Dead Letter (19 page)

“
Mother never speaks about the orphanage. What happened
there?”

“
If she never told you about that hell hole, I won’t go
trawling up the past. You best ask her for answers. Let past be
past for now and reconsider the tea.”

“
Thank you, Glazier Thossam. I think I will.”

The
glazier handed Kettna a tea and one for Lanuille. “Thoss will do
just fine.”

Kettna
tested the brew. It was deliciously bitter and sweet. Happy
memories of her youthful success contrasted with her recent
failures.

“
How strange it is that you come by here as my saviour. You’re
the spit of your mother. Prettier actually, but what’s pretty
matter when you’ve as much ink as that.” Thoss took Kettna’s hand
and traced over the sigils, some of them responded, glowing with
her attention.

“
Your magic hasn’t faded?”

“
It has a touch,” she said, winking. “But the brew helps. Some
other herbs on the side and the glassware comes up a miracle. How’d
you think I’d make it to Head Glazier from an orphan urchin, unless
there was a touch of magic to help?”

Kettna
felt an uncanny confidence speaking to Thossam. Maybe it was the
familiarity of the tea, or maybe sitting with someone who kept safe
the darker secrets of her mother’s past. She thought of confiding
with the glazier, telling the older woman of her dwindling magic.
She just wanted to be told it wouldn’t disappear. Maybe she could
be like Thossam and keep her magic alive, even a touch. The thought
of living without it was impossible to fathom. Kettna couldn’t
mention her troubles though, not in front of Lanuille. There was
work to do here, so she began her questions.

“
Tell me about your complaint. The report states that you were
robbed of some glassware. Isn’t that easy enough to
replace?”

“
Some? Is that what the pimple-faced guardsman reported? The
bastards cleaned me out of an entire shipment bound for
Jando.”

“
Jando?” asked Kettna. “What were the items?”

Thossam
opened a cabinet and produced an order book. She flipped through
the pages and poked the page for Kettna to read. “Retorts, beakers,
pipettes, condenser tubes, all made to these designs.” She took out
another book with loose-leaf sketches and diagrams showing
measurements.

“
Did the thieves take anything else?” asked the
Inspector.

“
That’s the thing; only that order was taken.”

“
Do you have a competitor for the same business?”

“
It’s a guild job. We all put in hours and shine to make it
work. This was a big order. The guild had to borrow the gold to
keep us alive. We’ve all taken a hit, so I don’t see how any one of
us would be smiling afterwards.”

“
Who did you take a loan with?” asked Kettna. “Maybe they’re
swindling you.”

“
The Merchant Guild, of course. Their terms are strict as a
slaver’s whip, but no one else would back the project. With all
their money, you’d think they’d be more agreeable with their
terms.”

“
How else have they made such a profit?” muttered
Lanuille.

Kettna
pressed on, hoping that Lanuille didn’t cause a stir with this
interview. “What about your customer? Do you think they may have
stolen the goods, so they didn’t have to pay?”

“
If they had it stolen, they’d have some nerve sticking
around. These Jandans are still in town, harassing us for their
glassware. They’re fuming about the delay.”

“
What have they said?”

“
The bastards placed another order for the same quantities and
screwed the price down due to the inconvenience. They expect a
delivery. It all seems genuine to me.”

“
So who do you suspect of the crime?” asked Kettna.

Thossam
took a sip of her tea. “That’s your job, isn’t it? I was right
behind the Constable when he first proposed the role of Inspector.
I know the mind of a mage is a steel trap. How else can they
capture the magic?”

“
I hope I’ll live up to that ideal. For now I’ll just assemble
the facts, so the more you tell me the more I can help.”

“
I’m not trying to hinder you, dear. I cannot think of a
single person or guild that has bad blood with us glaziers. We’re
honest, we don’t overcharge and we do fine work. You know how high
our reputation is with the Order of Calim.”

Kettna
nodded her understanding. “The consignment was quite large. How
long would it take someone to load it? Do you think they were here
all night? There must have been a witness.”

“
We had most of the shipment already in crates. Some still had
to be packed, but we left it for the next day. The couriers were
coming by to pick it up in the morning.”

“
How much was left unpacked?”

“
Only two more crates. It wasn’t much. I’m always in early and
it wouldn’t have taken long to do it. When I came in, I found the
entire shipment gone. Well, all except the broken remains of a
flask.”

“
Just one flask? Was there anything specific about it? Could
it not have been something broken from a different
order?”

“
I knew it was from the Jandan’s shipment because it was a
tricky one to make, double bulbed with tubing linking top to
bottom.” Thossam paged through her file of designs. “It’s in here
somewhere. Yes, here it is.”

The
design was very specific. “It’s a beautiful piece, a pelican
flask.”

Kettna
examined the design and noticed it had been signed off by Master
Mertin with his shop address. On examination of the other diagrams,
they too had his name on them. Kettna recalled the piece from
Mertin’s shop display. It was the very same.

“
What is Master Mertin’s involvement with this shipment?”
asked Kettna.

“
To be true, if it weren’t for him we wouldn’t have the work.
It was with his good reference that we secured the job.”

Kettna
was surprised by the involvement of Mertin with Jando. Members of
the Order of Calim were branded the epitome of sin according to the
twisted laws of the vengeful god the Jandans brought with them
across the Salroc Sea. Mertin was desperate for money. What if he
was conspiring the Jandans? He might have been turned against
Calimska. “Do you think Mertin organised the robbery?”

“
Mertin? Hah! I’d say not. I know Mertin well enough to know
he’s a gifted alchemist, but no criminal mastermind. He was in for
a hefty commission on bringing this business to us, so it isn’t in
his interest to ditch the shine for nothing. I think he’s on a
shoestring as it is. He must have been desperate to get bring
Jandans to the table. Desperate for money, but … No. Mertin’s no
robber. He has nothing to gain from it and everything to
lose.”

