He sucked in a breath and pushed away the vision with a groan. Opening his eyes he found he was folded onto the floor. Ffip and Kannikey were supporting him. Nemeth was shouting his concern, Halbernon was muttering about how he’d seen that before and Mars was frowning. But at his apparent weakness the last person in the room woke up. Stedland shook his head and marched over.
“Are you a band of misfits?” he demanded. “Since Kannikey’s so tangled up in this mess I guess I’ve got no choice but to at least try to prevent her from getting into trouble. The constables already visit my home telling me about her exploits twice a week. Come along. I’ll take you to the warehouse myself. Serrin and QuRellon are packing to leave town in a little while so who’s to stop me having a surprise inspection?”
They went out and split into two carriages, both from Stedland’s garage. He led the way and clicked up his horse. In his carriage also sat Halbernon, Nemeth and Ffip. Jeremy and Mars climbed up beside Kannikey. They set off and Jeremy sighed when immediately another vision struck him. He prevented it for a moment. How many in a day, he wondered, was he going to have to deal with? But seeing as how he had a few minutes of journey he crossed his arms over his chest and allowed it. Neither Kannikey nor Mars seemed to notice.
In his vision he was inside the warehouse they were journeying to go see. Production workers were standing at various spots in a large line adding their bit of label or cork top to the trays of Surebelow that were pushed by their station. Tall shelves were filled with thousands of already completed bottles. The warehouse was packed with movement and sound and Jeremy realized that indeed, much effort had been expended into this product. A lot of money too, but he supposed that Serrin and QuRellon had managed to get funding from investors. Nevertheless the vision walked him down the aisle in between the workers and the supply and headed towards the back of the first big room. There Jeremy saw the guard desk that Stedland had referred to. A set of locked double doors was behind the guard station. However the vision wasn’t finished. He walked right by the station and headed towards a door at the side. An office door marked, ‘Private’. He went inside; saw a cluttered desk, a rack of coats, a file cabinet and one other thing. There was a row of tiny hooks on the wall and hanging on the hooks were some keys.
The vision released him and he took a deep breath. Looking to the side he saw that Kannikey was driving calmly but Mars was glaring down at him.
“You all right?” the Time Mechanic’s guardian said.
“Still wondering if I’m affected by a knock to the head?” Jeremy demanded.
“I’m still wondering what I’m doing here,” replied Mars.
For the first time Mars didn’t say these words with anger. Jeremy tilted his head.
“Me, too,” he admitted. Two weeks ago they’d had very different lives, and had acted as if they were former friends who hated each other. Jeremy looked away. Now wasn’t the time to feel vulnerability, curiosity, or trepidation. He needed to lock his emotions away and be strong.
“I think we’re here,” said Kannikey, pulling her carriage in behind her stepfather’s.
Jeremy looked around. They were in the industrial district of Tonturin, parked around the corner from two large, identical warehouses that faced each other across the street. Stedland dismounted and glared back in their direction. Everyone else in their group climbed out, too. Soon they’d walked away from the carriages and stood in front of the warehouse with a painted large sign that said: ‘Surebelow- Not Currently Open to the Public. Please Make Inquiries at Front Desk.’ They’d arrived.
Chapter Thirty-Five (In Which Jeremy Discovers He Has a Fun New Ability)
As they went towards the doors Jeremy paused. He pulled Kannikey to his side.
“There’s an inner office towards the back of the main room,” he murmured in her ear. “It’s small and marked; ‘Private’. Inside is a rack of keys. Can you get them for us?”
She blinked at him but it wasn’t long before Stedland noticed them so close together.
“I can try,” she murmured back.
“What are you saying to my daughter?” Stedland demanded a second later.
“I’m telling her I’m about to start a harem and she could be my first convert,” Jeremy sneered in sarcasm. He was tense, frustrated, and worried and he didn’t need to be questioned.
“That’s not amusing, young man.”
“Let’s just go in.”
“Don’t try to lure Kannikey or this other girl into any crooked schemes,” Stedland warned.
“There’s a crooked scheme going on in that warehouse! Only you’re the one involved in it,” Jeremy replied.
“I brought you here, didn’t I? But I’m starting to regret it.”
“I’d apologize but I don’t know what for.”
“For being such a—”
“Stepfather, please,” chastised Kannikey.
“Oh all right then. I’ll give you a tour. Maybe then you’ll see for yourselves that Surebelow is just a product to be sold and nothing more.”
Soon they were in the front doors. The vast warehouse opened up before them. Jeremy was surprised by two things. One was the dim lighting, only every third high window was unshuttered. The other was how quiet it was. The production line was silent and all the supply of Surebelow had been stored on the shelves. There were no workers making it anymore.
A guard from a desk by the front door rose as soon as they entered.
“Hello there,” Stedland said to the man. “You know who I am, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir,” said the guard.
“I’m just going to show my daughter and her friends around,” Stedland told him.
“All right,” said the man.
That easily they were allowed inside the warehouse. Stedland was indeed a useful addition to their group, Jeremy thought.
“Let’s split up and have a look around,” said Jeremy.
