That was not in their files, Trent said. The indignation on his face would have made her laugh if she hadnt hated him too much to feel anything but anger.
Vaughn looked at Chess. Really looked at her, so her face warmed. You found this?
She nodded. And waited for someone else to speak, which no one did. So she said, I wasJillian let me look into Mark, so I could get some experience investigating. So I wanted to check on the Mission itself, and, well, there was the list.
Pure luck, Trent said. What the hell had happened to him in his life to make him such an asshole? Or had he just been born that way?
Stupid question, really. All people were born that way. Trent just hadnt had it socialized out of him.
Jillian glared at him. It wasnt luck. Well, that was nice of her. Cesaria raised questions about the Warings and the Mission from the beginning, and about Mark Pollerts involvement in it.
Did you find anything else on him? Vaughn asked her. Asked her, Chess. Damn, that was pretty cool.
Orphan. His parents died in a fire when he was ten. Lived at the Mission from 1993 onwardhe was thirteen when he moved in. Then he lived with the Warings for a couple of years after Haunted Week until he started working at the slaughterhouse.
The slaughterhouse wasnt too far away from where they stood, if the smell in the air was any indication. Chess knew it was, actually; shed been past the slaughterhouse a few times, and if she had the cross streets right, they were maybe eight or nine blocks downwind.
At least it wasnt summer yet. Just thinking of the stench of the slaughterhouse combined with the otherssmoke, dirt, sweat, rotting garbage, human wasteturning the Downside air into a foul chowder, unpleasant and somehow thick against her skin, made her stomach turn. That was a smell shed never forget. Just like so many other things. But she forced those thoughts from her mind and focused on what Vaughn said next.
How many others were there?
Six. Mark, two other couples, and then one other man.
You have their names?
Chess held up her notebook, pleased that shed thought to scribble the information down before she and Jillian left the Church.
Vaughn took it from her with a quick nod of thanks. So we need to get in touch with these people right away.
Trent glanced at the list. I dont suppose you checked to see how many of those who worked at the Mission are now deceased. Or how the ghosts escaped from the City.
They were Summoned, Jillian said. But as far as we could tell they had nothing to do with the Mission.
Any other connection to any of the victims?
Not that I saw, but Id only just opened the first file when Cesaria showed me what shed found.
How many others who worked at the Mission are dead now?
We didnt look. I wanted to get this to you guys as soon as possible. But Cesaria wrote down the names. If you have your computer, you can access the files from here.
Vaughn considered that for a minute while Chess became aware that they werent alone. Well, shed known that already, but as they stood there she felt eyes on her; on them. More and more every second. The street seemed quieter than it had. The Squad presence had been noticed; hell, theyd been spotted the second the car came down the street. But now they were standing around outside, and that made everyone nervous. Nervous people were dangerous.
The others noticed it, too. Vaughn handed her back her notebook, glancing around as he did so with his eyes squinted against the afternoon sun. Maybe we should go inside.
Good idea. Trent turned to Chess. Maybe you can stumble blindly into some information in there, too.
Chapter Nine
Whatever Tom Imry had done after the Mission closed, it hadnt paid very well. Yeah, she knew that already; people who made money didnt live in Downside. ButWait a minute.
What? Jillian looked up from Toms bookshelves, where shed been scanning the titles while Trent and Vaughn accessed their laptop, mumbling to each other andin Trents caseshooting Chess the occasional baleful glare.
What? Jillian looked up from Toms bookshelves, where shed been scanning the titles while Trent and Vaughn accessed their laptop, mumbling to each other andin Trents caseshooting Chess the occasional baleful glare.
Mark, Chess said. He didnt mention it.
What do you mean? Vaughn asked. He sat perched on the edge of the cushion on the book-propped couch, in front of a window covered with a tattered, bloodstained blanket. Chess didnt like to look at the bloodstains; some of them, she knew, would be from Toms untimely demise, but some They were faded and waterymore like rust stainsand they reminded her of fireworks or flowers, with dark splatty heads and long trailing stems. She recognized those bloodblossoms. Someone had been cleaning needles in that room, filling them with water and emptying them again so theyd be ready when the time came for another fix. Shed seen it done. Shed been made to do it.
Damn, not even any of the sacks of shit whod put a roof over her head had cleaned their spikes against the walls. That was hopelessness. That was truly not giving a shit anymore, about anything.
