Strong Mystery: Murder, Mystery and Magic Books 1-3 (Steampunk Magica)

by Raven Bond

  “I can speak both,” the bound man replied coldly in English. “Tell me why I should,” he finished in what Owen thought was horrible Mandarin. Enough of the meaning got through that Jimmy sprang at him with a roundhouse blow to the head that rocked the man back. Jinhao sprang in front of Jimmy, grabbing him in what appeared to be a painful hold

  “Because you talking is the only thing keeping you alive,” Jimmy yelled. “Because nobody kills one of my boys and gets away with it!”

  Owen stood up between Jimmy and the captive. He addressed Jimmy earnestly.

  “Listen,” he said to the gang leader. “We still do not know why Huang was killed. If we do not find the answer to that, then he died in vain, do you understand?” Jimmy stopped moving in Jinhao’s grip.

  “Yeah, I get that,” Jimmy said “Why do you think that he’s still alive?” Owen looked at the bound man over his shoulder.

  “I think that you should talk,” he said to the Austrian agent in his native language. “I do not know if I can hold him otherwise.”

  “Hey,” Jimmy said angrily. “No talking in that funny jabber. Speak English! His Hannish is awful.” Owen nodded an acknowledgment, turning back to the seated man.

  “You heard our host,” Owen said evenly. “We have recovered your aether pistol, and linked it conclusively to the murder of the boy called Huang. What we want to know is why.” The man began to laugh darkly.

  “Und if I tell you,” he said in a thick Austrian accent, “you will simply kill me the quicker.” He shook his head. “No, I am ready to go to Her sweet embrace now thank you.” He closed his eyes, then closed his lips resolutely.

  Owen caught Mike’s eye and nodded his head towards Jimmy and then the door. The ganger caught Owen’s message and turned towards the other gang leader.

  “Come now Jimmy, let us go outside and leave the professionals to do what they do best,” he said in Mandarin while moving with Mary towards the door.

  “How do we know that he is on the level?” Jimmy demanded, pointing to Owen.

  “Because I say so,” Jinhao snapped, her voice oddly muffled by the black gauze mask she still wore. “I speak with the voice of the Dragon.” Jimmy held up his hands towards her in placation.

  “All right,” Jimmy said hastily, “all right. I do not intend to anger the Dragon.” He followed Mike and Mary quickly out the door. Owen pulled up another western style chair, settling himself next to the prisoner. He reached into the deep pockets of his tunic, producing a cigarette case. He extracted two cigarettes, holding one up to the Austrian’s face.

  “Want one?” Owen asked. “Now that the children are gone, we can relax like reasonable adults.” The Austrian laughed low.

  “You are more a fool than I take you for Britisher, if you think those are anything but murderous rats rather than children. But yes, I would like one, out of your courtesy please.” He licked his lips as Owen lit one of the cigarettes, holding it up to the Austrian’s lips. He inhaled gratefully then Owen took it away from him.

  “Is that why you killed Huang,” Owen asked casually. The Austrian laughed again.

  “I haff not killed anyone,” he said ruefully.

  “See here,” Owen said calmly, “I have seen your tattoo so everyone now knows that you are an agent of the Austrian secret police, but why would you be sulking around here? I do not understand it,” he continued, “And I assure you that you want me to understand it. I may be the only thing standing between you and dying open-faced to the world. I doubt that your Goddess would approve of that.” The Austrian laughed again.

  “Then you do not know as much as you might think,” he returned smugly. “The Grand Bishop herself blesses each member of the Chosen who must go out into the world of sinners. My place is already assured.”

  “Ah,” Owen nodded. “Then it is as I conjectured, you are a member of the Tolken-knoff.”

  “I did not say that,” the secret police officer quickly interjected.

  “You did not have to,” Owen returned with a touch of his own smugness. “If you were simply a refugee, you would not be a member of the Church of Her Divine Radiance. If you were an ordinary member, I doubt that you would be receiving dispensations from the Grand Bishop.” The bound man bared his teeth at Owen. “Nor would you bear that rather distinctive mark,” Owen added, tapping the man casually on the forearm.

