Catching a Man

by Elizabeth Corrigan

  The facelessness of the king’s appearance reflected his politics. He had begun his reign nearly ten years ago, when he was in his early twenties, and since then had rarely exercised his executive power to make a major policy decision. As king, he had the power to veto any action of the Assembly not endorsed by 75% of members, but Kadin couldn’t think of a single time he had used this power. He only voiced an opinion when the Assembly was deadlocked, and even then gave them ample time and incentive to reconsider their votes. His few forced votes always supported the status quo.

  “Thank you for coming.” King Ralvin’s cold tone indicated annoyance more than gratitude. If his wife’s murder influenced his state of mind, as Captain Carver had claimed, Kadin couldn’t tell from his voice. But, then, Carver had also indicated the king couldn’t be bothered to meet with commoners, even in light of the dire situation, and that Kadin could well believe.

  “The people of Valeriel face a great tragedy this day.” The king sounded as he did when he made a public speech advocating an unpopular policy—“using empty words to placate the masses,” Tobin always said. “While nothing can bring back our beloved queen, we must do everything within our power to discover who has committed this terrible act and bring him to justice. I want no expense spared in this pursuit, and any assistance that We or anyone in our employ can offer is entirely at your disposal.”

  “I thank you for that, Your Majesty.” Fellows gave another obsequious bow. Kadin wondered whether she should do the same, but by the time she thought to mimic her boss, he had straightened. “My name is Caison Fellows, and I will be leading the investigation, though another detective is also assigned to the case full-time. He is interviewing your staff at present, but if you wish to meet him, he can join us now.”

  King Ralvin’s expression shifted into something Kadin couldn’t quite call a sneer. “That will not be necessary.”

  The king turned his curled lip on Kadin. His gaze roved over her, and she straightened, forgetting for a moment not to look directly at his face. She expected to see disdain in his eyes, but the expression in his eyes didn’t harbor any of the hostility the rest of his face did.

  “Who is this?” The scorn in the king’s voice shocked Kadin out of any nascent thoughts that his mien might not match his true feelings.

  Fellows looked confused for a moment, until he realized that the king referred to Kadin. “Oh, that’s my aide…” Kadin could practically hear the wheels turning in his head.

  “Kadin Stone, Your Majesty.” The king of Valeriel may be an Imperial snob, but, I mean, he’s the king. And he’s addressing me. Me!

  Fellows cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, Your Majesty, I need to ask you a few questions.”

  King Ralvin stilled, and Kadin expected the detective to turn to ice under the monarch’s glare. “You are welcome to ask.”

  Fellows swallowed, and his next words spilled out of his mouth. “I assure you, we at Valeriel Investigations understand the vital importance of maintaining strict confidentiality regarding any information we receive, and, barring an immediate threat to the public welfare, our company policies forbid the disclosure of information gathered during the course of an investigation to any parties not directly involved in a court of law regarding that case.”

  The king arched an eyebrow. “Then by all means, ask what questions you will.”

  Fellows stared at his notepad, and Kadin felt a flash of gratitude that she wasn’t the one who had to ask her monarch the kinds of awkward questions that come up when one’s wife has been murdered. “Can you please describe for me your relationship with Queen Callista?”

  “She was my wife.” The king snapped the words, and Kadin didn’t wonder at his defensiveness. He must have known about the queen’s amorous exploits. “We may not have had the most amicable of relationships, but both of us understood that our marriage benefited the kingdom. We’re different from the lower classes. We don’t marry for love.” The last word sounded like poison on his lips.

  Political marriage, wrote Kadin, thinking that King Ralvin was fooling himself if he thought the average Valeriel woman married for love.

  The king glared at Fellows, as if daring the detective to comment. “I suppose our lives might have been easier if we had gotten along better, if Callista had been less selfish and shallow. But she was beautiful and didn’t interfere in affairs of state, and that, it seems, is all the masses require from a queen.”

  Fellows continued writing for a moment after the king had finished talking, and Kadin wondered what had so interested him about the king’s words. I wonder if King Ralvin killed the queen. He seems to have disliked her enough. But somehow I think Queen Callista was too useful to kill off.

  Fellows flipped to a fresh page and looked back up. “Did your wife have any enemies that you know of, or had she received any threats?”

  “Do you have any idea how many death threats personages like myself and Callista receive on a daily basis? How many violent protestors my guards discover sneaking onto the premises each year?” The king waved a dismissive white-gloved hand. “If you want to waste your time pursuing that avenue, Captain Carver can provide you with information about the most recent threats.”

  Fellows opened his mouth to ask another question, but the king continued. “Sooner or later, some indiscreet member of my staff will tell you about Baurus. Callista broke off relations with him yesterday, and he was in quite the rage, storming all over the palace and ranting at anyone who would listen, myself included. Yes, I knew about their affair. I am at least as informed about the doings of my own household as the average reader of glossies.” At the last words, he looked down at Kadin.

  Right, she thought. I’m a woman, so I must be obsessed with society gossip.

