An Apprentice Without Magic, page 16
part #2 of Magic Missing Series
~
Bentwick rose from his chair and paced while Sam and Dickey watched him walk back and forth in his office.
“The leak must have occurred on the judiciary side,” Bentwick said. “The warrant was delayed. Let me see it.”
Dickey handed the document to Bentwick.
“I didn’t see it when it came. I just sent it over since you were ready to go. It has Issak Bolt’s signature,” Bentwick said.
“The Minister? Does he usually sign warrants?” Sam asked.
Bentwick shook his head. “Not at all.”
“He wouldn’t have killed the woman,” Dickey said. “The Minister would never get his hands dirty.”
Bentwick nodded in agreement. “All he had to do is let a few people know, though. He wasn’t particularly excited about your break in the thefts.” He looked at Dickey. “This won’t affect the back end of the investigation.”
“It won’t,” Dickey said. “We will trace Millie Canker’s friends and associates. That will take the pressure from accusing noble husbands of stealing their wives’ jewelry, at least for now.”
“Good. Continue. The robbery ring might not have realized that our ability to investigate improves when there is a murder.”
“There might be more. What do we do when lords begin to be eliminated?”
Bentwick shuddered. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. It shouldn’t if that pink stuff really does eradicate memories. If it doesn’t, we will still operate as if it does. Do you understand?”
“Only if we can catch the murderer/thief any other way,” Dickey said.
“What about me?” Sam asked.
“Your time as a boy at the Piper Club is over. You can resign today,” Dickey said.
“I’ll work today and give Shilla my notice.”
“She isn’t Banna Plunk, is she?” Dickey said.
Sam could tell his partner was needling him. “No. I’ll go back to my sword training the day after tomorrow. Do you mind if I continue to work with Antina Mulch to improve my court language?”
Bentwick chimed in. “Not at all. It is a valuable tool for constables. Isn’t it Dickey?”
“It is. On your own time, though.”
Sam saluted. “Yes, sir.”
Bentwick chuckled, but Dickey didn’t.
~
Sam walked in and was immediately told to see Shilla in the kitchen. She took him out the back door to an alley Sam had never seen before. It must have been along here where the entertainment ladies entered the club.
“Did you kill her?”
“Millie Canker? No, I did not,” Sam said.
Shilla folded her arms and paced a bit. She quickly turned. “Whom do you really work for?”
“You never knew?”
She shook her head. “You were hired as a favor.”
“I am a constable’s apprentice. We had word of something strange going on in the Piper Club, so the constabulary put me here as an observer. Millie was implicated in something, but she was killed before the constabulary could interrogate her.” Sam had said all he could about his mission.
Shilla seemed to relax a bit. “I’ll have words with Harl about this, but you are fired. Don’t spread the tale that you were planted as a spy. It won’t be good for business.”
“I won’t if you don’t say I am connected to the constabulary,” Sam said. “Okay?”
“It is a deal. You weren’t half bad as one of our valets. The other boys were anxious.” She actually produced a weak smile. “If you need any more information, send me a note, and we will meet away from the club. Harl isn’t exactly a person to be trusted.” Her angry face reappeared. “Take your tips and leave. I’ll say you were fired because of a noble complaint. It happens often enough. Now, go.”
She stayed outside while Sam gathered what few possessions he had in his cabinet drawer. Mandy stopped him.
“You are leaving us?”
Sam nodded. “I must have gotten crosswise with a lord last night. It didn’t help me leaving in the middle of the evening.” He shrugged.
She gave Sam a hug. “You are such a nice boy. It’s too bad you aren’t ten years older.”
“I’m not,” Sam said, feeling his face turn red. “You were extra nice to me, and I appreciate that. Goodbye.” With those parting words, he left the Piper Club.
He had prepared so long for only three weeks’ work. However, he counted the experience as a success. They had finally found the woman who distributed the pollen, but she was obviously just a cog in a larger enterprise, especially after her demise. Whatever gang was behind the thefts didn’t mind a little murder. The thought gave Sam the shivers.
Life had never been fun for him, but he had enjoyed learning manners and how to butcher court language. Where would he ever have such an opportunity again? In the future, perhaps, but the future was a murky thing, full of unexpected twists and turns. He decided to visit Antina and Tru with his suddenly-free time.
He arrived by hired carriage, his last for a while, he thought. The shop was empty as usual, but the bell summoned Antina.
“What are you doing here?”
Sam told her about the death of Millie Canker and his subsequent firing, but none of the details. “Is Tru here? I’d like to see your operation.”
Antina giggled. “Follow me.” She crooked her finger as she left the shop through the curtain. Sam exited into a room full of shelves, but as he walked past, he saw curios of all sorts sitting, waiting for a turn to be purchased. They passed Antina’s workbench.
A stairway led up to Antina’s apartment, she pointed out as they continued out the back. A large room with high ceilings and a brick floor was attached to the back of the house. Sam passed little furnaces with metal stovepipes snaking their way out of the room. It looked like a tiny smithy to his eyes.
“I have a yard on the other side of the alley,” she said. “That is where Tru is.”
