“Let us suppose for a moment,” said Hawk, “that Bowman did kill Blackstone. Would Katherine have supported him in that, or would he have to do it on his own, and hope she never found out he was responsible?”
“I don’t know.” Dorimant shrugged angrily. “I’m not a mind reader. People can do strange things when they’re in love.”
“What about the other guests?” said Fisher. “Is there anyone else in this house with a motive to kill Blackstone?”
“I don’t know about motives,” said Dorimant slowly. “I know William had quarrelled recently with Adam Stalker.”
“Really?” said Hawk. “That’s interesting. What did they quarrel abut?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think anybody knows. Neither of them would talk about it. But it must have been pretty serious. William was very angry about it; I could tell.”
“Anything else you can tell us?” said Fisher.
“Not really. We all admired William; we all believed in him. And most of us liked him.”
“How did you feel about him?” said Fisher.
Dorimant looked at her steadily. “William Blackstone was the bravest and finest man I ever met.”
“Thank you,” said Hawk. “That will be all for the moment. Please wait in the parlour with the others, and send in Katherine Blackstone.”
Dorimant nodded and got to his feet. He left without looking back.
“He seemed very eager to lay the blame on Bowman,” said Hawk slowly. “Almost too eager.”
“Yeah,” said Fisher. “I don’t know about you, Hawk, but my head hurts. The more people we see, the more complicated and impossible this case gets. We’ve got more suspects than we can shake a stick at, and we still haven’t got a clue as to how the murder was committed!”
“Stay with it, lass,” said Hawk, smiling in spite of himself. “After all, we’ve both had experience with Court intrigues in the past, and if we can handle that, we can certainly handle this. Let’s face it. Compared to some courtiers we’ve known, these people are amateurs. Now, how do you feel about Dorimant? He seemed sincere enough.”
“Yeah,” said Fisher. “But we’ve only his word that Visage was with him at the time of the murder. He could be lying.”
“It’s possible. But then again, it’s not the kind of thing you’d expect him to admit if it wasn’t true.”
“Right.” Fisher frowned thoughtfully. “And if Dorimant and Visage are having an affair, that takes away Visage’s motivation, doesn’t it? I mean, she couldn’t be having an affair with Dorimant and Blackstone. Could she?”
“It does seem rather unlikely,” said Hawk, “but we don’t know that Visage and Dorimant were having an affair. All right, they were both in his room, but Dorimant never actually said why. Perhaps they had some other reason for being there....”
Fisher groaned. “My head’s starting to hurt again....”
The door opened and Katherine Blackstone came in. She looked pale but composed. She shut the door carefully behind her and glanced quickly round the library, as though searching for some hidden listener. She looked steadily at Hawk and Fisher, and then sank gracefully into the chair before them.
“Well?” she said harshly. “Who killed my husband?”
“We’re still working on it,” said Hawk politely. “Detective work is a slow process, but we usually get there in the end. There are a few questions we need to ask you.”
“All right. Go ahead.”
“Let’s start with the events leading up to the murder. You and your husband went upstairs to change for dinner. He went into the bedroom and you went to the bathroom. You came back, and found the door to your room locked. You called to your husband, but couldn’t get any reply. You became worried, and went downstairs to fetch Fisher and myself. We went back with you, broke the door in, and found your husband dead. Is that correct?”
“Yes. That’s what happened.”
“Is there anything missing from that account?”
“No.”
“Did anyone see you, or talk to you, on the landing?”
“No.”
“It has been suggested,” said Fisher carefully, “that you visited Edward Bowman in his room.”
“That’s a lie,” said Katherine flatly. “I suppose you’ve also been told that we’re having an affair? I thought so. William’s enemies have been trying to use that slander against him for years. Who said it this time? Graham? No, he’s too loyal to William. Visage. I’ll bet it was that simpering bitch Visage. She always had eyes for William, but he hardly even knew she existed. Edward and I have been friends for a long time, but never more than that. I loved my husband, and no one else. And now he’s dead, all his enemies will come crawling out of their holes to try and blacken his reputation with the same old lies, in the hope they can destroy what he achieved!”
