01 - Goblins by Charles Grant - (ebook by Undead) Read Free Book Online Page A

even smaller. As he slipped his keys out of his pocket, he began making a list
of things he’d have to do in the morning, not the least of which would be to try
to change Douglas’ mind.
    A disappearing murderous clown was not his idea of a good reason to see
Louisiana.
    By the time he reached the door he was already in bed; all he had to do was
get his body settled in the same place.
    He turned the lock and absently glanced over his shoulder.
    The Tweed Man strolled by on the other side of the street, cigarette in one
hand tracing orange in the dark, face hidden by a felt hat pulled low.
    Weariness slowed Mulder’s reaction. In the few seconds it took to convince
himself he wasn’t imagining it, the man was gone, lost in the shifting shadows
between widely spaced streetlamps.

 
 
SIX
     
     
    Dana Scully stood amid the clutter of Mulder’s office and flapped her arms
hopelessly. There were times when she admired the way he could find needles in
haystacks and times like this, when she wanted nothing more than to put a match
to it and force him to start from scratch. Which, she knew, wouldn’t change a
thing. Two days later it would look just the same.
    Hefting her briefcase in one hand, she turned with a resigned sigh to the
woman standing in the doorway and said, “Sorry, Bette, but I don’t think it’s
here.”
    “Sure it is,” the secretary said brightly. She crossed the room to a
waist-high shelf built out of the wall, shoved a pile of papers aside and held up a blue-tagged folder. “I can smell ’em a mile away.”
    A cheery smile, and she was gone, leaving Scully openmouthed and slightly
annoyed. She didn’t mind cases being targeted to other teams; that was part of
the game, and part of the procedure. And that particular case was, by FBI
standards, so perfectly ordinary she was surprised Mulder hadn’t pushed it on
himself. What she did mind was the new Section Head’s near-imperious refusal to
give his reasons. If he wasn’t happy with the way things were going, he simply
changed teams. Fresh minds and fresh bodies was his only explanation.
    “Hey.”
    Mulder came through the door, dropped his coat onto the back of his chair.
“Listen, I’ve been thinking about that Louisiana thing.”
    Dana shook her head. “Mulder—”
    He dropped into his chair, swiveled it around to face her, and tented his
fingers beneath his chin. “Not that I think it’s really going to be as bizarre
as the mighty Douglas thinks it is, but I’ve been looking through the folder,
see…” He reached over to the shelf without looking. “I think what they’ve
got there is a—”
    “Mulder—”
    He frowned, kicked the chair around, and began slapping papers aside. “Damn,
I swore I left it here last night. Maybe Webber took it. That guy’s so gung-ho,
he makes me nervous.”
    Dana closed her eyes briefly to summon patience, then tapped him on the
shoulder. Hard. “Mulder, pay attention.”
    “What? What?” He didn’t look around. “Maybe I filed it.” He shuddered. “God,
what a thought.”
    “It doesn’t matter.”
    “Of course it matters. Do you think I’d actually…” He fell silent and
slowly turned to look at her. “You have news.”
    With a look to the ceiling, she thought thank you before pushing a
hand absently at her hair. “In the first place, I do not appreciate your leaving
me alone with that human octopus. I swear to God he has hands growing out of his
ears.”
    At least he had the grace to look contrite. “Sorry. Douglas had the
appointment already set up. I had no choice.”
    When she heard what the Section Head had to say, she told him she had already
been briefed. The man had caught her in the hall on the way to Mulder’s office.
    “But that doesn’t make any difference right now.”
    He was startled. “What do you mean?”
    “Table that for a minute. What I want from you now is your word that you’ll
never, ever leave me alone with that reporter again.” She