He lied at several places about his experience. ‘I was being taught how to build houses, but my father got suddenly ill.’
‘I’ve been a sickly lad all my life, but one of the doctors cured me and now I can work.’
‘I was in the army, but they kicked me out for not wanting to leave the city. I told them I was too scared to fight.’
‘I was apprenticed to a farrier, but the business went bad.’
‘And who was this farrier?’ a factory owner asked warily.
‘Oh, Mr Riverside,’ Chase replied. ‘You wouldn’t know him because he died. Last year.’
‘Convenient death,’ the owner noted, and told Chase there were no vacancies. The answer was always the same. He was seventeen years old, but he’d never worked an honest job since his father’s death when he was eight, and no one wanted a common thief on their books—no one except the soldiers and the prison guards.
He felt in his pocket for the remaining pennies and headed along the street for the tavern he passed earlier. At least a beer would taste good. Then he’d plan a job, maybe a rich man’s house in the Northern Quarter, and get some money. It seemed he was destined to be a thief forever. It was his trade. He was good at it. Bugger working, then, he decided.
As he reached the door to the Iron Will tavern, he sensed a presence behind him, and turned. In the street, three paces away, was Mrs Merchant’s bodyguard, the same one who attacked Passion. He felt his adrenaline pump as he clenched his fists. ‘Mrs Merchant wants to speak with you,’ the strong, tall young man said.
Chase held his ground. ‘Why?’
Hunter sneered and said, ‘How the fuck would I know, mate? I just work for her. She said she wants me to bring you to her.’
‘What if I’m busy right now?’
Hunter glanced at the tavern door and back at Chase. ‘Yeah, mate, real busy. You coming?’
‘And if I don’t?’
‘I don’t care. Much as I’d like to say I’d make you, that’s not the deal. Suit yourself whether you come or not. I’ll just deliver the message.’
‘Who are you?’
‘Riddly Humbleback. What’s it to you, mate?’
Chase blanched at Hunter’s unresolved animosity. He obviously hadn’t forgiven his treatment in the Perfect Pleasures. His better judgement warned him to say no to the bodyguard’s invitation. ‘Tell Mrs Merchant if she wants to speak to me, she can come to the Perfect Pleasures tonight after the twentieth bell.’
‘Mrs Merchant doesn’t go near the Main Way,’ Hunter answered sharply.
‘Then she won’t be speaking with me, will she?’ Chase said. ‘Now, I’ve only got enough for one beer, so I can’t offer you one.’
Hunter gave a threatening glare that Chase couldn’t misinterpret. He noted that he would have to be very careful not to end up in a small space alone with this enemy. After the Joker’s bodyguard stalked off along the street, heading north, Chase took a deep breath, felt for his coins, and entered the tavern.
‘Come on, Chase. I’ve got some free time. And it’d be nice to do it with someone for the fun of it, instead of work.’
Chase pushed Mouse’s probing hands away from his tunic. ‘Rose will get angry if you go giving away free rides when you’re meant to be working,’ he argued, laughing.
‘She won’t know,’ Mouse persisted. ‘Wahim won’t say anything. None of the girls will dob me in. Come on. Let’s have some real fun.’ She grabbed his hand, pressed it against her firm right breast and slid her free hand to his crotch. ‘See? The little man wants to play,’ she announced, laughing.
‘Leave the poor boy alone,’ Rose chided as she entered the red room. ‘Passion won’t be happy to learn what’s going on.’
Mouse released Chase and pouted as she said, ‘Passion thinks we’d be good together.’
‘Good for what?’ Rose quipped as she squeezed between Chase and Mouse on the settee. ‘Why are you here tonight?’ she asked.
‘Curiosity,’ Chase replied. ‘I was visited by Mrs Merchant’s thug—the one who came here,’ and he explained what had transpired that morning.
Rose’s smile deteriorated. ‘The Joker wouldn’t be seen dead in this district,’ she said. ‘In fact, if she was seen on the Main Way, chances are she’d end up dead. She’s made too many enemies around here.’
‘Bad drug deals?’
