“Take a seat, Draius,” said Rhaffus, the captain of the City Guard. He was a large man, filling the room with his presence. His hair had been dark at one time, but now it mingled with white and was cut to rest upon his shoulders, as dictated by current fashion. He had a precisely trimmed mustache and beard on his lined face, a face that indicated many hard years of service. It was impossible to tell whether he had spent a sleepless night, but she suspected he had.
The gaslight hissed comfortably and kept the office bright, and the small stove in the corner threw off enough heat to warm the stone room. Captain Rhaffus sat at his desk, his Guard officer sword and scabbard hung on the wall behind him.
The only other person in the room was Lornis, the new lieutenant, sitting quietly and writing. One hand rubbed his impeccably trimmed beard, and again, his uniform was spotless. She glanced down at her own and breathed deeply with relief. Someone had pressed her sleeves and brushed her jerkin. She couldn’t measure up to the dandy Lornis, but she was presentable; Anja’s household staff must have ensured this.
“I fired Erik last night,” Rhaffus said. “He’s no longer Officer in Charge of Investigation.”
The news lifted a weight from her, but she wasn’t too surprised. Jan’s plans were unfolding faster than she expected, but at least she needn’t worry about insubordination charges.
“I have no problem with my officers having a drink, but I expect them to be competent when called to duty. At the least, he could have turned the matter over to other officers. Instead, he let a drunken crowd trample the evidence!”
“Yes, ser.” She pictured Jan explaining to the captain, “I suggested Commander Erik should go home, ser, but he insisted on staying.” This had worked out well for Jan.
“Take a look at the greeting I had this morning.” Rhaffus tossed a folded Horn & Herald at her.
Draius opened the sheet that supposedly provided Tyrrans with the most relevant information from the sister cities. The smell of the ink was strong, so she handled it gingerly.
“COUNCILMAN MERAN-NELJA REGGIS BIZARRELY BUTCHERED,” screamed the top headline. She skimmed through the text until the end, where she read aloud, “Could this foul play be magical, as proposed by the Society for the Restoration of Sorcery? Even the City Guard won’t rule out this possibility!”
She snorted and put aside the flier. “Magical murder? Bungling Guard? Too bad the crass sensationalism doesn’t hide our own, er, inefficiency.”
“You mean incompetence, don’t you? This time, Erik went beyond embarrassing his Meran-Kolme ancestors. The Guard has been humiliated in front of King and country!” Rhaffus slammed his large hand down upon his desk with a loud smack. Both she and Lornis jerked in surprise.
“I’ve sent a message to Andreas, telling him he’s gone too far. Using this murder to advance his ridiculous society is unethical and he’ll only hamper our investigation.”
Andreas, the editor of the H&H, was known for his lack of taste and tact, as well as his unending quest for “truth.” Only an edict from the King could stop him, as some embarrassed King’s Council members discovered. Rhaffus considered Andreas a thorn in the side of the King’s Law.
“Too bad his only competition is The Recorder.” Lornis referred to the other publication in the sister cities, which printed a dry rendering of births, deaths, marriage contracts, import and export shipments, production figures, and currency rates. The Recorder was published once an eight-day, as opposed to the daily H&H.
Although many Tyrrans disapproved of Andreas’s operation, the H&H was widely read and no one volunteered to produce a different daily paper. Rumor said Andreas couldn’t cover his costs printing the H&H and while this might be a fine hobby for a gentleman with means, Draius didn’t think a daily publication could ever turn a profit.
“There’s nothing to be done about what Andreas prints, Captain, unless you petition a magistrate,” she said. “If you’re patient, he’ll pauper himself and close down. Surely you didn’t call me in on Ringday morning to talk about the H&H.”
“Of course not. Since they mucked up the scene before I arrived, I’d like you to recall everything you saw in the room.”
“I put in a summary report—”
“I need a picture of the crime scene. Now.” Rhaffus picked up his pen, expectant.
Having done this before, when Rhaffus was only a commander and the OIC of Investigation, Draius closed her eyes and began.
