“Finish it,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“That’s not a complete answer. Did you actually give her cause to believe that and to be afraid of you?”
“Well, I guess I did. Now my question: How could you possibly know anything about Julia in the first place?”
“I was there,” she answered. “I knew her.”
“Go ahead.”
“That’s it. Now it’s my turn.”
“That’s hardly complete.”
“But it’s all you’re getting on that one. Take it or leave it.”
“According to our agreement I can call it quits over that.”
“True. Will you?”
“What do you want to know next?”
“Did Julia develop the abilities she sought?”
“I told you that we’d stopped seeing each other before she got involved in that sort of thing. So I have no way of knowing.”
“You located the portal in her apartment from which the beast that slew her had presumably emerged. Two questions now-not for you to answer for me, just for you to think over: Why would anyone want her dead in the first place? And does it not seem a very peculiar way to have gone about it? I can think of a lot simpler ways of disposing of a person.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “A weapon is a hell of a lot easier to manage than magic any day. As for why, I can only speculate. I had assumed it was a trap for me, and that she had been sacrificed as part of the package-my annual April thirtieth present. Do you know about them, too?”
“Let’s save that business for later. You are obviously aware that sorcerers have styles, the same as painters, writers, musicians. When you succeeded in locating that gateway in Julia’s apartment, was there anything about it which we might refer to as the author’s signature?”
“Nothing special that I can recall. Of course, I was in a hung to force it. I wasn’t there to admire the aesthetics of the thing. But no, I can’t associate it with anyone with whose work I am familiar. What are you getting at?”
“I just wondered whether it were possible that she might have developed some abilities of her own along these lines, and in the course of things opened that gateway herself and suffered those consequences.”
“Preposterous!”
“All right. I am just trying to turn up some reasons. I take it then that you never saw any indication that she might possess latent abilities for sorcery?”
“No, I can’t recall any instances.”
I finished my coffee, poured a refill.
“If you don’t think Luke is after me now, why not?” I asked her then.
“He set up some apparent accidents for you, years ago.”
“Yes. He admitted that recently. He also told me that he quit doing it after the first few times.”
“That is correct.”
“You know, it’s maddening-not knowing what you know and what you do not.”
“That is why we’re talking, isn’t it? It was your idea to go about it this way.”
“It was not! You suggested this trade-off!”
“This morning, yes. But the idea was originally yours, some time ago. I am thinking of a certain telephone conversation, at Mr. Roth’s place-“
“You? That disguised voice on the phone? How could that be?”
“Would you rather hear about that or about Luke?”
“That! No, Luke! Both, damn it!”
“So it would seem there is a certain wisdom in keeping to the format we’ve agreed upon. There is much to be said for orderliness.”
“Okay, you’ve made another point. Go on about Luke.”
“It seemed to me, as an observer, that he quit that business as soon as he got to know you better.”
“You mean back about the time we became friendly-that wasn’t just an act?”
“I couldn’t tell for sure then- and he certainly countenanced the years of attacks on you-but I believe that he actually sabotaged some of them.”
“Who was behind them after he quit?”
“A red-haired lady with whom he seemed to be associated.”
“Jasra?”
“Yes, that was her name-and I still don’t know as much about her as I’d like to. Do you have anything there?”
“I think I’ll save that for a big one,” I said.