Red Dog Conspiracy Sets

Chapter 9

The Law

I stood at the intersection of Shill and Snow in the Pot. The ruined buildings towered over me, clouds scudding dark across the full moon. Bodies lay around me, b****y, their dead eyes staring at mine. Nina, Dame Anastasia, her silly great-nephew Trey, the men from the Party Time factory, that driver-man of Frank Pagliacci’s I’d shot — the one who tried to violate me. Marja. Even Daniel lay there.

Beyond them, dozens, hundreds of others lay there, faces turned away. It seemed quite normal for them to lie on the cold gray cobbles.

Air ran towards me from a distance, shouting a warning, pointing beside me. Jonathan’s identical twin Jack Diamond stood there, head shaved, dressed in white. He held a knife in his hand and hate in his eyes.

Jack grabbed my arm. “I have you now.”

I came awake on the floor beside the chair, heart pounding.

Footsteps ran towards my door, then a loud banging. I got up, found a robe, opened the door.

Three officers stood in the darkness. “Mum, are you well?”

So they hadn’t been told about my nightmares. “I’m well. I’m fine. Thank you.” I began to close the door.

“Are you certain? We heard a scream.”

I felt amused. “Yes, I’m sure. Thank you, constables.”

I closed the door and returned to my chair, feeling shaky. I poured the bit left in my bottle into my glass and drank it.

The sky began to lighten. Tony would be waking. Alone.

I pushed remorse aside. Murderers deserved to be alone.

* * *

The doorbell rang at seven.

I went to the door in my robe, bleary-eyed. A group of men stood outside, a horse-truck past them. Three more trucks stood behind that one. “Delivery.”

“Of what?”

The man checked a clipboard. “A hell of a lot of clothes.”

“This way.” I had the men start putting the racks in the back rooms. Then I went to the bathing room.

From the first time I’d ever taken a bath when I was twelve, my bath was always drawn for me. The array of levers and knobs were daunting. Turning one did nothing, and I feared spoiling the beautiful brass mechanisms there.

I didn’t know how to work the stove either. It didn’t look like Ma’s stove back home. I couldn’t find any wood, nor any place to put it. So I forced a comb through my hair, struggled into a house dress, put a shawl around my shoulders, had some bread and jam, and settled by my tea-table to smoke.

Amelia showed up mid-morning. “You can’t even run a bath?”

I felt embarrassed. “Would you show me how?”

So she showed me how to run a bath (you first turned the back knobs to let the water flow). How to use the stove (it ran on electricity from the Magma Steam Generators, just like the lights). Where the cleaning supplies were kept.

We had a cup of tea. This time, Amelia sat without any fuss. “Has no one taught you anything useful?”

anythingI was a grown woman of two and twenty! I knew many useful things: how to direct a household of servants; how to watch for rival gangs; how to make deals and lure a mark; how to read and write and figure. I could pick pockets and locks, track a missing person, shoot a g*n quite well, and thanks to Josephine Kerr’s instruction, fight with a knife. I’d also seen people do things I thought I might imitate, such as putting on makeup (Amelia always did mine for me) and driving a carriage. “I suppose I need to know new things here.”

Amelia chuckled. “That you might.”

The rooms full of clothing were fine, but I needed more basic items. “Amelia, can you fetch my morning tea when you return?”

“Of course, mum.”

She seemed unaware of my morning tea’s true purpose: to ensure no heir came to Spadros Manor though my womb.

I had no plot against Tony; bearing children held no appeal. As long as I was captive, a child would only make life more difficult.

I would never consent to lie with Tony after what he surely had done to Joseph Kerr. Yet my encounter with the driver the week prior reminded me of the dangers here. At any moment, a man might force himself upon me, and I was very lucky the last time.

Amelia said, “Mum, why did you bring all your things here?”

So I told her of Mr. Pike’s plan: to sell my things at auction. I told her the auction was to benefit the poor. “I’ve never felt comfortable with this, Amelia. When I was a child, I learned that sufficient clothing was all a person really needed. This,” I waved at the racks standing in the hallway, and realized my truth. “It borders on obscene, when people freeze in the winter.”

Amelia straightened, and her countenance changed. I think for the first time, she respected me. “I’ve never heard you speak so.”

“I suppose what you said yesterday was true. I am from the Pot, and marked by it forever. I can’t help my people, but if I help yours, perhaps I can spur them on to some small kindness.”

amAt this I felt a deep sadness. We lived in the same city, under the same dome. Why were we hated so?

Amelia swallowed. “Then I will help you. What do you need?”

I gave her the list of who might be willing to help. I couldn’t send mail except through the policemen outside, and who knew whether they opened it? But Amelia could contact many people without being noticed. “I must keep back our Fees. But I’ll also reserve 1% of my sales to be split between those who help.”

She seemed taken aback. “You wish to pay me?”

pay“You’re doing work which Spadros Manor neither cares for nor has endorsed. Surely you should be compensated for your time.”

Her eyes widened. “I’ve never … if that’s what you wish, mum, I know my mother would appreciate a new coat for Yuletide.”

I smiled at her. “If all goes well, she’ll have roast ham too.”

Amelia’s eyes reddened. “Please forgive my harsh words, mum. I was angry and spoke foolishly.”

