Peacemaker (The Flash Gold Chronicles, #3) by Lindsay Buroker Page B

“Sparwood’s my best worker and fights better
than ten men combined, and he doesn’t ask for a cut of the loot. He
just wants the leeway to pursue his…hobby.”
    “ That’s loathsome,” Kali
said, “and so are you if you help.”
    “ What’s this?” The man
searching her had found all of her tools and weapons, and moved
down to her ankles. Kali winced when he patted at the lump there.
Having these slimy pirates running around with such power was the
last thing she wanted.
    The man pulled out her vial and held it
aloft. The flakes inside the clear container appeared no different
from regular gold, but they glowed softly, sending occasional
streaks of yellow lightning coursing through the glass tube.
    “ That,” a new voice said
from a hatchway leading to an upper deck, “is what I was hoping
she’d have, and it’s why I’ve offered you more money than the Scar
of Skagway for her capture.”
    The owner of the voice climbed down a
ladder, boots ringing on the metal rungs. He clasped his hands
behind his back and strolled toward the furnaces to join the
captain and others in regarding Kali.
    A pale-skinned man, he wore an all white,
expensive suit, tailored to fit his body. His boots were like
nothing Kali had ever seen. Snake skin? Or maybe alligator or
crocodile? She’d read about such creatures. The man bore no
weapons, but all the pirates, the captain included, offered subdued
greetings and touched their knuckles to their hats or foreheads in
polite salutes.
    “ Mister Conrad,” the
captain said, and Kali’s head jerked up. Cudgel Conrad? Cedar’s nemesis? “We
weren’t expecting you until morning,” the captain went on, “so I
was fixing to get some work out of her. But if you
want—”
    “ No, no,” Conrad said
politely, as if he were passing on an after-dinner dessert offered
by a waiter in some classy restaurant. “Work her all you wish.
There’ll be plenty of time for questioning later.” He had
greenish-blue eyes, the only spot of color on him, and they
hardened then, reminding Kali of marbles as they bore into her.
“First, there remains a spot of business to which I must attend.
It’s time to make sure that dear detective gets his
man.”
    Kali curled her lip.
“You’d best be more worried about that man getting you.”
    Conrad yawned.
    “ Mister Conrad, sir,” the
captain said. “One of my men was wondering about her use
for…entertainments.”
    A woman’s scream echoed from a higher deck.
Kali tried to keep a defiant sneer on her face, but the timing of
that scream, and the amused snort of one of the pirates, left
little doubt in her mind as to what the captain meant.
    “ What are your orders as
to her person?” the captain finished.
    “ Ensure she’s able to
answer questions in the morning,” Conrad said.
    “ That’s it?”
    “ Indeed. In fact,
encourage your man to make the experience memorable. Women rarely
resist my interrogation techniques, but it can make things easier
if they’ve been broken already.”
    Kali glowered. She wished she could do more.
This fellow deserved a good kick in the bear cubs. No, he deserved
a lot more than that for tormenting Cedar and killing countless
others.
    Conrad took a step toward the hatch, but
paused, raising a finger. “Actually, I do have one requirement.
Don’t let your man damage her face. Should the Pinkerton detective
fail, I may need to dangle her as bait to lure in a particularly
troublesome fish.” His marble cold eyes found Kali’s again.
“Despite this fish’s efforts to minimize contact with her of late,
I do believe they’re close.”
    “ Yes, sir.” The captain
knuckled his forehead again.
    When Conrad left, the captain stood taller,
losing his diffident manner. He pointed to the fellow smeared with
coal dust. “Give Chum your shovel, and show her the ropes. Denny,
stow her gear. Malcom—” he pointed to a bearded man with a shotgun,
“—you’re on guard. Stay alert, and keep her working. I don’t