Catching a Man

by Elizabeth Corrigan

  She shrank back at the hostility in Fellows’s tone. “I… Do you want me to contact the Oriole estate and let them know that we plan to go over and talk with Duchess Beatrin?” It’s not as though the duke said anything important. I can always tell Fellows about it if it becomes relevant.

  Fellows looked at her as though she were a dog who had happened to pick that day’s issue of the Tribune out of a pile. “All right, that may be advantageous. Tell them that we will be there after lunch, about 1:00.”

  “What do you want me to do after that?”

  Fellows made an exasperated noise and snapped his pen down on the desk. “Miss Stone, I am extremely busy right now. I’m sure that you can find things to do to amuse yourself.”

  Does that mean I have to be self-directed in my work or that he doesn’t want me to do anything?

  She returned to her desk and called the Oriole estate to schedule an appointment for that afternoon. When she hung up the phone, she read through her notes from the day before, making sure she hadn’t left anything out of the typed version. She slid the clean copy into a file folder from the cabinet, wrote “Callista DeValeriel” on the tab, and set it to the side of her desk.

  She glanced at the clock. Three hours. Well, two until we have to leave. Does Fellows expect me to do nothing for two hours? Why would he hire and pay an aide to sit here and look pretty?

  Well, isn’t that why you wanted the job? she could imagine Leslina asking.

  It is, I guess. But I still expected to do the job. She eyed the clock again. Three minutes had passed. I might as well look into the case on my own. But where can I get more information about the people involved? She laughed to herself as the obvious answer occurred to her.

  She took the lift down to the basement for the second time that day, but this time she turned left at the bottom and went to visit the switchboards.

  Trinithy squealed when she saw Kadin. “Did you really get to go to the palace yesterday? Was it fabulous? Did you meet any Imperials? Did someone really murder Queen Callista? Please tell me you swiped a souvenir for me.”

  Kadin laughed. “Yes, I went to the palace, and it was fairly magnificent. But where would I have gotten you a souvenir? It’s not as if the Imperial Palace has a gift shop, and, besides, I was investigating a murder.”

  Trinithy stuck out her lower lip. “You could have swiped me one of Queen Callista’s perfume bottles or something. It’s not as if she needs them anymore.”

  A rush of warmth filled Kadin. She wished she’d had a running commentary from Trinithy at the palace yesterday. “Yes, because the best thing for me right now would be getting caught stealing something from a dead woman.”

  Trinithy held up a staying hand. “All seriousness, though, Kadin. Did someone murder the queen?”

  “Indeed, someone did.” Kadin sat down in her old chair. “And I need your help with that. I don’t know too much about Queen Callista—or Lady Beatrin, who I have to go see this afternoon—so I thought you might have some articles or something that could help.”

  Trinithy put a hand over her heart. “Lady Beatrin…” She sat up straighter. “If I’m going to give you enough information about Lady Beatrin for you to meet her, I need reinforcements.”

  She moved a wire to the jack for the personnel department and flipped the talk switch. After a moment, her face brightened. “Ollie! Get down here, and bring everything you’ve got on Beatrin Oriole. It’s an emergency.”

  She didn’t give him time to answer before she hung up and turned back to Kadin. “So did you meet anyone at the palace? I need details!”

  Kadin leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Well, I was there while Fellows interviewed the king.”

  Trinithy made a series of high-pitched noises so shrill that Kadin feared temporary deafness, and more than one switchboard operator turned to look at them. “What was he like? Did he say anything to you? In all the pictures he’s always all done up in full royal apparel. Does he dress differently when he’s not in public? Did he have the face paint?”

  Maybe I don’t wish Trinithy had been there after all. If she had made these noises in front of the king, we never would have gotten anywhere with the investigation. “Yes on the face paint, no on the dressing differently. Maybe he wears normal clothes when he’s alone, but we were enough of a public appearance that he had on the full regalia, cape included. He did ask who I was, but he didn’t talk to me other than that. Fellows asked the questions, and Dr. Combs, the forensics specialist, spoke to him a bit, too. No one expected me to interrogate anyone on my first day.” And they still won’t expect it today or tomorrow or the next day or any day, even if I’m here for years.

