“How can you tell?”
He looked at me for the first time and grinned a nasty grin. “They’re generic, like wind-up toys. See you around.”
He tossed a coin onto the table, stood, buckled on his sword belt, picked up a dark, feathered hat and headed for the door.
“Take care.” I nodded.
“’Night.” As he passed out of the place the two guys began whispering again, this time glancing after him rather than at me. Some decision reached, they rose and departed quickly. For a moment I was tempted to follow, but something restrained me. A little later, I heard the sounds of a scuffle from up the street. Not too long after that, a figure appeared in the doorway, hovered a moment, then fell forward. It was one of the two drinkers. His throat had been cut.
Andy shook his head and dispatched his waiter to inform the local constabulary. Then he took hold of the body by the heels and dragged it outside, so as not to impede the flow of customers.
Later, when I was ordering another fish, I asked Andy about the occurrence. He smiled grimly.
“It is not good to mess with an emissary of the Crown,” he said. “They tend to pick them tough.”
“That guy who was sitting next to me works for Random?”
He studied my face, then nodded. “Old John worked for Oberon, too. Whenever he passes through he eats here.”
“I wonder what sort of mission he was on?”
He shrugged. “Who knows? But he paid me in Kashfan currency, and I know he ain’t from Kashfa.”
As I worked on my second platter I pondered that one. Whatever it was that Random had wanted from Kashfa was probably on its way to the castle right now, unless of course it was unavailable. It would almost have to concern Luke and Jasra. I wondered what it was, and of what benefit it might be.
I sat there for a long while after that, thinking, and the place was a lot less noisy than it had been for most of an hour, even when the musicians began a fresh set. Had it been John the guys had been watching all along, with both of us misinterpreting their gazes as directed toward me? Or had they simply decided to go after the first person who left alone? I realized from these reflections that I was beginning to think like an Amberite again-seeking plots everywhere-and I hadn’t been back all that long.
Something in the atmosphere, I guessed. Probably it was a good thing that my mind was moving along these lines once more, since I was involved in so much already and it seemed an investment in self-preservation.
I finished my glass of wine and left the bottle on the table with a few drinks still in it. It occurred to me that I shouldn’t be fogging my senses any further, all things considered. I rose and buckled on my sword belt.
As I passed the bar Andy nodded. “If you run into anyone from the palace,” he said softly, “you might mention that I didn’t know that was going to happen.”
“You knew them?”
“Yeah. Sailors. Their ship came in a couple of days ago. They’ve been in trouble here before. Blow their pay fast, then look for some more the quick way.”
“Do you think they might be professionals at removing people?”
“Because of John’s being what he is, you mean? No. They got caught once too often, mainly for being stupid. Sooner or later they were bound to run into someone who knew what he was doing and end up this way. I don’t know anyone who’d hire them for something serious.”
“Oh, he got the other one too?”
“Yep. Up the street a way. So you might mention that they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
I stared at him and he winked.
“I saw you down here with Gerard, several years ago. I make it a point never to forget a face that might be worth remembering.”
I nodded. “Thanks. You serve a good meal.”
Outside, it was cooler than it had been earlier. The moon hung higher and the sea was noisier. The street was deserted in my immediate vicinity. Loud music poured from one of the places back toward Harbor Street, with accompanying sounds of laughter. I glanced within as I passed it and saw where a tired-looking woman on a small stage appeared to be giving herself a gynecological examination. From somewhere nearby I heard a sound of breaking glass. A drunk reeled toward me from between two buildings, one hand outstretched. I walked on. The wind sighed amid masts in the harbor, and I found myself wishing Luke were at my side like in the old days, before things got complicated-someone of my own age and cast of mind to talk to. All my relatives here had too many centuries of cynicism or wisdom for us to see things and feel them in much the same way.