The Stranger (71 page)
Authors: Max Frei,Polly Gannon
Tags: #Mystery & Detective, #Horror, #Fiction, #Fantasy, #General, #Epic
Sir Nulli Karif went quiet, then grew tense. I realized he was engaging in Silent Speech.
A half hour later it was clear to me that Silent Speech had not made our host any less loquacious. Sir Kofa grimaced and coughed loudly. Nulli nodded, shrugged apologetically, and went back into a trance. A few minutes later he got up from his desk and left the office. I glanced at Kofa in bewilderment.
“He’s trying to be discreet, Max,” he explained. “There’s a rumor going around that I can eavesdrop on other people’s Silent Speech.”
“Only a rumor?” I asked.
“Well, actually, I can, but it’s too taxing. And it’s bad for my health. You know, son, there are some things that are better left alone. All the more since it’s easier to read the thoughts of my interlocutors once they’ve finished their conversations. So I had no intention of . . . But there’s no way of convincing anyone of that, so he might as well hide.”
“I beg your pardon, gentlemen,” said Nulli Karif. His face expressed more satisfaction than compunction. “Speaking frankly, I also felt the call of nature. Have you seen our new facilities? The boys have decorated it with all the smuggled talismans that held no interest for Jafax. Quite an educational spectacle! I found the answer to your question, Sir Kofa, so don’t fret.”
“Well, spit it out, Nulli. We’ll talk about your privy some other time.”
“That’s too bad, Sir Kofa. You’ll never see anything like it again. Well, it’s up to you, of course. It’s all fresh in my memory now. It was a ship owner from Tasher and his captain. They dropped anchor in the port on the morning of the fifth day of this year. They had a magnificent washtub of a vessel, better than many of our own. You can see for yourselves, it’s still moored there. It’s called the
Old Maid.
Funny, isn’t it? That’s what seamen sometimes call their perfectly innocent ships—it’s enough to make you split your sides! Now let me tell you the name of the ship owner . . .” Nulli rummaged around in the desk, found a stack of registry records and buried his nose in them. “Aha! His name is Agon. That’s all. Tasherians have such short names. Yes, Doo Idoonoo reminded me that their cargo did contain belts like that. We were joking that we would have liked to have been able to pin something on them, and confiscate the belts for ourselves. It was only White Magic of the fourth degree, though, nothing forbidden. We had to let them through.”
Old Maid.
Funny, isn’t it? That’s what seamen sometimes call their perfectly innocent ships—it’s enough to make you split your sides! Now let me tell you the name of the ship owner . . .” Nulli rummaged around in the desk, found a stack of registry records and buried his nose in them. “Aha! His name is Agon. That’s all. Tasherians have such short names. Yes, Doo Idoonoo reminded me that their cargo did contain belts like that. We were joking that we would have liked to have been able to pin something on them, and confiscate the belts for ourselves. It was only White Magic of the fourth degree, though, nothing forbidden. We had to let them through.”
Sir Kofa took the records and began studying them.
“Very curious,” he said after some time. “It looks like they had nothing to sell but those belts. Some tourists!”
“They said they were planning to buy goods in Echo. That’s their right,” said Nulli Karif.
“Hmm, quite interesting indeed. Buying here, and selling back home in Tasher, where the prices are much lower. What a wise merchant this Agon is, how well he carries on his trade! A commercial operation like that makes sense only when you’re stealing goods from the capital, not buying them. Now that’s an idea. Is there anyone on the vessel, Nulli?”
“Naturally. The captain and some of the crew. They’re either saving on the cost of a hotel or standing guard over their old tub. She’s worth it, a floating bathtub like that, didn’t I tell you? But there’s nothing there that would interest you, Sir Kofa. I’ve gone over everything with a fine-tooth comb.”
