Snuff
myself. He mentally paused, momentarily shocked at the implication.
Aloud he continued, âYou saw those two Quirmian officers get on the boat, didnât you? I arranged that. They will, of course, make certain that we have an undisturbed voyage. The crew have also been told that there may be some attempt by a murderer to board the boat. According to the lieutenant, Captain Harbinger can vouch for all of his crew as having sailed with him loyally for many years. Personally, of course, Iâll make certain the door to my berth is locked, and Iâd suggest you do the same thing, Feeney.
âGreed is at the center of this, greed and hellish poisons. Theyâre both killers and greed is the worst, by a long way. You know, usually when Iâm talking to young officers such as yourself I say that in a certain type of case, you should always follow the money, you should ask âWho stands to lose? Who stands to gain?â â Vimes regretfully tossed the butt of his cigar into the water. âBut sometimes you should follow the arroganceâ¦You should look for those who canât believe that the law would ever catch them, who believe that they act out of a right that the rest of us do not have. The job of the officer of the law is to let them know that they are wrong!â
The sun was setting. âI do believe, Commander Vimes, that you have something in you that would turn the wheels of this boat all by itself if a man could but harness it!â said Feeney admiringly. âAnd I remember reading somewhere that you would arrest the gods for doing it wrong.â
Vimes shook his head. âIâm sure I never said anything of the sort! But law is order and order is law and it must be the highest thing. The world runs on it, the heavens run on it and without order, lad, one second cannot follow another.â
He could feel himself swaying. Lack of sleep can poison the mind, drive it in strange directions. Vimes felt Feeneyâs hand on his shoulder. âIâll help you along to your cabin, commander. Itâs been a very long day.â
V imes didnât remember getting undressed and into bed, or rather into bunk, but he clearly had done so and, according to the little bits of white foam on the cabinâs tiny washbasin, he had cleaned his teeth as well. He had slept the sleep of the dead except for the bit where bits fall off and you crumble into dust, and all he could recall was cool blackness and, rising now to the surface, a certainty, as if a message had been left in the blackness to await the return of thought. He is after you, Blackboard Monitor Vimes. You know this because you recognize what was in his eyes. You know that type. They want to die from the day they are born, but something twists and so they kill instead. He will find you, and so will I. I hope the three of us meet in darkness.
As the message drained away Vimes stared at the opposite wall, in which the door now opened, after a cursory knock, to reveal the steward bearing that which is guaranteed to frighten away all nightmares, to wit, a cup of hot tea. *
âNo need to get up, commander,â came the cheerful greeting of the steward, as he carefully placed the cup of tea in a little indentation that some foresighted person had designed into the tiny cabin so that said teacup would not slide around. âThe captain would like to inform you that weâll be docking in about twenty minutes, although of course youâll be welcome to stay aboard and finish your breakfast while we clean the scuppers and take on fresh oxen and, of course, pick up mail and fodder and a few more passengers. In the galley, I have todayâ¦â and here the steward enthusiastically rattled off a menu of belly-stuffing proportions, concluding triumphantly with, âa bacon sandwich!â
Vimes cleared his throat and said gloomily, âI donât suppose you have any muesli, do you?â After all, Sybil was only twenty minutes away.
The steward looked puzzled. âWell, yes, we would have the ingredients, of course, but I didnât peg you as a rabbit food man?â
Vimes thought about Sybil again. âWell, perhaps today my little nose is twitching.â
Luxurious though the cabin was, roomy it was not. Vimes managed to shave with a razor donated by the steward, âwith the compliments of the captain, commander,â and a thoughtfully placed basin, soap, flannel and minute towel, which
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