‘Worse. She gets rid of any competition the same way her husband used to. Some people take exception to that.’
‘What happened to her husband?’
‘Wound up dead. That’s what happened. No one could prove anything on anyone, but rumours have always been that a few of the local proprietors of the taverns and entertainment businesses arranged for Will Merchant to have a nasty accident. And, sadly, he did. She won’t be coming here, Chase. She’s not that stupid.’
‘Then I guess I have to accept her offer and visit her again.’
Rose took Chase’s hand and looked him in the eye. ‘My advice, Chase, is to leave this whole thing alone. It smells of trouble, big trouble. Anything to do with the Joker brings grief. Let it go.’
Passion emerged from the hallway, adjusting her thin chemise, and handed a small bag of coins to Wahim. She approached Chase and ruffled her brother’s hair affectionately. ‘I’m going to bathe,’ she announced. ‘Then I’m done for tonight. Nutmeg’s coming in.’ She sashayed through the door to the tub room.
‘Go home with your sister, get a good night’s sleep, and forget this whole thing about the Joker,’ Rose told him firmly. She turned to Mouse and said with a grin, ‘Come on, you little slut. You can help me wash some linen while we’re waiting.’
Mouse pulled a face behind Rose’s retreating back, before leaning across to kiss Chase’s cheek and touching his crotch playfully. ‘I’ll be here any time for you,’ she whispered, as she followed her colleague.
Chase grinned, but his attention was drawn to Wahim who was talking softly to a hooded stranger who’d suddenly appeared in the hallway entrance. Wahim looked at Chase, and pointed. Seeing the shock on the man’s face, Chase stood and asked, ‘What’s the matter?’
‘You have a visitor,’ Wahim replied hesitantly.
The stranger lowered her hood. Chase stared at the dark-haired woman who’d pretended to be a maid and said quietly, ‘Mrs Merchant?’
‘I’ve never been in a brothel,’ Crystal said, as she sat on the solitary stool in the cramped bedroom. Chase perched on the edge of the crumpled bed and studied the woman dressed in men’s clothes in the flickering candlelight. His intuitive guess that she’d pretended to be the maid at their first meeting was correct. She was attractive for an older woman. Her large eyes, high cheekbones and full lips made her look younger. Her black hair was tied tightly to her head to accommodate the hood she wore to hide her features, but he could tell that she wore her hair long normally. It suited her. ‘So your sister works here?’ Crystal asked, to break the hiatus.
‘Yes,’ Chase replied.
‘How old is she?’
‘Twenty-three.’
Crystal’s left eyebrow rose slightly. ‘When did she start?’
‘Why are you so interested in my sister?’ he asked defensively.
‘Polite conversation,’ she replied calmly.
‘You came to see me for a reason.’
Crystal smiled her business smile, and said, ‘In fact, you came to see me for a reason, and then you told Hunter that if I wanted to speak with you that I should meet you here. So here I am. To listen.’
‘You didn’t want to listen when I came to your house,’ he reminded her.
‘You could have been anybody,’ she said perfunctorily. ‘In my position I have to be very careful. I have a lot of enemies.’
‘Why do they call you the Joker?’
She smiled again. ‘It’s my business card.’
‘So why didn’t you believe me?’
She took a breath and met his accusing gaze. ‘You said you knew my grandfather, but I
know for a fact that he’s been dead more than fifteen years.’
‘Who told you he was dead?’
‘My father,’ she explained. ‘He petitioned every month for Grandfather’s release, but just as it was going to be granted he was told Grandfather had died in prison.’
‘Did you see the body?’
‘No.’
‘Then how could you have been so sure?’
‘This is absurd,’ Crystal complained irritably. ‘Can you give me any proof that you knew my grandfather?’