“Councilman Reggis is lying across the center of the room, his feet pointing toward the door. His hands and feet are pinned to the floor with nails and there’s a deep incision lengthwise down his abdomen. He’s been disemboweled, and his fingers cut off. I didn’t see those separated members anywhere. There’s so much blood.” She swallowed. “Blood on the floor and walls. Too much blood for one man, it seems.”
“You’re right. We’ve found something that looks like pig hair in the blood on the walls. Go on.”
“A circle of blood is painted around the body, with filled circles at each hand and foot. A sign is drawn in blood on the wall facing the door, so it aligns over the head of the body.”
“Was this it?” Rhaffus held up a hand-drawn diagram of concentric circles with a scribed letter “N” in the center. He laid it in front of her, with a pen.
“I think there was more of a tail on the ‘N’ at the bottom, so that it entwined with the inner circle.” After leaning forward to adjust the diagram, she sat back and closed her eyes again.
“There’s a low table to the right of the body. On it is arranged, from left to right: a change purse, a stoppered glass vial with something black in it, a similar vial with something white in it, and two folded pieces of parchment. A chair against the right wall has a folded cloak on it, the same color as the cloak he was wearing in the common room. On the floor are scattered coins.”
“How many?”
“Hmm.” Her eyes stayed closed. “I see six halves and two tenths, but the blood could be covering more.”
“Most of that evidence disappeared.” The captain’s voice was grim. “The vials were found on the floor, cracked, but with their contents intact. The coins, change-purse, and documents, if they were documents, are gone. When I reached the Sea Serpent, Erik was puking on the gallery floor, the crowd had moved the body downstairs, and the staff was cleaning up the room. Can you believe it?”
Captain Rhaffus barged on, not expecting an answer. “Reggis must have been knocked out with a quick-acting poison prior to his death, because no one heard screams. He was unconscious or deceased by the time they started cutting him up—and they had little more than half an hour to do their butchering. Do you remember anything more, Draius?”
After a pause, she shook her head and opened her eyes. “I only had a few seconds to look about.”
Lornis stared at her open-mouthed, while Rhaffus laughed. “What did I tell you, Lieutenant? A memory that paints a picture.”
Lornis looked down at his notes. “From my own—inadequate—memory, I’ve written down what I saw and what the barmaid told me. She claimed she was meeting Reggis after her shift and used the key he gave her to get into the locked room. She insisted, multiple times, that this was a tryst of the heart and no money was involved.”
“When did you last see the councilman alive, Draius?” asked Rhaffus.
She pictured Councilman Reggis at the top of the stairs, leaning over the balustrade and gesturing to the barmaid, pointing to the third room!
“Ser!” She sat straight up in her chair. “You’ve got to examine the third room on the gallery. He intended to meet the girl in that room, yet we found his body in the fourth room.”
Captain Rhaffus stood up and shouted for his aide, who appeared at the door. Rhaffus gave him orders to seal off the whole gallery of rooms at the Sea Serpent.
“I never thought to ask where she expected to meet the councilman. I figured their appointment was in the room where his body was found.” Lornis made another note.
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br /> “By now there won’t be anything left to find.” Rhaffus cursed Erik, mumbling, but clearly enough for her to hear. He stomped back to his desk and sat down, making the chair creak. “I didn’t call you here solely to get your view of the room. I’m offering you Officer in Charge of Investigation.”
She was speechless.
“You’ve earned the position,” Rhaffus said. “You’ve got the experience. I made a mistake when I promoted Erik, by not going with my instinct—which says you’re the one for this job.”
“But I’m only a lieutenant commander.” Full commanders usually filled Officer in Charge (OIC) positions.
“Well, this case could bring an early promotion for you. Or, it could bring an early end to your career.” The captain’s eyes glinted.
Draius caught the implication as well as the threat, but the deputy position worried her more. Erik had already selected Jan and after seeing him climb over most of his commanders, she didn’t know if she could work with him. Trying to find another name, of any other suitable candidate, she mentally ticked off the roster of Guard officers in Betarr Serasa. Unfortunately, with Erik gone, the only officers left with any investigative experience were Captain Rhaffus and herself.