  “Oh, my Deity, Kadin, you are so lucky!” Trinithy’s tiny body shook so much her stool squeaked. “Did you meet anyone else?”

  “Well…” Duke Baurus threw a book at my head and shouted at me some.

  Olivan appeared behind Trinithy, sparing Kadin the decision of whether to reveal that particular factoid.

  “Ollie, Kadin met the king!” Trinithy reached out to grab some of the glossies that spilled from Olivan’s hands.

  Olivan set the rest of the pile down in front of Trinithy’s switchboard and faced Kadin. “Oh, who cares about the king? I heard her say she met Jace Combs. Would you introduce me?”

  Twin lines formed above Trinithy’s nose as she paged through Olivan’s glossies. “Who’s that? Is he famous? I haven’t heard of him.”

  Olivan’s jaw dropped. “You haven’t told her about Jace? He is only the hottest guy in the entire company. Or possibly the entire city of Valeriel. Maybe even the kingdom.” He and Trinithy stuck their lips out at Kadin.

  A twinge of guilt fluttered in Kadin’s stomach. “Well, Trinithy was asking about the king. Besides, Combs is married, which is pretty fair evidence that he’s not sideways.”

  Olivan waved a hand. “Oh, as if his sub-D of a wife counts.”

  Kadin rolled her eyes. “If she’s got the ring and the certificate, she counts, Ollie. Let’s not have this conversation again. Although I did mean to ask you, what’s the story with them? I’m fairly certain she’s not his dream girl, and she didn’t seem overly devoted to him either.”

  Olivan’s eyes lit up. “They’ve been married for a few years now. The story goes that she was totally Class D, or well on her way, and she set her sights on him. One hundred percent evil seduction until he had his wicked way with her. Then she threatened to cry rape if he wouldn’t marry her. So he could have a wedding to save his reputation or get dragged through the courts and have the nuptials court-ordered. He picked the former. So now the sub-D cheats on him all the time, but he won’t divorce her because that would be like throwing her out on the street, and he’s too nice.”

  Trinithy winkled nose suggested she wanted to vomit, but her eyes held rabid fascination. “So he’s hot and decent, but he’s married to a sub-D?”

  “And not even sideways. It’s one of life’s great injustices,” Olivan said. They exchanged pitying glances.

  Kadin thought back to Combs’s behavior that morning, and the day before. “I’m pretty sure his bad attitude would turn both of you off within minutes.”

  Trinithy put her chin on her hand and sighed. “But he wouldn’t need to be unpleasant if he were married to me. I’d be the perfect wife.”

  Kadin coughed to cover a laugh. “Regardless, I didn’t come down to discuss Jace Combs, pretty though he may be. I need to know what you know about the queen.”

  “Oh, the queen! That woman was a sub-D and a half!” Olivan’s excitement dimmed a bit. Kadin supposed that was the difference between Olivan talking about someone he had a chance of meeting, instead of someone he never would.

  Trinithy twisted her lips. “I’ve never understood what you mean by that. I mean, wouldn’t being a hal
f more than a D make her close to an E?”

  “Not the point, Trinithy.” Olivan’s clipped words belied the animation in his face. “I meant that she made someone like Joelle Combs look as if she could be employed in the Merchant District.”

  Trinithy twirled a curl around her finger. “I’m saying it doesn’t make sense, is all.”

  Snipe, snipe, snipe. “So the queen wasn’t faithful to the king. Everyone and his sideways cousin knew about her affair with Duke Baurus.”

  “He was just the tip of the iceberg.” Olivan pulled out a glossy and pointed out clicks of Queen Callista at various social events. In each one, she was attired in the latest fashions; her shining blond hair was perfectly coifed; and she had a different man on her arm. “This is her with Count Mikache Fox. And this one is Lord Dimka Fiesta. Oh, and do you remember this one, Trinithy? Groven Sophist? He’s a Merchant, K, so you know that was a total scandal. And let’s not forget—”

  “Ollie.” Kadin held up her hand, knowing that if she let him go on, she would get the full list of every man with whom Queen Callista appeared in public since her coronation. “I get the idea. But going to parties with different guys isn’t the same as… engaging in inappropriate behavior with them.”