  “We shall enjoy sending you to the eternal fire,” the Austrian snarled. “The Goddess shall not be denied, nor shall we stop until the whole world bows before Her Radiance!”

  “Yes, yes,” Owen said wearily. “I shall suffer from not having been turned by the lunatic ravings of a dead Mideastern prophetess, whose teachings are no doubt twisted from the original by the Church anyway. I would think that you would want to claim credit for killing an infidel, no matter how young.” Owen took a deep pull on his own cigarette, letting the other one fall to the ground. The secret policeman’s eyes followed its trail down to floor forlornly.

  “As I have already stated, I have killed no one,” he said to Owen in a haughty tone of voice.

  “Of course not,” Owen replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “You were just for a pleasant walk with the murder weapon in a secret hallway near the victim.” At this point Jinhao spoke up. The good person/bad person interrogation technique was one that they had practiced before.

  “Now do not be so hard on him,” she said sympathetically. “No doubt he stumbled in the hallway, fell down, and hit his head.” The bound man looked offended at this.

  “I did not stumble!” He snapped. “I was hit over the head!” Owen looked at Jinhao, then at the man.

  “I am sure that you were Hans,” Owen said voice still dripping sarcasm. “Did you by chance see who did it?”

  “No!” the agent said vehemently. “And my name is Deter, not Hans!”

  “So you are saying that you were hit over the head and your pistol used without your knowledge?” Jinhao asked.

  “Yes!” Deter exclaimed excitedly. “That must have been what happened!”

  “And will you tell us why you were in the corridor of the restaurant?” Jinhao pressed. Deter turned away his head away from the pair of them.

  “I have said too much already,” Deter closed his mouth with a snap.

  “Oh I do not think that you have said nearly enough.” Owen returned. “You want to consider that we are your only friends in all this. There is a bloodthirsty gang leader outside who wants nothing more than to kill you slowly and painfully. Frankly, I am still inclined to allow him to, Deter. You are going to have to give us something more to go on than mysterious assailants. You think on that.” Owen motioned with a nod of his head for Jinhao to accompany him out the door. Once outside the room, they were accosted by an anxious Jimmy who stood waiting with Mike and Mary.

  “Well?” the gang leader demanded eagerly. Owen held up a hand.

  “Do not kill him yet, Jimmy,” Owen said tiredly. “Let Jinhao and I talk for a moment first.” Jimmy gestured angrily for them to move down to the far end of the hallway. Once out of hearing, Owen turned to Jinhao.

  “Well,” he began, “What do you think of our secret agent of the Austrian Republic?” Jinhao frowned in thought.

  “Strange as his story seems, he has the ring of truth to his voice,” she said. “You have had more dealings with his countrymen though, what do you believe?”

  Owen winced as he thought on her question.

  “Unfortunately, I believe him too,” he whispered back. “No assassin has such a stupid capture story as he does. Still, he was up to something, I would give a lot to know what.” They both turned at the sound of someone on the stairs. It was Jimmy’s mother come up the stairs with towels and fresh water. Head bowed, she made her way towards the door which held their captive.

  “Here now,” Owen called out to her. “What do you think that you are doing?” The woman scampered behind Jimmy the Horse, peering out at Owen. She spoke some dialect strange to Owens ears as she lo
oked around Jimmy at him.

  “She says that she was only going to clean his wounds,” Jimmy explained. “What is the big deal? You won’t let her take care of him. I would think that you would be glad to have her look after the scum. Did you get him to confess?”

  “No,” Owen said. “Nor do we think that he is your killer.” Jimmy split on the floor before Owen.

  “Come now!” He exclaimed. “First the girl didn’t do it. Then you find a strange abomination of science that you say did the killing, but that the wielder of it didn’t kill Huang either? Then who did?”

  “Someone else,” Owen said simply.

  Chapter 18

  Fair Lady Weaves Shuttle flowed into Stork Spreads Wings. Jinhao gracefully moved from one position to another in the courtyard, concentrating on the movement of Qi through her body, aware yet unaware of the gathering crowd of street urchins that were watching her move through her morning routine as she slipped deeper into the fighting trance of the Adept.

