With my hands in my pockets I turned to regard the dead couple bound in their final moments. It had been a ghastly way to die. A civic cleaner – a scrawny, elderly fellow – had found the two of them while he was sweeping the square for the morning’s trading, and he reported it to the authorities instantly. No one had so far come forward with information. Admittedly this public square was low on passers-by at that hour, but it said a lot about the skill of our murderer that they had not yet been seen.
This took the body count to five now and for each of the preceding incidents nothing had been noticed, despite the very public locations in which the victims had been found.
‘The cut was sloppy.’ Sulma Tan was still crouching by the side of Tagg Drennar, examining his wound rigorously. ‘I doubt these are skilled people, for there are less messy ways of peeling back folds of skin.’
‘Who were these two?’ I asked.
‘The Drennars were small-scale merchant bankers. They were obscure. They held no public stalls, and no building had been registered in their name, so few people will have heard of them. In fact, they maintained a very low profile in general, though I recognize them from their occasional meetings with the queen due to them owning an armoury. But they did not discuss those matters in front of me.’
‘Which makes their appearance here all the more surprising.’
‘Yes.’ She rose and stood by my side.
‘Was any royal money held in their bank?’ I asked.
Sulma Tan betrayed herself with her expression, but I admired her pride. ‘No. They dealt with select individuals in other nations as well as ours.’ At least her obviousness when she was lying confirmed how frequently she had been telling the truth. I did not hold it against her that she was protecting her sovereign.
‘What should we next do?’ she asked.
‘The remaining two names on the list – are they based in the city?’
‘We are already investigating. I despatched a messenger to one of my administrators.’
‘When you find out if they’re living in Kuvash, you should have them watched immediately.’ I gestured to the deceased couple. ‘There is a good chance they will end up like this. But more importantly I will now want to talk to them to get some answers.’
She nodded. ‘These soldiers will help remove the bodies and take them back to the palace when you are done with them.’
‘Thank you.’
Sulma Tan walked with speed into the distance, her cloak flailing, and faded into the night.
Meanwhile, for the second time that night I moved across the cobbles to inspect the bodies. At my indication, a soldier came over with a torch to cast light upon them, and blood glistened in its light.
The Drennars were in their fifties, which was an age consistent with the other victims. Tagg had shoulder-length grey hair, while Meruwa’s was still blonde and came down to her waist. They were heavily built individuals and what clothes remained on them were clearly once resplendent. Curiously, Meruwa’s boots were on the wrong feet – that indicated a level of haste about the act. It was as if the killer had been forced to act quickly: after having made the many cuts up and down her body, they struggled to remember which boot went on which foot.
However, something else struck me as very odd. Not about the individual incident itself, nor about the physical evidence before me.
But the fact that there were two victims.
How was it possible for one killer, working alone, to have managed to accomplish such an act? It didn’t seem likely that one person would have been able to overpower two heavy people, at least not without great difficulty. And though it seems strange to say it, there did not seem to be – at least from this initial glance – signs of a severe struggle. If these were like the other victims, then the wounds would have been inflicted once they had been incapacitated in some way. I noticed rope marks on their wrists, where they had so clearly been bound, perhaps in some backstreet workshop.
Other than the initial note, which was not solid grounds for evidence on the matter, it became more apparent that there were two killers; maybe even a gang operating in a calculated, organized manner.
There was no note upon either of their persons, and nothing else to go on. I informed the nearest soldiers that I had finished and that they could take the bodies.
‘Try not to sever the innards,’ I said. ‘Keep them as intact as you possibly can. I realize that might not be a particularly easy job.’
With insouciance the soldiers moved over to the bodies to contemplate how they would carry out the act of separation.
I made my way alone back through the long streets feeling incredibly weary yet eager to press on. The search was successful – we had a list, we had a new direction in which to steer our investigation, and it felt as if the mosaic of ideas and observations was beginning to form a much grander picture.
A few elements were still obscured, but I couldn’t help thinking of the size of the revelation already: a hitherto unknown island had suddenly appeared on the map. What would that mean for the nation of Koton? Would it have implications across the continent? I needed to keep all of these ideas relatively fresh to despatch another message to my superiors in Free State first thing in the morning. It was important to rest my head, though. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
The Final Names
With the clarity of a new morning, I found myself excited, and even had something of a plan at the back of my mind. But even that was to change.
After some brief administrative work involving writing my letter to the Sun Chamber to update them on recent events, Sulma Tan sent over a messenger. He carried details of the final two members on the list of names taken from Lydia Marinus’ house.
Her letter was brief yet revealing. These final two were living within the Sorghatan Prefecture – and very much alive. Four soldiers had been despatched in civilian clothing, though armed discreetly, to visit their house and offer protection against any potential attacks. They were to keep a low profile so the murderer – or murderers – would not realize how far we had come in our understanding of the crimes.
