Bitter Gold Hearts

"Because you don't think like a thug. I guarantee you, the first thing Skredli did after he decided it was safe to stop running was start looking for somebody to blame for the fix he's in. It would be easy for him to get all righteous about Donni. And look what a great target she makes. She's got no friends left. No protector or avenger. And she's got buckets of money that can be taken with­out any comebacks. And on top of that, she's a woman."

You pity her?

"Not much. She's the one who decided to play with the hard boys."

Saucerhead was in the doorway, waiting for me to stop talking. I beckoned him inside. "They off?"

"Gone."

"You know what I was saying?"

"I heard your side."

"You heard everything worth hearing." I got the maps I'd studied after my talk with Skredli and opened one. "You see this? That's the crossroads where you and the girl had your run-in with Skredli's gang. If you head west to about here, you come to two young mulberry trees hiding the end of an old road. About a half mile down that road is an abandoned farm. The place where they took Junior back when this mess was just a kidnapping. I think that's where we'll find Donni Pell."

"You want me to go drag her back here?"

"Oh, no. I want her right where she sits. I'm going to organize a family outing to convene out there. But when I get there, I want to know what I'm walking into."

"You want me to go scout it out, then."

"Can you handle it?"

"No problem. When?" .

"Soon as you can. Don't come at the place down that road."

He snorted. "Give me some credit, Garrett."

"Meet me at the crossroads tomorrow. I'll try to be there as close to noon as I can. I'll have some stops to make along the way."

Tharpe jerked his head in the general direction of the kitchen. "What about those guys?"

"I don't care. Let them tag along if they want. Or they can stick with me. If they decide to go with you, make sure they don't start playing their own game. I've got to head up the Hill in a few minutes. Go find out what they want to do."

What are you planning, Garrett? The Dead Man sounded suspicious.

"I don't know. I'm making it up as I go along."

It feels like you're setting something up.

"I wish I was. There're tags and threads that're going to hang loose after this's over and they could cause problems."

For instance, a certain Garrett getting caught in a colli­sion between a young woman used to getting what she wants and a somewhat older, no-nonsense redhead who feels she has a certain proprietary interest in the man?

"That one hadn't occurred to me. I was thinking more along the lines of the Stormwarden wanting to get me for my presumptions and disrespect after she no longer has any use for me. Amber won't have any interest in me if she gets her meat hooks in that ransom money."

Garrett, you are, for the most part, an unusually sound-thinking representative of your species. But where mem­bers of the opposite sex are concerned, you are often a fool.

"A congenital weakness. My father was subject to it too. I'm working on it."

You will break your beer habit first, I am certain.

"Speaking of Amber, I should let her know what's going on."

One piece of advice, since you wish to avoid a prime position on the Stormwarden's get-even list.

"What's that?"

Try to restrain that part of you which insists on being sarcastic, abrasive, and confrontational.

"I'm working on that, too. I think I'll clear that up right after I get straightened out about women."

I went to the kitchen doorway and stuck my head in. Saucerhead said, "They decided to stick with me." His smirk said that was because they weren't interested in doing anything that would bring them to the attention of Raver Styx. I winked and headed upstairs.

_____XLVII ______

I tapped on Amber's door. "You there?" "It's not locked."

I went inside. She was seated on the edge of her bed, looking pale and tired. "Is she gone?"

I settled into the room's sole chair. "She left. We managed to work something out."

"How heavily did she outbid me?"

"I don't like your mother, Amber."

"What does that mean?"

"People I don't like never outbid people I do like.' Though sometimes I'll let them think they can."

"Thanks." She didn't sound cheered.

"What's the matter?"

"It's almost over, isn't it?"