“Who do you think killed him?” asked Fisher.
“I don’t know.” Katherine suddenly seemed very tired, as though all the defiance had gone out of her along with her angry words. She sat slumped in her chair, her eyes vague and far away. “I can’t think straight anymore. William had any number of enemies.”
“Had he quarrelled with anyone recently?” asked Fisher.
Katherine shrugged. “Not that I know of. I know he wasn’t too pleased with Adam about something, but it couldn’t have been that important. William never said anything about it to me.”
“Who actually invited Stalker to this party?” asked Fisher.
“I did,” said Katherine. “William didn’t bother himself with minor matters like that. But he knew Adam would be here. If we hadn’t invited him, it would have been a frightful snub.”
“Thank you,” said Hawk. “I think that’s all for now. Please wait with the others in the parlour, and ask Lord Hightower to come in.”
“Is that it?” said Katherine. “Is that all you wanted to ask me?”
“For the moment,” said Fisher. “There might be a few more questions later.”
Katherine Blackstone nodded slowly, and got up out of her chair. “Find my husband’s killer,” she said softly. “I don’t care how you do it, but find him.” She left the library without looking back.
Hawk scowled unhappily. “If she is lying, she’s a very good liar.”
“From what I’ve heard, she was the finest actress in all Haven,” said Fisher. “In her day. She might be a little rusty after so long away from the stage, but a few lies with a straight face shouldn’t be beyond her abilities.”
“But what if she is telling the truth?” said Hawk. “Dorimant could have his own reasons for lying.”
“Yes,” said Fisher. “He could. But one of the unpleasant truths of murder is that when a man or woman meets a violent end, the wife or the husband is usually the most likely suspect. Katherine could have good reasons for wanting her husband dead. Blackstone might have overlooked his wife’s infidelity in the past rather than risk damaging his political career with a scandal, but if the affair got too blatant he’d have to divorce her, or lose all respect. You heard what Dorimant said. Katherine was fond of her husband, but she loved the money and prestige of being a Councillor’s wife. As his widow, she could have the money and the prestige, and her lover as well.”
“Right,” said Hawk. “And there’s a few holes in her story, as well. According to her, she went upstairs, went to the bathroom, came back and found the door locked, and then came down to us. And as you said, between her going up and coming down again there had to be a gap of about twenty minutes. That’s a long time in the bathroom ... And—if she did bang on the locked door and call out to her husband—how is it that no one else heard her? No one else has mentioned hearing her call out. You’d have thought someone would come out to see what was happening....”
“Yeah,” said Fisher. “Mind you, if you’re looking for another front-runner, the one thing that practically everyone agrees on is that Blackstone had a big row with Adam Stalker not long ago.”
“Now
that is pushing it,” said Hawk. “Adam Stalker ... ?”
The library door suddenly flew open, and Lord and Lady Hightower strode in. Lord Roderik slammed the door shut, and he and his wife stood together facing Hawk and Fisher. Their expressions were openly defiant.
“I asked to see you alone, my Lord,” said Hawk.
“I don’t give a damn what you asked for,” said Hightower. “There’s nothing you could possibly have to say to me that can’t be said in front of my wife.”
“Very well,” said Hawk. “Where were you at the time of the murder, my Lord?”
“In my room. With my wife.”
“Is that right, my Lady?” asked Fisher.
“Of course,” said the Lady Elaine, disdainfully.
“Thank you,” said Hawk. “That will be all for the moment, my Lord and Lady.”
Hightower looked startled for a moment, and then his face was hard and unyielding again. “I demand to know why I was prevented from examining the body. What are you trying to hide from us?”
“I said that will be all, my Lord,” said Hawk politely. “You may rejoin the others in the parlour. And ask Adam Stalker to come in, if you please.”