The names of the individuals were Han and Lunus Saul Kahn.
The Kahns, according to Sulma Tan’s message, and much to my surprise, were two eccentric brothers. Twins, in fact. It occurred to me that they might have been the same curious brothers who dined with Grendor the night before he was killed, the ones to which Nambu took a dislike and whom Leana had interviewed. They had massed a sizeable amount of wealth together through business, but mostly trading with Detrata, and neither of them had married.
In addition to this Sulma Tan had requested that the physician Carlon conduct an examination of the Drennars’ bodies, and he had free time this afternoon when he could dedicate himself to the grim task.
I sent an oral reply back via the messenger and told him we would join Sulma Tan at the front entrance to the palace within an hour, and then we would proceed to the dwelling of Han and Lunus Saul Kahn.
Leana, Nambu, Sulma Tan and I left as the sun was starting to rise. The long shadows were retreating like ghosts and the morning became sharp and clear. The air as ever was rich with the smell of woodsmoke, and I knew the heat would come soon enough, today with some intensity.
In all of the past few days I had never felt so energized. Here we were, finally, with the opportunity to get to the bottom of the mystery, to get some understanding of what had happened in the past.
Potential questions bubbled through my mind: about how I would go about steering these two brothers to giving honest and open answers. If I was to glean anything from them, they needed to feel able to discuss the past. To do that it might be prudent if they felt scared. I would not threaten them, but the best approach would be to make them aware of what had happened to the other names on the list, and that it was in their best interests to tell me what had gone on.
Their house was a three-storey, whitewashed structure in the wealthier end of the prefecture, an
d situated in the corner of an elegant courtyard. As with many other buildings in this small quarter, bamboo had been used in its construction, in the guttering and for decorative details, lending the building a different style.
A soldier in civic dress leant insouciantly against the wall. He nodded to Sulma Tan upon our arrival. It didn’t seem as if anyone else was following us – if we were being watched, it was from the shadows, or through the slit of a window.
One knock on the door and another guard opened it from inside. We were ushered in quickly; discreetly we filed in.
The house was very pleasant – modest, yet with the occasional bust or fresco that denoted these people were by no means poor. The kitchen took up much of the lowest floor, with a thick wooden table at the centre and a floor composed of dulled terracotta tiles. There was a lovely, small sculpture of Astran and Nastra in a small walled garden to the rear of the property and it was in that minuscule, tranquil spot, with the scent of rosemary and lavender thick in the air, that we conducted the questioning.
The two brothers were not identical twins, but they looked phenomenally similar. Both tall and skinny, their purple and black tunics hung off their bodies rather than fitting well. Each had short-cropped grey hair and tired eyes that constantly regarded the distance. They had difficulty making eye contact, though this didn’t seem to be guilt, more a life-long habit of preferring to be alone. At first I thought they had both been drinking, but I could not smell any wine upon their breath. They perched together on an ornamental stone bench, in the shade of a small pear tree. Everyone else stood around them in a semicircle, but if the sight was intimidating in any way, the brothers did not show it.
‘This list contains several names,’ I began, holding up the paper. ‘We found it at the villa of Lydia Marinus. At the time, she was the latest victim in our investigation; but several others had been killed before that. Upon returning to the city, we found two more of these people had been murdered. You may have heard of the method of their killing.’ I confess to adding some drama to the moment, drawing on my performances over the years in courts. ‘They were probably long and deliberately painful deaths. Hundreds of tiny cuts were found on their bodies. The wounds were probably not enough to kill them at first. Bishop Tahn Valin had been cut up into pieces, but others were – if I may use the expression – luckier in their ends. However, the latest two victims, man and wife, were bound together by the innards of the husband.’
I paused to notice their faces had creased up in disgust. Staring at the floor, they held each other’s hands nervously.
‘At the moment,’ I stressed, ‘you are quite safe. You have protection, but we cannot vouch for how long we can offer these men.’
‘Resources are tight,’ Sulma Tan added. ‘They may have to leave with us.’
‘Given the trade in ex-soldiers in Koton,’ I continued to the brothers, ‘you might find it necessary to invest in some protection yourself.’
They nodded in unison.
‘The reason I am here, however, is not to guarantee your safety. Should the pair of you die, it will merely add another dimension to this investigation.’
One of them opened his mouth as if to say something, but thought better of it. If these were arrogant individuals before, there were certainly no signs any more.
‘But you have some use to me while you’re both still alive, and that is why we are all here. You have the choice to make your existence easier. It could mean the difference between living a normal life and spending the rest of it looking over your shoulder to see if someone will seize you and butcher you. Do we understand each other?’
Another nod.
‘Before we get to business, what can you tell me of the night of Grendor’s murder?’
