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Suddenly ignored by the Captain and all of her crew, I stood and watched the teaming hordes of uniformed policemen in action. Putting that much manpower on the ground anywhere in the Lower Realms was bound to shake down something illegal, and here and there I could make out Goblins being led away meekly in handcuffs or manhandled to the ground. They were the unlucky ones, the ones too stupid to run away, or stupid enough to swing a punch; all-in-all, those too stupid to allow the police to turn a blind eye just this once. There was no sign of Garrick. Eventually, I got bored and backed away from the edge of the crowded observation platform. I made my way slowly down the steps, wondering whether we were wasting our time. Away from the column, and probably out of sight of the watchers above, I stepped into a public telephone booth. It was time to check in again with my answering service. I pulled coins from my pocket and spun the dial. There was only one message, a rather alarming one from Gumshoe: "Call me as soon as you can, at the old house" and a telephone number I already knew. I swore under my breath, rummaged furiously for more coins - dropping several in my haste - and put through a call to Gumshoe's place. The phone rang and rang, and I was on the verge of hanging up when it was answered. "Gask!" Gumshoe said breathlessly in response to my mumbled greeting, "Thank goodness you've called." "What's going on?" I asked urgently, "And why are you out of breath?" "I just ran back to the house. I've been searching the woods. We had visitors. One of them got the drop on me. Knocked me out cold." "Are you okay?" I asked anxiously. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a sore head. But Rosie's gone, so is Nether. I've been looking for them. No signs of them anywhere. No marks on the ground. It's almost as if they've disappeared off the face of the planet." "Rigg," I growled, adding placatingly, "And his goons." "Could be," Gumshoe agreed grudgingly, "But they must have had some help from your world. No human could get away from here without leaving some kind of trail I could spot." He might have been right. Most humans are clumsy movers. But some are not. On a previous encounter, Rigg had managed to sneak up on me and knock me out. I hadn’t told Gumshoe that. "What do you want me to do?" Gumshoe asked plaintively. "Stay put," I said firmly, "Have another look around. Keep sharp. They might come back. And let me know any developments." Gumshoe grunted his agreement and signed off. I hung up the telephone receiver slowly, deep in thought, wondering what this new development might mean. So I was shocked almost out of my skin by a bang on the glass of the kiosk. It was Trinity, flanked by the same two bully-boys, or perhaps others too interchangeable to be able to tell the difference. "Don't start, brother dearest," she said as I swung out of the kiosk, holding up a finger to her lips, then whispering, "I know where Garrick is."
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Part 89