But then, that was where the needle led. Always had, always would.
Mark didnt say anything about the others. Chess pulled her attention off the blanket and back onto Jillian and Vaughn. Four people he knowsor at least used to knowincluding the Warings, have been killed in the last couple of weeks, and he didnt say anything?
He probably didnt know, Trent said.
Their deaths werent in the papers? They had no contact with each other, really?
Their deaths werent news. Trent glared at her. Were not telling the public, remember? So maybe they had obituaries, maybe they didnt, but even if they did, the details of their actual deaths wouldnt be made public. And who the hell knows if they stayed in touch with each other? We didnt find any evidence of a connection between them, remember?
Fuck it. She cocked her right eyebrow, let her gaze rest on him just a beat longer than necessary. Yeah. I know you didnt.
Vaughn stood up, fast, like the couch had an ejector seat, and reached for her. She started to flinch away but he had her; his grip on her arm was surprisingly gentle as he led her toward the open doorway off the kitchen area. Since you did find the connection, why dont you come with me and see if we can find something else relating to it? Maybe theres something in the bedroom.
There were a lot of things in the bedroom. Especially junk. Long twisted ropes of dirty sheets across the floor, wires and bits of paper and needle caps and spent matches, clothing so full of holes it looked like only the copious stains held the fabric together. Evidence of a life nobody cared about, not even the person living it. Evidence of lost hope.
I know Trent can be a pain in the ass, Vaughn said quietly, surprising her. I know he can be a jerk. Hes just trying to toughen you uphe was trained by one of the meanest sons of bitches Ive ever known, and he thinks thats the way its supposed to go.
Chess didnt respond. What was she supposed to say to that, anywayThats okay? Because it wasnt, not really, and Trent wasnt some kind of loving but tough grandpa, he was a dickhead who hated her for no good reason.
Vaughn seemed to want her to say something, though. She decided on Sure. That seemed noncommittal enough.
And apparently it was, because Vaughns face cleared. Okay. Good. Thanks.
Another few seconds passed while they both stood there like people on a blind date, not knowing what to say or do or if theyd even find something to say or do. Stupid, really. Chess clasped her hands together in a brisk lets-get-to-it gesture, the sort of thing she associated with Church Goodys or matrons or whatever. Not the sort of thing she would ever do unless she felt totally uncomfortable, which she did. So, you wanted to search around in here?
He blinked. Yeah. Lets do that.
He took one side of the room and Chess took the other, though she thought it was probably going to be a waste of time and she suspected Vaughn did as well.
They were wrong. The first thing she found, after searching only a couple of semi-empty drawers, was a copy of the picture. The one in the Warings spare room, the one with the graininess of a pre-digital photograph. If Tom Imry had had a copy of it, was he in it? Who else was in it? Were all of the people in the picture dead? If not, were the still-living ones in danger?
She asked Vaughn.
I dont know, he said, taking the picture from her to give it a closer look. Well have to look at the files of the people still alive, see if we can match the faces. I dont know how easy itll bemaybe Gloria Waring will have some idea who they are.
Duh. Shed actually forgotten about Gloria for a minute there; shed gotten so excited about investigating on her own shed forgotten that part of investigating meant questioning witnesses. Maybe Gloria has a lot more information than she thinks she does, huh?
He nodded. You and Jillian should talk to her soon. If you get to her place in an hour or two, you can probably catch her right around dinnertime, so shell be sure to be home.
Wow, that was kind of a scummy thing to do. But then, Chess figured scummy was sometimes the only way to get things done, at least for the Squad or anyone else doing any investigating. Or, well, anyone who needed anything else done, really; everything was scummy to somebody, right?
Whatever. The point was, she needed to go interrupt Gloria Warings dinner, and she needed Jillian to go with her, so it was time to leave the Trent-free peace of the bedroom and go do it.
Or so Chess thought. Jillian had another task for them first; well, not for them, for herself. Apparently she wanted to check in at the Church, so they headed back over there. Chess was starting to feel like a ping-pong ball from all the back-and-forth driving theyd done that day, not to mention just plain tired and wondering if the day was ever going to end.
Besides, Jillian said as she opened one of the wide double doors at the Churchs entryway, this way well be sure to catch Gloria at dinner or right after, right? Its only four-thirty now, and I didnt think keeping you hanging around there with Trent was such a good idea. Although, you know, Vaughn