He nodded without speaking.
“Except we don’t have the morph to give him.”
“No,” he agreed softly. “We don’t.”
-=O=-***-=O=-
Findo Gask wrapped his fingers carefully about the Book of Names and stood staring off into empty space. Something was wrong. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something wasn’t right. It wasn’t in the situation, which was progressing just as he had planned, or in Nest Freemark’s voice, which was suitably submissive and worried. No, it was something else, something he had overlooked.
“Gramps!” Penny snapped at him impatiently. “What did she say?”
It wouldn’t come to him, so he put the matter aside for later consideration. “She’ll do what we want.”
Penny giggled and twirled about in mock celebration. “Little Miss Track Shoes has run out of tricks! Too bad, too bad! No gold medal for her! Better luck next time!”
She danced around the room, frizzy red hair flying, gleefully singing tra-la-la-la. She danced at Twitch, who just looked at her dumbly, then at the ur’droch where it crouched hidden in a corner. Gask waited her out patiently.
“Make the children some dinner,” he said when she had calmed down sufficiently to pay attention. “Don’t get cute and don’t frighten them.”
“What’s the difference?” she asked, pouting. “You’ll kill them anyway. Why can’t I have some fun with them first?”
“Because I say so, Penny,” he answered, giving her a steady look. “Is that reason enough for you?”
The redhead’s mouth twisted in a hard sneer. “Sure enough, Gramps. Anything your little old heart desires.”
She disappeared into the kitchen, humming tunelessly. She was becoming increasingly unstable, less easily controlled. If she went off, as she was certain to do sooner or later, he would have to kill her. Not that he was reluctant to do so, but it was inconvenient. He still might need her help. His adversaries were resourceful, and their desperation would render them less predictable. Penny Dreadful was a valuable counter to such behavior. He might have to agree to give her the children as a reward. She would like that. If she had his promise that she could have them when this was over, she was more likely to stay in line. It was a cheap enough price.
The children were down in the basement in a big, L-shaped recreation room containing an old Lionel train setup, a jukebox and bar, a game table and dartboard, and some couches and chairs situated around a television. There was only one way in or out, down a stairway leading from the back of the house, so it was easy to keep an eye on them.
Nevertheless, he sent the ur’droch down to stand watch without their seeing it. Twitch and Penny were too scary and more likely to do something of which he didn’t approve. The ur’droch would just stay hidden.
When the phone rang, he was surprised. No one should be calling. He picked up the receiver guardedly. “Yes?”
“Mr. Robinson?”
It was that sheriff’s deputy, what’s-his-name Spence. Findo Gask suppressed a grimace. “What can I do for you?”
“We need to talk. The sooner, the better.”
“Go ahead, Deputy Sheriff. Talk.”
“No, not on the phone. In person. I just need to clarify a few things. About what’s going on with John Ross and this drug business. I’m worried about those kids. I want to make sure they’re safe. Where can we meet?”
Findo Gask shook his head. Gask could tell by the way Spence spoke. He had been checking, and he had found out that no one knew anything about an FBI assignment in Hopewell or an agent named Robinson. Spence was scared. On Robinson’s instructions, he had opened a bedroom window in the Freemark home so that the children could be removed for safekeeping while a sting operation was implemented to collar the dangerous Mr. Ross. Spence was afraid he had facilitated the kidnapping of two children, aiding and abetting the commission of a felony, and he could see his entire career slipping away.
What to do?
“I’m going to give you an address, Deputy Sheriff.” Gask looked at Twitch, slumped on the sofa in front of the television, huge and vacant-eyed. “I’ve been thinking that the children might be better off with the local authorities. If you could pick them up, I would be grateful. We can talk then.”