The Tainted Cup, page 35
“I did,” said Ana. “This, obviously, is a death scene, Princeps, and we’ve need of your talents. I was wondering if you could catch any additional aromas about this place—and possibly remove the door to Nusis’s safe. I believe you lot are in possession of some rather advanced corrosives…”
“We are, ma’am,” said Kitlan. “Mostly for destroying contagion. But we’d be happy to comply here.” She waved to her tracker, who moved to the door of the safe and slid his pack off his back.
He sniffed the door of the safe as he sat before it. “Smells of alcohol, ma’am. Grain, I think. Probably from the immunis’s own stores. But…it also smells of blood.”
“Blood?” asked Ana.
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded at Nusis. “Her blood.”
“You’re sure?”
“I am. I’ve enough here to sniff to make a match. It’s the same. My guess is the safe was bloodied, and then cleaned with alcohols.”
Ana steepled her fingers. “I see…Would it be safe to say, then, that the killer manipulated or touched the safe after killing Nusis? With bloodied hands? They likely did not kill her beforehand, since, well, Nusis couldn’t open her safe if she was dead…”
The tracker shrugged. “Seems likely, ma’am.”
“I see. Then please remove the door.”
Kitlan and the tracker carefully applied drops of some smoking black reagent to the hinges of the safe. They did so in several rounds, tugging at the door after each application, until finally there was a groan, and the door fell away.
“Now, Din,” said Ana. “Look. Remember. Has anything within the safe been stolen? Anything missing?”
I squatted to look, my eyes shivering as I summoned up my memories of the last time I’d glimpsed inside this safe. I saw the boxes of grafts, a handful of papers I had seen before; and there, in the corner, the reagents key I’d brought to her, the vial set in a little bronze disc. Everything was all still here—or so it seemed.
“The key, Din,” said Ana. “Is the key there?”
I peered at the reagents key, then gestured to the tracker to hold the mai-lantern close.
“Well?” demanded Ana.
“There’s…a key, ma’am,” I said slowly.
“But?”
I peered closer at it. “But…it’s not the key I got from Aristan’s safe house, I think.”
A thunderstruck silence.
“What?” said Ana.
I turned to the tracker. “Can I pick it up, you think?”
The tracker leaned forward and sniffed the safe. “Not catching scent of any graft trips…though the scent of blood and alcohol is much stronger in here.”
“The killer cleaned the interior of the safe, you mean?” said Ana.
“Seems likely, ma’am. But it should be safe to review.”
I lifted the reagents key, held it up next to the lantern, and studied it. I shook my head. “I’m sure, ma’am. It’s not the same key. The bronze of the disc is discolored in the wrong places. And it’s missing a few dents. There were four total, one big, three small. And the weight is wrong.”
“You remember all that?” asked the tracker, surprised.
Kitlan snorted. “Boy’s an engraver. That’s what he’s here for.”
“You’re sure about all this, Din?” asked Ana.
I felt the tickling in my eyes as I recalled it. “I’m sure of it, ma’am. This key is similar—but it’s definitely different.”
“Can we figure out what this new key is, then?” she asked.
The tracker took the key from me and sniffed it. “Well, it’s…it’s a reagents key, ma’am. I can smell it. Smelled ’em before. Dunno what kind, though, or what portal it opens, but…I do note it smells very, very strongly of blood as well, though it’s also been cleaned.”
“But you’re sure it’s a reagents key?” asked Ana. “An ordinary one? Nothing special about it?”
“Nothing that I can tell. A reagents key, ordinary enough.”
Ana was silent for a long time.
“What’s going on, ma’am?” I asked. “Why kill Nusis?”
She said softly, “Take me back to the Iudex tower, Din. Now. Quickly.”
* * *
—
WE CROSSED THE city together, the moon pale and sickly above us, the city full dark except for the lamp of the Legionnaire accompanying us several span ahead.
“What do you think happened back there, ma’am?” I asked.
“Evil,” whispered Ana, “and trickery. I think the twitch came looking to steal the reagents key you found in Aristan’s safe house. Yet they were in for a surprise…for after killing Nusis, they found that the key had already been stolen, with another key left behind—a fake. The one you just handled.”
