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We emerged from the exit in the inevitable industrial alleyway without incident about half an hour later. It was dark and silent, but I knew Gumshoe could not be far away. We Goblins have very good noses and I had already caught the scent of him nearby. I took Doonira by the arm and gently guided her along the alley to the cover of the omnipresent dumpster, then took a cautious peek from the mouth of the alley. Gumshoe had parked his Oldsmobile on the deserted side-street not fifteen feet from the alley. The human PI was on the sidewalk, leaning on the fender and smoking a cigarette with apparent casualness, although in reality I could tell he was keeping a close lookout. He caught sight of me almost immediately, stubbed out his cigarette and opened the car door. I tugged Doonira and the two of us nipped along the street and though the door into the back seat in the few seconds just before Gumshoe turned and lowered his bulk into the front seat. Unless you were watching very closely, all you would have seen is a bored middle-aged man finish his smoke and settle himself for a long drive. "So, you two do this kind of sneaking around a lot, do you?" Doonira said snidely in accented but perfectly understandable English. In the front, Gumshoe emitted a series of muffled grunts which I knew to be his laughter. I grinned widely. "We sure do," I replied, barely suppressing a laugh myself, "Welcome to the partnership of Gamshack and Gask, Private Investigations." Gumshoe turned and looked over his shoulder at us. "Howdy," he said in his best cowboy accent, then added, "Where to, Gask?" "Get onto highway 50 and head west." Gumshoe nodded then turned the key in the ignition. The engine started with a roar which made Doonira jump, then he slipped the vast old monster into gear and drew away from the sidewalk smoothly. "May I introduce Doctor Doonira Quaig," I said over the rumble of the engine and the swish of the tyres, "A university researcher and old acquaintance of mine, with a special interest in the Old Ones." "A pleasure to meet you, Ma'am," he replied, touching his hat politely. "Hi," she said, smiling sweetly. Gumshoe really is quite sharp. Very few humans would have been able to determine Doonira's gender from the clues available. I thought it best to keep quiet about our previous relationship, just to be on the safe side. "This journey will take several hours," I said to Doonira, "I suggest you get some rest." "I'll be fine, thank you," she said primly. She did look entirely alert, even excited by the prospect of an adventure. I guess I must have felt like that myself once upon a time. "Suit yourself." In truth, I was feeling more than a little tired. I had had almost no sleep the previous night, followed by a long day of rather frustrating study, then a large meal accompanied by half a bottle of wine. Perhaps a little nap would do me no harm. The next thing I knew Doonira was shaking me. "Wake up, sleepy-head," she whispered in my ear. I shook my head to clear it. The car was stationary and there seemed to be a blanket over my head. "Keep still," Doonira hissed softly, "We're at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Mister Gamshack is refuelling the car. He wants to know what direction to head in next." "I need a map." "Mister Gamshack said he would pick one up when he paid for the gas." A couple of minutes later, Gumshoe got back into the car, slammed the door and casually tossed a new map book onto the blanket on the back seat. I'm sure he didn't intend to hit me on the head with it. He started the car and pulled out of the gas station. A few moments later, Doonira pulled the blanket off both of us. "Thanks," I said, "Okay, where are we, exactly?" Gumshoe gave the name of the little settlement that included the gas station. I unfolded the map and found the town quickly. I spent a much more difficult twenty minutes, helped by Doonira, trying to transpose the features named by the Old Ones - in the Goblin tongue, of course - onto the place-names in English on the map. Finally I got it all sorted out. "Right," I announced, "There's a right in about fifteen miles we need to take, and then there's an observation point about twenty-five miles after that. We should stop there." The only response was a surge of acceleration as Gumshoe pressed his foot more firmly on the gas pedal. I stretched up and looked out of the side window. It was a clear cold night, not yet freezing at these altitudes, but it would be higher up. A full moon lit up the mountains and canyons and glaciers brightly; even Gumshoe would be able to find his way by moonlight tonight.
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Part 15