  All Adepts practice such disciples to keep themselves at the peak of their powers and to keep the body and mind attuned as one. While many of the forms had a fighting application, some were purely meditative. Jinhao felt the need of such clarity at the moment so she had chosen one of the more meditative groupings.

  When Owen had convinced the gang leaders to call off the fruitless interrogation of their Austrian captive, the night had ended on a very unsatisfactory note for everyone. Deter was still a prisoner, Owen’s Mary was still under suspicion, and while the murder weapon had been found due to Owen’s arts, neither Jinhao nor Owen believed that Deter had committed the deed.

  With Lohan due to make an appearance by the next day, it was vital that they unmask the real killer before then, unless they simply wanted to make an unwitting mockery of the Dragon’s appearance. She winced inside at the thought. Lohan would not be very understanding, she mused. That is if he even bothered to come at her request at all.

  It had been decades since Lohan had moved among the people of the city. Without a culprit ready to hand for a show trial, it could be disastrous. If he did come, most likely he would convene his Court, hear the story so far, and without a villain decide to execute everyone including her. She knew that her relationship with Lohan would give her no safety when it concerned a matter of Mianmu, that quality of dignity Westerners mistakenly called face.

  She allowed such thoughts to move through her as the Qi moved through her body, without attachment, hoping that her spirit would coalescence them into some sort of answer. As she came to the absolute stillness found at the end of the form, she was disappointed that no answer had come to her dilemma. She felt the calm that a good workout gave, but not the peace of vanquishing her enemies. The young urchin girl from Mike’s female gang came scampering up to her, a towel held up in her outstretched hands. Jinhao took the offering from her with a smile.

  “Thank you Mei” she said taking the towel. Mei’s eyes shone at her.

  “I have never seen anything so beautiful,” the girl breathed. “Can you teach me how to do that?” Jinhao paused at the girls question, towel raised to wipe her face. Her first impulse was to refuse her, but then she thought better of it. It was true that only someone with a sponsor would be able to enter the Temple for the training. While Jinhao currently had only the standing of an outlaw in the Imperial Temple, who knew what the fates might bring?

  “Perhaps,” she temporized, handing the girl back the towel. “Why do you want to learn it?” Mei smiled at her, a look in her eyes that made Jinhao uncomfortable. Her eyes shone with a look akin to worship towards the older woman.

  “Because you look so graceful doing it, and,” she made her hands into fists, “you can fight anyone at all, and that means that you are not afraid of anything!” If only that were true Jinhao thought ruefully. Still, the noble heart that the girl had was deserving of some encouragement.

  “I tell you what,” Jinhao said. “Why don’t you join me for Form in the mornings, and that way you can see what it is really like. If you work hard, you might get to the Imperial Temple.” Mei made a rude sound with her lips.

  “Me at the Imperial Temple?” She shook her head, ringlets flying. “I’m not holy or anything.” Jinhao laughed.

  “Do you think I am?” Jinhao asked. Mei frowned at that. Her face scrunched up as she worked through the question.

  “No, not really,” Mei said hesitantly. “You drink wine and hang around with foreign devil sorcerers.”

  “Well, Owen is not really much of a devil I must say,” Jinhao said laughing. “Although I did see that his feet are clawed like a birds,’ she whispered to the young girl. Mei gasped.

  “No they are not!” The girl protested.

  “Have you ever seen Owen without his shoes?” Jinhao asked her.

  At that moment, Owen came out of the restaurant, walking towards them. Mei got a very determined look on her face and raced up towards him. Owen smiled down at her and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could say anything however, Mei stomped down hard on his foot. Owen exclaimed in surprise at this treatment, hopping about on the un-abused one. Mei whirled to face Jinhao.

  “He does not,” she proclaimed. Then with a guilty look at Owen, she sped off into the restaurant.

  “‘He does not’ what?” Owen asked in surprise at Jinhao. The Adept held up her hands in negation.

  “Children,” Jinhao said simply. “Who can understand them?”

