Dead Letter (12 page)

The
Constable nodded in reluctant agreement with his superior. “I’ll
make it the Inspector’s priority.” He retrieved a ledger from a
nearby stand and opened it to a bookmarked page. With a monocle in
one eye and the other screwed shut, the Constable traced his finger
along the report. “There’ve been a number of unsolved incidents
perpetrated upon our highly esteemed guild leaders. The Merchant
Guild Head is quite supportive of more guards patrolling the
streets and has a rather pressing complaint that requires some
delicate and unbiased investigation. If you can tactfully resolve
this issue, removed from guild prejudice, it will secure our
standing with the supporters of our investigative trial. Merchant
Guillan will welcome a special investigation and should be
cooperative. As the Guildmaster suggests, it would be a suitable
place to start.”

“
That’s not fair to the rest of the city,” argued Kettna. “Why
pick certain crimes that affect the elite? What about the unsolved
crimes that trouble the poor folk?”

The
Guildmaster chuckled. “A child of the highest breeding with such
selfless regard for the lower classes. You are the very thing,
indeed. Justice has an advocate in you.”

Kettna
couldn’t tell if the Guildmaster was passing a compliment or making
fun of her.

“
It is a fine thing that your care extends to all Calimskan
residents,” said the Constable. “Don’t imagine this is everything
there is to investigate. There will be more, I assure
you.”

There
was no point in arguing to investigate one thing over another.
Kettna shared company with the two most powerful men in Calimska.
They had been elected over and again to represent the citizens’
interests. Who was she to second-guess their directions?

“
I think our new Inspector has the issue out of context,”
offered the Guildmaster. “Allow me to explain. This is not just
about a theft. It’s about clearing the way for an honourable
election after dragon season has passed. Solving this crime will be
of great service to all Calimskans. ”

“
What does a personal theft have to do with the elections?”
asked Kettna.

“
Head Merchant Guillan is building his election base on
reducing crime,” said the Guildmaster. “This robbery helps his
cause immensely and what’s more, he whispers that he is being
blackmailed by me to retire as a candidate. Of course, he has no
proof of such and has no intention of forgoing the race. It is
slander, pure and simple. I want a fair election based on merit,
and that man is tarnishing my name with these unsavoury
accusations.”

“
Are you involved?” piped Kettna, immediately regretting it.
Why did she ask so many questions? Her curiosity had no respect.
This was the Guildmaster. She’d be locked up for treason before her
day had comenced.

The
Guildmaster wagged his finger at Kettna like a tutting tutor.
“Normally, asking such a thing would be regarded as impertinent. I
presume your investigation has just begun?”

“
Forgive me, Guildmaster,” said Kettna, turning red. At least
the question was an obvious one to clear out of the way. “I meant
no offence.”

The
Constable leaned back in his chair, enjoying the awkward
interrogation of his superior.

“
No,” replied the Guildmaster, crossing his arms beneath his
robes. “I am not blackmailing the Head of the Merchant Guild. Doing
so would presume his candidacy was actually a threat to my tenure.
He is a greedy man with slippery intentions. I believe he has
created this drama to discredit me and improve his
chances.”

“
Do you have other enemies who desire the same effect?” asked
Kettna. “Could it not be a ruse created by another
actor?”

“
That is for you to discover,” replied the Guildmaster. “It
would create more unproven slander to voice my opinion in public.
However, in present company, I would suggest that the Head Merchant
would use any means, employ any criminal, even engage Bloody Agnus
herself to rule Calimska.”

“
The Guildmaster has wisely remained silent on the matter,”
said the Constable. “Please, don’t let our conversation leave this
room. It’s best not to stir a sleeping dragon.”

“
I’ll do my best to get to the bottom of it,
Guildmaster.”

“
I see the criminals that hide in the darker corners of our
great city will have their comeuppance with you. You’re of good
stock. Should you be half as good as your parents, you’ll serve
Calimska with honour.”

“
Before you begin your investigation, take this as an agent of
my authority.” The Constable handed Kettna a square of cloth,
embroidered with his coat of arms.

“
It’s beautiful.” Daniakesh in all her glory was stitched in
silver thread and perched atop Calimska. To her right the golden
sun rose above the Great Dividing Range. Her profile was turned to
the left and she blazed red flames into the blue sky, protecting
the city below.

“
The colours are faded, but it will serve the purpose for now.
Show it to those you interview and anyone who fails to cooperate
with your investigation will answer to me.”

“
Do I have to wear a guard uniform?” she asked, folding the
square of cloth and tucking in into a pocket within her robe. “I’m
not familiar with the buckles and straps of armour.”

“
You can wear what you want,” said the Constable. “Armour or
not, you’d be well advised to carry a weapon of some kind.
”

Kettna
wished she could scoff at the suggestion and claim her magic was
more than enough. She now faced a conundrum, for her skill wielding
a blade was less than her ability wielding magic, and neither was
sufficient defence against an attacker. “I’ll look for something
suitable and leave you both to your work while I begin mine.” She
rose from her seat and bowed to the Guildmaster and the Constable.
“Thank you both for your time. I’ll take my leave, unless there is
anything further.”

“
That should be all,” replied the Constable, handing her the
details of the Head Merchant’s complaint. “I think we have covered
the main subjects. The job is simple. Ask your questions and don’t
get killed. Report back to me at the end of the day.”

“
I look forward to hearing good things of you, Inspector,”
said the Guildmaster. “For you to be chosen by Daniakesh, for that
last honour before she left us, she must have considered your
potential. She must have seen something in you. Do her city
proud.”