‘His name was Sunlight. He was a Royal Seer, but because he knew of a plot by the younger Seers to help Prince Shadow seize power from his brothers, the Seers had him imprisoned. He spent two years in the Royal Gaol, until the authorities shifted him into the Bog Pit where he was supposed to die like everyone does. Only he didn’t die because he used his magical skills to maintain his health and he stayed out of trouble with the guards. He survived in there for fifteen years before I was put inside. He was blind and frail by then, and he was dying because some thug named Boss was deliberately starving him. He befriended me because I sneaked food to him. When I told him I was going to get out of the Bog Pit, either by escaping or when they took my arm, he told me his story and told me to see you. He told me about the opal kangaroo tooth you wear to ward off evil. He gave that to you before they took him away, but it’s really a key to a secret door in the tunnels under your house. And then Boss and those bastards beat him to death because he was old and sick.’ As he paused in his story, he saw her astonished expression. ‘You know it’s true,’ he said quietly. ‘I couldn’t make that stuff up.’
Crystal stared at the young man as she slid her hand inside her maroon tunic and withdrew a thin silver chain. At the end hung an opal kangaroo tooth. ‘No one but my dead husband and Lin know about this,’ she whispered.
‘And me,’ Chase added.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Bright morning sunlight spilled across the ochre-red bedroom tiles and splashed against the white walls, and the wash of the waves whispered from beyond the window. Lin rolled onto her side to stroke Crystal’s hair that spread like a dark mantle across the lilac pillow. ‘You aren’t serious about this thief, are you?’ she asked tremulously. Crystal opened her green eyes and stared into Lin’s querying blue eyes. ‘You are serious!’ Lin exclaimed, withdrawing her hand. She sat up against the quilted bedhead and folded her arms. ‘Do you really believe him?’
Crystal sat up as well and shook her hair into place. ‘He knows details no one but my immediate family could know.’
‘Like what?’
‘Details,’ Crystal replied enigmatically.
Lin frowned, annoyed that Crystal was keeping secrets from her. ‘They could have interrogated your grandfather.’
‘There are some things he wouldn’t tell anyone, if he didn’t want them to know. And he had ways to prevent information being forced out of him by crude methods.’
‘What if this thief works for the Seers? They could have used spells to make your grandfather confess what he knew.’
Crystal kicked aside her bedclothes and headed for the bronze dolphin-shaped wash jug on the cupboard.
‘I’m taking a calculated chance,’ she said. ‘If his ruse is to lead me into a trap, it’s a masterful one because I can’t see it.’ She poured cold water into the shell-shaped basin and scooped it over her face, and reached for her crimson towel. Refreshed, she retrieved her bright blue tunic and a pair of black trousers from a high-backed chair, and began dressing.
‘Where are you going?’ Lin asked.
‘Into the tunnels,’ Crystal explained.
‘Deliveries?’
Crystal laughed. ‘No. Chase claims there’s a secret door down there. He’s going to show it to me this morning.’
‘A secret door to what?’
Crystal smiled cheekily. ‘To a secret.’
‘What kind of secret?’
Crystal sighed. ‘Apparently it’s something to do with the Demon Horsemen and my grandfather.’
Lin clambered out of bed, saying, ‘Can I come?’
Tightening the laces of her tunic, Crystal replied, ‘If you want. But I’d rather you stayed here to look after business matters.’
‘Who else is going?’
‘Hunter and Mast.’
‘You can’t be serious, Chase?’ Hammer said, aghast. ‘The Joker can’t be trusted.’
‘She’s a black widow spider, mate. She’ll use you up and then she’ll kill you. It’s common knowledge,’ Tiny warned.
‘I’ve made a promise and I’ll keep it,’ said Chase, squinting against the early morning light filtering through the dirty window panes of the Three Barking Dogs tavern. ‘There’s no harm in that, is there?’
‘There is where she’s concerned,’ Tiny snarled. ‘Remember Door the Trembler?’
‘Why?’ Chase asked as he caught the bartender’s attention. ‘Three more ales.’ The bartender, a young man with a shaggy mop of black hair, held up a hand with three fingers and nodded.
‘He did some work for the Joker. They found him hanging from a butcher’s hook under the bridge. They’d mutilated his knackers, mate. Stuffed them in his mouth.’
Chase placed three pennies on the sticky bar as the ales arrived in pottery mugs and handed a mug to each of his friends. ‘So what was Door supposed to be doing in the first place?’
