Ghost Hunter

Chapter 16

"JUST SO I HAVE THIS CLEAR," COOPER SAID, SNAPPING the Spectrum's gearshifter, "you ended our engagement not because I fought a duel but because I fought it for the wrong reason?"

Elly was very still and very tense in the seat beside him.

"I don't think we should talk about this anymore," she said. "There's no point."

"You sure as hell didn't have any problem talking to Lydia London about it."

"I like her. There was a sort of instant bond between us. She was very understanding."

"You just met her tonight and already you've got a bond thing going? What about me? You've known me for months. We were engaged. What about our bond?"

"What bond?" she asked politely.

"I think I've got a right to be pissed off."

"I knew you wouldn't understand."

"You're damn right, I don't understand." He was not going to lose his temper, he told himself. Damned if he would let her make him lose it. "Your logic is about as watertight as a sieve."

"My logic doesn't have to hold water, it just has to make sense to me. And it does. By the way, in case you didn't eavesdrop long enough to hear every little detail, I'd like to point out that Lydia certainly got my logic."

"Sure she's on your side. She's a woman. You women all stick together when it comes to this kind of stuff."

"Please keep your voice down. You're upsetting Rose."

He glanced at Rose, who was sitting on the back of the seat, watching the night through the window. The jeweled bracelet glittered around her furry neck. She didn't look upset, he thought. Then again, she was a dust bunny. What the hell did he know about what was going through her brain? He couldn't even figure out what was going on in the brain of the human female sitting next to him.

He drove a couple of blocks without speaking, calling on years of training and habit to control the frustration and anger simmering deep inside him.

When that did not prove to be stunningly effective, he went with the positive thinking approach.

"Does it strike you that we sound like a typical married couple quarreling on the way home from a party?" he asked.

"No," she said. "It doesn't. For one thing, we're not married."

So much for positive thinking.

"No, but we're sleeping together."

She flashed him a look that could have scorched a ghost. "We are not sleeping together."

He should stop right now. This was a dangerous road. Even he could see that. But he couldn't seem to stop himself.

"What about last night?" he asked.

She gripped her purse very tightly. "Last night doesn't count. You were in the grip of a bad burn."

"You can use that line of reasoning to excuse my actions, but how do you explain the fact that you were just as hot as I was?"

"You hunters aren't the only ones who get hit with certain aftereffects from an extreme adrenaline rush," she said coolly. "The experience may be more intense for you after you've worked ghost light to the point of melting amber, but, trust me, the rest of us are susceptible, too. What with the encounter with that mugger in the alley and rescuing Bertha, I assure you, I was very highly rezzed myself last night. Let's just leave it at that, shall we?"

Not a chance, lady, he thought. But it was finally dawning on him that this was probably not a good time to pursue the subject.

"All right, if you don't want to talk about our past history," he said aloud, "we might as well talk business."

She gave him a wary, sidelong glance. "Guild business?"

"As far as you're concerned that's the only kind I care about, isn't it?"

She leaned her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes.

"I may not approve of some of the things the Guilds do, and I've got problems with a lot of the outdated traditions," she said, "but I would remind you that I am a direct descendent on my father's side of John Sander St. Clair, a founder and first chief of the Aurora Springs Guild. Furthermore, I count a number of heroes of the Era of Discord and several former Guild chiefs and Council members on both branches of my family tree. My father is one of the most distinguished men in the Guild, and my brothers are all top-ranked hunters."

"I'm aware of your family history," he said quietly.

"Of course you are." She opened her eyes and turned her head on the seat to look at him. "It's one of the reasons you wanted to marry me."

He concentrated on the narrow street. "What's your point?"

"Regardless of my personal issues with the archaic traditions of the Guilds, I do have a strong sense of loyalty to them and a respect for their role in history. I also have an appreciation of their ongoing importance as emergency militias. I am not stupid. I realize that catching the blue freak is extremely important. You'll have my full cooperation in your investigation."

He paused at a stoplight.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

"You're welcome."

"By the way, I would never, ever call you stupid. One of the things I admired and respected about you from the beginning was your intelligence. I think you know that."

"Yes, I do," she said. "I apologize for implying otherwise."

