Cold Copper Tears

by Glen Cook

Garrett is hired by a beautiful young woman calling herself Jill Craight to find out who has broken into her apartment and why. Immediately after, a Magister Peridont comes to Garrett to try to get him to investigate the disappearance of some famous religious relics; Garrett respectfully declines. After getting attacked by a gang called the Vampires, Garrett goes to his old friend Maya, leader of a gang herself, for advice. Maya informs Garrett that Jill was a former member of the Doom, Maya's gang, and that she is a chronic liar. Maya invites herself along to learn his trade.

Garrett turns up no leads and is not even quite sure what to investigate. His one clue is some odd coins tying together Jill and the Vampires. Garrett asks Magister Peridont about the coins, then heads over to the Royal Assay office for help. After learning nothing new, Garrett heads home, where he is visited again by Magister Peridont, who informs him that Miss Craight was in fact his mistress, and now she is missing.

The story gets more complicated when Garrett visits crime lord Chodo Contague, whose house gets attacked by magical forces. Chodo Contague involves his henchmen more earnestly in Garrett's case, and Garrett and Maya take their search for Jill to the Tenderloin, the red-light district of TunFaire. When they return home, they find the same magical forces that attacked Chodo's mansion trying to tear apart Garrett's home. After repelling them, he learns from the Dead Man that another dead Loghyr is behind the magical attacks. Eventually, Garrett and the Dead Man manage to tie together the Church, the missing relics, the dead Loghyr, and Jill Craight.

After discovering that Jill is hiding out in a church complex, Garrett and Morley break in and kidnap her and another of her lovers, a high status member of the Orthodox church. Garrett assembles everyone of importance at his house, and he and the Dead Man uncover the motives of all the parties present. Eventually, the relics are recovered, the other dead Loghyr is disposed of, and Garrett lives to tackle another adventure.