Free Peacemaker by Lindsay Buroker Page B

enthusiasm, but at least he didn’t laugh. He took her arm and
moved her out of range of the tied prisoner’s hearing. “I suppose
it would be safer for you to be in the air where enemies seeking
your father’s secrets couldn’t sneak up on you.”
    Kali barely heard him. In her mind, she was
already picturing the ship and what might be done to it. It was a
larger vessel than she’d thought to make, but she would have plenty
of room for a crew, and maybe they could even pay for the expenses
of maintaining an airship by taking on passengers. She’d end up
being a captain with people under her. Huh. She’d have to think
more on that later, but now she imagined crawling around inside,
inspecting and measuring every inch, sketching up schematics,
planning her modifications. She’d clamber up in there right now, if
it weren’t surrounded by pirates.
    “ All right,” Cedar said.
“I’ll help you, but let’s get the murderer first.”
    His words catapulted Kali back to the
moment. “First? But if he’s in Dawson, and we’re right here, surely
we could…”
    “ It’s only a few miles
back to town,” Cedar said dryly, “and that won’t take long on your
bicycle.”
    “ True, but we don’t have
any idea where in Dawson to look for this man. He could be hiding
out anywhere. It’s a big city these days. And if those men get the
ship fixed before we get back, we might lose the
opportunity.”
    “ Kali, I know the airship
is important to you, but if another woman gets murdered tonight,
will you be able to live with yourself, knowing you chose personal
gain over helping out? Those are your people getting killed, whether
you want anything to do with them or not.”
    “ What can I do? You’re the
tracker. I don’t know how to hunt men down in the city.” Kali
stepped back and stuffed her hands into her pockets. He wasn’t
wrong, but she didn’t care for having someone lecture her. And,
damn it, she didn’t want to do the right thing, not if it meant
delaying her dream. She could be a do-gooder after she had her ship
in the air. “Look, why don’t you go and hunt this Sparwood fellow,
and I’ll stay out here and work out a plan to get the—”
    “ No.” Cedar gripped her
arm so tightly it was almost painful. “They’re a danger, and that
Pinkerton detective is a danger to you, if he finds you too. And I
don’t want to imagine what would happen if Cudgel knew about you,
and found you, and—” He dropped his chin, staring at his hand where
he gripped her. He loosened his fingers, but did not let
go.
    Kali’s anger and irritation faded. “Is that
why you’ve been so scarce lately? Cudgel’s about, and you don’t
want someone letting him know we’re…something?”
    “ I can’t let that happen,”
Cedar whispered. “Not again.”
    “ Again?”
    Cedar dropped his hand and walked a few
steps away, turning his back to her. Was he talking about his
brother? Or maybe the murdered girl from San Francisco? Had she
been someone he cared about? But she’d been married, the article
said. It had also said he’d been having an affair with her. She
grimaced, not wanting to think of Cedar doing something like that.
Somehow cutting off heads seemed less despicable. More unsettling
perhaps, but given that they were the heads of murdering
criminals….
    Kali shook away the thoughts. He wasn’t
saying anything else, and they shouldn’t stand up here, this close
to that pirate camp forever. One last idea came to her, one more
way she might be able to sway him.
    “ That man barely gave us a
description and didn’t give us any hint of where to look,” Kali
said. “Maybe there are pirates in the ship who know more about this
Sparwood. If we figure out a way to subdue them and question each
of them, maybe we can get more of a lead.”
    Cedar had not turned back to face her, and
he remained silent for a long moment. The sun had set, finally
bringing evening, and mosquitoes buzzed about, nipping at