“Now we’ll find out what kind of ‘floating bathtub’ this is, and whether there really is anything of interest in it. Thank you for the kamra, Nulli, but let me give you some advice. Go back to the local brand. I suspect that foreign muck is just what’s making your assistant sick. It burns, and gives you a stomach ache. And keep your ears open—if you hear anything else about those belts, send me a call right away, day or night. I’m taking all the papers on the
Old Maid—
let me sign for them.” Kofa slapped his hand on a fat little tablet Nulli had produced from under his turban. “There we go. Good day, Nulli. Let’s go, Max.”
Old Maid—
let me sign for them.” Kofa slapped his hand on a fat little tablet Nulli had produced from under his turban. “There we go. Good day, Nulli. Let’s go, Max.”
I bade farewell to the friendly customs officer, and we went to the port to look over the
Old Maid
and meet her captain.
Old Maid
and meet her captain.
The contours of the elegant sailing vessel were a vision to behold, The captain was equally impressive. A handsome, stately man with a long braid and a beard that fell below his belt met us at the mooring. A severe black suit put the finishing touches on his appearance: baggy trousers and a loose-fitting tunic down to his knees. The belt, if he was indeed wearing one, was concealed beneath this garment.
“Captain Giatta, at your service, gentlemen,” he intoned drily.
The captain spoke with an amusing drawl. Praise be the Magicians he’s not from Irrashi. We’d have a hard time finding an interpreter, I thought to myself.
“The Secret Investigative Force of Echo. Allow us to board your ship, Mr. Giatta,” Sir Kofa Yox replied no less drily.
“This vessel is the personal property of Mr. Agon, and I’m not authorized to take strangers on board.”
“Anywhere in Unified Kingdom the Secret Investigative Force is fully authorized to turn inside out not only your ‘personal property,’ but also your personal backside, if we think we might find something interesting there.” In Sir Kofa’s voice I detected notes I hadn’t heard before—mellifluous and ominous at the same time.
“There’s only one thing I can tell you, gentlemen. I was ordered not to let anyone onto the ship. I have only one option: to die carrying out my duty. I’m very sorry.”
Captain Giatta did not in the least resemble a dull-witted fanatic. He also had no likeness to a dyed-in-the-wool criminal, though who knows what a dyed-in-the-wool criminal is supposed to look like. The captain had sad, tired eyes, and he pronounced the word “die” almost dreamily.
Sir Kofa sent me a call,
Be on your guard, Max. I wouldn’t want to kill him, but
. . .
you can see for yourself that this fellow is a bit shady.
Be on your guard, Max. I wouldn’t want to kill him, but
. . .
you can see for yourself that this fellow is a bit shady.
Then Kofa turned to the captain again.
“Well, I understand that an order’s an order. In that case you’ll just have to take a ride with us in the amobiler. I hope your boss has no objections to that?”
“No,” Captain Giatta said uncertainly, but with evident relief. “There was no mention of that. So I won’t refuse.”
“Excellent. Command your subordinates to guard the ship, and you’ll have a clear conscience.”
The captain went to give the orders, and I looked at Sir Kofa in some confusion.
“Is this normal behavior for Tasherians, Kofa?”
“Of course not. The chap is bewitched, it’s as clear as day. But there’s an aura of White Magic of only the fourth degree emanating from him, and that’s perfectly legal. Juffin will figure him out, you’ll see. That will be interesting for you, too.”
“And the ship?”
“Never mind the ship. I’ve already sent a call to the House by the Bridge. Lonli-Lokli and a dozen policemen will be here in half an hour. They’re the best team for a first-rate search. Here comes our brave captain now. We’re lucky, all the same, that he decided to come with us,” Kofa whispered as our new companion returned.
“I’m at your service, gentlemen,” Captain Giatta said with dignified bow.
The captain stared out the window in rapture the whole way. He seemed completely unfazed that he was under arrest and was being transported to the House by the Bridge; rather, he was thoroughly enjoying the sightseeing excursion. I shared his enthusiasm: Echo really is a dazzlingly city. I should have grown used to it, but I was still awestruck by its beauty.
