“You’ve only been out here then? Didn’t you ever go to Hollow World?”

Warren made a melodramatic shudder. “No interest in that. They tell me about it. Popping through portals, device orgies, designer pets, fake sun, everybody always naked and not a pair of tits to be seen. They can keep that crap.” He spread out his arms. “I have all this to myself. A whole world of God’s beauty.”

Right then Pax dropped the glass of tea. It shattered in a burst of bronze liquid.

They both looked at Pax, who remained focused on Warren. “You ordered the murder of Pol-789.”

“I what?” Warren started to laugh, but stopped and stared, puzzled. “What did you say?”

“You’re Ren. You ordered the killing and replacement of Pol. You wanted a spy on the inside.”

“I hope there’s a joke in there somewhere,” Warren said. “Not neighborly for a guest to come on a body’s porch and accuse them of murder.”

“You’re the one hunting us—the one that sent the search party—you wanted Ellis Rogers to be brought to you.”

Warren nodded. “Asked is more like it. Once I discovered there was a Hollow World, I asked about Ellis. And I told everyone that if they ever found another guy like me—going by the name of Ellis—to have him visit. Isn’t that how you got here? How else did you know how to find me?”

“You’re a liar as well as a murderer,” Pax declared.

Warren’s face darkened as he stood up.

“Excuse us a second, Warren.” Ellis took hold of Pax’s arm and pulled. They climbed down the porch, moving away. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Ren is a murderer. He killed Pol-789 and very likely Geo-24. Maybe others.”

“That’s ridiculous. I witnessed the murder. I saw who killed Geo-24, remember? And that person is dead now. Why would you think Warren had anything to do with that?”

Pax hesitated. “I can’t—I can’t tell you.”

Ellis’s brows rose. “You’re accusing a friend of mine of murder, but you can’t tell me why?”

“I’m sorry. You just have to trust me.”

Ellis sighed. He looked around at the few others working the farm, then back at Pax. Whatever threat they expected hadn’t materialized. He’d anticipated—he didn’t know what, actually—maybe a modern mafia or perhaps shadowy troglodytes. Instead, they had found Warren, his oldest friend, pretending to be Pa from Little House on the Prairie. For the first time, Ellis questioned if there had ever been a threat. After they caught the killer of Geo-24, everything had been fine until Pax became convinced Pol was an impostor. And why was that? There had never been any evidence of danger.

“Why did you think Pol was an impostor?”

“I…I just did.”

“Pax—I need a little more than that.”

“I know. I just can’t give it to you.” A miserable frown formed on Pax’s lips.

“Why not?”

“Because—because you won’t believe me, and if you do…you could hate me. I don’t want you to hate me.”

“What in the world could make me—”

“I can’t tell you!” Pax shouted.

“Okay, okay.” Ellis held up his hands. Then a thought crossed his mind. “Why do you live with Vin?”

“What?” Pax asked incredulously.

“When I first arrived, Alva insisted you were not crazy. Why would she say that?”

Pax took a step back and could no longer look him in the face. “Alva said that?”

“One of the first things I was told. Why would Alva feel it necessary to assure me you weren’t crazy?”

Pax looked at the ground, at the gravel beneath their feet, crushed stone and dirt. “I’ve had some trouble.”

“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Is Vin there to watch you? That’s why you need permission to invite guests into your own home, isn’t it?”

Pax took a deep shuddering breath while still studying the fine surface of Firestone Lane. “Vin has been very kind to me.”

“Why is Vin there, Pax? What’s wrong with you?”

“You just have to trust me. Ren is a killer.”

“Do you think he’s going to kill me?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what he’s planning, but he’s planning something, and it’s not good.” Pax looked up, eyes pleading. “We should leave. Warn Hollow World.”

“Warn them of what?”

“I don’t know!” Pax screamed, fists tight. A pair of nearby birds took flight at the outburst.

Ellis reached out and Pax folded into his arms. Pax was shaking. “I’m so scared. I don’t know what to do.”

“Do you trust me?” Ellis asked.

He felt Pax nod against his chest. “Yes.”

“Then this is what I think you need to do. You said it was Warren who was after us. Who wanted me to come here. That means no one is chasing us now. So I think you should go home.”

“What? No, I—”

“I’ll stay and talk to Warren and find out what’s going on—if anything.”

“You can’t.” Pax pulled back.

“You’ve had a stressful couple of days. You were almost killed, then suffered a brutal operation, and topped it off with a can of Dinty Moore stew. Anyone would be upset.”

“I’m not leaving you. You don’t even have a portal.”

“You can come back tomorrow, okay?”

“I can’t leave you alone with a killer!”

“Look, I’ve known Warren since I was fifteen! He’s not a killer.”

“He is, and he’s lying.”

“You need to trust me this time. Warren’s not going to hurt me.” He put his hand on Pax’s shoulder. “You go home. Take a nice waterfall shower. Have Cha look at that shoulder. Eat a solid meal, and have a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow at this time, port back here. By then I’ll know a lot more and we can discuss what to do next, okay?”

“Why can’t we both go home, do all that stuff, and then both come back?”

“Because I need to talk to Warren, and…some of what I have to say is private.”

Pax stared. Ellis could see tears brewing. “I’m scared.”

“I’ll be all right.”

“I’m scared for both of us.”

“Go home and rest. Maybe talk to Vin.”

A tear slipped. “Be very careful.”

“I will.”

Pax reached up for the Port-a-Call. “Alva’s right.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not crazy.”

Chapter Nine

All in Good Time

“Your friend seems a little upset,” Warren said as Ellis sat back on the rocker beside him.

Pax was gone. Ellis had seen the familiar Gothic dining room through the portal and felt a desire to go along. Pax’s place was already more of a home to him than anywhere he’d known since his childhood, but he did feel better now that Pax wasn’t here. He could speak more freely, and he had some issues to address with his old friend.

“Pax has been under some stress—been investigating some murders.”

“Didn’t think they had those in Hollow World. The hairless been telling me they got rid of murder, death, warfare—both the regular kind and class—death, racism, sexism, poverty, all that shit.”

“Well, someone made an exception.”

“So what’s the bug up his butt?”

“ His?”

Warren smirked. “His, her, its—whatever. Didn’t seem like stress. Acted sorta jealous of me. You two trying out some new-age sex toys? I hear they have this thing called a—”

“It’s not like that,” Ellis said, louder than he’d planned.

“Good. I thought maybe you were going native, walking on the other side of the road, so to speak.”

“I said it’s not like that.”

“Just saying, it seemed that way. And you never know. You hear about guys that go to prison and figure they got no choice, you know?”

“Like I said, Pax has just been under a lot of stress. We’ve been through a lot these last few days.”

“Yeah, well, we all have our crosses to bear. But damn, it’s good to see you. I’ve been wondering if you’d ever show up. Thought you might have gotten something wrong and fried your ass.”