Book 03 - Cold Copper Tears Read Online Free

point. “You’re out of
uniform.”
    “I’m not making an official
representation.”
    “Under the table? Or personal?”
    “Some of both. With permission.”
    Permission? Him? I waited.
    “My reputation is greatly exaggerated, Mr. Garrett.
I’ve encouraged that for its psychological impact.”
    I grunted and waited. He didn’t look old enough to have
done all the evil laid at his doorstep.
    He said, “Are you aware of the tribulations besetting our
Orthodox cousins?”
    “I haven’t been so entertained since my mother took
me to the circus.”
    “You’ve put a finger on the crux, Mr. Garrett. The
mess has become a popular entertainment. There are no heretics more
deserving of Hano’s justice than the Orthodox. But no one
views these events as a scourging. And that fills me with
dread.”
    “Uhm?”
    “Already the rabble have begun to step forward with
revelations just to keep the pot boiling. I fear the day when the
Orthodox vein plays out and they seek new lodes.”
    Ah. “You think the church might be next?” That
wouldn’t break my heart.
    “Possibly. Despite my vigilance, some will stumble into
sin. But no, my concern isn’t for the Church, it’s for
Faith itself. Every revelation slashes Belief with a brutal razor.
Already some who never questioned have begun to wonder if all
religion isn’t just a shell game perpetrated by societies of
con men who milk the gullible.”
    He looked me in the eye and smiled, then passed the beer. That
could have been a quote. And he knew it. He had done his
homework.
    “You have my attention.” I suddenly knew how Pokey
felt when he took a job just to satisfy his own curiosity.
    He smiled again. “I’m convinced there’s more
here than a scandal gone brushfire. This is being orchestrated.
There’s a malign force bent on savaging Faith. I think a rock
needs to be lifted and that social scorpion revealed.”
    “Interesting and interestinger. I’m surprised by
your secular way of stating it.”
    He smiled again. The Grand Inquisitor was a happy runt.
“The diabolical provenance of the attack is beyond question.
What interests me are the identities, resources, goals, and whatnot
of the Adversary’s mundane adjuncts. All that can be
defined in secular terms, like a street robbery.”
    And a robbery could, no doubt, be defined in sectarian cant.
    The runt seemed awfully reasonable for a supposed raving
fanatic. I guess the first talent a priest develops is acting
ability. “So you want to hire me to root out the jokers
putting the wood to the Orthodox priesthoods.”
    “Not exactly. Though I have hopes that their unmasking
will be a by-product.”
    “You just zigged when I zagged.”
    “Subtlety and credibility, Mr. Garrett. If I hire you to
find conspirators and you unearth them, even I couldn’t be
completely sure you hadn’t cooked the evidence. On the other
hand, if I hire a known skeptic to search for Warden Agire and the
Terrell Relics and in the course of the hunt he kicks some villains
out of the weeds . . . ”
    I took a long drink of his beer. “I admire your
thinking.”
    “You’ll take it on, then?”
    “No. I can’t see getting in a mess just for money.
But you know how to pique a guy’s curiosity. And you know how
to scheme a scheme.”
    “I’m prepared to pay well. With an outstanding bonus
for recovery of the Relics.”
    “I’ll bet.”
    The Great Schism between Orthodoxy and its main offshoot
happened a thousand years ago. The Ecumenical Council of Pyme tried
to patch things up. The marriage didn’t last. The Orthodox
snatched the Relics in the settlement. The Church has been trying
to snatch them back ever since.
    “I won’t press you, Mr. Garrett. You were the best
man for the job, but for that reason the least likely to take it. I
have other options. Thank you for your time. Have a nice evening.
Should you have a change of heart, contact me at the
Chattaree.” He and his bucket marched off into the dusk.
    I was