Winger wasn’t in her usual haunts. I couldn’t run her down at home because I didn’t know where she lived. I left word that Garrett had cash for her if she came to my house.

I couldn’t think of a scheme to lure Block or Relway.

I strolled past Morley’s place. Sarge was out front doing some wet-weather sweeping, pushing litter and horse apples over in front of a neighbor’s dump. He showed me a scowl so black I waved and kept rolling. Just passing through. Didn’t have no notion to drop in.

At Harvester Temisk’s place two no-neck types muttered to one another about the chances of snow. I didn’t recognize them. I did spot a familiar Relway Runner keeping an eye on the two brunos.

Not once during my icy-drizzle-down-the-back-of-my-neck wanderings did I spot Penny Dreadful. Which goes to show that even a fourteen-year-old girl has better sense.

Belinda I disregarded. I had no idea where to look for her nor any notion where to leave a message.

I wandered over to Playmate’s stable, just to get in out of the miseries.

“Garrett, you look like that thing they talk about the cat dragging in.” Playmate was banging hot iron in the smithy of his stable. Building horseshoes. Weather got in because he hadn’t repaired all the damage done during some excitement we were involved in not long ago. He grumbled about not having the money.

Money couldn’t be the problem. He had points in the same manufactory I did.

“Us honest folk got to work no matter what the weather is like.”

Play whopped a hot horseshoe. “You make me regret that I’ve heard a calling, Garrett. Sometimes I want to cut loose and tell you how full of the stinky you are. This is one of those times.”

“How come everybody does me that way, Play?”

“Everybody knows you.”

I grumbled but didn’t remind him that I was always there when any of them needed something.

“So to what do I owe the honor of your presence? What favor do you want now?”

“Nothing. Except to get in out of the rain. I’m headed somewhere else.”

“Why aren’t you home resting up for an evening of debauchery?”

“The Dead Man is awake.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

“You see? You’re forewarned. The only guy in this cesspool of a city who is. So don’t pass it along.”

“I said thank you. Want some tea? There’s water.” He never lacks for heat in the smithy.

“Sure. Hey. You have any idea what happened to Antik Oder, used to have a storefront down the street?”

“Aha! So now we get to it.”

“To what? The Dead Man wants a witch. Elderberry Whine kicked off when I wasn’t looking.”

Playmate made tea, his grin ivory in a mahogany sea. “Antik is still there. She isn’t what you’re looking for, though.”

“Why not?”

“She’s a fraud.”

I grunted, sipped tea. “There’s something in this.”

“I dribbled in a dollop of vanilla rum.”

I’m not big on hard liquor, but this was good. I rendered myself incapable of competent behavior in minutes.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Playmate isn’t the kind who lets friendship get in the way of business. Much. “Rain’s slowing down, Garrett. Time to move on.”

I’d told him most of what was happening, hoping he’d have a suggestion. I’d wasted my breath. He asked, “Where are you headed from here?”

“I don’t know. I’m thinking about crawling into the hayloft and grabbing forty winks.”

Playmate frowned. He thought I was scamming, but couldn’t figure my angle. “I guess it can’t hurt. But shouldn’t you show more ambition?”

“Ambition? About what?”

“Your job.”

“Why? There ain’t nobody paying me.”

He doesn’t stint the critters. The hay in the loft was first-rate. It retained enough sweet clover smell to remind me of idylls in country pastures.

He was wrong. The drizzle hadn’t slowed. It had grown into a steady rain. The rattle on the shingles overhead was a powerful soporific. Or maybe that was the rum.

I was gone in half a minute.

First I thought it was the change in the patter of the rain. Then I thought it was the cold. But the war taught me to wake up carefully and not to trust first impressions. I lay still, controlled my breathing, listened.

Playmate had company. That company wasn’t looking for a place to stash horses.

I moved glacially till I could see.

Teacher White was down there, safely distant from Playmate, not coming across half as fierce as he wanted. He looked more like a pretend bad guy.

Assisting Teacher were two wide-load no-necks who looked like they were from out of town. Plausible, given that Teacher had only a half dozen soldiers of his own, none heftier than Spider Webb or Skelington.

Teacher cautioned the wide bodies, “Careful. There’s more to the man than meets the eye.” Though I can’t imagine anybody underestimating Playmate.

Teacher told him, “There ain’t no need for nobody to get hurt, Play. All you-”

“There is, you come in here pushing me around.”

I steeled myself to jump in, though I suspected Playmate would be all right. The shoe might be on the other hoof. The bad guys might need help before the straw settled.

Playmate is all religious. He preaches turn the other cheek. But he takes an eye-for-an-eye attitude when it comes to professional scum.

Teacher asked, “Where’s Garrett?”

Playmate didn’t answer.

The wide loads moved in. Playmate met one with an invisibly fast straight jab to the schnoz that rocked the man’s head back like it was about to pop off its stump. He plopped down on his back of beyond with a stunned, goofy look.

The second thug took a punch to the chest. Pure amazement filled his face. This didn’t happen when you educated civilians.

Playmate collected a hammer. He showed it to Teacher White. Teacher took note. “Time to move along, boys.”

Good thing, too, because I was just about to jump down and make life really harsh for Teacher.

Then I saw what I would’ve jumped into.

Spider Webb and guys named Original Dick and Vernor Choke showed up to help the wide loads leave. They hadn’t made a sound there under the hayloft.

Vernor Choke had been born to his name. I didn’t know the story on Original Dick. I wouldn’t hang the moniker on anybody, but that didn’t mean his mother hadn’t.

I climbed down half a minute after Spider Webb exited, the last of the crew to leave.

Playmate observed, “Once again there’s proof that just knowing you is a bad idea.”

“What was that all about?”

“They’re looking for some guy named Garrett. Said they followed him here. They didn’t say why. They seemed pretty determined, though.”

I put on my best baffled face. Without faking. “I don’t get it. They’ve been following me around long enough to see that I can’t tell them what they want to know.”

“And what would that be, Garrett?”

“Huh? What would what be?”

“What do they want to know?”

“Well, hell!” I had no real idea. “Maybe just a closer look at my pretty face.”

They did know that I couldn’t find Chodo or Harvester. Didn’t they?

“Oh, sure. That’s got to be it, Garrett. How did that get past me?”