They crossed the alley to an open yard. Beneath a wall-less roof sat a proper forge. Tru was just wiping his forehead after plunging something into the glowing coals.
“Sam! What a surprise. What brings you here? I thought you were still working at that high-class tavern.”
“Fired. I found what I was looking for, but instead of resigning, the manager let me go.” He sighed dramatically. “Now I’m back to being a constable’s apprentice.”
“You are a snoop’s apprentice, and you’ve been doing snoop work,” Antina said. “There is no ‘back’ to anything.”
Sam shrugged and then smiled. “I guess you are correct. I hope I can continue my court language lessons.”
“Time to call the language Vaarekian, its proper name. I didn’t correct you before, since you were going to work among the nobles. They dislike the true name, you know.”
“I didn’t, exactly, but I do now.”
She nodded. “I will continue to work with you, but we won’t be meeting every day like we did before. One evening a week, but you will have lots of homework and practice to do.”
“I understand that. What about my manners?”
“What about your manners? From what I can gather, you learned more manners than your average lord. That should be good enough,” Antina said. “It is time to get back to snooping. Right, Tru?”
Tru smiled. “Right as always, Antina.” He looked at Sam. “I’m doing what we did in Cherryton, but with different metals and on a much smaller scale. I’m fixing a set of tongs for crucibles on the forge, but this will be used for smelting alloys more than ironwork. The fine stuff will be made in the shed.”
“That’s quite a shed,” Sam said looking over at the large addition to Antina’s shop.
“I have to get back to what I was doing,” Tru said. “We can talk tonight if you don’t have to prance around at that tavern.”
“I don’t,” Sam said.
After a short tour of Antina Mulch’s ‘shed’ activities, Sam returned to the constabulary to let Kened Rider know he’d be returning to the early morning sword practice.
Dickey was out, but Kened was finishing up with some men he didn’t recognize. Sam waited for them to end their session, and then he approached Kened.
“Constables from outlying offices,” the weapons instructor said. “They need training, too, and we provide them with a few techniques not likely taught locally.” Kened plunged a towel in a bucket of water and after twisting most of the water out, washed his sweaty face. “What brings you here?”
“My assignment has ended. I thought I’d warn you that I can return to practice.”
Kened laughed. “That’s good. Our constables have been crying about not having you around to punish.”
Sam didn’t know how to take Kened’s comment.
The sword master clapped Sam on his shoulder. “I’m kidding, of course. Don’t be so serious.”
Sam relaxed, but he had never thought himself as serious.
“You were progressing nicely, and I think the time off won’t do you any harm. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning then.”
“I will, too,” Sam said before returning to the Investigative Division offices. Dickey sat at his desk writing away.
“Reporting for duty,” Sam said. “I wasn’t needed tonight at the club. I’ve notified Antina Mulch that our language lessons are over, although they aren’t, really. I’ll be resuming sword practice tomorrow.”
“All done in an afternoon,” Dickey said with mock amazement. “I’m about done with this report, or I’d have you work on it.”
“What about the two thefts that I missed?”
“They fit the same pattern,” Dickey said. “The ladies reported the thefts. The lords had the best opportunity, but we can’t gather any more evidence. We did find a little pink pollen, but no one can see it as well as you. If Millie Canker hadn’t been killed, we might be further along, but the investigation continues unless Minister Bolt shuts it down.”
“He can do that?”
Dickey nodded. “He won’t win many points with the constabulary if he does, and the man is sensitive about how he is perceived by the rank and file.”
“That is why he spends time in the stables?”
“And other places,” Dickey said, “like taverns and weddings. Many constables and city guards love him. I’m not one of them.”
Sam didn’t know what to say. Dickey reinforced the sinking feeling of finding out Issak Bolt’s true nature exhibited in the meeting earlier in the day. He looked around at the empty office and figured Dickey had been candid, since no one was in listening distance.
“You need to realize something, Sam. Nobles operate on a different plane than we do. You have to be careful, or they will definitely bite, and that bite can be fatal, as Millie Canker found out.”
“But she was…”
“The woman wasn’t an innocent bystander. Either a gang or a noble is behind her death.”
“Or a group of nobles?” Sam asked.
Dickey nodded gravely. “Don’t accuse them. Work around them. Chances are, if they are caught, they will be let go without punishment.”
“Then why did we go to all the trouble to investigate the jewelry thefts?”
“Nobles made the complaints. There have been more than those reported.”
Sam nodded. Dickey had told him that was probably the case before. So they would pursue the thefts by other means. “But if a noble is behind the thefts, then we won’t be able to touch them.”
Dickey nodded. “But we can catch the little people. Nobles don’t get their hands dirty, but we can put away those with dirty hands, can’t we, like Millie Canker’s murderer, or the Millie, if she were still alive.”
Sam nodded again. It all made sense, but it was disheartening. Snoops could only do so much, but then the vast majority of Baskin’s residents weren’t nobles. He reconsidered continuing his Vaarekian lessons, but then he thought he might need to know the language for his own protection.
“You can go home. You worked hard enough on this case and did well. Tomorrow, you are back to dealing with crime and the other apprentices,” Dickey said with his crooked smile.