They obeyed him, each one rambling towards the back of the warehouse anyway. It was as described. There was a station for guards at the back, set firmly in front of a set of locked double doors. As Jeremy drew close one of the guards threw him a dark glance. Stedland couldn’t charm his way by these two men. Jeremy bent his head and changed direction, but he didn’t leave the area. He wanted to appear a bit suspicious. He sauntered over to the nearest shelf and picked up a bottle of Surebelow. He even pried off the cork top of one and sniffed at it, replaced the cork and then, for good measure, began tossing some bottles from hand to hand. He realized with amusement that he’d been given a skill as Time Mechanic that he hadn’t noticed before. He could juggle. Why he’d been given the skill he didn’t know. Had some Time Mechanic of the past needed it? Did it just come included in the package of Time Mechanic skills he was passed? But whatever the reason he might as well make use of it.
“Hey!” he called to his friends, and the sudden noise in the empty warehouse made even his own nerves jump. Mars, Nemeth, Stedland, Ffip and Halbernon soon arrived in front of him. “Watch this!” he called and lifted another bottle of Surebelow from the shelves. Glancing to the side he held in a smile. He had the guards now. He was the sole receiver of their solid attention.
He started juggling the little bottles and was pleased at his amazing skill; two from one hand going up in identical wheel circles, and the one in the opposite hand matching the design. Next he had the bottles tossing in a figure eight from hand to hand and then he tossed two in one hand and sent the other backward over his left shoulder with the other hand. He caught it deftly and added it to the dance of the first two. He juggled fast and did a jaunt to the side and back again. He twirled around and then began altering the heights and patterns in a diagram so complicated even he wondered at it. Then he tossed the bottles, higher and higher, intertwining in their flow until he almost reached the rafters.
Spellbound, everyone in the room was staring at him, including the guard by the front door, who had a small grin on his face and was clapping. The glarin
g backdoor guards weren’t so entertained but at least they were silent. At last he noticed that Kannikey had melted into place beside her stepfather and when she saw what he was doing her eyes grew big like two dark blue stones. One by one he caught the juggling bottles and ceased performing.
“Blast it, Jeremy!” muttered Mars. “Is that what you’ve been doing to pass the time over the past two years?”
One of the guards from the back desk, released from the spell, now walked towards them.
“Replace the product on the shelves,” he ordered. “This warehouse is temporarily closed.”
Stedland shook his head as if to clear it.
“No need to talk to me in that tone,” he said to the guard. “I’ve practically paid for everything in here.”
“If you please, sir, plan your tour for another time,” the guard responded in a firm voice.
Stedland glanced at Jeremy, who nodded.
“Fine,” he said. “Let’s go, everyone.”
They were shown back outside and when the door shut behind them Stedland turned around, fuming.
“What was the point in all of that?” he demanded. “You didn’t get to see anything that will help your cause, did you?”
In reply Jeremy glanced to the side.
“Kannikey,” he said.
She bit her lip as she stared at her stepfather but she handed him the small pile of keys that she’d taken from the inner office. Once Stedland saw the keys in Jeremy’s hand his eyes got bigger and he opened his mouth to shout.
“Be quiet!” Jeremy hissed. “Are you trying to bring those guards back out here?”
“You mean that’s what that whole performance you put on inside was about?” the man demanded, but at least he toned down his shout into a near whisper. “You juggled as a distraction so you could send my daughter in to steal those keys?”
“Think of it as borrowing,” muttered Jeremy as he walked away and pondered the big warehouse. “Let’s head towards the back,” he added.
Stedland was momentarily outraged into silence. Kannikey shook her head and took her stepfather’s hand when the rest of them followed Jeremy around the side of the warehouse. He let her take him along with the group.
They got around back and soon arrived at the big double doors.
“Hmm,” said Jeremy. “These look like they’re sealed from the inside. What’s over there?”
At the far corner of the back of the warehouse they found one more door. It was a single door with no adornment and it was heavy and made of thick beams attached together by steel.
“No way could a person force his way in here without the key,” Jeremy said, turning to them with a grin.
“But…” said Stedland.
“Go stand over there, sir,” said Jeremy. “It’s not you breaking in that way.”
“Quit laughing at me,” grumbled Stedland.
It only took two tries to find the right key. Jeremy didn’t hesitate. He unlocked the door, opened it a few inches and then pushed it wide enough to slip inside. He didn’t bother looking behind him to see who followed. He crouched, very silent at first. Then he straightened with a sigh of relief. He could tell from here that the huge room was empty of people. In fact it was mostly empty of furniture as well. Some long tables against the far wall, a few counters under work stations along the back wall, a small carriage and a few tools near this end. But right in the middle of the floor he saw something. He hurried closer to make certain. Looking up he saw with surprise that all six of his companions had snuck in with him.
“What is it?” demanded Nemeth. “It just looks like a few baskets of berries? Why guard these?”
Jeremy felt hollow inside. The gray-purple berries were wilting now, getting wet and squishy after several days.
“Those aren’t just berries,” he answered. “Halbernon, tell them.”
“I fervently hope I’ll never have to identify these wretched berries again,” Halbernon said in a sad voice. “They make me feel old.”
