Part 44 (1/2)

At Fell's insistence, Ricard left the building-ostensibly to meet Cheris for an early lunch-and several of his most valuable lieutenants were suddenly called away. Within thirty minutes, two men and three women had gathered in an empty hotel room. Adamat could only a.s.sume they were union members who had earned Ricard's trust but not yet been given any duties of importance.

Adamat stood near the window of the hotel room. Two of the women sat on the bed, and a third near the door, while both men had their backs to the wall. Everyone watched intently as Fell entered the room and closed the door behind her.

She began quietly, ”What we say at this meeting does not leave this room, understand?”

The gathered group exchanged looks before giving their unanimous consent. Some of them glanced at Adamat and he wondered if any of them knew who he was. He recognized three of the faces by happenstance, but didn't know any of their names.

”There is a strong chance that someone has placed a bomb beneath this building,” Fell said. To their credit, none of them headed for the door. ”The perpetrator does not know that we know, and we are going to search the premises quickly and quietly until we find it. We will start with the bas.e.m.e.nt and work our way up. Before any of you ask, this is not a volunteer a.s.signment. If one of you leaves the building before I say so, you will never find work in this country again.”

Adamat noted that one of the men had started to sweat violently. Fear? Or guilt? The woman by the door swallowed hard.

”That being said,” Fell went on, letting a smile touch her lips, ”once we find and dispose of the bomb, each of you will find yourself well rewarded. You'll receive promotions within the union and a not-insignificant amount of money. Inspector Adamat and I will lead the search. Questions? Yes, Draily?”

The woman by the door lowered her hand. ”I don't know a d.a.m.n thing about bombs. How am I going to help with all this?”

Adamat cut in before Fell could respond. ”No one knows anything about this kind of bomb,” he said. ”It's not gunpowder, but something called blasting oil. It does not respond to flame but rather to concussion, which means that our search needs to be very, very careful. Handle everything gently and, for Adom's sake, do not drop anything!”

”Then what the pit are we looking for?” the sweating man asked, his voice strained.

”I don't know,” Adamat admitted. ”A container of some sort. The blasting oil was sold in ten clear gla.s.s vials, stoppered at the top with corks. Our suspect may have transferred the oil to a new container, or it may still be in those same vials. We'll make a thorough examination of any liquid on the premises.”

”Does this have anything to do with the bombing at the union headquarters?” one of the women on the bed asked.

”Possibly,” Adamat said. They didn't need to know anything more than that. ”Any other questions?”

A round of headshaking.

”Good,” Fell said. ”And again, be d.a.m.ned careful! If you find anything suspicious, let Inspector Adamat know immediately. Don't make a scene. We want to do this as quietly as possible. Now, everyone to the bas.e.m.e.nt.”

Adamat stepped over to Fell as they all filed out of the room. ”The brunette,” Adamat said.

”Little Will?”

”Yes. Something about all this was making him nervous as pit. Grab him and put him under guard.”

Fell gave a quick affirmative and left the room quickly after Will. Adamat pa.s.sed them in the hall, Fell with her hand on Will's shoulder and Will's collar soaked with sweat. Adamat followed the rest of the group down to the cellar. Lanterns were handed out quickly, and voices talked in hushed tones. Adamat held his lantern high and gripped his cane tightly. A tingle went down his spine as he descended into the damp stone bas.e.m.e.nt.

The four union workers looked to him when they reached the bottom, and he realized that Fell had not yet come down. He was seized by sudden suspicion. If even one of them was in on this bomb plot, they might make a go at him. He found himself sizing each of them up, planning the best way to defend himself.

A few moments pa.s.sed before he realized they were still watching him.

”Well, get to it.”

”Uh, sir,” Draily said. ”Look.”

Adamat shook the fear from his head and stepped forward. They stood in a long, arched hallway with walls of stone, and off the hallway to the right were a dozen niches that extended out beneath the hotel. At the far end of the hall was a low, heavy door.

Draily was pointing into the first niche. Adamat held his lantern inside and squinted. ”Nothing but wine,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. ”Is it?”

”Oh.” Realization set in. Of course. Any of these wine bottles could be the bomb or bombs he was looking for. It would be the best place to hide something like that-in plain sight. Adamat tapped his fingers on his stomach, then said, ”Search everything else. I'll check the wine.”

The rest of the group moved on to the other niches, and Adamat began to inspect the wine. At first glance he estimated upward of two thousand bottles here, and Adamat wondered if this was the other part of Ricard's wine collection or whether the hotel was just this well stocked.

Adamat removed his jacket and hung it from a peg on the wall, rolling his sleeves up. He began examining each wine bottle, starting at the top row. They came in every variety; some were slender, dark-brown bottles, while others were fat green bottles with long necks.

He looked for consistency; the thickness of the dust, how the labels were positioned, as well as the size and shape of the bottle itself. He felt a growing despair as he went-if the blasting oil had been hidden inside a wine bottle, it might be impossible to find. A hotel such as this went through wine at an alarming rate. Some of the bottles had been here for months or years, and those were easy to tell from the layer of dust, but there were still at least eighty bottles that had been handled recently.

”You think our bomber is that devious?” Fell's voice said from the hallway.

Adamat didn't look up from his examination. ”They'd have to be an idiot not to see the opportunity,” Adamat said. ”I don't know how to go about this without opening four dozen bottles to check their contents.”

”A last resort, I think,” Fell said. ”You know how Ricard is about his wine.”

”Would he rather drink a gla.s.s of blasting oil?”

”I'll have to point that out to him.” She paused, then, ”You're certain it's here?”

”Ricard was certain,” Adamat said. ”That's all I have to go on.”

”He may be wrong.”

”A possibility, sure,” Adamat said. ”But if he's right...”

”Not worth the risk. That man you pointed out, Will?”

”Anything?” Adamat stopped his search long enough to look hopefully toward Fell. If they'd just happened upon a conspirator, they might get a lucky break. Investigative science practically depended on lucky breaks.

”Just nervous,” Fell said. ”His father worked for a powder company and was killed in a blast two years ago. Will's terrified of explosions. I should have remembered it earlier. Poor man p.i.s.sed himself when I wouldn't let him leave the building.”

Adamat returned his attention to the wine bottles. ”A pity.”

He heard a jingle of keys, and Fell said, ”Mark where you are and come with me. I'll set a man to make sure the wine isn't disturbed. We need to search the Underhill Room.”

”Oh?” Adamat made a mental note of the wine cellar and followed Fell down the hallway to the thick door at the end of the bas.e.m.e.nt. She unlocked it and pulled it open, the strain of her shoulders testifying to the weight.

Inside, Adamat was surprised to find another long corridor. He held his lantern high and glanced back at Fell.

”Go on.”

He crept down the hall slowly, still clutching his cane, and he wondered briefly how much he trusted Fell. Her loyalty was supposed to be to Ricard for the duration of her contract. But what if that was all a lie? Could she have planned the bombing? She could kill him down here without a problem, then hide the body and tell Ricard he had left. Adamat's mind whirred through a dozen possible motives and all the reasons why he was wrong. By the time he reached the end of the hall, he was no less wary, and all the more certain that he wouldn't stand even the faintest chance against Fell in a fight.

His lantern created eerie shadows in the large, square room at the end of the hall. Fell squeezed past him to light candelabras along all four walls until the entire room had been illuminated. It looked like any of the hundreds of gentleman's clubs in Adopest-the walls were covered in velvet and the candelabras were polished bra.s.s. There was seating for at least a dozen people in the form of divans and couches, and the center of the room held a velvet-lined card table with room for six.