The chromodemons devoured a path of blue so that Dibbler could be brought to safety. He was taken to the station to give a witness statement but hadn't seen much and wasn't able to give a description of the book's new owner, other than he had given a warning at least before destroying everything.
Vimes was staring out across the street, teeth gritted and itching for a cigar. "This is getting out of hand," he told his officers. "We've got two more chances to end this before it ends us! Mr Stibbons assures us we will have an advanced warning system up and running by tomorrow, and…what in the Gods is this?!"
A goblin was cheerily waving a pickle jar full of, was it ashes? In front of his face, "It's a present from Mr Otto!" 'Moon Under the Mountain' answered brightly, "Vampire inna jar. The one what was in train. It was also in Mistress' kitchen. Big mistake."
"Sergeant Angua, perhaps you and Captain Carrot might like to take care of interviewing this one? The rest of you not on detail here, get back on the streets and do what you do best. And best not disturb me unless you absolutely have to." He felt a strong urge for a beetroot juice to go with the cigar he wasn't going to have.
###
When 'Moon Under the Mountain' had returned from gifting the Watch with the pickled perpetrator, Otto had again left for the Times although begrudgingly. The goblins kept guard however in between working on the Mark 2.
It was now Monday morning and after eating breakfast at the shop counter Lily opened for business but not quite as usual as Mr Dulling was late. It wasn't particularly busy but his presence was missed, by the customers as much as the staff and as the morning wore on Lily got more and more worried. What if he'd been on the street when the Colour Killer struck? She had read Sacharissa's reports hot off the press, both that of the green incident and the blue deaths.
Lily sent 'The Dust on the Sideboard' to Dulling's place to find out if he were perhaps ill. But when she returned his landlady had told her he hadn't been there at all since early Saturday evening. Lily had a very bad feeling about it but she didn't have to report it to the Watch as the Watch came to them. Sergeant Angua had come to survey what was left of the crime scene in Lily's kitchen and collect the Mark 2, if it was ready which, bar testing, it was.
"So, apart from threatening to murder every last one of us, our vampire friend has told us nothing. We're putting her on cold bat to see if she might be a little more co-operative." Angua imparted as she took a look around the smashed table.
"While you're here, our Shop assistant, Mr Dulling, hasn't turned up for work today."
"Perhaps he fancied a day off?" Angua suggested with a wry expression.
"His Landlady said he didn't come home Saturday night and the blue…it's not far from where he's staying?" Lily bit her lip worriedly.
"He's an Orc, isn't he? We didn't find an Orc amongst the bodies…" She trailed off, "Do you have anything belonging to him here? Like a jacket or…?"
One of the goblins popped up with a little cloth bag. "He puts his lunch in it!"
Angua took it and made to look inside but had a surreptitious sniff. She could make out notes of cheese and pickle, an apple and above all, the scent that she'd had trouble identifying at the green scene; Orc.
"I need to take this as evidence. Miss Flach, we will look into the whereabouts of Mr Dulling. Can I take this?" She indicated the Pictsie Mark 2.
'The Turning of the Cogs' picked it up first and pointed it at Angua, pressing the shutter button. The click was delayed by about three seconds.
"Is that going to show you my future?" Angua asked with a touch of concern.
"S'posed to," again the image started off blank, then like the swirling mists of a crystal ball it started to coalesce into something recognisable.
"I don't want to know!" Angua looked away, but then as the other two ladies present 'ahhed' happily at the picture she changed her mind, "Oh alright, give it here."
Angua looked and saw in her portrait she was no longer in uniform and in her arms was a chubby red-headed baby. She flushed hot, "I think I'll keep this if you don't mind."
"We won't say anything," the goblin vouched for herself and Lily, "Mum's the word!"