Swamped

"Monty's parents were pirates," she continues. "Kid was twelve when they were caught. Ended up staying with a theater critic, name of Lucille, but then the theater closed a few years later. So Lucille's a critic without a theater now, and she's got poor legs so she has trouble with physical work. Which is most of the jobs in town."

"I see," you reply. "So the burden fell on Monty. But as a child of pirates..."

"Everybody figures they'll just pinch things," Patterson grumbles. "You ask me, though, that's shortsighted. Plenty of people who seem like upstanding citizens will go around stealin' things. A pirate kid's no more untrustworthy than anyone else."

Cynical, but you can tell she really cares. You also hear some rather unpleasant sounds coming from behind the curtain.

"Hearing this a few times really sours you on that wine," Patterson mutters. "How does making it cold make it that nasty?"

"Well, my guess would be that different parts of the wine freeze at different rates," you muse. "So when you freeze it the right amount, you've still got a bit that's liquid and it causes an unpleasant reaction if it's not diluted. It would probably be a smoother process if they could figure out exactly what that was."

"Might make the wine better, too," Patterson chuckles. "Anyhow, I'm just hanging around to make sure I get my ice back. The wine's probably a loss even if there's some left. You don't have to keep me company."

"Well, I'm hoping to speak with the patient," you say.

"Leo Flame? I don't know what business you've got with that crook, but I'd advise you to stay away. He and his ilk are worse than pirates, if you ask me."

And yet, despite all her distrust, Les said she seemed fond of the theater troupe. Odd.

You want to ask her about it, but you feel it won't go very well unless you can reassure her that you're not involved in Flame's dirtier business.