Neidles came in on off-day, which was First-Day for all of us. I intended to do a bit of sleuthing into the mystery of missing children. Neidles wanted to make sure he was wringing as much of a percentage from the wait staff as he could.
"Neidles, you employed them, you go over the figures with them," I snapped when he hauled out his comp-vid to go over all four employees' tip records. He backed away from me; I had no patience with him right then.
"I can fire you," he said.
"Go ahead. Find someone else who'll cook and clean for a pittance." I was making little from working as a master cook in his small restaurant. I controlled the recipes. I oversaw the purchases of meat and vegetables. All the receipts and records were dutifully turned over to Neidles at the end of every six-day. "I'll go get my things now. I'm sure someone else will hire me and I won't have to clean," I shot over my shoulder as I walked out.
"No, no, you do not have to clean now," he was beside me suddenly. "I will hire someone else."
"Good. I have plans for today," I said, trying to walk away from him.
"With a man?" He sounded petulant.
"No. I intend to enjoy the day," I said and left him standing in the entryway. I'd cleaned that, too, found a rug in the attic to put along with other, small bric-a-brac to dress up the place. Neidles only had to count the money. His inn was filling up more often than not, after my arrival. If he'd pay to have new tile laid in his bathrooms, it would be even better. I didn't mind the work, but it was becoming overwhelming with the demands of the kitchen. At least it helped take my mind off the troubles I'd left behind. I was too tired to let my thoughts chase each other at night, now.
I found two things when I did my sleuthing—one, the places where the children were disappearing weren't far from the inn, and two, the heavy-fisted guest was there ahead of me, poking around.
"I'm surprised to see you here," he said as I stared at the small alley where three eleven-year-old girls had disappeared.
"Same here," I nodded.
"You're not from here, are you?" he asked.
"No."
"Where from, then?"
"I was born on Tulgalan," I replied. I didn't see that it hurt anything.
"Before you accuse me of having anything to do with those disappearances, they started before I arrived; the local officials were afraid to report it. Now, rumors are flying so they have to give out the numbers," heavy fist said.
"Why would they do that?" I asked quizzically, staring into his light-brown eyes.
"Grithis is a commonwealth and not under the Prime Minister's thumb. There are six commonwealths left on Bardelus, running their own private government. Like a separate country, you might say. Grithis has been corrupt for a very long time. You saw the state of the inn when we moved in. I thank you for the cleaning and the food in the restaurant. I haven't eaten that well in a very long time. Plovel," he held out his hand as he introduced himself.
"Reah," I couldn't help smiling as I took his hand.
"Well, Reah, I would very much like to get to the root of these disappearances, but I keep running into tall and sturdy walls."
"It worries me," I said. "Do you think it is slavery or sex rings taking them? Have any traces been found at all?"
"Not much," he replied. "Come over here. The locals botched the scene when they investigated. If you can call what they did an investigation," Plovel muttered. He was right—they'd walked right through the area numerous times, destroying any evidence that might be had. The crime scene was next to a brick building that showed signs of aging. Mortar was missing between bricks. I knelt to examine a brick that appeared loose. It came out in my hand.
"What have we here?" Plovel knelt next to me and peered inside the hole. A tiny doll, a child's cheap metal ring and string jewelry were all inside.
"This was their hiding place," I sighed. The neighborhood was poor and indicative of the toys the girls left behind. "Did anybody see anything?"
"A woman across the street says she saw four girls playing here before the disappearances were reported, but we've determined she was mistaken—only three were taken."
"Did she give descriptions?" I asked.
"I have those in my room," Plovel said. "It sounds as if you've done this sort of thing before."
"I may have, once," I hedged. Plovel would probably know it anyway. He seemed quite shrewd. "Who sent you?" I asked.
"I work in a special unit for the Prime Minister. The same thing happened in two other commonwealths before hitting this one. The PM wants this investigated and the perpetrators stopped before they attack United Bardelus."
"I see," I nodded. "I'd like to get this finished as well—I don't like children disappearing."
"Perhaps we can combine our forces?" He smiled as he offered to work with me.
"Perhaps. I'll certainly share information if I get any. In the meantime, I think Neidles is becoming jealous. Probably not a good idea to allow him to see us talking."
"I wouldn't suggest it anyway. We can have general conversations in the restaurant. I can send anything else by comp-vid."
"Good." I passed my ID number off to him, and he gave his. It was a relief to have someone else working on this, as it seemed a bit overwhelming. I did plan to skip into the local constabulary, however, just to see if I could access the records they had.
"Why are you doing this in the dark?" Nefrigar appeared beside me, scaring me witless as I scanned record after record of child disappearances at the local constabulary, downloading them into my comp-vid.
"Nefrigar, what are you doing here?" I hissed. He smiled, his blue eyes almost glowing in the semidarkness.
"I came to see if you wanted anything."
"Honey blue, I wish I could do this faster," I muttered. "I don't want to come back here if I can help it, and those fool guards outside could come in to piss anytime."
"Did you just call me honey blue?" That amused him, I think.
"Honey blue, I called you honey blue. Now stop talking so I can think." I rubbed my forehead in frustration.
"Here." He tapped my comp-vid with a finger, downloading everything in a blink. I stared at him in shock. "You asked. I gave," he was smiling again.
"Thank you," I whispered in reverent awe. Larentii ability was worthy of anyone's amazement.
"I'll fold you to your room, you don't have to skip," he said, and took us both.