  “Well, you have that right,” Owen said grumpily. He limped over to where she stood. “I was wondering if you had any brilliant insights occur to you overnight as to who our killer may be.”

  “No,” she replied, shaking her head miserably. “I assume from the question that you have not either.”

  “Not a clue,” he said cheerfully. “I fail to see how anyone else could have committed the deed save friend Deter, yet, I feel certain that Deter did not commit it.”

  “Where does that leave us?” Jinhao asked.

  “Well,” Owen replied while rubbing his chin thoughtfully, “That means that we shall have to do it the hard way by questioning everyone, and deducing who it is from that. Certainly from my brief exposure to the boy I am sure that he had many a person who wanted him dead. I know I did!”

  “Fortunately we still have a day before Lohan’s arrival,” Jinhao said. “It would not do to have no one that Lohan could publicly judge and condemn.” She looked at Owen meaningfully. “It would be very bad in fact.”

  “How bad exactly?” Owen asked in curiosity. “And while we are on the subject of the Dragon, how is it that you ‘speak with the Dragon’s voice’?”

  “That is old history of what I once was,” Jinhao replied with a wave of her hand in dismissal. “What we must focus on now is finding the correct killer. It will be a matter of Mianmu for the Dragon if we cannot present the culprit to him when he arrives. If we cannot,” she concluded looking at Owen, “he may condemn us in the killer’s place.”

  “I see. A matter of face” Owen translated with a raised eyebrow. “Well, I am glad then that we have that extra day.”

  “That is if he comes at all,” Jinhao added. “He has not left either his caves or his gardens for many years.” Owen was about to ask something else when one of Jimmy’s boys came running into the courtyard shouting.

  “The soldiers are coming!” he cried. “The soldiers are coming!” Then he ran out again. Distantly came the sound of drums. Owen looked at Jinhao.

  “That cannot be what I think it is,” Owen said to her disbelievingly.

  “I fear that we shall not have that extra day,” Jinhao said sadly. “Lohan comes!”

  ~ ~ ~

  Owen and Jinhao went to the front entrance of the restaurant as did many of the gang members. The main difference was that Owen and Jinhao did not come bearing weapons in their hands as the gangers did. The drum beats grew louder as the boys and girls murmured uneasily among themselves, their hands grasping hilts more tightly. Jinhao looked at the m
assed gang members and shook her head.

  “There will be trouble if the gangs are not reassured, and quickly,” she remarked to Owen. At that point an out of breath Mike appeared with a flushed Mary. They were followed by a disheveled Jimmy the Horse.

  “What is all this about soldiers?” Mike snapped at Jinhao. “You never said anything about soldiers! You said only that the Dragon would come to judge the murderer!”

  “And do you think that the Dragon would come without escort or without his counselors? What do you think is meant by ‘court’, except the Dragon and his court?” Jinhao snapped back at him. Mike blinked at this.

  “Then they are not here to kill us all?” he asked. “Why are they a day early?”

  “If you would ask the Dragon for judgment then he comes when he pleases,” Jinhao answered. She threw up her hands. “As for if he intends to kill you all, if someone does not calm these children down, I am sure that there will be a massacre!” Mike nodded grimly at this and stepped to the front of the seething group.

  “Calm down,” He said holding up a hand. “Calm down! This is the Dragon Lohan coming to us to render his judgment in the death of Huang! Stand easy! The Dragon is coming to us!”

  Owen saw the mass of gangers slowly relax at this. The idea that someone as powerful as the Dragon would come at the request of their leaders was not lost on them. It was an enormous giving of Mianmu to both Mike and Jimmy and so to each of them by reflection. Still they were wary of such a thing as they should be, in Owen’s opinion.

  The drummers came into view on the street, a line of them beating in unison followed by two lines of uniformed figures bearing arms. Owen saw the mistake that the lookout had made. These were not soldiers of either the British Queen or the Hannish Throne, but Hong Kong police constables in dress uniforms of midnight blue, their brass buttons gleaming. Still, their air carbines were as deadly as those of any soldiers, and Owen had no doubt that they were as proficient in their use.