Catching a Man

by Elizabeth Corrigan

  Fellows cleared his throat. “I’m sure you are all wondering why I have assembled you here. I have a few more questions regarding the death of our beloved queen, and I shall try to make this as quick and painless as possible. Corporal Strand, I wonder whether you could again tell me why you happened to be acting as the queen’s bodyguard that night.”

  Strand glanced at his captain, who nodded his approval. “Her night bodyguard had failed to report, and someone had to take over, so they sent me. I’m not sure why.”

  Fellows made a sharp mark on his notepad. “Nor am I, considering what a shoddy mess you made of the job. After all, as the queen’s bodyguard, your primary duty is to stay by her side, and yet you abandoned her. Would you mind explaining your decision to disregard your superior’s order?”

  Fellows glanced at Kadin as he said those last words. I sure hope he’s looking at me in complicity as an investigator and not chastising me for my behavior this past week. After all, which one of us solved the murder?

  “I… I…” Strand looked from side to side, seeking help from his fellow palace guards.

  Captain Carver looked to the impassive king, but when support didn’t come, turned to Fellows. “Please, Detective, is this necessary? Corporal Strand has already answered this question for you, and for the palace guard, several times. While we are no happier than you about the situation, he has submitted to disciplinary action, and we are not in the habit of subjecting those who make errors of judgment, however severe, to extensive emotional barraging.”

  “I do apologize, Captain,” Fellows said, though not a hint of regret laced his words. “I assure you, I would not assail the corporal’s delicate sensibilities without a good reason. Clarifying the details of that night is crucial to my investigation. So, Corporal Strand, if you would humor me and explain one more time.”

  Strand closed his eyes and winced. “She wanted some book from downstairs in her library. She insisted that she needed to have it right away.”

  Fellows nodded, flipping back in his notebook as if to confirm this with some note he had taken before. “And what book was this?”

  Strand’s eyes widened. “I… I don’t… So much happened since that…”

  Fellows looked up from his notebook, a glint in his eyes. “Come now. This book was so important that you left the queen without any protection in the middle of the night. I realize recent events may have rendered it immaterial, but you must have had a name or a description in order to retrieve it.”

  Strand’s breath began to come faster. “I don’t… I mean, the book was important at the time, but… She said it was the only book unshelved in the library and that she needed to finish it that night because Lady Elyesse Imbolc wanted it, but I can’t remember the exact title.”

  “Was it Diamonds in My Mind?” Dahran asked. Despite having heard Kadin’s story downstairs, he seemed to only now be putting all the pieces together.

  Strand gave the involuntary smile of someone who has been reminded of something on the tip of his tongue. “Yes, that’s it!” Then his face fell. “It was a stupid novel. I should have insisted that I accompany her to retrieve it or that she summon another servant or that Lady Elyesse wait an extra day for it…” He dropped his head into his hands as he trailed off.

  Fellows nodded and wrote this piece of information down in his notebook. “So, to confirm the events of that night as you portrayed them, Queen Callista asked for you to retrieve a book, Diamonds in My Mind, that she needed urgently. You went down to her library to fetch it, neither heard nor saw anything malevolent or unusual, and returned to the queen’s room to find her dead. Is that correct?”

  Strand nodded without raising his head. “Yes, that’s exactly what happened.”

  Captain Carver frowned at Fellows. “Please, Detective, we have heard all of this before. I was under the impression that you wanted to gather some new information, but I must insist that you either broach a new subject or stop this interrogation.”

  “I quite agree, Captain, and, with your permission, I have only one further question to ask the corporal.” He waited until Strand raised his head before asking the question that he knew would be paramount to the case: “Where is the book?”

  Strand froze as everyone except for Fellows and Kadin involuntarily looked around the room, which, with the exception of the missing body, looked exactly the same as it had the night the queen had been murdered. Clothes and jewels were scattered everywhere, and a ball gown pooled next to the queen’s bureau, but not a book was in sight. As the various members of the palace guard came to the realization that no book was in evidence, they all took a step away from Strand, who continued to stare at Fellows.

  “Since you seem to be drawing a blank, allow me to answer the question for you. The book is where I saw it when I came to investigate a week ago: downstairs in the queen’s library.”

  He saw it? Kadin thought. More like I saw it—when Duke Baurus threw it at my head. But I guess it doesn’t matter who takes credit for solving the case.

  “Would you care to revise your story, Corporal?” Fellows took a step forward and met the man’s eyes. “Perhaps I can do it for you. Back when you worked in the palace, you fell in love with Queen Callista, and she returned your feelings. Then you were transferred out of the palace, at which time you ended your relationship. But things were not over between you, and a year after your transfer you decided to kill her bodyguard in order to be reunited with her. But clearly something went wrong between you. Maybe you were angry about her year of faithlessness, maybe you had a disagreement. Whatever happened, something made you decide to strangle her. To deflect blame from yourself, you made up a plausible story involving the queen’s notorious insistence that things always be exactly as she wanted them, and you didn’t have to pretend to be upset, since you did have an emotional attachment to her. Does any of this sound familiar, Corporal?”

