ARC: Peacemaker (20 page)

He drained his rum and took a deep breath. “Look… this is not something that I really want to say out loud… but shit Virgin, I
care
about you.”

I let go of his hand. “I… don’t…”

He raised his hand up to stop me. “I don’t need anything from you right now. Just trust me a little. Let me in.”

To my dismay my eyes moistened. I didn’t cry a lot, and I wasn’t about to change that. But my face had other ideas. My eyes brimmed with tears and my lip quivered. I poked my eyes with my fingers and bit my lip to help get control my emotions.

Heart didn’t say a word, just watched me until the wave had passed.

“I’ll tell you about it,” I said. “But in the morning. After some sleep.”

“But it’s only just gone dark.”

“Put me to bed,” I said. “And that’s an order.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

My phone woke me early. Heart lay on his stomach, head turned away, sheet down around his haunches.

I dragged my blurry eyes away from the magnificent sight of his nakedness and rolled over to answer it. A squint at the display told me it was Caro, so I climbed out of bed and staggered out to the couch.

“You sound half asleep,” she said.

“I am half asleep.”

“I’ve had a ping back on the meds. They were mixed in Baltimore, Maryland.”

“You got any kind of more specific location? I’m guessing Baltimore is a big place.”

“Heading up to a million bodies.”

“That narrows it down.”

“Patience,” she said. “I don’t have an address if that’s what you’re asking, but the ingredient batch numbers were shipped from a warehouse in Washington to the North Baltimore area. Probably a dummy address, but I guarantee wherever they’re mixing their pharma will be close to that.”

“I guess that’s another piece of the jigsaw. Not sure if it’s the sky or the water though.” I tried not to sound despondent. It must have cost her some resources to find that out. “When I see Nate I’ll tell him. It might mean something to the Marshall Service.”

“You working
with
the Marshall now?”

“We had a rough visit to Moonee yesterday. I’m going to have to trust him a bit… for my own health.”

“You want me to dig around a little on him?”

“You read my mind. And Caro… thanks.”

“You’re my friend, Ginny. And ’sides, I smell story.”

I laughed quietly and both my shoulders hurt.

“You’re still on sick leave, remember. Get some rest,” she said.

“Yeah. But I may go park-side today. Need some air.”

“Last time you went out there, you came back
needing
a blood transfusion.”

“I’ll be careful,” I said.

“You don’t even know what that means.”

“Sure I do.”

“Liar.” She hung up and left me staring at the coffee table which still sat in the middle of John Flat. She was right. I was never going to forget someone died there.

With a sigh, I got up and put a mug of water in the microwave to boil for tea.

A faint noise outside the door had me reaching for pistol. I checked my sec-cam and got an eyeful of Totes’ butt as he bent down to put something on the floor.

I flung the door open. “What the…?”

“VJ,” he said, popping up. His eyes widened when he saw my 9mm. “Thought you might like some brioche and coffee.” He’d been placing a small takeaway tray on the floor. Next to it sat a little doll wearing a checked shirt, jeans and riding boots. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her features were solemn.

“Who’s that?” I asked poking at the doll with my toe.

He picked her up and handed her over in the most reverent manner.

“Is that me?” I asked staring into a plastic doll-replica face of my own.

“You like her?” His face lit up. “I made the mold myself. Got the clothes made on Verve Street.”

Verve Street was 5th Ave on a small scale. “She’s wearing my favourite shirt.”

His eyes shone. “Please take her. I’ll feel better if you do.”

Creepy didn’t even begin to describe it, but even my blunt nature wavered at the sight of his ecstasy. “Sure Totes. And thanks for the coffee and food.”

He lingered but I wasn’t weakening that much.

“Got company,” I said. “I’d better go.”

He nodded his head a few times, turned on his heel and wandered off.

“See you at work. I’ll be in today.”

He flashed me a grin over his shoulder.

