Grave Peril (The Dresden Files #3) - Jim Butcher Page 0,32
a seat in the chair, folded my hands on the table in front of me, and waited.
The little man came back in, wiping at his face with a bandana handkerchief, sweating and panting.
"Shut the door," I said. "We need to talk, Morty."
He squealed and whirled around.
"Y-you," he stammered. "Dresden. What are you doing here?"
I stared at him. "Come in, Morty."
He came closer, but left the door open. In spite of his pudginess, he moved with the nervous energy of a spooked cat. His white business shirt showed stains beneath his arms reaching halfway to his belt. "Look, Dresden. I told you guys beforeI get the rules, right? I haven been doing anything you guys talked about."
Aha. The White Council had sent someone to see him. Morty was a professional con. I hadn't planned on getting any honest answers out of him without a lot of effort. Maybe I could play this angle and save myself a lot of work.
"Let me tell you something, Morty. When I come into a place and don't say a thing except, 'Let's talk,' and the first thing I hear is 'I didn't do it,' it makes me think that the person I'm talking to must have done something. You know what I'm saying?"
His florid face lost several shades of red. "No way, man. Look, I've got nothing to do with what's been going on. Not my fault, none of my business, man."
"With what's been going on," I said. I looked down at my folded hands for a moment, and then back up at him. "What's the suitcase for, Morty? You do something that means you need to leave town for a while?"
He swallowed, thick neck working. "Look, Dresden. Mister Dresden. My sister got sick, see. I'm just going to help her out."
"Sure you are," I said. "That's what you're doing. Going out of town to help your sick sister."
"I swear to God," Morty said, lifting a hand, his face earnest.
I pointed at the chair across from me. "Sit down, Morty."
"I'd like to, but I got a cab coming." He turned toward the door.
" Ventas servitas ," I hissed, nice and dramatic, and threw some will at the door. Sudden wind slammed it shut right in front of his eyes. He squeaked, and backed up several paces, staring at the door, then whirling to face me.
I used the remnants of the same spell to push out a chair opposite me. "Sit down, Morty. I've got a few questions. Now, if you cut the crap, you'll make your cab. And, if not hellip;" I left the words hanging. One thing about intimidation is that people can always think up something worse that you could do to them than you can, if you leave their imagination some room to play.
He stared at me, and swallowed again, his jowls jiggling. Then he moved to the chair as though he expected chains to fly out of it and tie him down the moment he sat. He balanced his weight on the very edge of the chair, licked his lips, and watched me, probably trying to figure out the best lies for the questions he expected.
"You know," I said. "I've read your books, Morty. Ghosts of Chicago. The Spook Factor . Two or three others. You did good work, there."
His expression changed, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Thank you."
"I mean, twenty years ago, you were a pretty damn good investigator. Sensitivity to spiritual energies and apparitionsghosts. What we call an ectomancer in the business."
"Yeah," he said. His eyes softened a little, if not his voice. He avoided looking directly in my face. Most people do. "That was a long time ago."
I kept my voice in the same tone, the same expression. "And now what? You run seances for people. How many times do you actually get to contact a spirit? One time in ten? One in twenty? Must be a real letdown from the actual stuff. Playacting, I mean."
He was good at covering his expressions, I'll give him that. But I'm used to watching people. I saw anger in the way he held his neck and shoulders. "I provide a legitimate service to people in need."
"No. You play on their grief to take them for all you can. You don't believe that you're doing right, Morty, deep down. You can justify it any way you want, but you don't like what you're doing. If you did, your powers wouldn't have faded like they have."