most eligible young ladies of Full Harbor were
there.”
He gave me an overly dramatic look of disbelief.
I confessed, “I was there waiting tables.”
“It must have been animal magnetism and the air of danger
and forbidden fruit surrounding an affair with a member of the
lower classes.” He said it deadpan. I could not decide
whether I should be irritated or not.
“Whatever it was, it was the greatest thing that had
happened in my young life. Hasn’t been much since to eclipse
it, either.”
“Like I said, a romantic.” And there he let it
lay.
“Lot of changes since I was here,” I said.
“The place has been completely done over.”
“You sure it’s the right one?”
“Yeah.” All the memories assured me that it was. We
had walked these grounds under the watchful chaperonage of a
patient and loving mother who had seen the whole romance as a phase
and would not have believed her eyes if she had walked in on us in
the cemetery.
Morley took my word for it.
We were still fifty feet from the door when a man in livery
stepped outside and came to meet us. “He don’t look
like he’s glad we dropped by.”
Morley grunted. “He don’t look like your average
houseboy, either.”
He didn’t. He looked like a Saucerhead Tharpe who was past
his prime but still plenty dangerous. The way he fisheyed us said
that, fancy clothes or not, we were not fooling him.
“Can I help you gents?”
I’d decided to go at it straight ahead, almost honest, and
hope for the best. “I don’t know. We’re down from
TunFaire looking for Klaus Kronk.”
That seemed to take him from the blind side. He said, “And
just when I thought I’d heard all the gags there
was.”
“We just a little bit ago found out he was
dead.”
“So what are you doing here instead of heading back where
you came from if the guy you want is croaked?”
“The only reason I wanted to talk to him was to find out
how I could get in touch with his oldest daughter. I know
she’s married, but I don’t know who to. I thought maybe
her mother or any others of the family who were still around might
be able to point me in the right direction. Any of them
here?”
He looked like it was getting too complicated for him.
“You must be talking about the people who used to live here.
They moved out a couple years ago.”
The changes all seemed recent enough to support his statement.
“You have any idea where she is?”
“Why the hell should I? I didn’t even know her name
till you told me.”
“Thank you for your time and courtesy. We’ll have to
trace her some other way.”
“What you want this machuska for, anyway?”
While I considered his question, Morley said, “Throw it in
the pond and see which way the frogs jump.”
“We represent the executors of an estate of which she is
the principal legatee.”
“I love it when you talk dirty lawyer,” Morley said.
He told our new buddy, “She inherited a bundle.” In a
ventriloquist’s whisper, he told me, “Hit him with the
number so we can see how big his eyes get.”
“It looks like around a hundred thousand marks, less
executors’ fees.”
His eyes did not get big. He didn’t even bat one. Instead
he muttered, “I thought I heard every gag there was,”
again.
So I repeated myself for him. “Thanks for your time and
courtesy.” I headed for the lane.
“Next stop?” Morley asked.
“We ask at the houses on either side. The people who lived
there knew the family. They might give us something.”
“If they’re not gone, too. What did you think of
that guy?”
“I’ll try not to form an opinion till I’ve
talked to a few more people.”
We had a less belligerent but no more informative interview at
the next house down the lane. The people there had only been in the
place a year and all they knew about the Kronks was that Klaus was
killed during the last Venageti invasion.
“You make anything of that?” I asked as we turned
the rig around and headed for
there.”
He gave me an overly dramatic look of disbelief.
I confessed, “I was there waiting tables.”
“It must have been animal magnetism and the air of danger
and forbidden fruit surrounding an affair with a member of the
lower classes.” He said it deadpan. I could not decide
whether I should be irritated or not.
“Whatever it was, it was the greatest thing that had
happened in my young life. Hasn’t been much since to eclipse
it, either.”
“Like I said, a romantic.” And there he let it
lay.
“Lot of changes since I was here,” I said.
“The place has been completely done over.”
“You sure it’s the right one?”
“Yeah.” All the memories assured me that it was. We
had walked these grounds under the watchful chaperonage of a
patient and loving mother who had seen the whole romance as a phase
and would not have believed her eyes if she had walked in on us in
the cemetery.
Morley took my word for it.
We were still fifty feet from the door when a man in livery
stepped outside and came to meet us. “He don’t look
like he’s glad we dropped by.”
Morley grunted. “He don’t look like your average
houseboy, either.”
He didn’t. He looked like a Saucerhead Tharpe who was past
his prime but still plenty dangerous. The way he fisheyed us said
that, fancy clothes or not, we were not fooling him.
“Can I help you gents?”
I’d decided to go at it straight ahead, almost honest, and
hope for the best. “I don’t know. We’re down from
TunFaire looking for Klaus Kronk.”
That seemed to take him from the blind side. He said, “And
just when I thought I’d heard all the gags there
was.”
“We just a little bit ago found out he was
dead.”
“So what are you doing here instead of heading back where
you came from if the guy you want is croaked?”
“The only reason I wanted to talk to him was to find out
how I could get in touch with his oldest daughter. I know
she’s married, but I don’t know who to. I thought maybe
her mother or any others of the family who were still around might
be able to point me in the right direction. Any of them
here?”
He looked like it was getting too complicated for him.
“You must be talking about the people who used to live here.
They moved out a couple years ago.”
The changes all seemed recent enough to support his statement.
“You have any idea where she is?”
“Why the hell should I? I didn’t even know her name
till you told me.”
“Thank you for your time and courtesy. We’ll have to
trace her some other way.”
“What you want this machuska for, anyway?”
While I considered his question, Morley said, “Throw it in
the pond and see which way the frogs jump.”
“We represent the executors of an estate of which she is
the principal legatee.”
“I love it when you talk dirty lawyer,” Morley said.
He told our new buddy, “She inherited a bundle.” In a
ventriloquist’s whisper, he told me, “Hit him with the
number so we can see how big his eyes get.”
“It looks like around a hundred thousand marks, less
executors’ fees.”
His eyes did not get big. He didn’t even bat one. Instead
he muttered, “I thought I heard every gag there was,”
again.
So I repeated myself for him. “Thanks for your time and
courtesy.” I headed for the lane.
“Next stop?” Morley asked.
“We ask at the houses on either side. The people who lived
there knew the family. They might give us something.”
“If they’re not gone, too. What did you think of
that guy?”
“I’ll try not to form an opinion till I’ve
talked to a few more people.”
We had a less belligerent but no more informative interview at
the next house down the lane. The people there had only been in the
place a year and all they knew about the Kronks was that Klaus was
killed during the last Venageti invasion.
“You make anything of that?” I asked as we turned
the rig around and headed for
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