finally he clasped his hands behind his back. He glanced about the corridor warily, as if afraid of being recognized, although Gerard's attic was the only door the narrow corridor led to. 'Might I come in?' Tucker asked, leaning close and keeping his voice down. 'I believe an element of delicacy is called for in this matter.'
Gerard stepped aside and let the man into his room. As soon as Gerard closed the door, Tucker adopted an affected, blustering manner. 'Sheriff, I must confess to a certain degree of embarrassment at being seen down at that… that lowlife establishment the other night.'
'The Trough,' Gerard said.
'Yes, ahem.' Tucker forced an awkward laugh. 'That place. Well, it wouldn't do for a man in my position to be thought a frequenter of such a place. I hardly ever go there, you know, it was just an unfortunate coincidence I was there.' He tried to laugh again, but it came out as a choking sound. 'Anyway, Sheriff, I thought perhaps we could come to some sort of arrangement with regard to the other night.' He gave a broad wink, no doubt intended to be conspiratorial.
'An arrangement?' Gerard said.
'Yes, you know, in return for certain funds changing hands…' Tucker fished out a purse and began rummaging through it. 'I'm not sure how much would be appropriate, having little experience in such matters, but I'm certain we could come to some kind of understanding.'
'Master Tucker, are you trying to bribe me?'
Tucker's laugh this time was high-pitched and brittle. 'A bribe? Why, no. Whatever made you call it that?' His hands came forward to trace vague, anxious designs in the air. 'No, I'm only offering a certain inducement, as it were, as a means of showing my gratitude for any service you might see fit to render me…' He wound to a stop, like some kind of fantastical gnome device running out of steam. His hands fluttered uselessly in the air before dropping to his sides.
'Master Tucker, I think you should leave now,' Gerard said as seriously as he could manage.
'But what of the other night?' Tucker asked, the wind having emptied out of him like a punctured air bladder.
'I assure you, I have no interest in revealing your indiscretions to anyone,' Gerard answered. 'I am a guardian of public morals and do not care a whit about your private behavior.'
'Thank you!' Tucker swelled up again, trying to regain some of his earlier dignity. 'Oh, thank you, sir!'
'Think nothing of it,' Gerard said, showing him the door.
He closed the door firmly behind Tucker's receding back and returned to bed. A few minutes later, just as he drifted off to sleep, someone else knocked on the door.
'What!' Gerard demanded.
'Gerard, is that you?' It was Palin's voice. 'You sound upset about something.'
Grumbling, Gerard got out of bed and donned his clothes once again. He opened the door, letting his head hang wearily. 'Hello, Palin.'
'Good morning! May I come in?'
With a feeling of deja vu all over again, Gerard opened the door and let his latest guest enter.
'Is something wrong?' Palin asked. 'You look terrible.'
'This is the way I always look when I don't get enough sleep.'
Palin's face looked quizzical 'What? Aren't you getting enough sleep lately?'
'Never mind.' Gerard sank down onto the bed, indicating the chair for Palin. 'What can I do for you?'
'A delegation from the town council has raised concerns about the lack of success on the criminal investigations. They're demanding some kind of progress report, what with the town fair today and the temple dedication tomorrow. I think they just need a little reassurance.'
Gerard nodded. 'Fine. I'll be glad to reassure them.'
'Good. They're down at the jail now, waiting for you.' Palin rose.
Gerard didn't move. 'Now?' he repeated.
Palin nodded, already halfway to the door.
'Couldn't this wait until later?' Gerard pleaded.
'Gerard, I'm sorry. The matter simply needs a little diplomacy.'
Gerard thought about saying he was deathly ill and wouldn't be able to meet with the councilors for at least another hour. Instead, he pushed himself to his feet. 'All right, let's go.'
Palin clapped him on the back. 'That's the spirit!'
Outside, people were already streaming toward the grounds for the fair, set up on the outskirts of town. Most everyone was dressed in finery, although a few sported costumes-owlbears and hell beasts and the like. Gerard spotted an exceptional minotaur mask, then realized it really
When he and Palin reached the jail, they found four town councilmen shuffling nervously, casting worried eyes at the two prisoners in their cell, as though the dangerous-looking pair might at any moment pull off some daring escape attempt, killing or taking the councilmen hostage in the process. To Gerard's eyes, the pair merely looked bored. They believed they would soon be released.
Behind the desk, Blair sat waiting to be relieved of duty, having guarded the prisoners during the night. He yawned, affecting an uninterested look, although he awarded Gerard a baleful glance. Gerard nodded to him, and he rose stiffly to his feet. 'They're all yours,' he said to Gerard as he left, though whether he meant the prisoners or the councilmen, Gerard wasn't sure.
Upon seeing Gerard and Palin, Cardjaf Duhar stepped forward, taking it upon himself to speak for the group. 'Sheriff, please pardon the intrusion into your daily duties, but we're wondering whether any progress has been made in the investigation in Sheriff Joyner's murder or the strange accident which killed architect Beach. Some merchants in town are fretting. They're feeling especially vulnerable during this time, when so many strangers are in town. We would hate to see the fair or, even worse, the temple dedication marred by any additional, ah, untoward events.'
Gerard made an effort to project more optimism than he felt. 'I can assure you, we're on the verge of a breakthrough,' he said in a voice that sounded artificial in his own ears. 'We should have all the necessary writs signed and warrants certified by midnight tonight.'
'By midnight?' Duhar looked startled to hear such a bulletin. Even the prisoners sat up and took note, Gerard thought, although they kept their gaze sleepily neutral. The councilmen looked from one to another, then waited for Gerard to expand on the good news.
Gerard shuffled some papers on his desk, looking around elaborately, not meeting their eyes.
'Well,' Duhar said at last, filling the awkward silence, 'don't wake me at midnight, if it happens at an odd hour.' He forced a chuckle. 'Pleasantly surprise me in the morning.'
Just then, the voice of Tangletoe Snakeweed rang out just on the other side of the jailhouse window. 'Investigation on the verge of a breakthrough…' he cried.
Gerard flung open the door and yanked the kender inside by the topknot. He was still wearing his extravagant brocade coat, despite the heat. A most ridiculous uniform for a town crier, Gerard told himself. Gerard thought fast, sitting the kender down in the chair behind the desk. He immediately began peering at him from various angles, drawing down his brows as he pretended to think things over, and making sounds of approval in his throat with each new angle.
'Tangletoe, how would you like the job of sheriff's deputy for the day?' Gerard asked.
'What!' Duhar said, mirroring the astonishment on the other councilmen's faces. Palin looked especially skeptical. 'Sheriff,' Duhar went on, 'perhaps we should discuss this-'
Gerard waved him off, his attention still on Tangletoe, whose eyes grew wide with delight… until they narrowed suspiciously. 'Now what exactly would that entail?'
'You'd have to stay here and guard these two dangerous criminals for the day,' Gerard said, indicating the glowering pair in the cell.
'Dangerous, you say?' Tangletoe mused, looking at the. prisoners with interest and rubbing his chin.
'Oh, very.'
'Well, I don't know. How dangerous? They'd have to be pretty dangerous to interest me. Guarding them