  “True enough,” Olivan said. “Especially since King Ralvin was well-known for not going to Imperial events, and he couldn’t expect her to spend the whole time alone. And usually she did go with Duke Baurus.” He picked up a new glossy and flipped through it. “Oh, here’s one with the two of them.”

  In every other click, the beautiful and charming queen drew Kadin’s eye. But she faded into the background when Duke Baurus’s sheer vibrancy attended her. His rapture shone forth from the page, almost as strongly as it had in person, and the emotion overwhelmed Kadin. How can everyone have said he hung on her every word? Compared to him, she was nothing…

  Fingers snapped in front of her face. “Earth to Kadin! Did you hear what I said?”

  Kadin blinked several times, clearing her head. “Sorry, Ollie, guess I zoned out for a second. What were you saying?”

  Olivan pressed his lips into a line. “I said that everyone knew Queen Callista was sleeping with Duke Baurus, but the gossip writers could only speculate on the others. Some of the glossies speculate that she only went out with other men to make the duke jealous.” Olivan flipped through several magazines until he found a click of Duke Baurus glaring at the camera. Kadin recognized the expression, since he had given her that look the day before. The facing page showed three pictures of Queen Callista dancing and laughing with other men. “Then out of the blue they would be back together.”

  “Hm.” If Queen Callista broke up with Duke Baurus all the time, what was different about this time? What could have made him enraged enough to kill her? “Tell me about Lady Beatrin.”

  Olivan pulled out a glossy he already had folded open and handed it to Kadin. “Duke Baurus’s older sister, married to Duke Frasis Oriole. No children, but Duke Frasis has two sons from an earlier marriage. The family’s wealth comes from the vast mineral mines of Oriole Territory, which means Lady Beatrin always has the best diamonds. And that the Territory gets a cut of every electronic device we buy to fulfill the cravings of our modern hearts.”

  Kadin skimmed the article in front of her. Rather than recounting yet another Imperial gala, the piece described some nobles’ endeavor to raise funds for the city’s charity food bank. Such gestures were pointless, Tobin often said. If the Imperials really wanted to help the poor, they’d redistribute some of their wealth and create a balanced economy. But Kadin knew most women, even noble women, didn’t have control of their wealth, so she liked to see them doing what they could.

  The click next to the article showed a woman in her late thirties with a severe dark brown pixie cut, an austere set to her lips, and a high-necked white dress. Some of her features had the same shape as Duke Baurus’s, but Lady Beatrin’s sheer lack of expressiveness made Kadin wonder how the nobles could be related at all.

  “Duchess Beatrin is an Imperial of the old order. She believes in keeping up appearances at all times and snubbing the upstart Merchant class. Your basic boring Imperial. Although…” Olivan tapped his finger against his chin.

  Trinithy leaned forward, her chest heaving under her light blue sweetheart collar. “Ollie, please do not tell me you know gossip about Lady Beatrin. You’ve been holding out on me!”

  Olivan grinned, and his eyes shone with a wicked light. “Rumor has it that in her naïve DeValeriel days, Lady B had an affair with Garson Grey.”

  Kadin thought back to where she had heard that name. “Isn’t he a gossip columnist?”

  “The gossip columnist. For the Valeriel Tribune. And freelance for Imperial Society.” Olivan reached over and turned back a couple of pages in the glossy in Kadin’s lap. He pointed to a black-and-white click of a dark-haired man with a mischievous smile. “The story goes that Lady Beatrin’s mother, Lady Augustille, found out about the relationship and hit the roof. She made Lady B marry Duke Frasis in a hurry, even though he was twice her age, because he was the only one who would have her. I would have thought more people would have jumped at getting that much closer to the DeValeriel name.”

