Rook

the cases above, all but one of the murderers were briskly tracked down, briskly tried, and then executed with a conspicuous lack of briskness. The exception was Rook Cassandra Bartlett, who successfully concealed her part in Corfax’s death; it was discovered in her journals years after she’d died. She must have been a fucking genius to avoid the tracking abilities of the Checquy.
    My point is, it isn’t done.
    And it certainly isn’t done to me.
    Whoever tries to have me killed, whoever succeeds in destroying my memory, well, they’re placing themselves in an awful lot of danger to do so. I can’t imagine their risking doing it in the Rookery.
    Now, one of my initial thoughts was that you could request a full-time bodyguard, but you’d have to explain why, and that would lead to all sorts of speculation about you. You’d then have someone with you all the time, and, frankly, we don’t want to draw that much attention to you. The reason I didn’t get a bodyguard was I knew it wouldn’t do any good.
     
    “Rook Thomas, I just got a call from your counterpart’s assistant—all of the bodies were out of town on different assignments over the weekend, and none of them will be back for a few hours, so yourMonday-morning meeting is going to be pushed back,” said Ingrid, coming in with the renovated coffee.
    “My counterpart? Yes…” replied Myfanwy, beginning with a question but frantically shifting it into a musing declarative sentence. She now scrabbled for some sort of comment to make and settled for stating the obvious. “So, the meeting is being pushed back.”
    “Yes,” said Ingrid. “All of Rook Gestalt should be back after your meeting with the headmistress from the Estate, except possibly Eliza, depending on how the antler-cult assault goes.”
    “Oh, okay,” said Myfanwy, trying to work out what had just been said.
    I think I get it,
she thought.
One of the two Rooks. There are two Rooks. Like chess. I am one, and the other is my counterpart. Rook Gestalt.
It was making a modicum of sense. She had a vague idea about what to do, but now something else was bothering her.
What does she mean by
all
of Rook Gestalt?
    “At nine thirty, you will be meeting with the accountants from Apex House to go over the budget for the Elephant and Castle operation,” continued Ingrid, apparently having decided to overlook her boss’s problems understanding the English language.
    “The plague one?” Myfanwy asked brightly, pleased that she’d remembered.
    “Yes. At ten fifteen you have a half-hour meeting with the head of the Estate, and then at eleven, you have your meeting with Rook Gestalt. I will cancel your appointment with the Minister of Defense.”
    “And that’s okay?” she asked, thrown by the ease with which her secretary dismissed the Minister of Defense.
    “Of course.”
    “Well, okay,” said Myfanwy dubiously. “Now, I was hoping to have some time today to review some figures.”
And acquaint myself with the organization that I appear to be running.
    “If there is any spare time, I shall endeavor not to fill it,” Ingrid said.
    “I’d appreciate it.”
    “Yes,” her secretary agreed. “Now, you have nothing booked for lunch—shall I order something in so you can eat in the office?”
    “No, I want to go somewhere nice for lunch,” Myfanwy said. “See if you can’t book me a reservation at a place with very good food.”
    “All right,” said Ingrid, looking a little surprised. “Christifaro’s?” Myfanwy nodded. “I’ll arrange for your car to be ready. And after lunch, Security Chief Clovis is coming over from Apex House, and then you’re having dinner with Lady Farrier.”
    “Okay. So, what are these meetings about?” she asked, getting out a pen and preparing to take some notes.
    “The head of the Estate wishes to go over a list of potential acquisitions, and you made the appointment with the head of security. I’m afraid I don’t know why.”
    “Oh, well, I’m sure it will come back to me,” Myfanwy said.
    “For dinner you are booked in at Simpson’s,” said Ingrid. “I’ll let you know when your car is ready.” Myfanwy agreed and Ingrid sailed out of the office like a clipper under full, tailored sails.
    I suppose I should do some more homework on how this organization actually works.
     
How This Organization Actually Works
    There is a constant stream of information coming from the civil service to us. Unnatural occurrences aren’t limited