Skin Game
Page 47
You would?
Its not as if you frighten me, Dresden. Lying well takes a lot of effort, and it gets old after a few centuries. Mostly I dont bother. He nudged Harveys shoulder with the toe of his shoe. But someone went to a lot of effort to get this done. Did it fast. Got out just as fast.
Wheres Deirdre? I asked.
She was supposed to be chasing her mother away after you bloodied her nose for her. He knelt down on the floor beside Harvey and then leaned closer, inhaling through his nose like a hound. Nngh. He considered for a moment. Too much fresh blood and damned ghoul stench. Cant get anything through it. He looked up at me. What about you?
If I had twenty-four hours to collect gear and another five or six to go over the place, maybe I could turn up something, I said.
We looked at each other. I think we were both thinking that the other one wasnt telling us something he knew. Except that I was actually ignorant, whereas I was pretty sure Grey had scented more than he let on. But he struck me as the suspicious sort.
Evidently, Grey had me figured the same way. He let out an impatient sigh. Wizard. You know Im telling you the truth, right?
Right, I said. Sure you are. Were a trustworthy bunch of Boy Scouts.
That got what almost looked like a genuine wry smile out of him. He leaned down and closed Harveys eyes with one hand, the motion almost respectful. In the same gesture, he ran his fingers through the thickening puddle of blood.
What are you doing? I asked.
Getting what we came for, he said. Got to have the blood sample for whats coming up. Youll have to tell Nicodemus where I am.
And wheres that?
Morrison Fiduciary Services, for the rest of the day, he said. The point of not killing Harvey was to avoid the possibility that hed be noticed if he went missing. So hes about to not go missing.
Youre going to fake being a confidential and knowledgeable financial expert to people youve never met before for the rest of the day? I asked him, my voice heavy with sarcasm.
Yes, Grey said calmly.
I felt my eyebrows going up. Youre that good?
Im better, he said. His eyes glinted weirdly and it made me shudder.
What about Harveys body?
He didnt have any family. And youve got two ghouls on ice, he said. Leave them where they are. Theyll take care of him for us when they thaw out.
That made me grind my teeth. Maybe I should take them out now. Those guys were different than the usualghoul. I dont feel like giving them a second shot at me.
Whatever, Grey said. I need to get moving.
Grey started lapping the fresh blood out of his cupped hand. He grimaced, and then shuddered, and a second later, he looked exactly like the corpse at his feet, clothes and all. He leaned over and took Harveys glasses out of his shirt pocket. He wiped the blood off them on a corner of Harveys shirt, and then put them on. Better get someone to look at that arm, eh?
I eyed my broken arm distractedly and then said, Grey.
Yeah?
Im not leaving Harveys body to be eaten by ghouls. And if youve got a problem with that, then we can discuss it right now.
Grey looked at me with Harveys face and then nodded once. Your call. You do it.
And he padded off through the rapidly thinning fog toward the opening Id blasted in the stores window, and vanished onto the street.
I looked down at Harveys corpse. Then I said, Im sorry. It seemed inadequate. I was going to promise him that I would punish his murdererbut Harvey was beyond that now.
The dead dont need justice. Thats for those of us who are left looking down at the remains.
I pushed the heavy shelves back in front of Harveys body. The authorities would probably find him in a couple of days. It wasnt dignified, but there wasnt a lot more that I could doand I really didnt feel like making a run on Hades vault only to find a batch of mythological badasses waiting to kill us all the moment we came in. So I did what I could.
I didnt have much left in the way of a magical punch. But I did have the strength of my good arm and a big heavy stick. I used them to shatter the frozen ghouls into chunks, and then I left the store too, and shambled back out to the rental car, feeling tired and sick and useless.
Twenty
I wasnt sure where I was driving. The important thing was to drive.
Some part of me was noting, with more than a little alarm, that I was not behaving in any kind of rational fashion. The numbers werent adding up. I had a badly broken arm. We were on the clock. I had left Karrin by herself among that crew, though I felt fairly sure that Ascher and Binder wouldnt kill her out of hand, and that Nicodemus had no good reason to do so. Yet. But I had only Greys word that he had gone where he said he meant to go. For all I knew, hed doubled back to the warehouse to indulge his interest in Karrin. Unlikely, maybe, but I still didnt like the idea of leaving her there.
On the other hand, I couldnt go back either. Not with my arm hurt like that. Showing weakness to that crew was not an option.
