Bitter Gold Hearts

"Since he won't want to say why he's dogging me or who's paying him, I don't know whether to let him tag along or not. So, better safe than sorry. He's got to go into storage."

"How long?"

"A day, maybe."

"Pokey?"

"Sitting or following, it all pays the same."

Morley thought for half a minute, then told one of his boys, "Blood, you want to politely collect Mr. Pigotta's effects and put them on the table here?"

Pokey endured it. I knew how he felt. I'd been through it several times myself.

Morley stirred through the take, which included a lot of silver. He examined one piece. "Temple coinage."

I took one. Private mintage, all right. The same as the tenth mark I found on that farm.

"Tell you something?" Morley asked.

"Yeah. Who he isn't working for." Domina Dount never had anything but gold.

So who?

"Put him away," I told Morley. "There's things to talk about and decide and maybe do, and it's late already."

"Blood. The root cellar. Gently and politely. Consider him a guest under restraint."

"Yes, Mr. Dotes."

_____XXXI ______

Morley removed his troops from the room. With just two witnesses Saucer head relaxed and betrayed how uncomfortable he really was. I spent a minute or two telling him what a dope he was. He didn't argue. He didn't go home to bed, either. Morley told me, "Only thing my boys have told me that you probably don't know is that Junior daPena's body got taken to the crematorium by the Dount woman on her way over to your place. I assume you know he did himself in?"

"I know. Only he didn't kill himself. He had a lot of help from his friends."

"You have that gleam in your eye, Garrett. Does that mean you know who did it?"

"Yep. And one of them was an ogre breed named Skredli, and it just happened that a Skredli was involved in Junior's so-called kidnapping—and most likely in the attack on Saucer head and Amiranda. And this Skredli runs with a character named Gorgeous, who sounds like he's some double-ugly... What's up, Morley?"

"Gorgeous? You did say Gorgeous?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"Not personally. I know of him."

"I don't like that look in your eye."

"Then look at the wall or something while you tell us about it."

While I talked, Saucer head sat nodding to himself. I pretty much opened the bag and dumped it. Morley got out paper and pen and ink and started doodling. When I closed the sack up, Morley said, "The Donni Pell trick is like the hub of a wheel. You have connec­tions between her and everyone but the Dount woman. You can't tell about the Crest woman, but you can as­sume she knew who Donni was since she was good friends with Junior. This Donni is the key. Let's see if we can't lay hands on her."

I exchanged looks with Saucer head. "The man is a genius, isn't he? Think he's figured out that she's the next one who'll come floating belly up? If the hard boys are nervous enough to cut the son of Raver Styx ..."

Morley said, "I think the next casualty will be a guy called Gorgeous. Though maybe I'm wrong." He still had that look.

"Why?" Saucer head asked. Always direct, friend Waldo.

"Tell me about Gorgeous. I've never heard of him."

"You ought to keep up better, Garrett. He's important."

"I'm trying. If you'll get to it."

"Sure. He hasn't been around long. His real name is Conrad Staley. He came from HasefBro after the kingpin checked out, figuring it was a good time to cut himself a piece of the big city. He's human but he's so damned mean and ugly he ranks with ogres. He brought his own gang to start but I hear most have gone back since he's found local recruits. Keeping the old base secure.

There was a hot feud for a while with Chodo Contague but they sorted it out. Gorgeous got Ogre Town. He pays a per­centage to keep it in peace. Chodo doesn't want a war because he's having trouble keeping his own people in line."

Chodo Contague was the thug who had taken over as kingpin after the old kingpin's demise. He was more powerful than most of the lords of the Hill, though he lived in the shadows.

"Anything we do that involves Gorgeous, Chodo is going to have to approve." Morley was moving toward the door now. "It could mean war. You guys sit tight. If you need anything, tell them downstairs. I'll be back in a couple hours."

"Where the hell are you going?" I asked.

"To talk to Chodo." He was out.

"You wondering what I'm wondering, Garrett?"

"I'm not wondering, Saucer head. I know."

Chodo Contague was boss of the TunFaire underworld in part because a certain Morley Dotes had presented the old kingpin with a coffin containing a hungry vampire. The old kingpin had opened the box thinking the thing inside had been killed before delivery. Saucer head and I had been pallbearers in that shenanigan. Our buddy Mor ley hadn't bothered to tell us what was going down beforehand. His reason for the oversight was sound. He had figured we wouldn't help if we knew. The perceptive little bastard had been right. I was going to collect favors on that scam for a long time.