“What?” I said, stunned. “You think tha—”
“Keep your voice down!” she hissed. “It’s now clear that there are many spies among the Iyalets here! I cannot give the game away just yet.”
I whispered, “Do…do you really think so, ma’am? That there’s a…what, a thief about?”
“I do. Someone must have learned what Nusis had in her safe, snuck in, opened her safe, and took it, leaving another key in its place. Then the twitch came, forced Nusis to open her safe, then killed her…yet when they seized their treasure, they realized it wasn’t the right key. Someone had beaten them to it. The twitch then understood they were in a tricky spot—robbed of their prize, and now fearful we might now realize the true nature of the thing they sought. So they carefully shut the door and wiped it with alcohol, removing any blood, hoping we might not deduce what could have been worth murdering and robbing poor Nusis over.”
I tried to think through this, my mind spinning. “What makes you so sure the twitch themselves didn’t leave that key as a fake?”
“Because they went to the trouble of cleaning both the exterior and interior of the safe after they killed Nusis. The twitch is methodical, and careful—they don’t normally make mistakes that require cleaning. So…why would someone so careful manipulate and clean a safe after they’ve already robbed it? Why create this mess for themselves? The easiest answer is that they did not get what they sought and wished to hide that they’d ever sought it at all.”
“But…why would the Hazas risk so much over a reagents key, ma’am? And why would someone bother stealing it first?”
“Well, that assumes that the key you originally found actually was a reagents key,” she said. “And I’m now convinced that it wasn’t! I think it was something else entirely…Nusis herself was even puzzled by it. We asked her to identify what kind of key it was, and none of her tests could tell her—because it wasn’t a key at all, you see.”
“Then what was it?”
“The missing third you overheard Fayazi Haza discussing!” said Ana. “Something terribly important. The heart of all the sin that hangs over this canton, and perhaps the whole of the Empire. Now—get me to Vashta, quickly. For I know what we must do.”
“And what’s that?”
“Tell her that someone is going to try to kill Fayazi Haza,” said Ana simply.
* * *
—
“A…A THREAT AGAINST Fayazi Haza’s life?” said Vashta, horrified. “Again? Truly?”
“I’m afraid it is, ma’am,” said Ana. “There is a third assassin, and they struck again tonight. I am convinced that they mean her ill.”
Vashta paced the Iudex tower atrium, her face stricken, her black Legion’s uniform tinkling softly as all her heralds clinked against one another. “And…and this is who killed poor Nusis?”
“I am still unsure of that, ma’am,” said Ana. “But I think I can identify them. To do so, I will need to confer with Madam Haza, along with her engraver—for he has likely engraved many memories that may be useful to us in our search. Can we summon them here, to the Iudex tower, first thing tomorrow? The faster we move, the likelier we can ensure her safety.”
“I…I can, certainly,” said Vashta. “But, Dolabra, this is ill-timed…The leviathan approaches. The canton will likely devolve to chaos as it nears.”
“And that would be the best time for an assassin to strike. We must resolve this quickly. And, if she does agree to come, I would recommend giving Madam Haza the utmost protection. Any Legionnaire you can spare must be present, ma’am, along with Captain Miljin.”
“Of course. Yet is there no more you can tell me? I mean, who is this killer? And what is the nature of this threat against Fayazi Haza?”
“I cannot offer you anything of great certainty, ma’am. But I believe her engraver’s testimony can illuminate that. Now, with your leave, ma’am, Din and I must prepare for our interview tomorrow.”
She nodded. “Certainly. Certainly…”
I led Ana up the stairs, the whole of the tower creaking about us in the night wind.
“Just wish to comment, ma’am,” I said, “that, ah, I’ve no idea at all what’s going on anymore.”
“We build a trap, Din,” said Ana. “Vashta herself said that the only thing that would make Fayazi jump now would be if we said there was another threat to her life.” She grinned. “And that is what I just told her.”
“You lied to her, ma’am?”
“Oh, I did,” said Ana. “But not about that. There is a threat to Fayazi’s life—yet not the sort anyone expects.”
“Then…what did you lie to her about?”
