Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [182]
“Most of the single-family houses are a block farther to the south from here,” Pam explained. As they walked, residents would stop and say hello, or wave. “There are quite a few mansions there. Craftsmen and merchants who’ve made their fortunes enjoy living in this part of town. A lot of them have second homes in Lanka too. Quite fancy, though. You’ll be impressed, I’m sure.”
They were indeed impressive. Wataru was reminded of the residences of prime ministers and presidents he had seen in the real world (all on television, of course).
“Magnificent, aren’t they?” Pam asked, as proud as if they had been his own. “The streets are safe too. That’s why I’ll have you patrolling this area until you’re more familiar with the town.”
“You sure it’s okay to have me and Meena walking here?” Kee Keema asked innocently. “Looks like only ankha live here.”
Wataru and Meena exchanged glances, but the chief didn’t seem to notice. He put his hands on his hips and laughed out loud. A little too loud, Wataru thought.
“Nothing to be worried about! You’re Highlanders. And there are other races in this part of town.” Pam smiled broadly, and then reluctantly added, “Mostly servants,” through his teeth. “Shall we trace your route back, now? Once you’ve gone both ways you’re sure to remember it.”
They were walking back through the communal dwellings when Kee Keema, in the rear, gave a sharp yelp. “Yowch!”
Something fell from the side of his head to the ground by his feet. The chief made to pick it up, but Meena was quicker. Her tail snaked out and around the object.
“What’s this? It’s sharp!” Meena said, transferring the object from her tail to her fingers. “A chunk of rock?”
It was a semi-translucent, pointy rock about the size of a large coin. It must have been thrown hard to get a yelp out of the thick-skinned waterkin. If its target had been Meena or Wataru, they might’ve been seriously wounded.
“Grrr…who did that?” Kee Keema’s shoulders were tensed as he looked around at the windows of the nearby communal dwellings. “That’s a nasty prank throwing rocks down at people…and if it’s a fight they want, they sure are cowards!”
Wataru grew suddenly worried. He couldn’t see anyone in the nearby windows. But what if whoever threw that was hiding, waiting for another chance? What if the next rock hit Meena?
“Kee Keema, let’s go.”
“Right. We’ve taken our time. We should hurry up,” Pam said, his leisurely tone at odds with his words. He almost sounded amused. “Don’t worry about it—probably just some kids having a prank.”
Kee Keema, hands on his hips, looked down at the chief. Seeing them stand together, Wataru realized he towered over the short, balding man. “Maybe it was meant as a prank, but that rock could’ve seriously hurt someone! I don’t think you can just let something like this slide, chief.”
“On second thought, maybe you shouldn’t patrol this area,” the chief said, his expression perfectly still. “You and the girl here are a rare sort in these parts, I’ll admit. You draw attention—especially from children. I’m sure they don’t mean ill by it, but kids will be kids, and you can’t catch them all. I know, I’ll assign you two to Bricklayer Street. There are plenty of non-ankha down there.”
After breakfast the next morning at the branch, Pam took Wataru out for morning patrol.
The night before, Wataru, Kee Keema, and Meena had decided to play along with the chief for the moment. Determined to talk to the people on Bricklayer Street, Meena was hoping to hear actual incidents where Chief Pam had placed the blame on someone or refused to take up a case because the victim had been a non-ankha.
“Be careful, though,” Kee Keema had warned her. “We don’t have many friends in this town. Wouldn’t want to get into trouble.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Meena had confidently replied. “I’ll be fine.”
For his part, Wataru decided to follow Pam’s schedule as closely as possible, all the while looking for opportunities to get a