peeped through the peephole. I threw the
door open to let the radiance of that blond beauty shine on me.
“Didn’t expect to see you again, Doc.” I examined
the street behind the lovely, in case she headed up a platoon of
Bledsoe guys who couldn’t take a joke. I didn’t see
anybody, but that meant squat. Macunado Street was so crowded you
could have hidden the entire hospital staff out there.
“You invited me.” She looked like she had come
directly from work, like maybe she’d pulled a double shift
cleaning up. “You were panting over the idea.” She had
a sarcastic tone to counterweight a blistering smile. “Your
big friend dunk you in icewater?”
“I just didn’t expect to see you again. Look,
I’m sorry about that mess. I just get wild when somebody
pulls a dirty trick like dumping me in the cackle
factory.”
Her lips pruned up. “Can’t you use a less
contemptuous term?”
“Sorry. I’ll try.” I encouraged myself by
recalling a thing or three people have said about my profession,
most of it unflattering.
She relaxed. “The dirty trick is why I’m here. What
is that smell?”
I whirled. Tendrils of smoke slithered from the kitchen. I
shrieked and bounded down the hall. Our lady of the marvelous legs
followed at a dignified pace.
I scooped blackened griddle cakes into the sink. They sent up
smoke signals denouncing my skills as a chef. Hell, I was so bad I
might be able to get on in Morley’s kitchen. They had an
opening. “I can use these to patch the roof,” I
grumbled.
“Too brittle.”
“Everybody’s a comedian. You had
breakfast?”
“No. But . . . ”
“Grab an apron, kid. Give me a hand. A little food will do
us both good. What you want to know, anyway?”
She grabbed an apron. Amazing gal. “I didn’t like
the way you were talking last night. I decided to check it out.
There was no record of your commitment, though when I joined the
orderlies carrying you they assured me that you had been brought in
by the Guard and the records were in order.”
I made rude noises, started flapping a new generation of
flapjacks.
“That was easy to check. A ranking Guard officer is an old
friend of my family. Colonel Westman Block.”
I squeaked three or four tunes before I managed to ask,
“
Colonel
Block? They made a
colonel
out of
him?”
“Wes speaks highly of you, too, Mr. Garrett.”
“I’ll bet.”
“He told me you were
not
sent to the Bledsoe by
his people—though he wished he’d thought of
it.”
“That’s Block. Playful as a hogshead of
cobras.”
“He did speak well of you professionally. But he warned me
to remain wary in other respects.” She could get a laugh into
her voice, too.
“You going to want bacon?”
“You just starting it now? You’re supposed to start
the bacon first. It takes longer.”
“I cook one thing at a time. That way I only burn one
thing at a time.”
“A daring approach.”
“Holds down expenses.”
We cooked together and ate together and I spent a lot of time
appreciating the scenery. The lady didn’t seem to mind.
We were cleaning up when she said, “I won’t tolerate
this sort of thing. I won’t tolerate the corruption that
allows it to happen.”
I stepped back, checked her out with different eyes. “You
just start working there? You’d have to look hard to find a
place more corrupt than the Bledsoe.”
“Yes. I’m new. And I’m finding out how rotten
the place is. Every day it’s something. This is the worst
yet. You might’ve spent your whole life wrongfully
imprisoned.”
“Yeah. And I wasn’t the only one in there. You an
idealist and reformer?” TunFaire is infested with those
lately.
“You don’t need to make me sound like a
halfwit.”
“Sorry. Most wannabe Utopians are, reality-wise. They come
from well-to-do families and haven’t the vaguest notion what
life is like for people who
have
to depend on a Bledsoe.
They can’t imagine what life is like for the kind of people
who work
door open to let the radiance of that blond beauty shine on me.
“Didn’t expect to see you again, Doc.” I examined
the street behind the lovely, in case she headed up a platoon of
Bledsoe guys who couldn’t take a joke. I didn’t see
anybody, but that meant squat. Macunado Street was so crowded you
could have hidden the entire hospital staff out there.
“You invited me.” She looked like she had come
directly from work, like maybe she’d pulled a double shift
cleaning up. “You were panting over the idea.” She had
a sarcastic tone to counterweight a blistering smile. “Your
big friend dunk you in icewater?”
“I just didn’t expect to see you again. Look,
I’m sorry about that mess. I just get wild when somebody
pulls a dirty trick like dumping me in the cackle
factory.”
Her lips pruned up. “Can’t you use a less
contemptuous term?”
“Sorry. I’ll try.” I encouraged myself by
recalling a thing or three people have said about my profession,
most of it unflattering.
She relaxed. “The dirty trick is why I’m here. What
is that smell?”
I whirled. Tendrils of smoke slithered from the kitchen. I
shrieked and bounded down the hall. Our lady of the marvelous legs
followed at a dignified pace.
I scooped blackened griddle cakes into the sink. They sent up
smoke signals denouncing my skills as a chef. Hell, I was so bad I
might be able to get on in Morley’s kitchen. They had an
opening. “I can use these to patch the roof,” I
grumbled.
“Too brittle.”
“Everybody’s a comedian. You had
breakfast?”
“No. But . . . ”
“Grab an apron, kid. Give me a hand. A little food will do
us both good. What you want to know, anyway?”
She grabbed an apron. Amazing gal. “I didn’t like
the way you were talking last night. I decided to check it out.
There was no record of your commitment, though when I joined the
orderlies carrying you they assured me that you had been brought in
by the Guard and the records were in order.”
I made rude noises, started flapping a new generation of
flapjacks.
“That was easy to check. A ranking Guard officer is an old
friend of my family. Colonel Westman Block.”
I squeaked three or four tunes before I managed to ask,
“
Colonel
Block? They made a
colonel
out of
him?”
“Wes speaks highly of you, too, Mr. Garrett.”
“I’ll bet.”
“He told me you were
not
sent to the Bledsoe by
his people—though he wished he’d thought of
it.”
“That’s Block. Playful as a hogshead of
cobras.”
“He did speak well of you professionally. But he warned me
to remain wary in other respects.” She could get a laugh into
her voice, too.
“You going to want bacon?”
“You just starting it now? You’re supposed to start
the bacon first. It takes longer.”
“I cook one thing at a time. That way I only burn one
thing at a time.”
“A daring approach.”
“Holds down expenses.”
We cooked together and ate together and I spent a lot of time
appreciating the scenery. The lady didn’t seem to mind.
We were cleaning up when she said, “I won’t tolerate
this sort of thing. I won’t tolerate the corruption that
allows it to happen.”
I stepped back, checked her out with different eyes. “You
just start working there? You’d have to look hard to find a
place more corrupt than the Bledsoe.”
“Yes. I’m new. And I’m finding out how rotten
the place is. Every day it’s something. This is the worst
yet. You might’ve spent your whole life wrongfully
imprisoned.”
“Yeah. And I wasn’t the only one in there. You an
idealist and reformer?” TunFaire is infested with those
lately.
“You don’t need to make me sound like a
halfwit.”
“Sorry. Most wannabe Utopians are, reality-wise. They come
from well-to-do families and haven’t the vaguest notion what
life is like for people who
have
to depend on a Bledsoe.
They can’t imagine what life is like for the kind of people
who work
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