Using a neutral tone, she asked, “Will Jan still be deputy?”
“No, I’m moving Jan to Deputy of City Defense. After all, he’s Serasa-Kolme, and they built most of our city walls.”
Jan wouldn’t be penalized, since that was a lateral move, but he wouldn’t be grateful. He’d obviously hoped to move into OIC of Investigation, which was a crucial position for career advancement. Every captain of the City Guard had done a stint as OIC of Investigation, including the one sitting before her. In fact, Rhaffus had gone straight to the captaincy from it.
“What do you say, Draius?”
She hesitated. She’d always let her career be subordinate to Jan’s. She’d been offered a position in the King’s Guard immediately after her marriage to Jan, but he had to take a post with the Betarr Kain City Guard. She moved with him to Betarr Kain, where Peri was born. When Peri was old enough for afternoon lessons, Jan managed to get a post in Betarr Serasa. Once they’d moved back to the sister cities she didn’t reapply to the King’s Guard, which would mean continual patrols outside the sister cities, and always being away from her son and her husband. Instead, she took work with the City Guard in the Office of Budget and Analysis, which was considered a dead-end position.
From Budget she quickly moved to Investigation, which was a rewarding job under Rhaffus. When Rhaffus was promoted and replaced by Erik, however, the Office of Investigation became a place of drudgery. Now she was being rewarded with the offer of a good position, one that promised advancement in the Guard. If she accepted, the bad news was that every ambitious officer, including Jan, would be angling to replace her. To stay in this position, she’d have to be politically astute and dodge any negative publicity—Erik being the cautionary example.
“Well? You shouldn’t turn this down in favor of Jan,” Rhaffus added. “In my opinion, he’s just not right for this position. If you don’t accept, I’ll find a different officer.”
Rhaffus couldn’t know the reason she hesitated; she knew what Jan was capable of when he felt wronged. She remembered the officer in the Betarr Kain Guard whom he felt had been promoted, unfairly, ahead of him. He’d methodically ruined the man, exploiting a gambling weakness until his rival resigned in disgrace and killed himself. Jan never expressed any remorse, even when she confronted him, and she’d never mentioned it to anyone. She wondered if that was all that held them together: his confidence in her discretion, and her obligation to strengthen his conscience. She took a deep breath.
“I’ll take the position,” she said. I can’t live in fear of my own husband. What can he do to me that he hasn’t done already? She felt a surge of satisfaction, but whether it came from the retribution against Jan or from honest fulfillment, she didn’t know.
“Good! I’m going to try Lornis here as your deputy. You’ll have two watchmen and a clerk, although you’ll share the clerk with the Offices of Budget and Analysis.”
She glanced over at Lornis who was, even at his age, an inexperienced lieutenant. “Ah, ser?”
“Yes?” Rhaffus was looking down at his notes, obviously finished with their discussion.
“Can we talk about my staff, ser? Perhaps in private?” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lornis look down and flush. Rhaffus frowned, but she plowed onward, “Shouldn’t I have a more experienced staff? The Councilman’s murder is high priority.”
“I’m giving you Ponteva, who has plenty of experience. As for Lornis, I’m sure you’ll find him more than adequate.” The captain’s tone sounded final.
“Yes, ser. Thank you.”
“Make the most of this opportunity, Draius, and don’t disappoint me. This has received Meran-Viisi attention because a member of the King’s Council was murdered. You’ll have to provide reports directly to the King, starting first thing tomorrow.” He made a motion of dismissal.
Yes, she had the opportunity of a lifetime, as critical eyes watched her take a position meant for a man with political aspirations. Failure would mean resignation, voluntary or not, just like what happened to Erik. She set her jaw and saluted Captain Rhaffus.
•••
The Office of Investigation resided in merely two rooms: a large outer office with a table and several chairs, and an inner, smaller office for the OIC.