And yet,
he was involved somehow. What was Mertin hiding?

“
Mertin or not, whoever took the shipment knew exactly what
they were after. Could I see the warehouse where the items were
stollen?”

“
Sure, come on through.”

The
warehouse was lined with shelves topped with all manner and shape
of glassware. Kettna examined the crates being filled with the
replenished stock of alchemical equipment. She knew these items
were very expensive, even for wealthy mages. Each piece of
glassware was placed carefully in a bed of straw to prevent it
breaking in transport. Beside the section that housed the
alchemical devices were lithe blue sculptures of dancing women,
their every curve accentuated. They were very provocative and
looked as though they would start spinning and dancing about the
room.

“
Beautiful, aren’t they? I’m his senior and I can’t breathe
life like that into glass. It’s Gunter’s masterwork.”

“
Who’s Gunter?”

“
That handsome work of art I was helping at the forge. Hard to
take your eyes off him, eh?”

Kettna
blushed. “He is sculpted with certain acceptabilities.”

“
Ha! The man’s a dream! Don’t worry though. He only has eyes
for her.” She pointed to the many statues of same beautiful
woman.

“
Who is it?”

“
Can’t you tell? Penellonine, of course. Gunter prays for the
day she will sing again.”

“
She could be his mother!” exclaimed Lanuille.

“
If you look like that at her age, I don’t think you’d mind a
strap of beef like Gunter chasing your tail.”

“
I don’t know if beef is my dish,” Lanuille grimaced. “Each to
their own.”

Kettna
examined the statues. The more she looked at them, the more she
thought she heard the songs of the Bardess in her head. “These
works must be expensive.”

“
If Gunter could bring himself to sell them, he’d be shitting
shine for life. But to him, they are priceless.”

“
More expensive than the shipment?”

“
For the right buyer, absolutely.”

“
Yet they were not stolen and all of the glaziers would know
of Gunter’s masterworks. That suggests that none of your guild are
involved.”

“
I told you that already. We are honest folk here. Hard work
for hard shine. There is no better satisfaction in
life.”

“
I’ll make a visit to the Jandan contact and ask a few
questions, if you don’t mind. Could you give me their
details?”

“
The buyer is a merchant, name of Wasnid, some poacher’s agent
no doubt. He had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that he
had to negotiate with a woman. You’ll have to endure a religious
sermon, I wager, and confess your sorcerous sins.”

“
Where is he staying? I’ll make it my business to let him know
a Calimskan woman’s in charge.”

“
He’s slumming it in the worker’s quarter at The Outpost Inn,
skint of shine because our shipment is a moon behind
schedule.”

“
Was the courier contract for pickup made by you or this
Wasnid?”

“
That was part of our price. Delivery to the trading post. The
risk of transport was his from there to the City of
Bones.”

Kettna
finished her tea with a satisfying gulp. “I’ll return with any
news. It’s a pleasure to have met an old friend of my mother’s. I
am sure she would send her regards.”

“
I’ll tell her about the good work you are doing at the next
meeting of the High Council. She must be immensely
proud.”

Every
time she heard of how proud her mother must be, Kettna shrivelled
inside, knowing that if her mother knew her transgressions, it
would not be so. With a formal bow of respect, Kettna swallowed the
compliment and took her leave with Lanuille by her side.

“
I envy your family’s connections,” Lanuille confided. “It
must be assuring that your mother’s influence reaches across the
Lake of Tears to the heart of the city.”

“
I’ve learnt to get on beneath my mother’s shadow. I assure
you it is nothing to envy. What of your parents?”

“
Their shadow lingers without benefit and I am improved with
their absence.”

Before
Kettna replied to her companion’s melancholic admission, Thossam
called her back. “Oh, Inspector! You dropped this.”

“
I won’t be a moment,” apologised Kettna. “Sorry, this is
taking so long.”

“
As you say, but we are making progress.”

Kettna
ran back and Thoss handed her a pouch. “Take this with you. It’s
the tea recipe. I have plenty and you will be wanting it after all
this running about.” The glazier embraced Kettna and whispered into
her ear. “Trust no one.” Thoss was not making fun. She was
serious.

“
What do you mean?” Kettna asked.

Thoss
would not explain. “You too!” she exclaimed with a broad smile and
a voice loud enough for the other’s to hear. “Let me know if you
discover anything.”

“
I will,” Kettna replied, playing Thossam’s game. As she
walked away, she began to doubt all the connections she had come to
trust. Who was Thossam referring too? Did she think it was Mertin,
but couldn’t say in front of Lanuille? Was she talking about
Lanuille or was she just paranoid? Maybe she meant the Constable or
the Guildmaster. Those three words shattered her confidence and she
wiped a tear that crept to her eye. She was all alone and she
wanted desperately to find Rix.

Kettna
cleared her throat and spoke to Lanuille and the twins. “Come now.
The Courier Guild is a short trip down the road. I have a lot of
questions that need answers.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Anywhere for a Price

The Courier Depot had a line out the door. Most of the
customers held small parcels wrapped in string and linen, some held
letters. Others pushed crates on trolleys or had carts loaded with
loose goods. The Courier Guild lived well on the wealth of trade
that Calimska needed to distribute. Runners saved people traversing
up and down the Calimskan hill and through the gates to the trading
post and the docks. They established fast connections by horse,
carriage, boat and carrier pigeon to the surrounding villages and
towns in the region. Items were sent over the Great Dividing Range
to Jando on the Salroc Sea and even farther to Tashiska by the
Western Sea. Couriers advertised that they would take anything
anywhere on Oranica, for a price.