Masterson said, “If this was an arranged betrayal, he’ll find the countinghouse office empty, I’ll bet.”
Roo pushed back the chair and shook his head. “I won’t take that bet.” The dark feeling inside was threatening to rise up and sweep over him. He could feel a deep dread building that he might be reduced to a penniless freebooter as quickly as he had risen to prominence. He took a deep breath. “Well, worry won’t feed the team, as my father used to say. I suggest we put our minds to how we raise a quick quarter-million golden sovereigns of capital in”—he glanced at the demand note Jason had left on the table—“the next two days.”
The others were silent.
Duncan glanced around the inn, then indicated with a quick nod the man he had located. Roo went over to sit next across from the man while Luis and Duncan came to stand on either side.
“What . . . ?” began the man as he started to rise.
Duncan and Luis each placed a hand on his shoulders, forcing him back into his chair. “You’re Rob McCraken?” asked Roo.
“Who wants to know?” responded the man, obviously feeling less brave than he tried to sound. His face had gone pale and he kept glancing around for a route of escape.
“You have a cousin named Herbert McCraken?”
The man tried again to rise, but found that the two men held him tightly. “Maybe.”
Suddenly Luis had a knife lying alongside the man’s neck, and he said, “You were asked a question that requires a more certain answer, my friend. It is either ‘Yes, he is my cousin,’ or ‘No, he is not my cousin.’ And be sure that the wrong answer will be very painful.”
Softly the man said, “Yes, Herbert is my cousin.”
“When did you last see him?” asked Roo.
“A few days ago. He dined with my family. He’s a bachelor, so he comes by every two or three weeks for a meal.”
“Did he say anything about leaving for a journey?”
“No,” said Rob McCraken. “But he did say good-bye in a funny sort of way.”
“What do you mean?”
The man glanced around. “He lingered at the door and . . . well, he hugged me hard, and we haven’t done that since we were kids. It could have been a longer good-bye than I thought.”
“Most likely. If he were to decide to leave Krondor and live elsewhere, where would he go?” asked Roo.
McCraken said, “I don’t know. Hadn’t thought that way. We have kin in the East, but they’re distant. A cousin in Salador. Haven’t seen him in ten years.”
Roo paused, drumming his fingers on the table. “If your cousin was to come into a lot of gold unexpectedly, where then do you think he might go?”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Enough to purchase a Quegan title?”
Roo glanced at Luis, who said, “I think a minor title if he took it all.”
Roo stood up. “Sarth.” To Duncan he said, “Get as good a description as you can of this Herbert McCraken, then send a dozen riders to Sarth. If they take extra horses, they should be able to overtake him within ten hours.”
Roo said to Luis, “Head for the docks and start asking questions. No ships in from or bound for Queg are registered, but you never know if one has slipped in claiming to be from the Free Cities or Durbin. Sniff around and double-check that no one matching McCraken’s description is trying to slip aboard a ship bound out of the city. We have enough eyes and ears down there working for us that we should be able to find him.”
To both men he said, “I have something to do, but I will be in the office at first light. If we haven’t found this man by noon tomorrow, we’re ruined.”
Duncan sat in the chair Roo had just vacated. “Paint me a picture with words, Rob, and spare no detail. What does Herbert look like?”
“Well, he’s a plain-looking fellow, about my height.”
Without waiting for another answer, Roo departed, walking to where he had left his carriage. Once inside, he ordered the driver to take him to the Estherbrook estate.
Calis signaled in the murk, and Erik turned, relaying the gestures. They were traveling in near blindness, sixty-seven of them spread out in a long line, walking in pairs. Calis led, as he had the ability to see in the dimmest light, while Boldar Blood brought up the rear, claiming to have the power to see in the dark, which seemed highly improbable to Erik, but so far the strange mercenary hadn’t made a single misstep. It was some magic property of his helm, Erik judged.