Veron nodded and gave my words some consideration. Somewhere in the far distance I heard a group of people singing.
‘What were your dealings with her?’
‘Oh very subtle,’ Veron said.
‘I’m curious, senator,’ I replied, in good humour. ‘I have little idea who she actually was as a person.’
‘We rarely spoke, if it means much. As I say, I’m not one for tensions. I float around from faction to faction, not committing, not protesting too much. It makes for an easy life. She had little interest in me, since I almost always sided with Licintius. Say what you will about him – and others do – he speaks a lot of sense. For a king he has the common touch.’
‘What do those in the Senate think of her?’
‘Some people called her Licintius’ witch,’ Veron confessed. ‘Not in the same way as Divran being a witch. More metaphorical. Senators are tricky individuals – forming allegiances or groups, but always to further a cause. Sometimes that may even be a good thing, but at other times it can be disastrous. There are those who seek agrarian reform, those against it. I’ve hinted that there are some who would like Detrata to free itself from the laws of the Vispasian Royal Union – laws, as a Sun Chamber officer, you help to enforce – so that we might return to the old days of the Detratan Empire. Some even wish us to turn into a republic, without a king. And some who speak on behalf of certain religious cults, or who represent the interests of bankers. There are as many factions as there are senators.’
‘How did Lacanta fit into this?’ I asked, wondering if he’d provide a similar story to the one that Maxant had told me. ‘Can you give an example?’
‘There was a bill recently, from Licintius, concerning the resettlement of Maxant’s veterans from his campaign in Mauland. A goodwill gesture, and a thank-you from the Senate for the military’s work in enriching Detrata. To you and me that all sounds very reasonable, of course, but a strong faction in the Senate said there was simply not enough land to go around anyway . . . and so on. They suggested that the policy was to do with the king looking to help out his old friend – all the usual excuses, most of which are based on emotion rather than fact. The bill was ready to collapse. What’s particularly strange is that these senators are the very ones who love the military – they were doing it just to spite Licintius.’
‘And Lacanta changed things.’
‘Absolutely. Lacanta worked her powers on some of the key opponents of the bill, and before any of us knew what was going on the bill had managed to pass through the vote. I didn’t think it would, but it did – and I was glad it had done so. Despite my demeanour, I like to think I have some faith in the democratic process, and abhor such seedy influence in the Senate. That’s why many of the senators call her the witch – because it seems like magic had been used by her to control people. Some are convinced that it is genuine witchcraft, too – it’s not merely a word to be used as insult.’
‘Have you seen anything to suggest there were darker forces at work?’ I asked. ‘I keep on hearing about such matters, but I find it hard to believe, despite all I’ve seen over the past few years. When I grew up, the only dark art I could remember was the trade in curses. Some of them even worked too.’
‘There is talk – there’s always talk – but I’ve not seen anything. Well, at least not until the day she was found murdered. If anything could be an act of summoned ghosts, then her murder could be evidence of that. I tell you what, Drakenfeld – I would not like to mess in the affairs of such entities.’
I finished my cup of wine and regarded the night sky. The stars were out, clear and sharp, and there was a pleasant tang of woodsmoke in the air. Closing my eyes, it seemed like I’d never left the city.
‘Veron, can I trust you?’
After a long pause he replied, ‘No, probably not.’ Veron chuckled, acutely aware of his own self-depreciation.
‘Then you’re the most honest politician I’ve met.’
‘But that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.’
And it seemed, beneath the layers of the suave politician and the man who was faintly disappointed with life, I could at least believe that. ‘Could you give me the names of specific senators to interview?’
‘Plenty,’ he replied, ‘but it depends on what you’re hoping to discover.’
‘Who were those closest to Lacanta? Who could she bend around her finger, who was she sleeping with? I don’t care if I have to speak to every member of the Senate and it takes me months.’
‘I’ll write down some names for you before I leave,’ Veron said. ‘Be careful you don’t interfere too far – senators are powerful people. Not quite as powerful as the king, mind you, but we still wield a lot of influence.’
‘I’m sure they will all be aware that if I was killed, that would be the second Sun Chamber officer to die within a month. With two officers out of action so soon, I have no idea what the Sun Chamber might do.’
‘Are they really that sensitive, the Sun Chamber?’
‘Absolutely,’ I replied seriously. ‘We have to write a weekly report – if nothing is heard of us for a month or so, officials would flood Tryum to find out what was going on. So if someone in the Senate tried to get rid of me, we’d come back in droves.’
‘Such power,’ Veron remarked. ‘Such administration. Has your father’s death not created more of a fuss back at your headquarters in Free State?’
‘No, it was declared as natural causes. The priests and pontiffs, and the Pollan physicians, did not suggest otherwise. Just as well really, as the Sun Chamber gets nervous easily, and I would not like to see them so upset.’
After another cup of wine, which we drank in a pleasant, companionable silence, Veron bid me farewell and left me with his list of names. With a good amount of alcohol inside him, he shambled back through the evening streets a relatively happy man. I headed indoors, whereupon Bellona handed me a scroll of messages and another tube, apologizing for not handing them to me earlier.