Meanwhile, big changes were underway at the House by the Bridge. The Hall of Common Labor was deserted. The cooks had been abandoned to the whims of fate for the time being. Neither Melamori nor Melifaro were anywhere to be seen. They were probably running around chasing after the tantalizing loose ends of secrets, which are abundant in every respectably good-sized mystery. Sir Juffin Hully greeted us practically licking his chops and staring at Captain Giatta like a hungry cat eyeing a bowl of cream.
At first the interrogation seemed improbably dull to me. In his questioning, Juffin zeroed in on some details concerning the technicalities of the ship’s rigging, the commercial practices of the captain’s boss, and the biographies of all the crew members. Mr. Giatta calmly answered some of the questions, and resolutely refused to answer others—questions that seemed completely innocuous to me. Sir Juffin greeted this obstinacy with perfect serenity.
“So you say that your assistant, what’s his name—ah, yes, Mr. Xakka. He used to be employed on vessels of the Unified Kingdom? That’s very interesting, Captain,” Juffin said. “Very interesting, indeed.”
Suddenly the handsome captain rolled his eyes and collapsed on the floor like a sack of potatoes. Juffin wiped the sweat off his brow wearily.
“He’s a tough one. Real tough. And scared to death. I was hardly able to pacify him,” said Juffin. He sighed and continued as though he were delivering a lecture. “You must be very careful with a bewitched man, Max. I could put a strong spell on the captain, but we don’t yet know what exactly they’ve done to him. You know, the combination of spells sometimes leads to unpredictable results. When I was a young and foolish deputy sheriff in the city of Kettari, I came across a bewitched lady once in the line of duty. She was behaving like she was possessed, and I had to practice some sorcery just to save my own skin. This happened far from Echo. The magic in the provinces is far more primitive than we’re used to here. No one expected any surprises. But then my suspect screeched and exploded into pieces. I was absolutely stunned, and my boss, the old sheriff of Kettari, had to devote many days and nights to returning me to my senses.”
Juffin smiled dreamily, as though it were the most pleasant memory of his entire youth.
“So what have you done to him? Was it hypnosis?”
“I have no idea what you mean by ‘hypnosis.’ I just pacified him. Very effectively. Our captain has never been so tranquil, Magicians’ honor! Now we can take that ghastly tunic off him.”
As was to be expected, Captain Giatta’s black garment concealed a valuable belt, an exact replica of the one we had seen yesterday.
“This is a serious matter, of course,” Juffin smiled. “Kofa, Max, look closely at his unkempt clothes. Can you draw any conclusions, Max?”
“Well, it’s not easy to keep up your appearance on a long journey,” I surmised.
“Nonsense. The captain’s trousers and tunic are perfectly neat and tidy. No other ideas?”
“He just hasn’t taken his shirt off in a long time,” Sir Kofa said, taking pity on me. “That’s because—”
“Because he’s wearing the belt over the shirt!” It suddenly dawned on me. “It’s impossible to remove the belt, right? So that other guy in the morgue, he wasn’t a ragamuffin. He just couldn’t remove his belt and was forced to wear his old skaba for days and days.”
“Now you’re talking!” Juffin exclaimed. “By the way, about that fellow in the morgue—he hadn’t taken off his skaba for much longer than just several days. Perhaps a few years. That was plain to see. But the
Old Maid
sailed into Echo only eight days ago. You’ve got to get to the bottom of this, Kofa. Get in touch with Nulli Karif and ask him to dig around in the archives. You can occupy Melifaro’s office for the time being. I sent him to find out who the victim was. I have a feeling that it won’t be easy. Max and I will work on the poor captain. You can’t assist us there, anyway.”
Old Maid
sailed into Echo only eight days ago. You’ve got to get to the bottom of this, Kofa. Get in touch with Nulli Karif and ask him to dig around in the archives. You can occupy Melifaro’s office for the time being. I sent him to find out who the victim was. I have a feeling that it won’t be easy. Max and I will work on the poor captain. You can’t assist us there, anyway.”
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