“Who was that?” asked Heart from the bedroom door as I brought the doll and the food in.

“Totes. He’s left me a good luck charm.”

Heart came and took the Virgin doll from me, turning it over in his hands. “Pretty. Hope she’s not bugged as well.”

I snatched the doll back and shook, squeezed and prodded it until I was sure it was harmless.

“Every girl has one you know,” said Heart watching me.

“Has one what?”

“A creepy guy.”

“He’s OK, really. He’s just smart and screwed up. Can’t hold that against him.”

Heart gave me a funny look. “I guess not.”

I handed him a brioche. “Tea or coffee?”

“Coffee,” he said. “And conversation.”

I handed him the pastry and coffee and went to finish making my tea. Pouring hot water, mixing milk and sugar gave me time to work out what to share with Heart. When I was done, I carried my mug over to the couch, careful to walk around the blurred edge of John Flat.

“I went to Moonee with the Marshall yesterday.”

“Moonee?”

“In the Divine, near Mystere. But away from the tourist strip.”

“You mean
burning-grounds-Moonee
?”

“You know about that place?” He surprised me sometimes. But then I guess I didn’t know much detail about his life outside our bedroom encounters.

“I hear stuff you know. Strippers do.”

“Even a stripper from the Western Quarter?”

“People travel a distance to see this boy dance,” he said, pointing his thumbs at his chest.

“I believe it.”

He took the coffee from me and set it on the table. “That’s how you got the wound on your other shoulder.”

“Spear. Some primitive shit goes on in Moonee.”

“And are you going to tell me why you went there?”

“Nate and I found a talisman that we think’s connected with the murder in the park.
And him
,” I tapped the floor next to the outline. “Finding out about it meant a trip to Moonee.”

“And?”

“The Marshall thinks it might have some link back to my dad, which means me.”

Heart lifted his head and with interest. He seemed to choose carefully before he spoke again. “Why would your dad be involved?”

“He was an outspoken man. A hardliner on many things. When he was lobbying to get the land designated as a park, he made a few enemies. Property developers and some politicians. Other than that, I have no idea. But I’m going to go through his journals today. See if I can find anything.”

“Your dad left journals?”

“I haven’t been able to bring myself to open them. But now… well, I think it’s time.”

“You keep them here? In your apartment?”

He asked the question quite conversationally but I couldn’t help my defensive response.

“Yes. Why?”

A shrug. “Nothing. I mean… you’ve talked about him a bit, but you never mentioned them. Hey listen, I have to head out to work. You coming to the partner dinner tonight at the club?”

I groaned. “Still on, is it?”

“Still on.” He threw a cushion at me. “And you promised.”

“Fine. I’ll meet you there though. What time?”

“Seven.”

“Date night, eh?”

He grinned. “Yeah something like that.”

We finished our hot drinks, fooled around on the couch a bit and then Heart showered.

“Call Nate, let him know I’m leaving,” he said when he emerged with wet hair and a smoking aura.

“I just did,” I lied.

“I’ll wait,” he said.

“He’s on his way. You’ll probably pass him in the corridor.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

He shrugged into his shirt and kissed me. “See you tonight.”

I waited just long enough for Heart to clear the building then I hightailed down the fire escape.

By the ground floor I could barely breathe and my boots were like lumps of concrete on my feet. I didn’t ever take the stairs, and the transfusion had really knocked me around. To add to it, yesterday’s spear injury still stung like a nest of green ant bites.

Not in good shape, Virgin.

But this was something I had to do alone with no one looking over my shoulder. I’d avoided answering Heart about Dad’s journals for no good reason other than I’d never tell anyone where they were. Not even Caro.

And there were a couple of reasons for that. One being that burying anything in the park was highly illegal and against Heritage rules. The other, that they’d been too painful for me to go near, so I’d put them somewhere safe for when I was ready.

I’m not sure that I was ready now, but the time had definitely come.