When Bellona left for her sleeping quarters, I headed into the study and opened up the scroll. Bellona had written the note and I marvelled at how neat and precise her handwriting was. It was heartening to know she had received a good education and I wondered if my father had helped her in any way, perhaps to give her more of a chance, or to aid him in matters of administration. In that moment it occurred to me how little I knew about the woman.
The messages largely consisted of more people asking for help. The owner of a local gem store claimed he had been robbed and wondered if it was possible for me, instead of the cohorts, to investigate the matter.
A priest had tried to speak with me, apparently for the second time. He said he would visit me again. What could a holy man want with me? Since it could have been a matter of a spiritual nature, I made sure to inform Bellona to take a full message from him should he call again, lest the gods get angry with me.
A clerk’s daughter had gone missing late last night and not come home in the morning; and three youths had been spotted harassing a senator and the official in question wondered if I might be able to do something about it.
I shook my head despairingly. Any other month and I would perhaps be in a position to try to help these people, but these were rather trivial matters and I could not afford to lend my time to them. These were issues for the cohorts.
Finally I inspected the tube, which was sealed in wax and stamped with the emblem of the Sun Chamber. I opened it up with a knife and was relieved to see a letter in response to mine. The roads around Detrata were in a good state and a reliable messenger could travel for dozens of miles in a day without much trouble. My initial correspondence had been with the Sun Chamber station at the Three Nations border post, situated where the territories of Detrata, Theran to the east and Maristan to the south all meet, and which is at the other end of the country from Tryum.
The reply had come from a senior official, who acknowledged the importance of my case, approved of my summary and my
intentions, and asked whether or not I would like military assistance to be brought closer to the borders, given that the case dealt with the senatorial classes. I exhaled deeply and stared into the distance, contemplating my options.
In no mind to answer such matters, I decided to lay down my head and get some much-needed rest.
A Glass Vial
I woke with the sun, having enjoyed a pleasant night’s sleep, and spent my first moments thinking entirely of Titiana.
The way she had moved on that platform seemed to have left an echo in my mind, a sight that simply would not shift easily. I began, as always, to over-analyse her gestures and her second glances, weighing up the meaning behind what may well have been utterly without purpose. Long ago I’d realized that I did not expect answers from such mental anguish, but it was good to exercise such old emotional muscles once again.
The clarity of daytime did little to assuage my concerns of her having chosen this lifestyle. There was no shame in what she was doing – dancing was a celebration of the body, after all – but I had seen many times just how badly people could be treated in that profession, and I worried for her safety.
Even though I had absolutely no right to do so.
After consuming a light breakfast I set to work, first examining the list of senators’ names that Veron had provided for me, and later combing through the witness statements again. Leana joined me and confirmed that she had made the payment via the gang leader, who had given her no trouble. In fact, they were too pleasant; they wanted her to stay longer, to buy her drinks, but she wisely decided not to hang around too long and instead absorbed the sights and sounds of the city.
‘Did you have a good night?’ she asked.
I wanted to tell her about Titiana, who I had once mentioned to Leana when we were out working on a case in Venyn. At the time the conversation was purely to take our minds off the gruesome task of cleaning up after a smuggling crackdown had gone wrong, to open up to Leana and show her I was not an emotionless soul. Not that she particularly cared either way.
‘I bumped into Senator Veron,’ I said, ‘who was his usual lively self. We now have a list of senators with whom Lacanta was involved – and possibly intimately so.’
‘This is good,’ Leana replied. ‘But I do not understand him. He seems too friendly, no?’
‘I wouldn’t worry,’ I said. ‘He’s just a politician, hoping to discover gossip or to bank a favour for future usage, but he’s opening doors for us to expand the investigation.’
‘It could be that he is guilty – he comes to find you on the night of the murder to put you off the scent.’
‘I’ve thought about that, but he has witnesses that can vouch for his presence before the incident. A good few people within these statements talk about how he was causing a great deal of fuss because he didn’t like the wine.’
‘Hmm. Will today be as busy as yesterday?’ Leana asked.
‘I hope not. First I’d like to visit the money temples. We need to book an armed escort to accompany the large payment of cash to Veldrum Hecater, and I also need to cash in the remains of my credit note from Venyn – all of it, in fact. Then I will have finally cleared my father’s debts, which should then guarantee we don’t receive further attacks.’
‘Good. That is one less thing to worry about.’ Leana grabbed an apple from the table and bit into it.
‘And after that,’ I continued, ‘it’s straight to Optryx, where—’
There was a banging at the door. Bellona came shuffling through the hallway, wide-eyed, but seemed hesitant to open it to such a vicious pounding. Leana strode over to see what the matter was and, with Bellona, they both unbolted and drew back the heavy door.
I stood up, hearing voices in loud discussion. Presently, three men marched into the room, two of whom were hefty-looking fellows carrying a large trunk; another, much older man followed and he promptly began to order them about.
‘Place it down there, lads,’ he said, gesturing to the middle of the room with his polished walking cane. He was taller than me, at least two decades older, with long grey hair, thin lips and sunken eyes, and he walked with a slight limp that he tried to disguise with his cloak.
