“We thought so as well. There are two Peacekeepers up the road as we speak gathering the household. If we are lucky, someone from there will be able to identify him.” The Peacekeeper glanced over his shoulder. “You can rest assured, Professor Nyx, that this investigation is in good hands.”
“Thank you, Peacekeeper.” She smiled. “Please, keep me informed.”
“I shall.”
She had to double back to get Esmine, who had gotten distracted by the corpse’s hands. That boy would, if one pardoned the morbid expression, be the death of her someday.
CHAPTER TWO
..................
The dead man was called Matteo Dimali. He had been staying at Fenin manor as a guest of Master Fenin. He was uncle to Fenin’s charge, which explained the association. According to Fenin, Dimali had arrived on the previous day’s train and had been planning to stay a month or so to see his nephew and recover from the hectic pace of the capitol. No one in the house had heard Dimali leave that night, and he had seemed quite calm. He had read the boy Riccio Fenin a bedtime story after dinner, and then he had retired to his room, citing an inability to sleep on trains.
Karz Lem sighed and set down his notebook. The facts were inconclusive, the victim was an enigma, and most of the potentially useful information was three days’ train ride away at minimum. It was times like this he wished he was serving in the capital.
Delivering her the information was a good excuse to talk to Professor Nyx, though, and he could hardly begrudge himself the bit of fun. She was bright, interesting, and worldly... Karz smiled to himself. He would give the lovely professor something interesting to ponder, though. Armed with what little data he had, he started for the town inn. Someone would have heard something.
..................
Linna couldn’t bring herself to understand murder. It was a waste of life, of the lives of both the victim and the killer, and there were no problems that wouldn’t be best resolved through conversation or a court of Imperial civil law. Across the table, Esmine sipped his tea thoughtfully. Bel was curled in the chair next to him, his gaze flickering about the room as usual.
“Professor Nyx?” Esmine asked.
“Hm?” She fixed her attention on him. Bel’s vacant lilac eyes focussed on his chin for a split second. Progress.
“If you killed someone, why would you do it?” She couldn’t think of a reason.
“I suppose, if the other option was that I or someone precious to me would die, I would kill someone.” That answer didn’t seem to satisfy her student. “Historically, people kill for money, or power, or love...”
“For love...?” Esmine’s eyebrows arched.
“When someone takes your precious person,” Bel said, almost nodding his glasses off of his face again.
“So, revenge then?” Esmine said with a slight frown. “To get back what is taken? Or to acquire something that is otherwise impossible?”
“That sounds too clinical. People often kill because of passions, Esmine.”
“... Do you think that that is how he was killed? With a passion?”
“Do you?” She felt like she was leading a discussion on a reading. Bel was twisting his hands again. Esmine frowned into his teacup.
“No. He was killed for a real reason.”
“Precious things are real,” mumbled Bel, “Precious people...”
“Bel is right. Crimes of passion are as real as premeditated ones.” Bel smiled twitchily at the ground when she said that. Progress. “What do you think happened here?”
“... Getting back what was taken. The man was a thief, and someone killed him to take back their property. If the Peacekeeper isn’t a fool, he will find the stolen good soon.”
“Peacekeeper is not a fool,” echoed Bel softly. Esmine shook his head.
“He probably is, though,” he muttered. Linna rather didn’t want to think so.
..................
Linna smiled politely at the Peacekeeper sitting at her table. School had been cancelled due to murder, and she still wasn’t quite over that. Peacekeeper Lem smiled back.
“Matteo Dimali, age thirty-five, a merchant and Councilman from the capital,” she read aloud. “Stars, how does such a man come to have his throat cut in our little town?”
“Well, we are working on that.” Peacekeeper Lem reshuffled his notes sheepishly. “He had evidently been acting suspicious for most of the train ride, but few people can ride those without being a little worried. The trouble is, I would understand if they went and killed him down south, but... There is no reason to kill him here...”
“To get back the precious thing...?” she mused. Peacekeeper Lem looked startled, and she shook her head quickly. “Could he have been robbed?”