My police tail today was a short, heavy-set detective in jeans and a baseball cap. He was eating an apple and watching the traffic as I left the building. I headed straight into Cloisters next door and led him around the food halls, finally losing him in the restroom near Dim Sum Delight.

Exactly ten minutes later I was at the stables, standing in front of the security scanner.

“Virgin!” squeaked Totes over the intercom. “Thought you were kidding about coming in?”

“Open up. I gotta get out in some fresh air. This off duty shit is killing me.”

He bleeped me in and I was saddling Benny when he ambled along the corridor to find me.

“Think you’re up to riding?” he asked. “How’re your shoulders?”

“Shoulder,” I corrected. Wasn’t about to tell him about the spear wound.

“You know you’re not meant to be going out there anyway. Sector’s closed, orders of the Po-Po,” he added.

I bestowed him with an exaggerated eye roll. “Listen. I’ll take full responsibility with the boss and the police. Just tell Bull that I disengaged Benny’s GPS and snuck through while you were in maintenance mode or something.”

He gave a big, exaggerated eye roll of his own. “Like he’ll believe me?”

“He can’t prove otherwise. And anyway, it won’t come to that. I just want to de-stress. I’ll be back soon.”

“Leave your phone’s GPS on, just for me.”

“I don’t want to be logged.”

“How about I track you in my duplicate system. No one sees that.”

I raised both my eyebrows. “You have a dummy back end?”

“It’s my personal back up. Gotta have somewhere to practise tweaks.”

“Fine,” I said, not feeling fine about it at all. “See you in a while.”

I led Benny down to the Interchange, mounted and walked her through. As soon as the gate closed on me, I took in a deep lungful of air. Without Sixkiller to worry about, or any tourist buses, it felt like the first time I’d had any peace in days. Even the memory of the Mythos attack dimmed against my relief to be out here alone.

I rode out past the trough, the palms and the windmill and headed straight for the butte. My skin soaked the sun in and the morning-cool air was a tender touch.

The south-east sector of Birrimun stretched away from me in an achingly familiar canvas; red rock punctuated with translucent purples and greens of the mulla mulla, spinifex and the odd imported cacti.

Dad had fought long and hard to keep all the flora and fauna native to the area. He won the fauna fight but lost the flora battle.

A park based on a Western theme had to have cactus, they said. The park upkeep and rates relied on the tourist dollar and visitors wanted cacti! Just like they wanted horseshoes and bulls horns and country music when they went to bars in the Quarter.

I tethered Benny – though she didn’t need it – and walked to the top of the butte. The exercise felt good; blood flowing and sweat purging me of the hospital and Moonee and Mystere.

Aquila hadn’t appeared and there were no sinister crows in sight. A giddy sense of freedom overtook me. The vista of sand and rock made my eyes tear up for the second time in as many days.

I groaned aloud. Really, Virgin?

Benny whinnied from below, hearing my voice. I called to reassure her and headed back down. With Totes monitoring me on his shadow-system, I didn’t have the luxury of too much time. He would probably back me up if Bull started asking questions, but I didn’t want him putting his job on the line for me.

Benny picked her own path towards Dry Gulch leaving me free to think about Totes. We’d worked together almost eight years. He was a few years younger than me but I would never lose the notion of him being that precocious fifteen year-old who came to work with us the year before dad died.

Dad always said I was too hard on him, defended him against my aggravation.

But I didn’t see it that way. Smart-arse geniuses weren’t on my
Be Tolerant With
list.

The day Dad died, Totes wouldn’t leave the hospital. He sat in the waiting room cradling one of his dolls, crying. Thinking about it now choked me up again.

I tried to get a handle on my emotions. Must be fatigue, I told myself. And thinking so much about Dad.

Benny angled into Dry Gulch down a worn path. The deep dry waterway hadn’t run in two hundred years. Wind erosion had rounded off the steep edges and there were only one or two places you could get down onto the riverbed safely.