‘We already told your assistants,’ one replied. ‘We remained with the group when Grendor left. We do not often get out much, but when we do we tend to . . . enjoy ourselves as much as possible. We left the evening in good spirits.’
I took a calculated risk, and made the statement bluntly: ‘This affair all started a very long time ago, didn’t it?’
They appeared startled by my assertion, yet didn’t say anything else.
‘It’s probably best if you give the specifics now,’ I sighed, wanting them to think I possessed a certain level of information.
‘We do not know what you mean,’ came the reply from Lunus.
‘Grendor of the Cape, Bishop Tahn Valin, Lydia Marinus . . . you’ve been involved together for many years. Indeed, we know.’
‘Then why are you here?’
This was going to be harder than I hoped. It was better when people spoke at length, for they soon betrayed themselves or gave away an awkward fact. These two, however, were clearly comfortable in silence. The advantage was with them: in the eyes of the law they had committed no crime, they had done nothing wrong. There was no need to speak.
‘Can you tell us what Evum is like?’
Clear surprise came on Han’s face. He looked to his brother and then back to me again. ‘We never went there.’
With that statement he confirmed the island’s existence. ‘We’ve got a document that says you travelled there with the others who are now dead.’
‘We remained on the ship.’
‘You travelled all the way to an island that doesn’t appear on any common map – and you did not disembark?’
‘No.’ This was a firm answer, a wish for the questioning to end.
‘How long does it take to get there?’ I asked.
‘Not long. Depends on the wind. Most of a day.’
‘What is on the island?’
‘We simply do not know,’ Han sighed. ‘We never left the ship.’
‘So why did you travel there in the first place?’
No answer was forthcoming. They were hiding something.
‘It seems rather unreasonable,’ I continued, ‘that you travelled for a day on a ship to an unknown island, returned on that ship, and never once left it.’
‘We were sick. We do not travel well. This was our first time on a boat.’
It was a sentiment with which I could sympathize. ‘So, I will repeat the question: why did you travel there?’
After a drawn-out hesitation, it was Han who spoke. ‘We were looking into options to trade.’
I didn’t believe him for a moment. I reached into my pocket, in which I had kept both Lydia’s and the bishop’s rings, and held them out for the brothers to see. ‘Trading in gemstones like these, you mean.’
Lunus was firmer than his brother, who appeared exasperated by even delicate questioning. He flatly denied knowing what the stones were, but I could tell by his brother’s pathetic expression that he’d had enough of this.
‘I’d like to interview the two of you separately.’
‘We won’t speak apart,’ Lunus declared, more of an instruction to his brother than information to me. ‘We will maintain our silence.’
An uneasy tension came between the two of them. This charade continued for some time – me speculating at what they might have done, them saying nothing. My frustrations increased, but in a way they had already told me much of what I needed to know. The existence of Evum had been confirmed. The fact that they denied ever having set foot on the place made me realize that I would have to visit the island. The mystery would finally be solved there, I felt, but there was one more thing that I could use them for. And, of course, we still needed Carlon’s reports on the bodies of last night’s couple – he might have something useful to tell us in addition to what happened to the other bodies. He might even have recovered another gemstone.
‘Well, if there’s nothing you have to say for yourselves, then there’s nothing we can do to help you.’ I moved to Sulma Tan and whispered in her ear to dismiss the soldiers, but have them observe the property continually, from a good distance.
The killers would come for them and I was happy to use them as bait.
As the soldiers filed out one by on
e, the brothers’ expressions clearly displayed their fear. Sulma Tan stepped back through the house, leaving just Leana, Nambu and myself in their opulent dwelling.
Leana stood behind me with her arms folded, as I paced one last time before the brothers. Their green eyes, bright in the sunlight, lingered on Nambu, and I wondered if they recognized her, that a princess of the nation was standing in their small garden. A songbird skittered around between a bush and the wall. The sounds of the city drifted by in the distance.
‘Please, can you leave soldiers here?’
In the end all I did was smile without giving an answer before we, too, left the property.
‘Do you think that was useful?’ Nambu asked outside their house. The four of us had moved some way down the street and I could only spot one of the soldiers within the vicinity of the house.
‘I do,’ I replied. ‘Whatever they’ve done in the past, it’s too much for them to open up today.’
‘I suggest we torture them,’ Leana muttered.
‘Why? They have done nothing wrong. They have broken no laws.’
‘But we need to know more.’
‘I don’t think stretching them out and pressing hot irons against their skin is likely to yield any more than we have now. And, the two of them are far more useful to us in good condition. No, these two would rather take whatever their secret is to their graves.’
‘Then they might have to do exactly that,’ Leana added.
‘True, but we have some very valuable information.’ I placed my hand on Leana’s shoulder with enthusiasm. ‘Evum is a confirmed reality and we must go there.’ I looked across to Sulma Tan but she pre-empted my speech.
Retribution (Drakenfeld 2) Page 31