Part Twenty-Nine

Sparky looked like a cat that had swallowed a canary and Marie restrained the urge to punch him.

"Who?"

"Well, it wasn't easy to find out, if it hadn't been for my incredible intellects and amazing deduction skills we would still be fumbling about in the dark of unknowing..." Sparky made a rather flamboyant hand gesture.

"We are still fumbling, Sparky... unless you start talking more sense!" Marie tapped her fingers on the table while Miss Sarah hid her smile behind her tea-cup.

"Oh, OK then if you insist on being boring."

"I do. Might have something to do with the whole someone-trying-to-kill-me deal but I don't know..."

"Snark is really not your color Marie, really. Anyway. Remember Lord Amberfitch? He was run out of Chrysopoeia some years ago for sponsoring illegal experiments."

"Yeah, I remember, he wanted to re-invent time travel and where hiring inventor's and thaumaturges all over town to do it."

"Exactly. The Watchers found him out and not even his considerable fortune could save him. It did save him from execution though and he got exiled. No one has heard from him since... at least not officially."

"So, he's back then. But why would he want to kill me?"

"Because he still has the same plan, and still lacks the necessary skills to do the job on his own. He was more careful this time though, hired people to make parts without telling them what they where for and so on an so forth... Although, since he had to hire smart people, some figured it out and had to be eliminated. Which is what happened last night. Of course I can bet on him not planning for you to get away from the Sniffer like that. He probably thought you where one of those two-bit thugs other politicians like to hire."

"His loss. You really found this out by just getting into Forrester's papers?"

"No, of course not, most of this I've pieced together earlier. The things I found over there were just the glue to piece all the parts together."

"Excellent work, Sparky, excellent work indeed..." The voice was metallic and came from somewhere near the teapot.