Jerking his head towards the proprietor, the man sunk down in his seat, as if pretending he wasn’t part of the conversation.
“Always best to be cautious, I’d say.”
That wasn’t at all what Gideon felt, but the warning in his heart told him he couldn’t be obvious in his interest. He had learned a lot already, but he could try and talk to the same man again after the game, to try and work out exactly what it was he had seen that night.It sounds like he knows what happened to me.
“Listen to them.” The young man, whose smile had been so brilliant only a few minutes ago was glaring over at the drunk fellow. “You don’t want to end up getting like a fish. No details, remember? And we don’t take notice of that dandy, either.”
“Not sure I care.” The man shrugged again. “There’s something going on and I don’t much like it.”
“Best not to complain either,” another person muttered. “There’s always someone in here listening.”
Gideon hunkered down in his seat a little more, dropping his chin closer to his chest and fixing his eyes on his cards.
All I have to do is finish the game, find the drunken fellow and then speak to him about whatever it was that happened that night.
And who exactly was this gentleman who supposedly kept on appearing at the red-doored gambling den? Perhaps from this one man, Gideon would be able to find all the answers that he sought.
* * *
“You there.”
The man who had been sitting with him during the game looked up, just as Gideon set down a tankard in front of him.
He hesitated, then chuckled.
“You’ll be wanting something, then,” he said, a little more clearly than before. “You might have been able to hide it from everyone else, but I saw you.” He tapped the edge of his nose with one finger. “I see things, me.”
Gideon grinned.
“You’ve got a sharp eye,” he murmured, sitting down beside him. They were at a small table about as far from the counter as they could be, and Gideon was glad that he could hide from the proprietor for fear of being recognized. Yes, there were still a good many questions that Gideon had for the man himself, but when he was in a vague disguise, it would be best not to add any further questions to the man’s mind about him than, no doubt, there already were at present. He would come back another time in his usual clothes and his usual demeanor to ask him more about the threats he had spoken of. “You are right, I do want to know something.” Leaning forward in his chair, Gideon studied the man carefully. “You spoke of that room there, and of a man you saw being taken in and out of it again. A man injured.” The fellow did not either agree or disagree, but instead fixed Gideon with a hard stare. “I think I know the person you were talking about,” Gideon continued, swallowing quickly to hide his lie. “I want to know what happened to him.”
“Then why don’t you ask him?”
The man chuckled darkly, then picked up his tankard and took a large swig.
“Because he doesn’t remember,” Gideon replied, honestly. “He’s tried, but he cannot seem to recall a single thing.”
The man took another gulp and then set the tankard down, letting out a contented sigh as he did so.
“What if he was too drunk to remember anything? That’s his own fault, ain’t it?
“Maybe.” The urge to defend himself rose up, but Gideon forced himself not to react. The man’s dark eyes glinted as he looked back at Gideon, as if trying to work out whether or not he was genuine in his questions. “You’re the only one who doesn’t seem afraid to talk about this place.” Gideon shrugged and sat back in his chair, trying to appear a little more casual. “I am just trying to work out the truth, that is my only intention.”
The man nodded, rubbing one hand down over his bearded chin.
“Something will happen to me for talking about it so much.” Sighing, he looked away. “I don’t know if I have much in me to care about that.”
“Who will do that to you? What will they do?”
Gideon shifted closer, lowering his head a little.
“Dandies like you came in here. One or two of them keep coming. I don’t know why they can’t just stay in their own places, but to me, it seems like they have business here now and again. Then they’re gone again for weeks at a time.” Lifting one shoulder, he waved a hand towards the proprietor. “He tells us to ignore them, tells us they’re going to end up hurting us if we say anything, but I can’t help seeing what I see. Not sure I like being told what I can’t say either.”
“What did you see, then?”
A swell of nervousness ran through Gideon’s frame as he looked steadily at the man. Thankfully, he still seemed eager enough to talk.
“One of them posh fellows, he came in here with a whole lot of other dandies. Not really sure what happened after that – but at some point, he hauled this other man into that room. There was some sort of commotion, but then he dragged that same fellow out through the front door and flung him outside. Came back in here as pleased as punch, grinning like a madman.”
