A Light in the Darkness Book: The Moonlight Murderer

Chapter Twenty One: The Old Pinemist House

Jan awoke the morning after the palace job feeling especially groggy. He still was unsure what to make of the dream he'd had and whether it was real. If it was, what did it mean? He shook his head and pocketed the gemstone he still had in his clutch. Better nobody knew about it anyway. Damien would think he'd been holding out.

A dark hooded button-down jacket hung nearby. He flung it on. The day was likely to be a cold one and he tended to get the shivers even on the best of times. Stepping out into Liar's den, he nodded at some of his compatriots and headed for the bar. Smelling the sweet aroma of breakfast coming from the kitchen, he placed a coin on the table and Gratos tossed him a roll.

He searched the room and Talia sitting in a booth near the back corner, looking rather ill-at-ease. He quickly made his way over so as not to keep her waiting. She was going through some papers from the previous night's escapade. Upon closer inspection, she appeared somewhat disheveled, but Jan was wise enough to not comment. Instead he slipped into a seat and polished off his roll, awaiting her to take note of his presence.

After a moment, she ceased scanning the documents and addressed him.

"What do you know about a man named William Ingeri?"

Jan thought about it for a moment. The name was familiar, he was sure he'd heard it before around here before.

"You mean Bill? If that's who you're talking about, then not much. Not an extremely popular guy, but I can't say I've ever met him," he replied.

"Yes," Talia said slowly. "But we may need his help in what I'm having you work on. Which is why I arranged for you to pay him a visit."

"Wait! You want me to go back out there?" He poked a frantic finger toward the door. "The guards were already looking for me before. If I start trapesing around town on whatever errand you need, then I'm sure to get caught."

She raised a hand and he flinched. "Relax," Talia said. "I arranged for transportation. Bill lives up in the Heights and it'd take too long to walk there anyway. I'm already going to visit Nick which'll be on the way to where you're going."

"So, now you want to go all the way back up by the palace, just after getting away from there? Great! No problem. Next I suppose you'll want me to sneak it the Sanctuary and steal some dusty old books?" he quipped.

One glare was enough to make him clamp up.

"Look," Talia said, running a finger through her hair. "I know you've had it rough, but this should be easy. All you've gotta do is talk with an old man and then tell me about it. Even someone of your considerable talent shouldn't be able to screw this up."

"You and I have a very different definition of easy," he snorted. "We also have a different definition of what being old means. I mean to you he might be old but to me, it's kind of relative."

"He's older than you," Talia said flatly.

Jan let off a whistle. "Wow! He must really be ancient then!"

She nodded and looked around uneasily.

"So, what's the deal? Who is this guy exactly and how do you think he can help us?"

She lowered her voice and leaned in slightly. "You know the Northern Trade Good Company?" Jan nodded. "He's the owner. Used to do work for my family, run goods and such. Has a lot of connections in the underworld. He's been out of the game for a while, but his network might be able to make sense of these murders."

"So, if this guy's so important, why haven't I heard more about him?"

"There were some disagreements. He's not really welcome around here, which is why I want you to keep this little trip quiet," she whispered.