Nine

Geed came down the little platform that he used when sitting behind the counter. He wore a smart black suit with a crimson bowtie. His glass-bottle glasses had a fine golden chain attached to them. He had a pencil-thin moustache, and his hair was combed in a perfectly symmetrical part.

“Vince, you know I don’t like giving out information freely.” The little gnome’s previous jovial face was now serious.

“Geed, this is official business. And you’re a theatre, no real confidentiality issue there.” I returned his stern gaze, meeting his bluff. His face turned back to a grin, and he eyed the room.

“Give me a sec.” Geed flitted into a little side room, the door was plain black. He said a few words in a language I didn’t understand and ran back out. A few moments later, another gnome was behind him.

Her outfit was the same as Geed’s. Except her skin was a deep, ebony black and her hair was fiery red. Her eyes were flecked with a sparkling silver, her hair was in a bouffant style. She gave me and Geed a silent nod.

Geed took me out through the back entrance of the theatre again. Geed gave the ogre a nod, and the ogre walked away from the door. He now stood guard at the entrance of the alleyway.

“Geed, this is serious stuff here. Brigg is a suspect in the murder of Heston Barclay. A wealthy shipping magnate in Edge City. His death will be like a grip on our economy back home, it won’t be pretty.” I had my notebook, and I lit a cigar.

“I don’t know what I can tell you that’ll be all that helpful.” Geed produced his own cigar and I offered to light it with a fresh match. Luckily, we could barely feel the wind or the rain in this here alley.

“Let’s start with when he was last here.” Geed took another look around. The ogre gave him a thumbs up and a mostly toothless smile.

“He was last here Sunday, just gone by.”

So that put him here the night after he had his little run in with Heston at Grob’s pub. That doesn’t give me too much to go on, not yet.

“What kind of patron was he? Kipp mentioned he gave her a few gifts. I’d imagine he was here quite a bit then, hey?”

“Oh yeah. He was here fortnightly, if not weekly. Even though he and Mazoga are quite a couple, I think he used to fancy Kipp before they got together. And whenever he came here, Mazoga was never with him. I don’t know if there’s any significance to that, just an observation.”

“Did he and Kipp, ever spend much time together?” It was a real effort for me to speak that sentence. Old feelings that I thought were dead and buried started to claw their way back.

“Are you worried that maybe he was trying to push in when you and Kipp were together? No, nothing like that. Kipp is not that kind of person.”

“Geed, that wasn’t my question.” The frustration in my voice was obvious now. I needed to calm down. I’d learned that intensity could make people shut down and stop talking. I’d learned that from trial and error with my own daughter.

“No. She never seemed that interested in him in any way. Any time spent together was at the doorway of her room. Always with me or Helna standing by.” Geed rubbed his hands together, as though he were washing them with soap.

“Helna?” I asked.

“The one that replaced me at the front desk.”

“Why would one of you be near?”

“Kipp always felt a little uneasy with Brigg. She couldn’t quite place it. Said she got a bad feeling off him,” Geed said. I felt my body tense as he said that.

Kipp had a tremendous knack for reading a vibe from someone. Almost like it was some kinda psychic ability. Once she had a feeling from someone, it was hard for her to think differently. She’d said I reminded her of a beautiful flower that was constantly being strangled with thorns.

“What kind of gifts would he buy her?”

“Generally just random tidbits. Porcelain figures, magical knickknacks. Nonsense kind of stuff. Sometimes a bottle of wine. I really think if Mazoga got a whiff of this, she would flatten him in a heartbeat.”

“This Sunday gone by. What was he like? Any different than usual?” This was the part I needed. I’d gotten Geed talking real good, it was where I wanted him.

“Ya know what, he didn’t seem any different.” Geed continued to rub his hands and looked around the alley.

“Geed. Come on, we’re good friends here. What’s troubling you?” I laid the nicest tone through my voice.

“He. He said that he was going to make his move. When he was talking to Kipp. She and I were both worried about what that meant. Kipp tensed up, as did I. We have no idea what he meant. But now you say he’s a murder suspect. And you know he hates humans. He hates Edge City and this whole predicament with us being here.”

“That’s all he said. No gifts for Kipp or anything?”

“No. You know, unlike most of us, who have adjusted, he remembers our way of life before we came here. He hates the way things are now.”

“Do you know where he’s based? Anything else you can tell me about him?”

“Alright, you got me. I was curious about joining his cause once. You know, fighting for our rights. Being properly recognised, stuff like that. But Brigg, he’s on a whole other level. He’s crazy. I would never hurt humans, some of my best friends are human.” Geed’s voice was a little jittery. His body language followed suit.

“You’re looking at one of them right now,” I chuckled. Geed seemed to relax a little after that.

“Yeah, you’re right. Um, so his base of operations. Down in the mining pit there in the middle of Fantasy Park, that’s where he is, somewhere in there.” I gave Geed a pat on the shoulder and led him back into the theatre.

“Thanks Geed, not a problem. Take the rest of the night off, go relax.”

I had to figure where I was gonna go next. Try and get some info on Heston or Jackson. Go and seek Brigg’s hideout, or even chase up on Vulug. I looked at the time, it was already three thirty in the morning. I had to crash.

I made my way back up to Kipp’s room and laid on the couch. It was a dreamless night. I vaguely remember stirring to Kipp when she put a thin blanket on me and I’m certain she gave a light kiss on the forehead.