Benny was waitingwhen we got back at the office.Surprised to see him, I motioned for him to follow me back to the breakroom.
“What’s up?”
“Hey, Legs.A little monkey wrench in the works,” he said.“I’ve been nosing around the Soldiers of Misfortune encampment and I met someone there who knew Greg.The guy’s a complete loon, he’s always strung out, but he insists that he saw Greg walking into the shadows with…” He paused, looking uncomfortable.
“Out with it—just tell me what he saw.”I never automatically discounted accounts if the person was high or drunk or a little off beam.Of course, I examined the information thoroughly before accepting it as accurate.Sometimes, things were exactly as they appeared, even if the witness was janked up on some crocoe or albotain.
“He said that two aliens forced Greg to go with them into an alley.And he said that, a moment later, a bright light flashed so bright it blinded him.After he opened his eyes, the three of them were gone.”Benny gave me a half-shrug.“I thought you should know.”
“Thanks, Benny.I’m glad you’re still out there, poking around.We can use all the help we can get,” I said.Sometimes too many cops spoiled the evidence, but right now we were running on empty and at least it was a lead.
“Do you think they are?”
“Are what?”I asked.
“Aliens.The guys who captured Greg?”
Benny was playing with a couple of the pencils from the pencil box on the table.
I reached out and took them from him, tossing them back in their box again.Then, I leaned back and thought about what had happened.“Where did you hear this?”
“In a bar—there’s a dive right off the freeway, before you come to the encampment.I’ve been asking around ever since Greg vanished.I never had any luck there before, and I was just about to give up on the joint when I ran into the guy today.”He shrugged.
“Who was the guy?You said he was a crackhead?”
“No, but he’s strung out on just about everything else.But Legs, there’s something about the way he described what he saw.He sounded almost lucid.”Benny leaned forward.“Now, I dunno if I believe the part about aliens, but I believe he sawsomething.”
I thought it over for a few minutes.“Did you get a name?”
Benny pulled out a piece of paper and tossed it on the table.“His name’s Winston.I don’t know his last name, and I don’t even thinkheknows his last name anymore.But he’s been hanging out at the Crock & Drop—that’s the name of the bar—and he said he’d be there later tonight.Will you go with me?”
“TheCrock & Drop?”I asked.
“I know—it’s a stupid name.The place is falling apart.But they serve cheap booze and it’s a warm place to go when the weather gets rough.”Benny gave me a puppy-dog look.“Please?”
I had planned on showing up at Edward Trask’s house tonight, but Benny looked so hopeful that I couldn’t say no.
“All right.”I glanced at the clock.It was five-fifteen.“Let me close up shop and we’ll head out there.You can ride with me.”
Relieved, the goblin dropped back in his seat.“Thanks,” he said.“I knew you’d come through for me.”
I stood.“I’m going to wrap up a few things.You stay here.Feel free to grab a bite out of the fridge, if you’re hungry.”Benny always looked hungry—he was always in debt and he never had money for a good meal.
“Sure thing,” he said.“Thanks, Kyann.”
When he used my name, I knew he truly meant it.I headed back to my office to turn off my computer and leave notes with Sophia for the day.But Benny’s story stuck in my mind.What if we were dealing with some sort of alien?The story “How To Serve Man” stuck in my head, and then all I could picture was a line of people, filing into spaceships, on their way to the slaughterhouse.
CHAPTERTWELVE
The Crock& Drop looked about as classy as it sounded.Along the way, Benny told me that a weasel shifter owned it.The guy was named Nathan, but he went by Gort.I couldn’t quite get the connection between the name and the nickname, but Benny assured me there was one.Anyway, the dive was a real hole-in-the-road, and it would never be anything else.But it filled a need, apparently.
As I parked in the lot—as close to the brightest street light that I could—there were only a handful of other cars lined up outside.I took a moment as we stepped out of my car to pause and feel out the energy.It felt like alleyways and dark nights, switchblades and gravelly lots with weeds growing out of the cracks in the concrete.I dropped my hand down to the blade strapped to my thigh, wanting to be prepared.
“You expect trouble?”Benny asked, his voice low.
“I don’t expect it, but I want to be prepared for it, just in case.”
Even though it didn’t take us long to walk to the entrance, I kept my eyes open, watching to either side as we hurried along.Benny didn’t say anything, but he seemed to be just as aware of the potential for danger as I was.