  Trinithy’s jaw slackened. “Oh. My. Deity. How is it possible I did not know this? Lady Beatrin. I mean, she… she... she goes to parties, but she never does anything. How can she have been a rebel in her youth?”

  Ollie shrugged, and he couldn’t hide the grin spreading on his face. “It’s just a rumor, and not one that will help Kadin in her search. These days, Lady Beatrin is as upstanding a member of the community as you’re going to find. She doesn’t approve of her brother’s goings-on, and she’s even less likely to approve of his being a murderer.”

  Kadin stared down at the stern woman on the page in front of her, with her tight lips and eyes that brooked no opposition. If she could have a fiery scandal in her past, what secrets could someone like Queen Callista have had?

  Chapter 7

  When Kadin and Fellows reached the Oriole estate that afternoon, a servant escorted them to Lady Beatrin’s library. The main hallway seemed less grand than the entrance to the palace, but Kadin suspected that had more to do with the muted blue and green décor—Oriole colors—than any difference in quality. If anything, the woven tapestries and understated cedar furnishings that lined the walls probably cost more than the garish gold of the palace.

  Lady Beatrin’s library was similar to Queen Callista’s in that both had bookcases lining the walls, but the similarities ended there. The light blue sofa and chairs did not conform to modern styles, and the antique desk in the corner was bare except for a simple gold lamp. The leather-bound volumes on the shelves reflected the tastes of a woman who preferred last century’s classics to contemporary pulp.

  Either Lady Beatrin likes antiques, or Duke Frasis is less inclined to indulge his wife’s tastes than the king is, thought Kadin.

  Kadin and Fellows sat in the room long enough for the gold clock on the mantle to chime both the hour and the quarter hour. As the echo of the delicate hymn faded for the second time, Lady Beatrin strode into the room wearing a smart blue suit. Fellows stood up to shake her hand, and Kadin noticed that, in her heels, the duchess had an inch or two on the detective.

  “I apologize for keeping you waiting.” Lady Beatrin, sounding about as sorry as the average Imperial who inconvenienced a commoner, gave Fellows’s hand a brisk shake, then did the same to Kadin’s. “I regret that I have another appointment in half an hour, so this will need to be brief. I assume you wish to discuss Callista’s death.”

  “Of course, of course. I shall make this as quick as possible.” Fellows situated himself on the sofa again. “Could you please tell me about your relationship with Queen Callista?”

  Lady Beatrin sat down in a faded blue chair and crossed her long
legs. “We had known each other for years, since her engagement to my cousin Ralvin, and we ran in the same social circles.”

  “Would you say you were friends?” Fellows asked.

  “After a fashion.” Lady Beatrin laid her hands on the arms of her chair. “We often attended events together, and we each had our Imperial duties, though we did not always agree on the method of carrying them out.”

  Party line all the way, then, Kadin thought, though she couldn’t help but think that the duchess had expressed as negative an opinion of the queen as decency would allow.

  Fellows wrote something in his notebook. “How did you feel about the relationship between the queen and your brother?”

  A tingle ran down Kadin’s spine at the mention of the duke. She decided to attribute it to guilt over not mentioning her encounter with him to Fellows. She certainly didn’t find him interesting.

  “I try never to have an opinion about Baurus’s affairs.” Lady Beatrin’s hazel eyes looked as if they could see right through Fellows. “He is a grown man and may manage his life as he sees fit.”

  “Then you were aware of your brother’s relationship with the queen?” Fellows voice sounded detached, disinterested. As if he were discussing his grocery list, rather than the torrid affair that may have led to the crime of the century.

  Lady Beatrin raised a pointed eyebrow. “If you’re asking me to confirm society page rumors, I am going to have to decline.”

  Kadin glanced down at the blank paper in front of her. She wondered how Fellows was finding so much to write about.

  Fellows met the duchess’s gaze. “Are you going to tell me that Duke Baurus did not spend the evening here the night before the queen’s murder?”

  Kadin’s head darted up to look at Fellows. Then she mentally chastised herself for being surprised. Fellows had worked all morning, so it only made sense he would have tracked down what the duke had done after he left the palace.