Free The Inquisitives [2] Night of Long Shadows by Paul Crilley Page A

door. Silence greeted him. A muggy draft blew through the broken window. Wren stepped inside and glanced around. He replaced his wand. Cutter was gone.
    “You can come in now, Torin. The danger has passed.”
    Wren heard the dwarf swearing under his breath and smiled again. He checked the drawers and the cupboard, but found nothing of interest. The man obviously lived light. There were signs of a scuffle, but no damage besides a hole in the wall. Who was he fighting? And where did they go?
    Wren leaned out the broken window, careful not to cut himself on the shards of glass. He turned and looked upward. The roof was close. Cutter could have made his escape that way. Well, he certainly wasn’t going to run around on rooftops in the middle of the night. Cutter would be long gone by now, anyway.
    Wren ducked back inside. Torin was seated on the bed, and the woman hovered uncertainly in the doorway, eager to be away.
    “You can go now, my dear,” said Wren.
    “Oh. Fine.” She turned to leave.
    “Just one thing before you leave.” The woman paused. “What’s in the envelope?”
    “Which envelope?”
    “The one you picked up from the floor when we arrived.” The woman shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Come, come, my dear. Let’s not play around. Rowen is in danger, and the more you delay the worse it could be for her.”
    She looked surprised. “You know Rowen?”
    “And Cutter, yes. We’re trying to help them. They’ve angered some very powerful people tonight, and we want to protect them. So why don’t you hand over the envelope, and we’ll see what the young lady has to say for herself.”
    The woman still looked doubtful. Wren sighed. Why was it never easy? “What’s your name?”
    “Renaia.”
    “Renaia. What a beautiful name.” He saw Torin roll his eyes. “Renaia, we know Rowen was involved in something up at the university. Now, whatever it was has put her life in danger. Torin and I—I’m Wren, by the way—we can help her. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for something bad happening to your friend, would you?”
    Renaia stared at Wren for a long time, biting her lower lip. Wren thought she wasn’t going to give it to them, that he’d have to take it by force, but she finally reached into her blouse and pulled out the envelope.
    Wren took it from her and ripped it open. Inside was a folded piece of cheap paper. Written on it in a shaky hand was a short message.
Got dreamlily. Hidden at the family crypt. Will meet later
.
    Wren handed the letter to Torin. So, the murder had been adrug deal gone bad. Had Rowen killed the professor? No, that didn’t feel right. What, then? Were she and Cutter both in the rooms? Rowen took the drugs, Cutter stayed behind to finish off the professor, deciding to get his revenge on the man who was sleeping with his woman? Possible. But then why the letter? Wouldn’t they have made arrangements beforehand? Maybe things didn’t go according to plan. Maybe—
    Too many maybes. He needed to speak to the girl.
    “Renaia, you’re not going to like this, but I need you to take me to see Rowen.”
    “I can’t! She made me promise.”
    “I know, but this is important. I’m sorry to have to say this, but if you don’t lead me to her now, I’ll take you to the Watch.”
    “What for? I haven’t done anything!”
    “You’re obstructing my investigation. Renaia, we don’t even
want
Rowen. We’re after the bigger fish. Rowen’s … Rowen’s just someone who got caught in the middle. I promise you, it’s for the best.”
    Renaia glared at Wren. “Don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
    “I’m afraid not.”

    They caught a skycoach to the Gates of Gold district in Lower Dura. The driver dropped them off outside the huge arch, refusing to enter the rundown neighborhood for fear of losing his coach. Wren asked him to wait for them, but the driver just laughed and the skycoach lifted into the air.
    Renaia led them through