  Strand’s blank expression curved into an amused smirk. “Not precisely, Detective.”

  Fellows raised an eyebrow. “Would you care to clarify the tale for me, then?”

  Strand laughed aloud, and Kadin could not believe that this was the same man who had seemed so incompetent and distraught a few moments before. But, then, there’s no accounting for the emotions of a man who would kill the woman who loved him—especially when she was the queen.

  Strand leaned forward, as if to whisper to Fellows. “Sorry, but I think I’ll keep the details of this tale to myself. And if you’re wise, you’ll let it stay that way.”

  Fellows chortled. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. Corporal Herrick Strand, I am taking you into custody for the murder of Queen Callista DeValeriel.”

  Strand shook his head with an expression of mock regret. “I did warn you, Detective.”

  He gestured with his hand, and Kadin’s world exploded into the worst pain she could remember experiencing. She felt as though someone had splashed acid onto her abdomen and the corrosive substance was slowly eating away at her skin. As she doubled over in pain, she pressed her hand to her gut. The touch increased her agony, and she realized her stomach was covered in burning sores. She couldn’t muster the energy to look up, but based on the sounds she heard, she assumed that everyone else was suffering the same injury.

  Magic. The queen was killed by magic. Only Baurus DeValeriel didn’t do it. Herrick Strand did.

  A part of her wanted to thing about everything she had heard about magic in the past week and consider the critical ramifications. A larger part wanted to pass out from the pain causing her knees to buckle. But the deepest part of her knew that while the team lay incapacitated, a murderer was escaping, and in order to catch him, she needed this pain to stop.

  A rush of cold burst through her, coating her entire body in an icy chill. When it subsided, the burning sensation had subsided. She could still feel gashes a
cross her abdomen, but her skin was no longer eroding away.

  She grabbed Fellows’s ject out of its holster and pointed it at Strand, who was strolling out the door, whistling a jaunty tune.

  “Stop right there, Corporal Strand.”

  He stopped whistling and whirled around to face her. All amusement vanished from his face as he looked from her to her colleagues. “Who are you?”

  “I am Kadin Stone.” She raised the ject to aim at his head. “I am the woman who is taking you into custody for the murder of Queen Callista DeValeriel.”

  “Not tonight, Miss Stone.” Strand waved his finger at her as though she were a naughty child. “But I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

  The ject heating up in her hand was the only indication that something was wrong, but she noticed the sensation in time to toss the weapon away from herself. The last thing she remembered was a piece of an exploding ject rushing to her head before she passed out.

  Chapter 20

  Kadin didn’t recognize her surroundings at first. She lay on a white and gold canopied bed, which may well have had silk sheets. She looked to her right and saw Combs sitting there, fiddling with some gauze and medical tape.

  “What happened?” She reached up to touch the throbbing spot on her forehead.

  “Don’t touch that.” Combs grabbed her hand and pulled it back down to her side. “You’ve got quite the gash on your forehead. It’s not that deep but it’s bleeding quite a bit. If you’re lucky, it won’t scar.” He put a piece of folded gauze on her head and began to attach it with the tape.

  Just what I need. A scar on my face. “The last thing I remembered was…” The gun exploding. Strand escaping. Everyone on the floor in agony.

  Kadin sat up straight. “Oh my Deity, is everyone all right? Did he kill anyone?”

  Combs moved so that he could keep applying the tape. “Everyone’s fine. I don’t think Corporal Strand had any intention of killing us. He just wanted to escape. Though we’re all going to have to keep an eye on the sores. They won’t be pretty if they get infected.”

  Kadin slumped back on her elbows. “But he got away.”

  Combs smoothed the last piece of tape on her forehead and sat back. “Yes. But he had to reveal that he used magic, which I’m sure the Society of Mages did not intend. With any luck, we won’t be hearing from them again for a while. We have time to prepare, though I’m not sure there will ever be anything we can do against them.”

  Kadin stared at a fold in the sheets. I could do something. Back there, when we were all in danger, I made it stop. But what did I do? And how?

  Combs stood and put his supplies into a black bag. “Come on. The king has summoned one of his personal autocars for us to take back to the office.”

  “One of his autocars. Of course.” As she followed Combs from the room, she wondered how many cars Vinnie Royal had.

  Kadin remained silent on the ride back to the office.

  I caught a murderer. Well, almost caught a murderer. I solved a crime at any rate. A major crime. I never thought I could do that. Wouldn’t it be amazing if I could do that all the time?

  Do what, Kadin Stone? A harsher voice came to the forefront of her mind. Solve murders? Be a detective? There’s never been a female detective in the whole history of Valeriel. You’re lucky you get to be an aide, and you might not even be that after Fellows fires you for interfering in his case. And even if you get to stay, he’s going to retire in a few years, and you’ll have to hope someone else takes you on. Until that person retires, and someone else has to take you on, and the chances of that happening go down the older and less attractive you get. Meanwhile, you’ll still be living in Tobin’s house. You need to get married. You need to go crawling back to Dahran White and beg him to give you a second chance. There aren’t any other options. Not for women. Not in Valeriel.