"Damn. If this conversation gets any chillier we're both going to freeze our frickin' asses off inside this car."

Her mouth twitched. "I agree." She straightened in the seat. "So, on to business. When do you want to go to The Road to the Ruins?"

"Can you really get us inside tonight?"

"I think so, yes." She looked at her watch. "It's almost midnight. The place will just be starting to come alive." She reached into her purse. "I'll phone Garrick and Phillip. I'm sure they'll still be awake. They're late-night types. We can stop by their place on the way to the club and pick up the pass."

"What about Rose?"

She reached up and patted the dust bunny. "I think she's had enough excitement for one evening. We'll drop her off at my apartment."

*****

GARRICK LATTIMER SLIPPED HIS WELL-MANICURED HANDS into the pockets of his intricately embroidered black silk dressing gown and rocked gently on his silk-slippered feet. He surveyed Cooper with grave interest.

"So you're a friend of Elly's, and you're visiting from out of town," he said.

Cooper walked across the white carpet to take in the view of the Dead City. The interrogation had begun, he thought.

From the moment Garrick and his companion, Phillip Manchester, had opened the door of the apartment a few minutes ago, he had known he was under close scrutiny by the pair.

This was going to be almost as bad as the day he invited Elly's father into his office and informed him that he would like to discuss the possibility of a Covenant Marriage with his daughter, he thought.

Garrick and Phillip were both urbane, middle-aged, and physically fit in a way that suggested regular spa and gym maintenance work. It had been clear from the start that they were very fond of Elly.

Their elegant white-on-white apartment was punctuated with valuable-looking Colonial-era antiques, the occasional elegantly lit alien artifact, and a judicious amount of pre-Era of Discord art. One large bookcase was filled with rare books.

The expensive, tasteful surroundings and the pair's polished veneer hadn't fooled Cooper for a second. He knew a couple of tough specter-cats when he saw them. Garrick and Phillip might be living a comfortable, sophisticated lifestyle these days, but he was willing to bet that somewhere in their pasts they had both spent time doing things that were a lot more dangerous and demanding than operating a fashionable antique shop.

Immediately following the introductions and a few pleasantries, Phillip had whisked Elly into the study to collect the magic nightclub pass, leaving Garrick alone with Cooper. Not an accident, Cooper knew. More like a setup.

"I'm from Aurora Springs," Cooper said, choosing his words carefully. Elly's description of him as a friend had rankled.

Garrick nodded, as though some inner suspicions had been confirmed. "You're the ex-fiancé, then, I take it."

Cooper swung around, concealing his surprise with an act of will.

"She told you about me?" he asked.

"Elly mentioned that she'd been engaged for a time back in Aurora Springs." Garrick sank gracefully into a wing chair, twitching the fabric of the silk pajama trousers beneath the dressing gown. "She did not tell us much more than that. Never even gave us a name. Phillip and I were made to understand that the experience had been painful and that she wished to put it behind her and start anew."

"Painful."

"Yes. And now, after all these months, you show up out of nowhere." Garrick smiled coolly. "Forgive me, but we can't help but be curious and somewhat concerned. Elly has no family here in Cadence City, so those of us who consider ourselves her friends feel rather protective of her."

"I appreciate that," Cooper said. "Probably more than you know. I've been worried about her."

"She's doing quite nicely with her little business. Got a growing clientele. She has made a number of friends, but I think she gets a little lonely at times."

Cooper looked at him from across the room. "Meaning?"

"Meaning that, after all these months away from her hometown and her family, she is probably somewhat vulnerable emotionally." Garrick put his fingertips together and stopped smiling. "Phillip and I would be most unhappy if it transpired that you were here to take advantage of her or hurt her a second time."

Cooper whistled softly. "You guys play rez-ball with solid quartz, don't you?"

Garrick inclined his head. "We do play hardball, yes. I would advise you not to be deceived by appearances. Phillip and I have gone upmarket in recent years, but I assure you, we have not forgotten the lessons we learned when we were in a, shall we say, less savory end of the business."

Cooper nodded slightly. "I believe you."

"Good." Garrick looked satisfied. "I'm glad that we understand each other, Cooper. Enjoy yourself at The Road tonight."