Hightower glared at him. Hawk met his gaze calmly, and after a moment Hightower turned away. He took his wife by the arm, opened the door for her and led her out. He slammed the door shut behind him, and the sound echoed loudly in the small room. Fisher looked at Hawk.
“That’s all? What about all the other questions we should have asked them?”
“What was the point?” said Hawk. “They’ve got each other as an alibi, and Hightower isn’t going to volunteer any information to the likes of us. Whatever we ask, he’ll just say it’s none of our business. If he has anything to say, he’ll save it for our superiors tomorrow. He wants us to fail, lass. That way he can prove to himself that his son’s death was my fault after all.”
“He’d actually risk his friend’s murderer getting away?”
“He knows there’ll be a full forensic team in here tomorrow, once the isolation spell is down and we can file our report. He’ll talk to them if he’s got anything to say, which I doubt.”
Fisher frowned. “The law is on our side. We could compel him to talk.”
“I don’t think so. Hightower’s an important man in this city. He may no longer be Chief Commander, but he still has influential friends. No, Isobel, anything we learn about Hightower will have to come from other people. He wouldn’t give us the time of day if we held a sword to his throat.”
Fisher shrugged unhappily. “I suppose you’re right. The Lady Elaine might not be such a tough nut, though. I’ll see if I can get her on her own, later. I might get some information out of her, woman to woman.”
“Worth a try,” said Hawk. “But don’t raise your hopes too high.”
The door swung open, and Stalker stood framed in the doorway. He held the pose a moment, and then entered the library, ducking his head slightly to avoid banging it on the doorframe. He sat down facing Hawk and Fisher, and the chair creaked loudly under his weight. Even sitting down, Stalker was still a head taller than Hawk or Fisher.
“All right,” said Stalker grimly. “You’ve talked to everyone else and heard their stories. Who killed William?”
“It’s too early to say, yet,” said Hawk.
“You must have learned something!”
“Yes,” said Hawk. “Most of it contradictory. Where were you at the time of the murder, sir Stalker?”
“In my room. Alone. I don’t have any witnesses, or an alibi. But I didn’t kill William.”
“Is there any reason why we should think you did?” asked Fisher.
Stalker smiled briefly. “Someone must have told you by now that William and I hadn’t been getting on too well of late.”
“There was some talk that the two of you had argued about something,” said Hawk.
“We’d decided to go our separate ways,” said Stalker. “William was always too slow, too cautious, for me. I wanted to get out there and do things, change things. William and I were always arguing, right from the start. We both wanted the same things, more or less, but we could never agree on the best way to achieve them. Looking back, it’s a wonder we stayed together as long as we did. Anyway, I finally decided to go off on my own, and see what my reputation could do for me at the next election. I think I’ll make a pretty good Councillor, myself. Haven could do a lot worse. It often has, in the past. But that’s all there was to our quarrel—just a parting of the ways. I had nothing against the man; I admired him, always have. Straightest man I ever met.”
“So who do you think killed Councillor Blackstone?” said Fisher.
Stalker looked at her pityingly. “Isn’t it obvious? William died alone, in a room locked from the inside. Sorcery. Has to be.”
“Gaunt doesn’t think so,” said Hawk.
Stalker shrugged. “I wouldn’t trust him further than I could throw him. Never trust a sorcerer.”
“How long have you known Blackstone?” asked Fisher.
Stalker stirred restlessly in his chair and glanced irritably at Fisher. “Not long. Two years, maybe.”
“Apart from the sorcerer,” said Hawk, “can you think of anyone with a reason for wanting Blackstone dead?”
Stalker smiled sourly. “I suppose you’ve heard about Katherine and Edward?”
“Yes,” said Fisher. “Is it true?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Women are fickle creatures. No offence intended.”
“What about political enemies?” said Hawk quickly.
“He had his share. No one in particular, though.”
“I see,” said Hawk. “Thank you, sir Stalker. That will be all for now. If you’d care to wait with the others in the parlour, my partner and I will join you in a while. By the way, I gave orders that no one was to go near the body. Perhaps you could remind the others, and make it clear to them that I meant it....”