  But maybe… The first voice, the one she internally chastised, didn’t seem to want to let go. Maybe, until then, I can solve murders.

  Kadin stepped out of the autocar determined to write up her account of events at the palace before finding Dahran to see if she could coax an invite to the next drag. She was so distracted, she didn’t even notice the large shape rushing toward her until it had lifted her from the ground and spun her in the air.

  “You saved me!” said the man holding her aloft.

  After a moment she found herself in a stationary location about a foot off the ground, looking down into the grinning face of Duke Baurus DeValeriel.

  “Your Grace…” Kadin tried to remain as dignified as she could in her current position, in spite of the duke’s infectious smile.

  He laughed. “Kadin Stone, you have saved me from a lifetime of undeserved incarceration. I give you official permission to drop all titles.”

  “Um… okay…”

  “Baurus,” he prodded.

  She took a deep breath. “Baurus?”

  “Yes, Kadin?”

  “Would you mind putting me down?”

  He laughed again and lowered her to the ground. “I do have one condition, though.”

  “And what might that be?” She couldn’t imagine what else he might want from her.

  “I want to know how you found me.”

  “Oh, that.” Now it was her turn to giggle. “I asked your cousin.”

  Baurus’s eyes widened, and his smile dimmed a bit. “Ralvin gave me up?”

  Kadin looked down at her shoes. “Well, he may have been under the impression that I was in possession of a certain piece of information that he didn’t want the general public to know. And he might also have thought that, if he didn’t tell me where you were, I would reveal that information to some interested parties.”

  Baurus’s mouth fell open for a full minute before he began to laugh. “You blackmailed Ralvin?”

  It sounds so much worse when he puts it like that. “Well, not exactly. I mean, I never planned to… I didn’t even think… I…” She sighed and dropped her hands to her sides. “Yes. Yes, I blackmailed King Ralvin.” Melting into the ground would be great around now.

  Baurus gave a great guffaw. “Bay!” Baurus called to someone behind her. “Kadin here blackmailed Ralvin into telling her where I was! Ralvin!”

  Kadin spun around to see Lady Beatrin Oriole approaching them wearing a light green suit and expensive blue heels.

  “Quite astounding.” Lady Beatrin didn’t spare Kadin a glance.

  “Oh, don’t be that way, Bay.” Baurus’s voice took on a wheedling tone. “I know you don’t get to inherit all my property and such, but you have to be at least a little glad that I’m no longer suspected of murder.”

  Lady Beatrin didn’t even blink. “Don’t be ridiculous, Baurus. All the DeValeriel lands and titles are not worth the humiliation of having a murderer in the family. And speaking of family, word has reached Mother of this whole affair, and she is not amused.”

  Baurus deflated. “No, I imagine the Lady Augustille is quite put out that once again her son has failed to meet her exacting standards.”

  “Quite.” Lady Beatrin shifted her purse from one hand to the other. “So if you are finished making a public spectacle of yourself, for the time being at least, I have an autocar waiting, and I would prefer to get out of here before the news clickers arrive.”

  “Your wish is my command.” Baurus gave his sister a mock bow and then turned to Kadin. “I must depart. Beatrin is right, as usual. I’m surprised the news clickers aren’t here already. But I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can’t imagine what I would have done if you hadn’t helped me.”

  As Baurus turned and walked away, Kadin glanced at his sister. Lady Beatrin looked Kadin in the eye and then turned her nose up in a pointed snub.

  Kadin didn’t know what the duchess’s problem
was, but since Kadin thought it unlikely she would have any dealings with the DeValeriel family in the near future, she decided to ignore it. She shook her head as she entered the building, grateful that as bad as her family could be, at least their problems weren’t plastered all over the front of the Tribune.

  Kadin entered the office building and rode the lift up to the fourth floor. As she stepped out of the elevator, she just avoided bumping into Dahran.

  He held the lift door and looked her up and down. “Books, huh?”

  Kadin gave a weak shrug. “I noticed it in the queen’s library, is all.” And had it thrown at my head.

  “That’s pretty good thinking.” He gave her a condescending grin. “Hey, I don’t have tickets for this Saturday’s drag, but I do for the week after. Maybe you’d care to join me?”

  Kadin hoped she looked excited, rather than flummoxed that he had forgiven her without any effort on her part. “That sounds great!”

  “And maybe we can get dinner sometime, too. Need to keep you busy so you don’t steal all those cases out from under us.” He gave her a wink.

  Kadin nodded. “Absolutely.”

  He’s giving me another chance, she thought as the lift doors slid closed. And that’s a good thing… right?

  Fellows looked up when Kadin stepped into her office. She took a deep breath, walked the last few steps into his office, and shut the door behind her.

  I’m probably going to get fired, she thought. But I can’t be sorry I solved a murder.

  Fellows took off his bowler hat and set it on the desk next to him. “So, Miss Stone. It’s been a bit of an interesting first week for you, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Kadin looked down at her hands. “Yes, sir.”