Sam left, thinking about too much. Tru hadn’t arrived yet, so he went to the back to play with Emmy. She bounded to him from her spot in the sun at the back of the garden.
After removing the forge, the vegetation was beginning to grow again. Sam decided to get some exercise by cutting down weeds and raking the dirt. The mindless work settled him down. He concentrated on the next batch of weeds and then the next.
“Why are you dismantling my manicured garden?” Tru said, emerging from the house.
Sam laughed. He needed to after his afternoon. “Maybe we should grow some herbs,” he said, thinking of Harrison Dimple.
“As long as you maintain it. I’ll be spending a lot of time at Antina’s getting my new business started.”
Sam raised his eyebrows. “I thought you were her employee?”
“Not exactly, more like a junior and a senior partner. She has her business to run, and I’ll have mine, although I hope to sell most of what I make to her and through her shop.”
“I get it,” Sam said. “Is she bankrolling you until the money comes in?”
Tru grinned. “The money is coming in already, but the real answer is yes. When you visit the shop again, have Antina show you more of my work. Right now I’m doing some of hers and some of mine. That way, if it doesn’t work out, the other can survive.”
“I can see Antina surviving through a lot,” Sam said.
Tru nodded in agreement. “Take Emmy for a walk. You’ve already done your half; I’ll work on the rest.”
Chapter Nineteen
~
S am put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath after an exhausting bout with a constable just a little better than he was. The man had gotten as much as he had given Sam, but they were both winded from their efforts.
“You are getting better,” the constable said.
“Thank you.” Sam didn’t know what to say. Compliments from the men were few and far between.
“It just makes me want to try harder,” the man said with a grin. “I won’t let you get so close again.”
Sam didn’t care. He just tried his best. He knew his technique was smoother and more disciplined, probably more of what Harrison Dimple would have wanted him to get to, but he was hampered by his size. He knew he was growing, but Sam doubted if he had gained any weight, and it was a struggle to maintain his coordination as his limbs grew.
He was a month from his stint at the Piper Club, and there had been no more thefts. Perhaps exposing Millie Canker as an accomplice was enough to stop the crimes.
Dickey walked into the training hall and motioned Sam over.
“A murder,” Dickey said. “Pink pollen was found.”
“Where? Who?” Sam said.
Dickey looked around. “Not here. Get washed up and meet me at my desk. Be quick about it. The locals want us to get to the scene and examine the evidence as soon as possible.”
Sam hurried and met Dickey out front, where they took a hired carriage to the western edge of Baskin, far from the docks. Dickey led Sam into a local city guard office.
The place was much smaller than the building where Sam spent his time. Ten guards milled around. Guards were tasked with monitoring who came in and who came out of Baskin and manning the city walls.
“You finally arrived,” one of the guards said. He wore sergeant’s insignia, but he didn’t sound very friendly.
“I thought I made decent time,” Dickey said. “Is the body here?”
“No, but it would have headed to the coroner’s if you had taken a little more time,” the grumpy sergeant said.
“Lead us on.”
They exited the guard headquarters.
“What’s with the kid?” their surly escort said.
“My apprentice. He’s just off an undercover job.”
The man raised an eyebrow and grunted. “Undercover, eh?”
“Just finished. He reported his findings to the Minister of Justice.” Dickey sported the hint of a smile and looked ahead.
They walked for three blocks until they came to a blind alley. Two constables stood guard. The ground was wet and smelly. Sam didn’t think it a likely place to attract a coerced lord under any circumstances.
The body lay midway along the alley. Sam didn’t expect to see a guard uniform.
“Do you know him?” Dickey asked.
“I do. One of Lieutenant Happy’s sergeants,” their escort said. “Perl Basket is his name. A good man.”
Sam knelt amid the refuse looking for pollen, but he didn’t see any. “Pink pollen?”
The sergeant ignored Sam, but Dickey repeated what Sam had said.
“It was removed,” the man said.
“And where was it removed to?”
The sergeant shrugged. “We’ll have to return to the guard house.”
Sam looked over the scene for more clues. The man had a bloody head, and his throat was mottled. “Struck and strangled,” he said.
“Any fool can see that,” the guard said.
“Why both?” Sam asked. “If you strike a man hard enough to break his skull, why strangle him?”
The sergeant pushed out his lower lip. “The woman was strangled.”
Dickey narrowed his eyes and turned quickly to the sergeant. “How did you know that?”
“We were told.”
“By whom?” Dickey said. He put a restraining hand on Sam’s shoulder and squeezed.
Sam was about to protest, but he caught the slight shake of Dickey’s head telling him to be still.
“I don’t know. Captain Fork, I suppose.”
“The guardhouse commander?”
The sergeant nodded. “He would know where he got his information.”
Dickey nodded. “We’d like to take a look at the pollen since we’ve seen the stuff before.”
“You have?” the sergeant said.
“Why do you think we’ve been called to see a dead city guard?” Dickey said with a hint of irritability.
Sam went back and examined the body. He walked around the alley and got down on his haunches, seeing the remnants of drag marks.