“These are them,” Mars confirmed. “The poison berries that were growing in the hidden fields.”
“These are…” Stedland asked; his face pale.
“Distilled and processed down, from these berries can be made a poison so deadly that just breathing it in can kill you,” Halbernon confirmed. “But don’t worry. In this form they aren’t dangerous unless you eat them or handle them too much.”
“And you’re absolutely certain…” asked Nemeth from the side.
“Considering that we almost lost Jeremy to the poison a few days ago!” exclaimed Kannikey. She turned to Stedland and took his arm. “It was awful, Stepfather! I’ve never seen anyone suffer the way he did! Halbernon knew the antidote and we were able to save him, but it was a close thing!”
“They poisoned Jeremy? Who did that?”
“Your good friend, Serrin,” Jeremy growled.
“I…” Stedland’s voice lost its bellow. “I can’t believe it!” he gasped.
“It’s the poison, Stedland,” said Mars. “Here in Surebelow’s warehouse. What more evidence do you need to see the two are connected?”
“The problem is that I’m beginning to believe you,” Stedland answered in a hollow voice. His shoulders were hunched, his hands were clenched and his eyes were blinking as if they ached. “Kannikey!” he added. “I never meant to hurt anyone, you have to believe me!” He looked broken and he was visibly shaking. At the sight Kannikey stamped her foot.
“Those beasts!” she hissed, and then grabbed her stepfather and wrapped the taller man in her arms. “All right,” she murmured. “I know you didn’t!”
“But wait,” interrupted Nemeth. “Don’t you see? Mars said it! This is evidence! The constables can be consulted!”
Everyone froze like a stack of stick soldiers. Ffip got excited and began to clap.
“You’re right!” she said. “Let’s go get the authorities, Jeremy!”
He considered his options. The afternoon was passing but there were a several hours of daylight left and the market closed. “All right!” he agreed. “It’s a good idea!”
Stedland pulled himself together. “Yes let’s go get them!” he boomed, and then when Jeremy shook his head at the noise he made he lowered his voice. “And,” he added, “Maybe we can still catch Serrin and QuRellon and have them arrested! They told me they weren’t leaving town tonight until after they’d dined!”
“It would be best, if you don’t mind, sir, if it was just you and Nemeth who talked to the authorities,” Jeremy advised. “You’re both well-known and highly respected. Tell them you’re an investor, but you’ve recently heard some news that made you suspicious about Surebelow. You investigated and found this terrible poison and learned the whole scheme.”
Stedland tilted his head. “But that would make me sound like the one who… well, if this operation is stopped and Tonturin is saved, you’d be giving me the credit, Jeremy,” he said.
“Telling them I’m the Time Mechanic would just confuse things,” Jeremy answered. “I want the constables to take this seriously. We don’t have time to convince them! Besides, I think that’s why you and Nemeth were brought forth to join the team. If I tried to talk to them they’d laugh at me and I’d waste time. It might even make us lose our chance! But if you two talk to them and help stop this tragedy you deserve all the credit you get. Do your part, and I’ll be forever grateful. I’ve been…” Jeremy’s strength slipped for a moment and his voice clogged. “I’ve been terrified we wouldn’t be successful,” he finished.
Emotion assailed him and his chin trembled out to his shoulders and his whole body. He hadn’t realized until this second how heavy a burden it was to be the only one certain of the danger, and how daunting it’d been to have no one believe him. He clenched his fists and calmed himself. He wasn’t done yet, after all. Ffip moved close and clung to his side.
“Jeremy!” she said.
“We’ll stay here,” he added. “Someone needs to make cert
ain these berries aren’t moved before you get back.”
“Right!” said Stedland. “Kannikey, come with me!”
She let the man take her hand and the three of them hurried out the small door at the back of the warehouse. They shut it but kept it unlocked. Once they were gone the room began to darken in the late afternoon sunlight. Jeremy bit his lip and hoped they didn’t have to wait too long.
Chapter Thirty-Six (In Which Jeremy Levels Accounts With An Accountant)
The quiet of the back room sunk down in an anticlimax of tension since the three informers had gone to get help.
“Do you really think this is it?” asked Ffip. “I mean, do you think the constables will see this evidence and go and stop Serrin and his cohorts in time?”
“I hope so,” said Jeremy, but down inside he knew there was more to come.
“You look doubtful, Time Mechanic,” said Halbernon.
Jeremy sighed and leaned close to kick one of the baskets of berries.
“There’s not enough here,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“There are too few baskets of berries. There should be more gathered from two fields worth, although it’s possible there are more stored in the other warehouse.”
“I hadn’t thought about this amount being too small!” Halbernon said. “Are you sure they weren’t very small fields? Or a poor production of crop?”
“Mars knows. He saw the fields for himself, like I did. He comes from a farming family.”
“Jeremy’s right,” Mars concurred. “They must’ve gathered more than this when they harvested that crop.”
“So they’ve distilled the rest of the berries down into the poison to put in the Steam Diffuser already,” said Halbernon. “I suppose they’d have to do it by now, if they want to fly it over the populace of Tonturin tomorrow.”
The Time Mechanic Page 25
