The Inquisitor shook his head wearily. "I was afraid you'd tell me a story like that. Damn it. You leave me no choice."

Shed's heart leapt into his throat. Crazy ideas swarmed through his head. Hit the Inquisitor, grab the coin box, make a run for it.

"I hate to travel, Shed. But it looks like either Bullock or I will have to go after those people. Guess who'll get stuck?"

Relief swamped Shed. "Go after them, Reverend Sir? But the law down there doesn't recognize the Brotherhood's right. . . ."

"Won't be easy, will it? The barbarians just don't understand us." He poured some wine, stared into it for a long while. Finally, he said, "Thank you, Marron Shed. You've been very helpful."

Shed hoped that was a dismissal. He rose. "Anything else, Reverend Sir?"

"Wish me luck."

"Of course, sir. A prayer for your mission this very evening."

The Inquisitor nodded. "Thank you." He resumed staring into his mug.

He left a fine tip. But Shed was uneasy when he pocketed it. The Inquisitors had a reputation for doggedness. Suppose they caught up with Asa?

Chapter Twenty-Four:
JUNIPER: SHADOW DANCING

"I think I was pretty slick," I told Goblin.

"You should have seen that Shed," Pawnbroker cackled. "A chicken sweating like a pig and lying like a dog. A one-man barnyard."

"Was he really lying?" I mused. "He didn't say anything that conflicted with what we know."

"What did you learn?" Goblin asked.

"I think he was lying," Pawnbroker insisted. "Maybe by not telling everything he knew, but he was lying. He was into it somehow."

"You keep hanging around the Lily, then. Keep an eye on him."

"What did you learn?" Goblin demanded.

Elmo came in. "How'd it go?"

"Great," I said. "I found out what happened to Raven."

"What?" he and Goblin both demanded.

"He left town. By ship. The first day the harbor was open."

"Darling, too?" Goblin asked. "You see her around? What do you think?" Pawnbroker mused, "Bet that Asa went with him. Old Shed said they both left the first day."

"Could be. I was proud of myself, catching him with that. Looks to me, now, like this Shed is our only outside loose end. He's the only one who knows what happened to them. No Shed, nobody to maybe tell Bullock or the Taken anything."

Elmo frowned. The suggestion was more in keeping with his style than mine. He thought I'd put it forward seriously. "I don't know. Sounds too simple. Anyway, we're starting to get noticed down there, aren't we?"

Goblin nodded. "We're supposed to be sailors who missed our ship, but people are comparing notes, trying to figure us out. If Shed got killed, there might be enough fuss to get Bullock wondering. If he gets wondering, sooner or later the news would get back to the Taken. I figure we ought to save heroic measures for heroic circumstances."