Tiny shrugged. Hammer said, ‘I heard he was meant to be keeping an eye on someone else’s business for the Joker. Spying.’ He looked around as if making certain no one overheard what he said.
‘Well, there it is, then,’ said Chase. ‘She didn’t do him in. Her enemies did. And he wasn’t exactly minding his own business, was he?’
‘If he hadn’t had anything to do with her in the first place, he’d still be alive,’ Tiny argued.
‘Maybe,’ Chase conceded. He glanced at the small table away from the bar where a solitary old man, grey head against the dark wooden wall, was already asleep.
‘So what are you actually doing?’ Hammer asked.
‘Can’t say,’ Chase replied.
‘We’re mates,’ Tiny said. ‘We won’t tell anyone.’
‘If you don’t know anything, you can’t tell anyone,’ Chase told them and drank. When he caught his breath again, he said, ‘I will be away up to three days, though, so can you both look out for Passion?’
Hammer winked. ‘I’d look after your sister any time,’ he said, and grinned.
‘It’s bad enough knowing she has to do it with men to make a living,’ Chase complained, ‘without knowing my friends want it as well.’
‘She’d only give it to Hammer if he was paying for it anyway,’ Tiny chimed in.
‘She’d give my money back afterwards, mate, when she realised what she was getting.’
‘That’s my sister you’re both talking about,’ Chase warned. He smiled to show them no offence was being taken, but inwardly he wished she didn’t have to work to feed little Jon and herself.
‘You got a job yet?’ Tiny asked.
‘There’s no one wants me,’ Chase answered. ‘I’ve run out of places to try.’
‘Then how did you pay for the ale?’
Chase grinned. ‘Some business chap in the markets wasn’t careful with his purse this morning. I’m looking after it for him.’
His friends nodded approval. ‘The skills haven’t been lost, then,’ said Hammer.
Chase shook his head. ‘It’s easier when the victim’s head’s full of euphoria.’
They laughed. ‘Now I could go some of that myself,’ Tiny decided. ‘What about you?’
‘I’m in,’ Hammer announced.
‘Another time,’ Chase said. ‘I’d better go to my appointment. She’s expecting me.’ He slid off his barstool and fossicked in his pocket, drawing out a red leather purse. ‘Give this to my sister. There’s about eight shillings still in there. Take a shilling each for yourselves and get some good stuff instead of
that trash you get from Blind Cat.’
‘We can get it for free by listening to an acolyte,’ Tiny stated with a grin. ‘A little religious education never hurt anyone.’
‘What about you? You’ll need some money,’ Hammer suggested.
‘If I need it, I’ll borrow it from someone. Perk of the trade,’ Chase replied, grinning as he headed for the little tavern door.
‘You just take very good care of yourself,’ Tiny reminded him. ‘You can’t trust a rich bitch. They don’t get rich by being nice to people like us, mate.’
‘So our policy is simple,’ Seer Word explained. ‘We win the hearts of the people. First, through the free distribution of gifts of food. Second, through the free distribution of euphoria. And finally, through spreading the word of Jarudha.’ The Seer paused. ‘Well?’
Prince Shadow shook his head. ‘You already take a big risk sending your acolytes among the poor.’
‘They gain converts,’ said Word, ‘but slowly,’ he admitted. ‘Free food and euphoria make the people want to listen. We’re already experimenting with it and they come in their droves.’
‘Food? Euphoria? How will you fund giving these things away?’ Shadow asked.
‘We can’t afford to keep giving goods away. Food, we can organise. As we acquire converts, we learn who can give food and we call on them to share some of their produce with the church. Euphoria is the problem. Your acquaintance, the Joker, has a monopoly on its supply and we need you to either convince her to supply it for free to us or for you to break her monopoly.’
Shadow rose from his seat and crossed to the window in the small apartment. He looked out over the roof of the palace, noting the gold ornaments on the ornately carved guttering draped with bird shit and smiled at the ironic image. ‘Mrs Merchant is a non-believer,’ he said. ‘Money is her god.’
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