Truthmaker by Tony Chapelle

Author:Tony Chapelle [Chapelle, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780143776727
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand
Published: 2013-04-08T00:00:00+00:00

A little later in the morning, Edwin Loader and Mutch returned looking for Minnie and Fliss. The anxiety reflected in both men’s faces suggested they had grave and disturbing news to impart. They immediately called a private meeting that included only the four of them.

It was Mutch who revealed the reason for their worry, and their haste.

‘One of our informants has been exposed,’ Mutch began. ‘One of our very best. We don’t know how it happened, but we do know she wouldn’t have exposed anyone else, no matter what methods the Morisettes used to try to force her to talk.’

Mutch looked distraught as he conveyed this news. He hesitated before he carried on: ‘They tried, they must have, before they had to accept that she would say nothing. Then they killed her.’

The baldness of his statement made Fliss shiver; but even as he said it, she realised the discovery of an informant in their ranks was likely to cause the Morisettes to take actions that would have far greater consequences than the informant’s death. Fliss put her head in her hands and fought against the threat of tears. But they were not tears of concern for the consequences, she realised; they were tears of frustration and sympathy for the loss of a brave person she did not even know.

Minnie, too, was clearly affected deeply by Mutch’s news, but in her it was manifested as intense anger and an eruption of words directed against the Morisettes — the most expressive and relieving of words learned from an intimate knowledge of the gutters.

Mutch let her run on until she eventually sputtered one last epithet. Then he held up a hand, and explained further: ‘The Morisettes will now be on their guard against other informants. We’ve already sent out word that everyone is to be triply careful. Of course this means that the information we get from now on will slow to a trickle, and this at a time when we need every scrap we can get.’

‘What we have to assume,’ Edwin Loader said, ‘is that the Morisettes now know that we have many of their secrets. The one who was killed is — was — lady’s maid to Porl Morisette’s favourite mistress. She was our very best source of information, because Morisette’s pillow-talk was loud and careless. She was able to overhear almost all of his boasts and plans.’

‘And what this means,’ Mutch began, ‘is—’

‘Is that they now know for certain that we are aware of their plot to destroy the wall,’ Fliss finished. ‘That we know of their dealings with Truthmaker.’

‘Yes,’ Mutch agreed. ‘And that in turn means that Porl Morisette will do everything in his power to ensure that you don’t get back to the other side to warn Lorna and persuade the villagers of Yellow-Eye’s treacherous intentions.’

‘But our problem is even greater than that,’ Edwin Loader interjected gravely. ‘Porl Morisette will now redouble his efforts to finish off the last of the Dight and Carp resistance, and have his

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