‘What’s going on?’ I demanded. ‘And what in Polla’s name is that?’
‘You’re the Drakenfeld boy?’ he snapped.
‘My name is Lucan Drakenfeld, and I haven’t been called a boy in over fifteen years.’
‘Means nothing to me, boy.’ He tapped the trunk with his cane. ‘You can keep your father’s shit here.’
The trunk was similar to the one from the rented office, which I had not yet had the opportunity to revisit. ‘We were legal tenants—’
‘Who have not kept up repayments. I don’t care what deeds you have, or whatever legal terms you folk like to throw around, you’re no longer welcome in my property. Everything that was in those offices is in this trunk – books, papers, and other bits and pieces – the lot.’
‘Now, just wait a moment,’ I began.
‘What? Don’t tell me you actually want to keep renting? Not on your life, sir! I’ve had enough of your family to last me a lifetime. Consider your contract to be terminated.’
I decided not to pursue the matter. Another office was such a waste when I had more than enough space in this house. ‘Why do you hate my family so much?’
‘Your father did not exactly set the best example,’ he grunted. ‘Now, out of here, lads. We’ve much to do today.’ He turned to leave and the other two men scuttled out of the room.
‘Wait.’ I stepped forward to casually block the man’s path, cautious that it did not appear to be a threat. ‘I know so little about what happened with my father, let alone what concerns his debts.’
‘Just as well if you ask me,’ the man snapped.
‘Why?’
‘Got into gambling, didn’t he? A bad habit, that.’
‘Gambling?’ The word seemed to physically hit me and I sat down on a wicker chair, dumbstruck.
‘Aye, one of his sons led him down that dark road some time ago, though he’s long cleared out of the city.’
‘My brother?’
‘Probably. Don’t you keep an eye out for each other?’
‘Not my brother, no.’ Marius kept himself to himself, and life was all the better for it. He loathed our father. ‘Did he mention what my brother had done?’
He shrugged, before continuing as if he was now enjoying himself: ‘Opened up old wounds, so I understand. Gambling. Women. Drink. Didn’t just happen right away, but over time. Lad had his own debts and came scrounging from his father. Calludian did a grand job of keeping it quiet, but not from the likes of me. Pleaded with me, you see. Explained his problems. Tried to tell me to hang on, that he’d deliver the money sooner or later, to have a heart and all that. Very poor form.’ The man jabbed his cane in my direction. ‘Even had the money to pay it off, so he eventually claimed – pay all the debt in one go. So he did for most of it. But he was still in arrears. Never trusted him after that. If you’ll excuse me, Tryum is only just waking up and I’ve several other matters to see to before people leave for work. Too many scroungers and people in debt for my liking. City didn’t build itself on scroungers. Put the lot of them in the army.’
The bitter man limped his way out into the hazy daylight, and Bellona closed the door behind him.
I called Bellona over, and she froze on the spot. ‘Please, there is no reason to be shy. Have I offended you?’
She shook her head. ‘You are highborn . . .’
‘Don’t think me somehow better than yourself.’ I could just about recall my mother once reminding me about that fact, that I should always remember I had been born into privilege, and not to abuse that position.
It didn’t do much to soothe Bellona, but Leana guided her to the table. I took this opportunity to ask her if she knew anything of my father’s debts and his gambling habits. Despite my soft tone, she was visibly distressed. Leana, even t
hough she was hesitant, did a better job than me in soothing her. Eventually all Bellona managed to say was that, from time to time towards the end, my father had difficulties making ends meet, which is why there was now only the one member of staff. Eventually she calmed down, and her words came with considered clarity.
‘He never spoke of money. Sometimes he said to buy cheaper bread, sometimes no meat or fish. He never said why. I’m just the cook. It is not my place to know these things.’
‘And my brother Marius?’
‘I didn’t really see him. He took the master out from time to time, into town at night. Those nights they came back late and drunk, but your brother never stayed in the city for long. I overheard once that he was on the run from debt collectors himself, and didn’t like to settle in one place.’
So my brother’s gift for my father was to lumber him with debts and bad old habits. My family’s past, my father’s old misdemeanour, once again echoed through my mind. Perhaps some people never forget their old ways.
Bellona clearly didn’t like being involved in such affairs, so I took her hand between my palms, looked her firmly in the eye and told her that no harm would come to her while she was under this roof. She offered me a warmer smile than before and then stood up.
‘I must get back to work. Big houses don’t clean themselves.’
As she left the room, Leana turned to me with a look of surprise. ‘Your father gambled?’
‘Apparently so. My father – who everyone in this city speaks of like he was a god – turns out to be human after all. No doubt my brother played some role in leading him down such a path, for the few nights he decided to hang around.’
‘You never mention him.’
‘For good reason. He’s never had respect for any of us, and rejected anything of a proper lifestyle. Polla knows what he’s up to now, other than getting people involved in gambling.’
‘Not a good start to the day.’
‘No, it is not,’ I sighed. ‘But at least that provides more of an explanation for the debts.’
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