“It’s a possibility, but... Unless what was stolen was from the manor?”
“That is a possibility, I suppose. But I cannot see what Fenin would have that someone like Dimali would want. Honestly...”
“So, it’s more likely that an assassin followed him from the capital?” Linna asked.
“We must keep all possible solutions in mind to reach the truth,” said Peacekeeper Lem firmly, as he poured himself another cup of tea. Linna knew that was a direct quote from the Peacekeepers’ Creed.
“Quite so.”
..................
Riccio Fenin padded down the stairs towards the servants’ quarters wrapped in a blanket over his clothes and three pairs of socks. Those were good both for keeping him warm and for muffling his footsteps. He opened the door as quietly as he could, and was rewarded with a blast of cold, snowy air for his troubles. The boy on the doorstep frowned at him in a way that usually spelled pain.
“You are late.” Riccio was chronically late. Professor Nyx had told him as much often. Esmine, by contrast, was always precisely on time with everything. It would have been scary if the rest of him hadn’t been worse.
“Sorry, my uncle was hanging around. I had to wait for him to get away from both me and his office, like you wanted.” Esmine had given him precise instructions, after all.
“We should have drugged him.”
“Esmine...” He wasn’t sure if he was curious about where Esmine could have gotten drugs, or terrified that he probably would have. He gave up after a moment. “We’ll be in trouble if we get caught. Come on.”
“Oh? Does your uncle think I am the killer as well?” Yes, he did. It was only Riccio’s loyalty to his friend that prevented him from agreeing with the old man too. Still, it wasn’t fair to say it, so he grinned hugely at Esmine over his shoulder.
“Doesn’t matter. You wanted to see the study, right? That’s upstairs.” He gestured in the right general direction, and Esmine glided towards the stairs with a slight nod. Riccio frowned. “What is it you’re looking for?”
“A precious thing, of course,” Esmine replied. He sounded like he was quoting someone. “A particular precious thing.” Riccio nodded. His uncle didn’t seem to have many precious things, least of all in his office, but Esmine was a little better at this than he was.
He had stolen the key to the office earlier that day. Really, he was surprised that his uncle hadn’t noticed, but he had been distracted enough for Riccio to just pluck the key out of his jacket pocket after dinner. Esmine nodded approvingly as he unlocked the door for them both.
“After you, I guess?”
“Alright.” Esmine didn’t question it, and after a moment’s consideration pounced on one of the assorted boxes. Honestly, if Riccio had been looking for something precious, he would have gone for a painting, but Esmine was Esmine and Esmine evidently liked papers better. He rifled through two boxes before a low, bestial growl escaped his throat. Riccio started nervously, then quickly tried to contain himself. He was fairly sure that Esmine could smell fear as easily as dogs or horses could.
“What’s wrong?”
“This. This is wrong. This isn’t what I’m looking for. He put it somewhere else.”
“I
f you told me what you wanted...?” He wasn’t sure he could help, but he could always try. Esmine frowned and smoothed his ruffled hair down.
“It’s a precious thing that your uncle keeps. He just got it recently, from that man who died. Where would he put it?”
“Um, good question.” Riccio frowned. “He has a place he hides things in, behind a painting, but I don’t know...”
“A safe? No, that would be too blatant. Somewhere in here where a thief wouldn’t bother to look. Maybe...” Esmine pounced again, this time at the mantlepiece. He grabbed and examined a few vases before giving off a smothered sound of victory. “Here it is!”
“Great!” Esmine was clutching a few papers that had been rolled into a tube and grinning ear to ear, dark brown eyes gleaming. It was a lot less freaky looking than Riccio had been expecting, and that made him grin too. “Uh... What is it, though?”
“It’s a missive from the capital marked with the imperial seal, and it was brought here by train. More particularly, it’s the precious thing I needed to find for Professor Nyx.”
“Oh. Did she ask for it?”
