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

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.
     
     

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 reputation.”
    See? Just not my day. I pulled