Half an hour ago, Aiden had come through with a name and an address for a very specialized tuner named Stewart Pitney. Pitney was no longer among the living, having died in a suspicious fire that destroyed his shop.
Gabriel had called Lucy to tell her he was going to be late because he wanted to take a look around the burned-out shop. She had insisted on joining him. Jared had delivered her to the front door of Guild headquarters and briefed Gabriel on the Roxby encounter. Gabriel had immediately gotten a ping that told him something was off.
He dropped the phone into his jacket and started walking again. He resumed the conversation he and Lucy were having.
“I don’t like the way the Roxbys are suddenly pressuring you to join their organization,” he said.
“Relax.” Lucy adjusted her pack. “I’m sure it’s just a business maneuver. Can’t blame them. They know I’ve got a Guild contract. They want in on the action.”
“Got a feeling there’s more to it than that.”
“Jared and I discussed possibilities, but we couldn’t come up with any reasonable explanation.”
“What if they’ve made a discovery in the Underworld but can’t get to it because of bad weather?”
Lucy shook her head. “It’s hard to believe they’re up against something they can’t take care of on their own. They’re both very, very good, Gabriel. What’s more, they can combine their talents and work as a team.”
“Maybe they don’t want to take the risk of tackling whatever it is that they are after,” he said.
“I just can’t see them hiring a bunch of thugs to kidnap me.”
“That failed, so they’re going with a different tactic.”
“Offering me a partnership in their business is more their style,” Lucy admitted. “But still …”
“It strikes me as an act of desperation,” Gabriel said. “They must be under pressure for some reason.”
“Okay, I agree they seemed more than a little anxious today.”
“Do you trust the Roxbys?” he asked.
“Depends on the situation. They wouldn’t hesitate to stab me in the back if they thought it would make it possible for them to get an exclusive contract with the Guild. Actually, that’s probably exactly what they’re trying to do with this move. Even if I took the offer of a partnership, I’m sure they would come up with a plan to ease me out of the way once they had what they wanted. But that would just be business as usual for them. There’s no doubt but that they are very ambitious.”
“Ambition is a very powerful motivator,” Gabriel mused.
Lucy raised her brows. “You don’t say.”
Gabriel opted to ignore that little dig. He had bigger problems.
He stopped at the end of the block and looked at the sign over the boarded-up shop. It had been badly charred by the fire that had destroyed the interior, but it was possible to make out the lettering—PITNEY’S AMBER TUNING. RARE AMBERS OUR SPECIALTY. Beneath it was another sign—CONDEMNED BY ORDER OF FIRE MARSHAL.
“According to Aiden, this is the place,” he said.
Lucy studied the smoke-blackened brick walls. “When did the fire occur?”
“About four months ago. There was an investigation, but they never found the arsonist.”
“So we’re breaking in?”
“I like to think of it as gaining access by unconventional means. I didn’t have time to get a warrant.”
“I don’t think unconventional means will be much of a problem in this neighborhood,” Lucy said. “I don’t see any witnesses.”
“All the same, I’d rather not attract attention here on the street. Let’s try the alley. There’s always a back door.”
They walked to the end of the block, turned the corner, and entered the shadowed alley behind the row of small shops and businesses. There were a couple of rusted-out trash bins, broken wine and beer bottles, and discarded odds and ends.
Otis surveyed the scene and chortled.
“He likes alleys,” Lucy explained.
“Always something interesting in an alley,” Gabriel said.
“Please don’t tell me you like to hang out in alleys.”
“Only on the odd weekend when there’s nothing else to do.”
Lucy shot him a glare. He paid no attention because he was rezzed. His intuition was shooting small, hot sparks through all of his senses. He was on the right trail.
The rear door of Pitney’s Amber Tuning was boarded up. So were the small windows.