  Fellows tapped his pencil on his notepad. “Do you believe it’s possible that Duke Baurus killed your wife either before or after his conversation with you, when he was, as you put it—” Fellows glanced down at his notes “—‘in quite the rage.’”

  “I don’t see how.” The king gave his head a short shake. “Baurus left the palace late in the afternoon, and I saw Callista an hour later for dinner. After we finished eating, I didn’t see her again before Captain Carver brought me the news. Baurus didn’t return in that time. If he had, everyone would have heard it. Baurus doesn’t do subtle. And besides, I have guard posted at every entrance.”

  Doesn’t everyone do subtle when they’re plotting murder? Kadin made a note that they should question Duke Baurus and also investigate the entrances. The king might have thought his doors secured, but no doubt he had also considered the queen protected.

  Fellows made a few jots in his notebook, then gave a slight bow. “I believe that those are all the questions that we have for you at this time, Your Majesty. We would prefer if you would make yourself available for any questions that we will certainly have over the course of this investigation. Please contact us if you recall anything further that may be of use to our investigation.”

  King Ralvin’s expression indicated that he would as soon scrub his own toilet as talk to them again, but before he could contradict his expression with the necessary platitudes, the door to the throne room swung open. Captain Carver, his face flushed red, hustled across the room. “Forgive the interruption, Your Majesty. Dr. Combs has finished his analysis and would like a word with Detective Fellows. He claimed it was urgent.”

  The king made a circle with his hand. “By all means, admit him.”

  Carver hurried out, and a moment later Jace Combs strode into the throne room, flanked by Captain Carver and one of the guards from before. Combs was frowning, but Kadin couldn’t tell whether the case had upset him, or if he simply wore his accustomed countenance.

  By the time Combs reached the king, his perfect features had smoothed into a neutral expression. He bowed in the king’s di
rection. “Forgive me for interrupting, Your Majesty. Due to the seriousness of the situation, Detective Fellows asked that I find him as soon as I completed my analysis.”

  Everyone else turned to the king to see his response, but Kadin kept her eyes on the doctor’s handsome features for an extra moment, as any self-respecting woman would have. Only when she realized that the expected reaction from the king was delayed in coming did she glance back at the inscrutable monarch.

  Except that when she did, his face was not quite as neutral as she had expected. In fact, she had to describe his expression as a subdued version of the slack-jawed dumbfoundedness she had surely worn when she had first encountered Combs that morning, minus the tripping over her own shoes and gaping at his wife. Kadin glanced around to see whether anyone else noticed, but her colleagues seemed unwilling to look upon the king’s face and consequently remained oblivious to the king’s attraction to the doctor.

  Kadin started to make a note but then thought better of it. Even speculation that the king was sideways would put Imperial gossipmongers in a tizzy. The average man could have romantic attachments to as many men as he wanted. Imperials, though, needed to produce heirs, and people would always suspect the heirs of a sideways man of illegitimacy.

  Though, wouldn’t people suspect the paternity of any of Callista’s children? Kadin wondered. But, then, she suspected the Imperial obsession with its men proving their virility by fathering children ran deeper than logic.

  “Not at all.” The king’s words sounded the slightest bit less clipped as he addressed the doctor. “We are all interested in getting this case behind us as soon as may be.”

  “At this point, I have only conducted a cursory analysis.” Combs cleared his throat and kept his eyes on his notes. “I can say with some certainty that she was asphyxiated, but I will have to investigate further to determine the exact cause. I will have to ask Your Majesty to permit the transfer of the body to the lab at Valeriel Investigations so that I may conduct further examinations.”

  King Ralvin gave his head a slight shake. “Unacceptable. My wife’s body must be laid to rest as soon as may be, both for her own dignity and the comfort of her people. I cannot sanction subjecting her to disfiguring procedures not befitting her person.”

  The doctor sniffed, and Kadin suspected if he had put the slightest amount more vigor in his breath, he would have snorted. “I understand, Your Majesty, but it’s standard procedure in cases like this. I will not do anything to the body that would impede a full state funeral, once I have completed my tests. I assure you that without collecting more data, I have no hope of ascertaining cause of death and, consequently, of catching the killer.”

  “Then it seems I have no choice.” King Ralvin’s tone indicated he was unaccustomed to not getting his way.

  But, then, if he’s sideways, and he has to pretend otherwise, how much power can he have over his life? And if his sexuality is a lie, how much of this snobbery is real, and how much is a front?

  Kadin glanced at her boss’s puffed-up face and suspected that, were the king not present, Fellows would have gone after Combs with strong words and possibly fisticuffs. Combs returned Fellows’s look with equal severity.

  “Thank you for your assistance, Your Majesty.” Fellows gave a bow so deep, Kadin thought his nose might touch his knees. “If it is not a problem, we will now take our leave and continue the investigation. We will keep you apprised of absolutely any further developments.”

  The trio trailed out through the shining gold room. When Kadin reached the door, she turned back to see whether the king would give some indication of his true feelings, but his face remained a stony mask.