I took a deep breath. Perhaps I could help some of the poor in truth. “Here’s what we’ll do, once we learn who’ll aid us …”

We needed somewhere to hold the auction, an auctioneer, and a banker. Anywhere I went would swarm with police, so security might not be an issue …

Amelia said, “Why not hold it here? Then we wouldn’t have to pay to have this moved again.”

Would the Court allow it? This was my building, after all. “Let me think on it.” Perhaps Mr. Monarch would have some ideas.

The doorbell rang. Amelia rushed to answer it. She returned with fear in her eyes. “Master Ten Hogan to see you, mum.”

I went to the door, dreading another meeting with him.

But Sawbuck stood in the open doorway, perplexed. “What did you mean, we fouled it up?”

I snorted. “Do you think I have no sense whatsoever?”

His gaze flickered to Amelia, who stood behind me.

Her demeanor towards him turned fierce. “You’ll not harm her, sir, or you’ll answer to me.”

Amusement crossed his face. He patted the holster hanging from his belt. “Mrs. Dewey, if I wanted to kill her, she’d be dead.”

We sat in the kitchen with tea. I didn’t really want tea, but in Bridges all discussions seemed to require it. “Amelia, I must ask you not to listen at the door. It’s safer if you don’t overhear us.”

She paled. “Yes, mum, of course, mum.”

If Tony ordered Joe killed, Sawbuck would know. He might have even done it himself. But would he come here if he had?

I took a sip of tea to reassure Sawbuck, who despite his words had a wariness to him. Yet I felt much the same. No one was more devoted to Tony than Sawbuck. Would Sawbuck reveal the truth about Joe if Tony told him not to?

I decided to answer Sawbuck’s question, then see where it led. “How much do you know?”

He glanced away. “Mr. Anthony told me everything. About Miss Diamond and,” his eyes flickered to the door, “the boy. About your … wedding. Damn.” He bit his lip, not speaking for several seconds. “About your friend whose brother went missing.” He rested his elbows on the table, not meeting my eye. “I don’t know whether to be more angry at Mr. Roy for doing this or at you for telling him about it.”

Him being Tony. “He had to know the truth. No one else was ever going to tell him. I know it hurt —”

“You know it hurt!” Sawbuck sounded outraged. “You know it hurt?” His voice dropped to an angry whisper. “You told him everything he based his whole life on was a lie! That you loved him, that you stood by him, that you —” At this, he faltered. “And you told him in a letter from a servant, after letting him see you in an embrace with that scoundrel. I don’t think he’ll ever recover.”

hurtlielovedby“What happened to his face? He —”

Sawbuck put his face in his hands. He sounded in agony. “Why did you let him go to the police about Marja?”

This change of subject puzzled me. “It was his idea.”

He peered at me. “You truly don’t understand.”

I felt bewildered. “He said he might get them to help!”

Sawbuck laughed bitterly. “The Four Families have one law: handle your own affairs. Breaking that law means death.”

“What does that mean?”

He put his arms on the table. “You settle matters yourself.”

I frowned. “You mean he should’ve pursued Marja’s killers?”

heSawbuck nodded, staring at the table. “His men have been in turmoil from the night you left. Mr. Roy forbidding them to kill you only agitated them further. When they learned Mr. Anthony went to the police …” he rested his chin on his arms with a weary sigh, “some of his men turned on us.”

Tony was the Spadros heir. Sawbuck, Tony’s right hand man. Tony’s own men … Roy’s men … turned on them? “Surely Tony knew this law. Why would he —?”

turnedSawbuck looked up at me and I knew.

I put my hands to my mouth in horror. Tony knew I found him lacking! He was desperate to make me value him. Love him.

My gods, Tony … did you love me that much?

When Sawbuck spoke next, he sounded bitter. “So what was this masterful plan you concocted?”

Now I began to wonder if I’d done the right thing.

I said, “My husband loves Gardena Diamond. He’s in love with her.” Why did it take me three years to see it? “I’m —” for a moment, I faltered. Joe was dead. “I was … in love with Joseph Kerr. I thought if I disappeared, Tony could search for me. Get the whole damn city searching for me. There would be no scandal. No one would know. Then after a year or two, he could declare me dead. He’d be free to marry her, as everyone intended.”

wasMy letter was so clear. Why didn’t Tony understand?

“But you killed Joe before he could get to me,” at this, I felt despondent, “and now it’s all just a huge f*****g mess.”

The front bell rang, and I heard Amelia answer it.

Sawbuck said, “I didn’t kill Joseph Kerr.”

Can he not at least give me the courtesy of the truth? “Don’t play games with me, Ten, I won’t have it!”

Can he not at least give me the courtesy of the truth?“Mrs. Spadros, I went to his house as soon as we found you missing. We tore the place apart. He’s not there. He’s not at his usual places. The house is empty. His grandfather and sister are gone.” He let out a bitter laugh. “The Harts were frantic to stop a war. Right now, they scour their quadrant for him.”

Josie and her grandfather — gone? Their house empty? But Joe said they planned to stay in Bridges. “This makes no sense.”

Sawbuck sounded weary. “Sure it does, Mrs. Spadros. You got played.” He shook his head, shoulders slumped. “You both did.”

“What?”

“You’re not the first woman he’s lured from her husband.”

“Nonsense! Joseph Kerr and I promised ourselves to each other six years ago. It’s simple, now that I consider it. Josie knew we planned to leave. She moved her grandfather so he wouldn’t be forced to tell you where we went.”

“Gods,” Sawbuck said as he rose. “They played you right proper. Why, I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”