“Of course,” said Stalker. “Glad to be of help, Captain Hawk.” He nodded briefly to Fisher, got up and left the library. Hawk and Fisher sat in silence a while, staring at nothing and thinking furiously.
“You know,” said Fisher. “I think things were less complicated before we started asking questions.”
Hawk laughed briefly. “You could be right, lass. Let’s try and sort out the wheat from the chaff. What actual suspects have we got? It seems to me that Katherine Blackstone heads the list, with Bowman a close second. Either separately or together, they had good reason to want Blackstone dead. Assuming they were having an affair. Unfortunately, we don’t have any real evidence that they were. Gossip isn’t evidence.”
“Dorimant said he saw Katherine going into Bowman’s room,” said Fisher. “But Dorimant could have his own reasons for lying. Which leaves us right back where we started. So, who else can we point the finger at? I think Gaunt has to be a suspect, if only because at the moment he’s the only one who could have committed the murder.”
“On the other hand,” said Hawk, “he couldn’t have used sorcery to get into the room without Visage knowing.”
“She did say she was nowhere near as powerful as Gaunt.”
“True. And just maybe they were working together.”
“No, Hawk, I still don’t buy that. You saw the witch when she was talking about Blackstone; she all but worshipped the ground he trod on.”
Hawk frowned. “That kind of worship can be dangerous. If something happened to disillusion her, and that worship turned sour ...”
“Yeah,” said Fisher reluctantly. “You’re right, Hawk. Visage has to be a suspect.”
“Ah, hell,” said Hawk tiredly. “Until we’ve got something definite to go on, they’re all suspects.”
“Including Stalker?”
“I don’t know, lass. Adam Stalker is a hero and a legend ... but like Dorimant said, we’re all capable of murder if we’re pushed hard enough. And Stalker was definitely jumpy all the time we were talking to him.”
/>
“So we count him as a suspect?”
“Yes,” said Hawk. “He’s killed often enough in the past, with good reason. Maybe this time he found a bad reason.” He sighed wearily, and stretched out his legs before him. “I think we’ve done all we can, for the moment. Gaunt’s isolation spell won’t wear off until first light, so we’re all stuck here for the night anyway. Let’s call it a day, and yell for some help in the morning. A forensic magician should get us some answers, even if he has to set up a truthspell to do it.”
“Gaunt could set up a truthspell,” said Fisher thoughtfully.
“Yeah, I suppose he could, but we don’t have the authority to order everyone to submit to it, and somehow I don’t see them volunteering. There are some powerful people out there, Isobel. We’re going to need some pretty solid backing before we can start pushing them around.”
“Right,” said Fisher. “Come on, let’s get out of here. The sooner we face our jovial bunch of suspects, the sooner we can pack them all off to bed, and then maybe we can get a little peace and quiet.”
Hawk nodded tiredly, and he and Fisher got to their feet. Fisher started towards the door, and then stopped as she realized Hawk wasn’t with her. He was standing still in the middle of the room, head cocked to one side, listening.
“What is it?” said Fisher.
“I’m not sure,” said Hawk slowly. “I thought I heard something. Something ... strange.” He looked about him, frowning, and then his gaze fell on the closed door to his left.
“Forget it, Hawk,” said Fisher quickly. “That’s Gaunt’s laboratory. It’s private, and it’s locked.”
“Yeah,” said Hawk. “And Visage said she found it ... disturbing.”
He moved quietly over to the door and pressed his ear against the wood. Fisher glanced quickly about her, and then moved over to stand beside him.
“Can you hear anything?” she asked quietly.
“No.”
“What did you think you heard?”
“I’m not sure.” Hawk straightened up and stepped back from the door. He frowned, and looked thoughtfully at the door handle. “It sounded like a growl, or something....” He tried the handle cautiously. It turned easily in his grasp, but the door wouldn’t open. He let go of the handle.
Swords of Haven: The Adventures of Hawk & Fisher Page 10
