberment, remember? Besides, we don't dare risk our cover until we've got
some kind of lead on which of these people is Fenris. Our orders were to prevent
Fenris escaping, no matter what. We're going to have to do what sleuthing we can
undercover, and keep our ideas to ourselves.'
'That shouldn't be too difficult,' said Fisher. 'I haven't got two ideas to rub
together.'
'Then you haven't been paying attention. We already know Alistair isn't being
honest about where he comes from.'
'We do?' Fisher looked at him sternly. 'You're showing off again, Richard. All
right, what did I miss this time?'
Hawk couldn't keep all the smile off his lips. 'According to Alistair, he comes
from the Red Marches. He grew almost lyrical about the marvelous countryside,
and the good hunting to be found there. But we passed through the Red Marches on
our way to Haven, seven years ago. They've been flooded for the past eighty
years. Most of the land is under water now. There's some good fishing here and
there, but no hunting. He also talked about getting involved in fighting down on
the border, but thanks to the floods, it's been peaceful down there for years.
It's the most secure border in the Low Kingdoms these days. But Alistair didn't
know that. Interesting, eh?'
'Very,' said Fisher. 'But why didn't any of the others pick up on it?'
Hawk shrugged. 'The Red Marches are pretty remote, and about as far from High
Society as you can get. It's probably just a name to most people here. Which is
probably what Alistair was counting on.'
'I'll tell you who else we ought to keep an eye on,' said Fisher, 'and that's
Katrina. She's still married to Graham Dorimant, who was heavily involved in the
local political scene. Since they're separated now, and not at all amicably,
it's just possible she might have got involved in outsider politics as a way of
getting back at her husband. She could be Fenris' contact. She's been here at
the Tower for some time; that could explain why Fenris went to ground here.'
'But if he's already met his contact, why hasn't he left?'
'Perhaps he's waiting for her to arrange a safe route out.'
'Hold your horses,' said Hawk suddenly. 'There's another possibility, and one we
should have spotted sooner. What if the dead man had been Fenris' contact, and
had threatened to abandon Fenris to the authorities, rather than risk any more
of the outsider network being discovered? Fenris must know he's facing a death
penalty, even if he is Quality. He could have killed his contact to protect
himself, and then hidden the body while he tried to figure out what to do next.'
'Right,' said Fisher. 'But he left it too late, and Jamie put the wards up.
We've got to identify him before tomorrow, Hawk, or he'll do a runner the moment
the wards go down.'
'Isobel, will you please call me Richard! Walls have ears, you know, especially
in a situation like this.'
'Sorry. But if Fenris is our killer, it means we can stop wasting time looking
for some imaginary murderous freak. I mean, what proof have we the creature ever
existed, apart from Jamie's story?'
Hawk shrugged. 'We've seen stranger things in our time.'
On the other side of the room, Jamie looked at Alistair almost pleadingly. 'We
can talk about Richard and Isobel later, Alistair. I've more important things to
worry about. What am I going to do about the killing? I'm the MacNeil, the head
of the Family; they'll all be looking to me for reassurance and answers I
haven't got, and I don't know what to do!'
'To start with, calm down,' said Alistair sharply. 'Getting hysterical won't
help. Let's look at this logically. Now that we know the freak's a killer, what
matters most is tracking it down before it strikes again. Which means we have to
find the hidden cell. We'll search the Tower from top to bottom, checking each
room as we go for hidden panels and secret passages. If the freak got out of his
room, there must be a way in. We can split into two groups to save time. I'll
take one group, you lead the other. Right?'
'Yes. Right.' Jamie breathed deeply twice, and pinched the bridge of his nose
hard. It seemed to help. The panic that had all but paralysed him was dropping
swiftly away, now that he had a definite goal to focus on. He smiled quickly at
Alistair and looked around him. 'There's no point in taking everyone with us.
The women will be safer here, out of harm's way.'
'We'd better leave Lord Arthur behind as well.' Alistair's voice was mild, but
his gaze was unyielding. 'I think he means well, but you can't trust a drunk in
a crisis. What about David Brook? Good man?'
'The best,' said Jamie. 'Good with a sword, levelheaded, and doesn't scare
easily. Always knows the right thing to do in a tricky situation. I'd trust him
with my life. We'll take Greaves, too. He's another steady one; utterly
dependable. As for Robbie Brennan… he's a stout enough man, and damned good with
a sword in his younger days, from what Dad used to say. But that was a long time
ago.'
'Once a soldier, always a soldier,' said Alistair. 'The old instincts will still
be there, just needing the right moment to bring them out again.'
'If you say so. What about Marc?'
Alistair frowned. 'He's a cool one, I'll give him that, but I don't know if I'd
trust him to guard my back. Still, he doesn't look the type to fold under
pressure. And that just leaves Richard. And you know how I feel about him…'
'He seems a solid enough sort,' said Jamie. 'Somewhat gauche and a bit of a
bumpkin, but this is his first trip to the big city, after all. And he was the
one who got us all organized when everyone else fell apart at the sight of the
body.'
'Exactly,' said Alistair. 'I've seen a good many dead men in my time, but even
so, what was left of that poor bastard's face stopped me in my tracks. It didn't
throw Richard, though. He was right there, examining the body and cracking out
orders. It's not natural, Jamie. And when I asked him about it, do you know what
he said? He said murders fascinate him, so he spends all his time reading about
them. Never trust a man who reads, Jamie; it gives him ideas. The wrong sort of
ideas.'
'Maybe. But right now he seems to be the only one of us who knows what he's
doing. He goes with us. If only so we can keep a close eye on him.'
'I don't trust him,' said Alistair. 'He's hiding something.'
'Everyone has something to hide,' said Jamie. 'All that matters right now is
finding the freak before he kills again. This is my home. Whatever happened
through the years, I always felt safe and secure here. The freak's taken that
away from me, and I want it back. I want my home back.'
