Stalking the Unicorn: A Fable of Tonight Read Online Free PDF

like nobody else,” replied Mallory, impressed.
    "All right!” exploded Mürgenstürm. “I'm not perfect! Sue me!"
    Mallory winced. “Don't yell,” he said. “It's been a long day, and I've had a lot to drink."
    "Then stop belittling me."
    "I can do better than that,” said Mallory. “Give me a hard time, and I can stop helping you."
    "No!” yelled the elf, causing Mallory to flinch in pain. “Please,” he continued, lowering his voice. “I apologize for losing my temper. It's just my passionate nature. It won't happen again."
    "Until the next time."
    "I promise,” said Mürgenstürm.
    Suddenly the train slowed down and came to a stop.
    "Are we there?” asked Mallory as the doors slid open.
    "Next station,” replied the elf.
    Mallory turned to the door and watched the passengers enter the car. There were three elves, a ruddy little man with a red handlebar moustache whose long overcoat could not totally conceal his twitching reptilian tail, and a smartly dressed elderly woman who had a small, maned, scaled animal on a leash. A Gnome of the Subway raced into the car just as the doors were closing and, disdaining the leather booths, leaned against the far wall and slid slowly to the floor, staring at Mallory all the while.
    "I do wish we wouldn't let them ride first class,” complained Mürgenstürm softly, nodding his head toward the Gnome. “They just ruin the ambience."
    "On the other hand,” remarked Mallory, “the old lady looks perfectly normal."
    "Why shouldn't she?"
    "She looks like she belongs in my Manhattan, not yours."
    "That's Mrs. Hayden-Finch,” whispered Mürgenstürm. “She used to breed miniature poodles.” He sighed sadly. “Twenty-six years and not so much as a blue ribbon.” His face brightened. “Now she breeds miniature chimeras, and she's quite a success. In fact, she took Best in Show at the Garden last winter."
    "I don't remember reading about any chimeras at Westminster,” said Mallory.
    "North minster,” corrected the elf. “It's much older and more prestigious."
    "That brings up an interesting question,” said Mallory.
    "About chimeras?"
    "About unicorns. Why was this particular one so valuable? Was he a show specimen, or a breeding animal, or what?"
    "Another excellent question! Oh, I hired the right man, no doubt about it!"
    "I assume that means you don't have an answer."
    "I'm afraid not, John Justin,” said Mürgenstürm. “If he wasn't valuable, he wouldn't have been placed in my keeping ... but beyond that, I know as little about him as you do."
    "What do you know about unicorns in general?"
    "Well,” said Mürgenstürm uncomfortably, “they're usually white, and they have horns that I am told are quite valuable. And they mess their stalls with shocking regularity."
    "Anything else?"
    The little elf shook his head. “Usually I just guard jewels and amulets and things like that. To be perfectly honest, I don't even know what unicorns eat."
    "Then has the thought occurred to you that maybe Larkspur just wandered off on his own to grab a little snack?” asked Mallory.
    "As a matter of fact, it hadn't,” admitted Mürgenstürm. “That would make him much easier to find, wouldn't it? I mean, once we know what unicorns eat."
    Mallory nodded. “Yes, I'd have to say that it would.” He paused. “You're not much good at your work, are you?"
    "No worse than yourself, I daresay,” responded the elf. “If I were a detective, the criminals I caught would stay caught."
    "You haven't had much experience with the New York municipal court system, have you?” asked Mallory.
    "What has one to do with the other?” demanded Mürgenstürm.
    "Not a hell of a lot,” replied Mallory with some distaste.
    The train began slowing down again, and Mürgenstürm got to his feet and walked over to the door.
    "Come on,” he said to Mallory.
    The detective got up, made a wide semicircle around the miniature chimera, which was hooting at him with an odd expression on its face, and