Its not as if you frighten me, Dresden. Lying well takes a lot of effort, and it gets old after a few centuries. Mostly I dont bother. He nudged Harveys shoulder with the toe of his shoe. But someone went to a lot of effort to get this done. Did it fast. Got out just as fast.
Wheres Deirdre? I asked.
She was supposed to be chasing her mother away after you bloodied her nose for her. He knelt down on the floor beside Harvey and then leaned closer, inhaling through his nose like a hound. Nngh. He considered for a moment. Too much fresh blood and damned ghoul stench. Cant get anything through it. He looked up at me. What about you?
If I had twenty-four hours to collect gear and another five or six to go over the place, maybe I could turn up something, I said.
We looked at each other. I think we were both thinking that the other one wasnt telling us something he knew. Except that I was actually ignorant, whereas I was pretty sure Grey had scented more than he let on. But he struck me as the suspicious sort.
Evidently, Grey had me figured the same way. He let out an impatient sigh. Wizard. You know Im telling you the truth, right?
Right, I said. Sure you are. Were a trustworthy bunch of Boy Scouts.
That got what almost looked like a genuine wry smile out of him. He leaned down and closed Harveys eyes with one hand, the motion almost respectful. In the same gesture, he ran his fingers through the thickening puddle of blood.
What are you doing? I asked.
Getting what we came for, he said. Got to have the blood sample for whats coming up. Youll have to tell Nicodemus where I am.
And wheres that?
Morrison Fiduciary Services, for the rest of the day, he said. The point of not killing Harvey was to avoid the possibility that hed be noticed if he went missing. So hes about to not go missing.
Youre going to fake being a confidential and knowledgeable financial expert to people youve never met before for the rest of the day? I asked him, my voice heavy with sarcasm.
Yes, Grey said calmly.
I felt my eyebrows going up. Youre that good?
Im better, he said. His eyes glinted weirdly and it made me shudder.
What about Harveys body?
He didnt have any family. And youve got two ghouls on ice, he said. Leave them where they are. Theyll take care of him for us when they thaw out.
That made me grind my teeth. Maybe I should take them out now. Those guys were different than the usualghoul. I dont feel like giving them a second shot at me.
Whatever, Grey said. I need to get moving.
Grey started lapping the fresh blood out of his cupped hand. He grimaced, and then shuddered, and a second later, he looked exactly like the corpse at his feet, clothes and all. He leaned over and took Harveys glasses out of his shirt pocket. He wiped the blood off them on a corner of Harveys shirt, and then put them on. Better get someone to look at that arm, eh?
I eyed my broken arm distractedly and then said, Grey.
Yeah?
Im not leaving Harveys body to be eaten by ghouls. And if youve got a problem with that, then we can discuss it right now.
Grey looked at me with Harveys face and then nodded once. Your call. You do it.
And he padded off through the rapidly thinning fog toward the opening Id blasted in the stores window, and vanished onto the street.
I looked down at Harveys corpse. Then I said, Im sorry. It seemed inadequate. I was going to promise him that I would punish his murdererbut Harvey was beyond that now.
The dead dont need justice. Thats for those of us who are left looking down at the remains.
I pushed the heavy shelves back in front of Harveys body. The authorities would probably find him in a couple of days. It wasnt dignified, but there wasnt a lot more that I could doand I really didnt feel like making a run on Hades vault only to find a batch of mythological badasses waiting to kill us all the moment we came in. So I did what I could.
I didnt have much left in the way of a magical punch. But I did have the strength of my good arm and a big heavy stick. I used them to shatter the frozen ghouls into chunks, and then I left the store too, and shambled back out to the rental car, feeling tired and sick and useless.
Twenty
I wasnt sure where I was driving. The important thing was to drive.
Some part of me was noting, with more than a little alarm, that I was not behaving in any kind of rational fashion. The numbers werent adding up. I had a badly broken arm. We were on the clock. I had left Karrin by herself among that crew, though I felt fairly sure that Ascher and Binder wouldnt kill her out of hand, and that Nicodemus had no good reason to do so. Yet. But I had only Greys word that he had gone where he said he meant to go. For all I knew, hed doubled back to the warehouse to indulge his interest in Karrin. Unlikely, maybe, but I still didnt like the idea of leaving her there.
On the other hand, I couldnt go back either. Not with my arm hurt like that. Showing weakness to that crew was not an option.