  Maybe there’s another reason he wants a no-name investigation company on the case, she thought. Maybe he knows a more competent team would uncover the truth.

  Chapter 5

  Fellows stormed into Queen Callista’s personal library, which Carver said the team could use for consultations. His red hot rage seemed at odds with the mauve and mahogany room. The queen must have gotten sick of the white and gold, too, Kadin thought.

  The wallpaper bore thick pink stripes interspersed with matching rosettes. Across the room from Kadin stood two sturdy bookcases, their shelves filled with hardcover copies of recent romance novels and women’s fiction. The air smelled of flowers, and the irises on the side table next to the boxy loveseat looked as if a maid had refreshed them only a few hours previously. Kadin guessed no one had told the woman responsible that Queen Callista wouldn’t need the room aired that morning.

  Scattered papers and envelopes, most of which bore the shiny engraving of formal invitations, covered the desk in the corner. Lying amidst them was a scrapbook open to pictures of the queen in elaborate ball gowns. On the floor next to the desk lay a pile of glossies, the latest issue of Imperial Society on top.

  Fellows turned on Combs as soon as the door clicked shut behind them. “What were you thinking, ordering the king around like that?”

  “I was thinking I need to further examine the body in order to determine the exact cause of death, which I was thinking might help the investigation.” Combs ripped the head mirror from his forehead. Kadin realized he had worn it since she’d first seen him and wondered if he needed it for the examination or if it was more of an affectation. “You have seen me say the same thing to any number of family members.”

  “You said taking possession of the body was standard procedure.” Fellows voice grew loud enough that Kadin worried anyone outside the room would hear him. “You know we only need to bring the body to our facility in a small percent of cases.”

  Kadin looked from one man to the other, from the handsome doctor, even more attractive without a metal circle covering his features, to her puffed-up boss.

  “Well, obviously this case is in that small percent, or I wouldn’t have said it!” Combs’s tone almost matched Fellows’s in volume.

  Fellows’s nostrils flared, and, given the cherry shade of his skin, Kadin half expected fire to flare from his nose. “Well, maybe you should have looked a little closer, because the press is going to have a field day over us taking the queen’s body into private custody.”

  Combs crossed his arms and tapped a finger against his elbow. “Oh, well, I am so sorry that the murderer’s desire to cover his method will garner bad press for our mercenary superiors.”

  I guess this is what they meant in class when they said external factors could interfere with an investigation, Kadin thought. I wonder if I should write any of this down.

  Fellows opened and closed his mouth several times, and the doctor held up a finger and took a few deep breaths. When Combs spoke again, he had replaced the ire in his tone with quiet intensity. “This case is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I can tell she was suffocated, but the symptoms don’t resemble any obvious poisons, and there aren’t any marks that I would ordinarily associate with strangulation or smothering. I need to take her back to the lab to test for other poisons.” He ran his fingers through his blond hair, disarraying its slick-backed perfection. “Believe me, I know the case is important, and the last thing that I want to do is make it more difficult. But I need to take that body to the lab if you want an accurate cause of death.”

  “Well, His Majesty has already given permission, so I suppose we may as well take advantage of it.” Fellows sighed with the air of someone making a great sacrifice. “All right, Dahran is still questioning staff upstairs, and I want to talk to the delinquent substitute guard and the sergeant who assigned him before we leave today. I’ll take the guard—” He glanced at his notes. “—Corporal Strand. You!” He waved to the guard in the hallway. Fellows scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to the man. “Give this to White. Tell him to talk to the sergeant when he finishes with the staff. Combs, go back to the lab, and do not leave until you get the answers you need for us
to release that body.”

  Captain Carver escorted Fellows and Kadin—she assumed her boss wanted her to go with him—out of the palace to another building that served as barracks. They trekked for what seemed like hours. As they passed lush green grass and beheld the royal forest in all its autumnal glory, Kadin could only pay attention to the pebble from the rocky path that had found its way into her shoe. As if enough blisters hadn’t formed on her toes and heels, now one was developing on her instep as well.

  The dark interior of the guard house smelled stale, and Kadin suspected the room didn’t get much use. Either the guards didn’t have a lot of extra space for this kind of thing, or the sergeant in charge of allocating space wanted Strand to suffer. She thanked the Deity for even musty respite, and when they entered the interrogation room, she collapsed into one of the utilitarian plastic chairs with what she hoped more closely resembled dignity than desperation.

  After she had slipped off her shoes, Kadin stared at the man seated across the faux mica table. He wore his light brown hair unfashionably mussed, though Kadin supposed he hadn’t had time to style it that morning. His skin bore a sallow hue, but the situation may have affected that, too. His eyes and nose—the former a little too close together, the latter a little too large—didn’t have circumstance to excuse them. So likely even on the best of days, he would have been as unimpressive and unassuming a man as Kadin had ever seen. She almost pitied him the glaring spotlight about to shine down on his life. The frenzied media would soon be upon him with a vengeance. His negligence had caused the queen’s death.

  Fellows set his notebook down on the table. “Corporal Strand?”