“No, but she needs it. It will be useful for resolving the case.” Esmine carefully slipped the missive into his shoulder bag. Riccio watched him, wide-eyed.
“Is Professor an Inspector now?” He liked the mental image that created.
“No, the Peacekeeper is just a fool and requires her assistance.” He headed for the stairs, then paused. “Riccio.”
“Yes?”
“I was not here, alright?”
“… Okay. You never visit me without Selette.” Esmine nodded firmly. This time he made it halfway down the stairs before stopping again.
“And remember to lock the door.” Riccio made a mental note to never go spying alone.
..................
Peacekeeper Lem took a deep breath and steeled himself for more yelling. Fenin was understandably upset, but it really was like a Southerner to take it out on the last person involved.
“Sir, there are no signs of a break in, and you claim that nothing was stolen, so I cannot see what you want me to do.” Maybe if he just spoke Imperial slowly and clearly Fenin would calm down.
“You cannot see what I want you to do, you fool? My cousin is dead, someone broke into my home and rifled through my office, and the only Peacekeeper who can talk like a human being is too much of a buffoon to comprehend the severity of this situation! I want this solved!” Well, he had tried. And it wasn’t as though Fenin was being particularly helpful either.
“We are doing our best, however we have a very limited amount of evidence and–” He was cut off by Fenin grabbing him by the collar. Damn, southerners were tall, weren’t they? Maybe it was something in the water in the capital. Or, alternatively, in the water in Haz. One couldn’t rule out that possibility.
“You have a very limited amount of skill, you hollow-skulled animal! You will never amount to anything, not any of you!” With those words, Fenin threw him a few paces backwards and turned to storm away. Lem put up his hands quickly.
“Sir, I–” Bad idea. Fenin turned back around, face red with fury.
“I shall write to the capital and demand a proper investigator take over this case! Matteo was a worthy citizen of the capital, and you shall not dishonor his memory any further. It shall be put in the hands of the Imperial Inspector!”
“Sir–”
“Silence! Do not make me forcibly rid myself of your presence!”
“Yes, sir,” Lem spat, as he turned on his heel and marched out of the room. He was doing as well as anyone could have been, damn it, and no formally trained bastard in a fancy suit was going to beat him at his job. Fenin seemed to be a dead end for interrogation, but maybe his servants or that boy could see reason...
That, or he’d have to recruit Professor Nyx to assist him. The idea made him smile, despite his rage. He’d have to go see her anyway. Getting assaulted and threatened by the victim’s cousin was probably an update worth sharing.
..................
The knock on Linna’s door was not unexpected, honestly. Still, she was surprised to find Esmine on her doorstep for a non-school-related reason for the second time. At least the sun was still out this time. She opened her mouth to say hello, but the boy held out his bag to her.
“I brought you something, Professor Nyx.” She took the proffered bag automatically, since it looked too clean to contain anything suspect.
“Oh? Thank you. What is it?”
“Papers. They are relevant to the investigation.”
“Esmine...” How had he even gotten those? When had he even gotten those? Linna pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Where to even begin...?
“Promise you shall read them, Professor Nyx?” She nodded.
“Of course.”
“Good. I... I shall be going now. Goodbye.”
“... Goodbye.” Back indoors, she stared at the bag for a moment, double-checked to make sure it only contained papers, and then took them out to look at them. She had just processed the imperial seal when she heard another knock at the door. She stuffed the imperial missive into her desk among the graded papers and attendance book and ran to the door, making a mental note to read over Esmine’s so-called present when she was alone.
The man standing outside her door was actually taller than her door, and that certainly gave Linna pause. He bowed from the waist by means of apologizing and showing his face. A Southerner, then, tall and spindly despite his middle age and with skin the color of sweet tea and graying, reddish-brown hair pulled off of his face, looking like the perfect antithesis of a citizen of Haz.
“I do apologize, dear lady,” his voice was deep and accent-free, “But I appear to be lost, and it does grow dark... I do not wish to wander the streets unnecessarily when there is a murderer about.”
