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‘I never tell my secrets.’
‘And why’s that?’
‘Because they’re secret.’ He laughed, a quick, high-pitched sound, a fish gulping air.
‘Or is it perhaps because you’re ashamed of them? You have a previous conviction for exposing
yourself, don’t you? I can understand why you’d like to keep something like that under your hat, or
should I say under your Assassin’s cape? Probably wise.’
‘I never did it.’
‘That’s not what two little girls who were trying to play a nice game of tennis said. How old do
you think they were? I’ll tell you. They were eleven years old, and their nice game was interrupted by
you sticking your wee tadger through the netting around the court, was it not?’
‘It’s not how it was. I promise.’
Fraser leaned forward, fixing her gaze on Fount. ‘Did you see Benedict Finch in the woods on
Sunday afternoon?’
Fount shuffled his backside across the bed until he was sitting with his back against the wall. He
had a sharp Adam’s apple and angry ingrown hairs along his jawline. He said nothing, but there was
defiance in his expression.
‘So did you?’ asked Fraser. ‘See Benedict Finch in the woods on Sunday afternoon?’ She hadn’t
looked away from him.
Fount crossed his arms. ‘I only answer to the authorities of my kingdom,’ he said.
Fraser snorted. ‘You’ve got three authorities in the room with you now, how much more authority
do you want?’
‘I only answer to the authorities of my kingdom.’
‘How about: how did you get home from the woods on Sunday? Nobody saw you after three
o’clock.’
‘You don’t understand. I inhabit the Kingdom of Isthcar. I recognise the Isthcarian authorities only.
Assassins answer only to the Knights of Isthcar, the Holders of the Hammer of Hisuth.’
‘What? What nonsense is that? You’ll answer to us. Let me tell you something, you’d better grow
up, young man, and you’d better do it quickly. We’re investigating the disappearance of a child here.
There are two facts we can’t ignore: you were there, and you’ve got previous.’
She stared at him until his eyes dropped. He picked at a frayed hole on the knee of his jeans.
‘Can you tell us anything about what you saw?’ I asked, inserting my words carefully into the
stalemate that was brewing, although I felt like wringing his scrawny neck. ‘It would be very helpful.’
Fount closed down his face. He wasn’t going to talk.
‘If I find out later that you know something that could help in the investigation, and you’re not
telling us, then you’ll pay for that,’ said Fraser. She got to her feet. ‘Have no doubt about that. Right,
we’re finished here for now, but we’re certainly not finished with you.’
‘You can see yourselves out,’ said Fount, to Fraser’s back. There was a hint of a smirk on his face.
We paused at the bottom of the stairs when we realised Woodley wasn’t behind us. He’d waited in the
doorway of the room.
‘Isthcar,’ he said to Fount. ‘Isn’t that an ancient tribe? From Nordic mythology?’
‘The finest tribe,’ said Fount. ‘The most noble.’
‘It sounds fascinating. Is the game very complex?’ Woodley sounded impressed.
‘To play properly, there’s a lot you have to understand.’
‘Awesome,’ said Woodley. He said it simply, his voice light. ‘See you again maybe.’ He nodded at
Fount, a man-to-man gesture.