Kettna
left the Constable’s office to begin her investigation, longing to
taste success again and wondering if a good inspector would satisfy
her mother’s expectations.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Knickknacks and Diversions

Outside the gatehouse, Lanuille toyed in conversation with a
guard, sarcasm tainting her comely smile. He gave Kettna the look
of a wolf sizing up its next meal. Kettna stared him down and
walked toward them, ready to give him a blast for such arrogance.
Who was he to level his filthy appetites her way? The lecher dipped
his head in a half-hearted bow and retreated to the Barracks inside
the fort.

“
Who was that?”

Lanuille
sneered in his direction. “Just some cretin. Brave enough to speak
to a mage, yet too ignorant to know when he is being made a fool.
How did your meeting go?”

“
All went well, apart from an embarrassing beginning. I guess
you saw? Was it as bad as it felt?”

“
It could have been worse. You recovered well and at the very
least, it was memorable. The guards won’t soon forget your image
beside the Constable. They know that to cross you means to cross
him.”

“
If they forget, I have this to remind them.” Kettna showed
her companion the embroidered seal of the Constable.

“
That is an impressive artefact. May I hold it?”

Kettna
offered it to her companion, who examined it in great detail,
smoothing her fingers across the stitches and tracing the intricate
silken design. Lanuille returned it with a smile. “Congratulations,
Inspector!”

“
Oh, don’t call me that. It feels false.”

“
That seal doesn’t feel false. You’ve got the authority of the
Constable in your hand. That is trumped only by the Guildmaster
himself. I’d be happy as a drakkin in mud if I had that power. You
might be a novice of the Order of Calim, but now you are the right
hand of Calimska’s Constable. I’d say you jumped rank, but I’m the
jealous type.”

“
I am being terribly ungracious, aren’t I? I suppose it just
feels quite sudden. I was completely against volunteering for the
Guard. I didn’t think I’d be given a title with such authority. I
imagined I’d be named Guardsman.”

“
Then get used to it quick. Because once word gets out that
you are solving the unsolvable, you are going to have a target on
your back.”

“
From who?”

“
Depends on who you point the finger at. The city doesn’t work
like the Isle of Solitude. The Order is supreme on the Island, but
here, the Guilds are crammed into these impenetrable walls. They
are all vying for more power and keeping their trade secrets close.
Monsters cloaked in respectability. They lie, cheat and steal
amongst themselves, and it’s only called a crime when it spills
onto the streets. Guild law gets swampy in the back alleys. The
dark deeds of this city might be discovered in Calimska’s cobbled
estuaries, but the sharks are fed from above.”

“
So who do I worry about more? The sharks or the monsters who
feed them.”

Lanuille
offered her wry smile. “You only have to worry about the ones you
catch.”

“
The Constable spoke of Bloody Agnus like she was real. I
thought she was a myth that gangers blame if they get
caught?”

“
Old Aunty? She’s real enough to fill the most level-headed
Calimskan with fear. You’d best believe she is real and take care
not to draw unwanted attention.”

If her
job was investigating crime, Kettna guessed it was inevitable that
she would cross paths with the mysterious master of all that was
illegal in Calimska. She followed High Street down the hill and
thought of the twins as they approached the side street they had
taken earlier. Sure enough, at her thought they rounded the corner
and fell in step behind Lanuille and Kettna, absorbed in
conversation as always.

Kettna
briefed herself on the notes the Constable had given her and walked
on to the Merchant Guild Hall, standing proud in the wealthy
business district on the corner of Merchant Circuit and High
Street. The hall’s facade was a mosaic of silver stars on a sea of
cerulean with four outlandish marble columns rising before a grand
staircase lined with golden gargoyles. The display of opulence was
as breathtaking as it was out of place alongside the redbrick
facades of the other traditional buildings. It had the hallmarks of
architecture better known in Tashiska, far to the West. Such was
the wealth of the Merchant Guild that it regularly commissioned
artisans from distant lands. A private guard protected the front
entrance in finely embroidered leather scale mail; an old veteran
in new mail. Beside him stood an impeccably dressed
doorman.

Kettna
suggested the twins wait beside a gargoyle in the shade and
approached the doorman. “I’m here to see Head Merchant Guillan. Can
you show us through please?”

“
Who shall I say is requesting his time?”

Kettna
showed the doorman the Constable’s seal. “Inspector Kettna, here on
the Constable’s behalf.”

The
doorman bowed with slow formality and left them on the landing,
shutting the door in their face. A short while later, he was back,
ushering them in with the haste of a man who had made a mistake and
assumed speed would remedy the problem. “I’m terribly sorry for
keeping you waiting, Mistress. Please follow me.”

They
were led through a wide, high-roofed hall up a flight of stairs and
into a spacious waiting room. “Please, have a seat,” said the
doorman, before he knocked and entered the next room. It was
amusing how the merchants acted on such pompous etiquette, as
though they were kings of old, as if wealth made one civilised. The
merchants were as cut-throat in business as the Warrior Guild were
in battle.

When the
doorman returned, he left the door open for them to enter and began
his proclamation. “May I present, Merchant Head Gui—“

“
That’s enough of that, off you go.” The Head M erchant waved
his doorman away and directed his attention to the mages. “So which
of you is our new Inspector? I can never tell which mage is what,
with all your intricate ink and coloured robes. I thought we’d only
agreed to hire one body for this trial.”

Kettna
gave him a deep enough bow to acknowledge his rank. “I am your new
Inspector and this is my …” Kettna struggled with an appropriate
term. She didn’t want to call Lanuille a guardian or a friend. What
could she be called? “This is Adept Lanuille.”

Lanuille
accepted the introduction, but her bow was not deep enough. It was
noticed, though the merchant didn’t say anything, he shuffled his
corpulent girth in the seat and huffed.