The Unnatural Inquirer (n-8) by Simon R Green

Author:Simon R Green [Green, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sf_heroic

FIVE - The Devil’s in the Details

Back out on the Nightside streets again, we still carried the smell of the jungle with us. A harsh and murky mixture of sweat, rotting vegetation, and T. rex musk. It could have been my imagination, but people on the street seemed to be giving me even more room than usual. I felt like buying half a dozen air fresheners and hanging them round my neck. I did my best to rise above the situation, while debating what to do next with the delightful Bettie Divine.

“I still don’t get it,” she said, a bit pettishly. She was holding my arm again. “Why isn’t the Collector out chasing round the Nightside, trying to grab the Afterlife Recording for himself? He said he wanted it.”

“He also said he was busy with something,” I said. “Odd, that; he didn’t say what with. He’s never been bashful with me before; usually can’t wait to boast about what he’s up to…Still, he’s the Collector. Which means he’s always busy with something.”

“Unless…he’s scared of someone else who’s after the Recording,” said Bettie. “You, perhaps?”

“I’d like to think so, but no. It would have to be someone really bad, and really powerful. The Collector is a Major Player in his own right, and he doesn’t scare easily.”

“Walker?”

“You have a point there,” I admitted. I was getting used to walking arm in arm with Bettie. It felt good, natural. “Could Walker have been lying to us, to hide the fact he already had the DVD? No, I don’t think so. He would have told me if he’d had it, if only to put me in my place. And his reasons for wanting me to find it before anyone else sounded pretty good to me.”

“You mean the angels?” said Bettie.

“Please,” I said. “Let us not use the a-word in public.”

“All right, if it isn’t Walker, then who? Razor Eddie?”

I shook my head. “He might be the Punk God of the Straight Razor, but Eddie’s never been very interested in religion. In fact, he’s pretty much the only god all the other Beings on the Street of the Gods are afraid of.”

“How about the Lord of Thorns, then?”

“You have been doing your homework, haven’t you? No, he’s still recovering from the Lilith War and the trauma of finding out he’s not who he thought he was.”

“You know everyone, don’t you?” Bettie said admiringly. “Who did he think he was?”

“Overseer of the Nightside.”

Bettie thought about that. “If the Lord of Thorns isn’t watching over us, who is?”

“Good question,” I said. “Lot of people are still arguing about that.”

She gave me a sly, sideways look. “Lot of people say you could have been King of the Nightside, if you’d wanted.”

I smiled. “You shouldn’t listen to gossip.”

“Don’t be silly, darling! That’s my job!”

“Damn,” I said, as a thought occurred to me.

“You’re frowning, John, and I do wish you wouldn’t. It usually means you’ve suddenly thought of something unpleasant, spooky, and probably downright dangerous.”

“Right on all three counts,” I said.

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