After lunch, Renato walked out of High Tide and headed down the main street of the Governor's Special District, paved with white stone slabs.
The afternoon sunlight was gentler than it had been at noon. A steady sea breeze blew in from the bay, dispelling much of the stifling heat.
As he turned at a junction, he happened to see Massimo emerge from a nearby alley. The burly man had traded his conspicuous yellow-and-white shirt for a drab gray leather vest today, but the iron hook tattoo on his forearm was still exposed, making him recognizable from a distance.
Renato stopped and waved him over. Massimo paused in surprise, then hurried up with an enthusiastic greeting.
"Go back and tell Pye to suspend the search for the Sea Elf for now." Lowering his voice, Renato briefly described the courtyard's location and the surrounding landmarks. "Send a few men to watch that courtyard. If anyone goes in or out, or anything unusual happens, come find me at High Tide immediately."
Massimo did not understand why he was being asked to watch an abandoned courtyard, but as a minor gang leader who had personally seen the state of the Blood Drowning's Third Mate's corpse, he clearly knew just how powerful the Black Blade before him was.
So he asked no questions. He nodded his agreement, then turned and hurried toward the Drowned Man tavern.
With that matter settled, Renato continued down the stone steps, leaving the clean, tidy paving behind and stepping onto the relatively broad main road at the edge of the Dock District.
The sun had already shifted westward. Flecks of golden light shimmered across the sea, and the masts of the ships moored in the harbor formed overlapping dark silhouettes against the afternoon light.
The farther down he went,