“That is understandable,” Linna replied with a smile. “Why don’t you come inside and we can figure out where you need to go, Mr...?”
“Tenri, dear lady. Dr. Elias Tenri, at your service.” He had had to bow again to get through the door and was trailing snow. She passed him a mug of tea rather vehemently.
“I am Professor Linna Nyx, it’s a pleasure to meet you, please sit down.” He obeyed. “Now, where are you trying to go?”
“You shall think me a buffoon, I am afraid, dear lady Professor, but I am simply trying to return to the inn. I had gone to partake in the natural beauty and...” He shrugged gracefully. “Well, I do believe I still am in Haz Gate at the moment. Am I correct?” Linna couldn’t help but laugh.
“Indeed you are, dear sir Doctor. The inn is in the town center, which is not too far from here. If you follow this street down to the main road and turn right, you should reach it before long.”
“Ah, then I have appeared a fool before a lady, once again. Thank you.” Elias Tenri smiled. “It is all terribly odd, dear lady Professor. I had abandoned the capital for a time to escape all of the betrayal and scheming, and almost as soon as I arrived here, that poor gentleman was stabbed in the back!”
“... Was that an idiom, sir Doctor? Because his throat was slit, actually.” Two years in the capital were not enough to pick up all the idioms, least of all the sort used by overdramatic dandies.
“Oh, I do apologize. You spoke so well, I had forgotten this is not your native tongue. Yes, it is an idiom, and one regarding a personal betrayal.” Had, for a brief moment, Tenri’s warm brown eyes turned cold and hard, or had she imagined it? The next instant, he just looked sad.
“Do you also think he knew his killer?”
“There is no doubt of that in my mind, dear lady Professor. It would not be permitted for a man like Matteo Dimali to die a random death. You must have met people like him in the capital, yourself.”
“I mostly kept to the university, however...” She had. In passing, maybe, but she had. Some people had too many enemies and too many alliances to be killed without the influence of one or another. Tenri smi
led at her as he finished his tea.
“You seem to be very clever, dear lady Professor. You would do well to be careful, however. A spider on its web cares little how clever the little bug it has caught is, hm? You must be sure to see the gaps between the strands...”
“I’m not sure what you mean, Dr. Tenri, but it sounds like a threat. I shall not allow a stranger to threaten me in my own home.”
“A threat? It is hardly a threat. It is a warning in metaphor. I beg that you keep it in mind, dear lady Professor, for there are many spiders about.” He bowed again, one hand on the doorknob. “I bid you good day, then.”
And then he was gone.
CHAPTER THREE
..................
“An Imperial missive?” asked the Peacekeeper, looking utterly perplexed. “How ever did you get your hands on that?” Linna briefly considered wrapping an analogy in a metaphor and making it be about demons. Briefly.
“I have my ways.” Peacekeeper Lem was visibly unhappy with this answer.
“Did you read it?”
“No, the seal was broken when I got it, but I haven’t had a chance.” She bit her lip. Had Esmine read it? Had Riccio? Honestly, she just wanted to know how much trouble her students were mixed up in; it seemed to change every time she blinked. “Should we? Read it, I mean?”
“No,” Lem’s lilac eyes flashed for a moment. “No, we are not Imperial Agents, though neither is Fenin, as far as I know. He called up an Inspector, though...”
“This would be his jurisdiction then. But if it’s relevant to the murder, then we need to do something.” And either it was relevant, or Esmine was playing with her. He hadn’t looked as though he was.
“True, maybe we can bluff him into revealing something,” said Lem, nodding with renewed enthusiasm. “Let’s go, then! It is a Peacekeeper’s duty to pierce through the fog of lies!”
Linna found herself smiling despite the situation as she followed the Peacekeeper out the door. She had never planned on getting anywhere near any sort of criminal activity, but now that she was... Well, Peacekeeper Lem’s heart was certainly in the right place, and it was only fair to help him. As a teacher, truth was of value to her as well.
In the Snows of Haz Page 2