Book 06 - Red Iron Nights by Glen Cook Read Free Book Online Page A

believe I screeched. Next thing I knew, I was headed down the
hall staring back at his closed door with bugged eyes. Somewhere a
cat meowed. This couldn’t be happening to me. It wasn’t
real. I was going crazy. If this kept up, I’d be out there
howling at the sky alongside Barking Dog.
    It got worse. I ducked into the kitchen for a beer, found Dean
at the table having tea with the religion women. One had a kitten
in her lap. Dean seemed spellbound by the ropes of sand the other
was spinning. The cat woman said, “Won’t you join us,
Mr. Garrett? We were just sharing the wonderful news with Dean.
Won’t you share the joy with us too?”
    Joy? She was as joyous as the piles. She didn’t know the
meaning of the word. The fraud. She was smiling, but that was a
domino. Everything behind it was holier-than-thou sour. She would
remain constipated as long as she suffered the suspicion that
somebody, somewhere, was having a good time. “Sorry. Some
other time. I’m just going to grab a biscuit and run.”
I knew her kind. A Barking Dog with a bath, only her fantasy
contained a harsh, metallic flavor of violence. Barking Dog was
determined to expose imaginary devils. She wanted to scourge them
with fire and sword. Yet she was painfully formal and polite. If I
stopped moving for a second, she would pin me and soon drive me
over the edge. She wouldn’t let go till I’d gotten so
damned rude I’d be embarrassed for a month.
    I grabbed my biscuit and fled to my office. I asked Eleanor,
“You haven’t gone gaga on me too, have you?”
    She gave me her best enigmatic look.
    I settled behind my desk. Things were falling apart around me. I
had to take charge before chaos conquered all. I had to get this
storm-tossed ship back on a steady keel.
    It was my own damn fault, trying to pull a fast one on the Dead
Man.
     
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10
    I groaned. I’d just gotten comfortable, and now somebody
was pounding on the front door. Nobody ever comes around except to
see me. Nobody ever wants to see me unless they want me to work.
Nobody ever wants me to work except when I’ve just gotten
comfortable. Then my attitude improved. Maybe it was more
evangelists. I could turn the new bunch loose on the pack already
infesting the place. They could go to the theological mattresses
right here. I could have a ringside seat while they fought it out,
toe to illogical toe.
    See. I’m an optimist. Whoever said I always look on the
dark side? I did? Right. Well, when you do that, your life fills
with pleasant surprises, and seldom are you disappointed.
    Answering the door provided one of the disappointments.
    I did peep through the peephole first. I did know I
wouldn’t be happy once I opened up. But I didn’t have
much choice.
    His name was Westman Block. He was the law. Such as the law is
in TunFaire. He was a captain of that same Watch that
couldn’t catch anyone more dangerous than Barking Dog Amato.
I knew him slightly, which was too well. He knew me. We
didn’t like each other. But I respected him more than I did
most Watchmen. When he took a bribe, he stayed bought. He
wasn’t
too
greedy.
    I opened up. “Captain. I nearly didn’t recognize you
out of uniform.” Polite. I can manage it sometimes. I glanced
around. He was alone. Amazing. His bunch run in crowds.
That’s one of their survival skills.
    “Can we talk?” He was a small, thin character with
short brown hair graying around the edges. There was nothing
remarkable about him except that he seemed worried. And he was
almost polite. He’d never been polite to me before. I was
suspicious immediately.
    A healthy dose of paranoia never hurts when you deal with the
Westman Blocks.
    “I have company, Captain.”
    “Let’s walk, then. And don’t call me Captain,
please. I don’t want anyone guessing who I am.” Damn,
he was working hard. Usually he talked like a longshoreman.
    “It’s raining out there.”
    “Can’t put anything past you, can they? No wonder
you have that