The entire staff had been called in for duty and was waiting for her. The clerk, Usko, was a small man who vibrated with precision and efficiency. Usko started working for the Office of Investigation under Erik, so while she’d exchanged pleasantries with him each day, her tasks had required little interaction with the clerk. Now he showed her the records on the Reggis murder: initial reports from the coroner, statements the watch had collected from witnesses, etc. The physical evidence, including the key Draius had taken from the barmaid, was locked away.
“Very efficient,” she said, making Usko beam. “Officer Lornis and I will have to go over all of this in detail.”
She glanced at her second-in-command, who watched the small clerk with a small smile. The captain obviously favored him, but she didn’t know why Lornis rated special treatment. If I’m going to be saddled with him as my deputy, I hope he’s got a brain in that pretty head.
The two watchmen assigned to staff duty had their watch cycle reduced to three shifts an eight-day, and the rest of the eight-day they were devoted to supporting the Office of Investigation. They were opposite sides of a coin: Ponteva, a grizzled watch commander, and Miina, a young trainee who had recently graduated to Entrant rank. Miina’s dark hair was shorter than fashionable, but could still be tied back. Her hair made her look very young and she bubbled with child-like enthusiasm, making Draius wonder if she could still touch the Phrenii. It was unusual, but not unwarranted, to assign such a young watchman to staff duty.
“What’s our first assignment, ser?” Ponteva had the ease of many years of experience, and a stillness about him that reminded Draius of a hundred-year-old oak. Solid.
She handed Ponteva the background that had been compiled for Councilman Reggis. “Get started on the interviews. You’ll need to question relatives, friends, and associates, and find out who might have a grudge against the councilman. Identify anyone with a motive.”
“We’ll have a long list. He was popular with the women.” Ponteva was blunt.
“Then you better get started,” she said.
The two watchmen sat down at the conference table and laid the background information in front of them. Ponteva started giving Miina names, which she wrote down in an order that would make their traversal of the cities easier. Miina obviously had a logical mind, and by all indications, she and Ponteva would work well together.
Draius turned to Lornis, examining the files with Usko. Although the lieutenant was the same height as Draius, he towered over the clerk, who s
eemed frail by comparison. His hair cascaded down his back and looked like a shining mane, while the clerk’s glasses and wispy hair reminded her of a marsh bird. Draius suddenly had a disturbing sense of predator and prey, standing together.
“Ser?” Lornis looked her quizzically.
“Let’s go over the witness statements.” She motioned for him to follow her, but paused before entering the inner room for the Officer in Charge of Investigation, savoring the moment. This was her office. No longer Erik’s, and not Jan’s.
The thought of Jan soured her. This position might sound the death knell for their contract. This murder case would end one of two ways: failure would end her career, but success would end her marriage.
CHAPTER EIGHT
First Markday, Erin Three, T.Y. 1471
On Markday morning, the clear light didn’t erase the memories of the previous night. Eventually I must write down the specifics of how the Sareenian died, how wondrous our bodies can be, and how much violation they can suffer before expiring. My employer, however, was more interested in the information the Sareenian divulged in an effort to save his life: the ship was to sail to the ports of Chikirmo, not Illus, as my employer instructed. Of course, we already knew that, but not the fact the Sareenian registered the ship and cargo with underwriters.
I focused on capturing the energy of pain and death. The magic streamed through my bloodstream and pounded in my heart, so I paid no heed to the Sareenian’s screams, pleas, or eventual prayers. Being careful, I sealed the power into the pieces of flesh using purified silver and ensured the circle and signs were drawn correctly.
During cleanup, my employer blocked my view of the room with his bulk. I thought he wanted my attention. “Any suggestions, Taalo? What can be done, if the Groygans have the lodestone?”
“You’re assuming the ship arrived safely in Chikirmo with its cargo.” The Sareenian’s death still sang in my head, so my voice had a slight tremor. I caressed the cold metal of my tools as I cleaned and reluctantly packed them away. Their surfaces, smooth and sharp, made my skin tingle.
A Charm for Draius: A Novel of the Broken Kaskea (The Broken Kaskea Series Book 1) Page 5