“Well, for starters, I know who the third poisoner is, Din. And I now know how those ten Engineers died. And I also know what that reagents key truly was—and where it is now. I do feel a bit bad for lying to Vashta about all that, but…well, there is so much corruption in this canton that I worry an errant word from her could ruin my plot.”
We came to her door. I opened my mouth to say more, but she raised a finger.
“No time to explain, Din,” she said. “I must prepare my rooms for tomorrow, for I worry that all this could very well go awry. But listen, boy…” She gripped my arm tight. “I am going through this door, and after that, you are to never open it again, understood? Not without my saying it’s safe. Is that clear?”
“I…I don’t understand, ma’am,” I said, now thoroughly bewildered. “Why?”
“Do you understand that you shouldn’t open this door unless I tell you, child?” she hissed. “Yes? Then do as I say! I’d tell you why, but I’m sure you’d just try and stop me, and that would imperil many lives.”
“I’m your engraver,” I said indignantly. “Shouldn’t I be told of your schemes?”
“You’re right—you are my engraver. You are here to look, and see. So be down in the atrium first thing tomorrow, and be ready to look and see! And bring your sword. For if my conjectures prove true, we shall unmask a murderer—and a great deal more than that. Or we shall get all our throats slit.” She grinned again. “Now sleep, boy—if you can.” Then she shut the door.
CHAPTER 37
| | |
IT WAS DAWN WHEN I heard the first footsteps from the tower entrance. I looked up from where I stood before the adjudication chamber, my hand resting on my sword, then relaxed when I saw Captain Miljin stumping up, his long scabbard swinging by his side.
He nodded to me. Then his eye danced down to my fingers, which still tarried near the grip of my weapon. “You’re jumpy, Kol…What’s all this about, then? Got a message from Vashta to be here. I thought it’d be about poor Nusis, but…something about an attempt on Fayazi Haza’s life?”
“Or one that’s coming, sir,” I said. “Ana seemed sure of it. Fayazi Haza herself will be here shortly to be interviewed.”
He gazed up the tower stairs. “But Ana’s not here yet.”
“Still in her rooms. Before you ask, no, I’m afraid she hasn’t told me her plots, sir. I’ve no idea what she’s playing at.”
He snorted. “Perhaps today’s the day she finally tells us what’s been bubbling away in that brain of hers.” He turned as six Legionnaires trooped into the atrium. He shook his head. “Just had to happen as the leviathan grows perilously close. Let us hope we all survive it.”
We entered the adjudication chambers, the Legionnaires taking position at the doors and windows. We waited in silence, and then there came a rumbling of carriage wheels. Commander-Prificto Vashta swept in, followed by Fayazi Haza, attired again in her silvery robes and delicate veil, and flanked by her engraver and her axiom. Fayazi looked nearly as shaken as she had when I’d seen her staring down on me as her carriage had taken me away. Her Sublimes, as always, were utterly inscrutable.
“Where’s Dolabra?” Vashta demanded of me. “Is she not here yet? I thought she would be waiting!”
I opened my mouth to speak—but then I heard a door slam in the tower beyond, followed by small, careful footsteps. I bowed, excused myself, and exited to see Ana slowly, carefully descending the stairs, blindfolded as always, one hand trailing on the wall.
“They all there, Din?” she asked softly as she came to me. “Vashta, Fayazi, and her two Sublimes?”
“They are, ma’am.”
“And how do they look?”
“Rather rattled, ma’am.”
A grin. “Good. Let us rattle them more.”
She took me by the arm. I glanced up the curling stairway, wondering what she had left behind in her room, and why I was not to enter it. Then I led her into the adjudication chambers.
The Legionnaires shut the door behind us and locked it. I glanced around, taking in their positions: two soldiers on either side of Fayazi, one at each of the two windows in this chamber, and two on either side of the door. Fayazi herself sat at the prosecutor’s table, with her axiom on her left and her engraver on her right. Vashta had taken up her usual spot at the high table, and Miljin slouched on a bench behind Fayazi, hand on his sword. I led Ana to the first row of benches opposite Fayazi, who watched with narrowed eyes as she sat.
“So,” said Fayazi. “We are here, as you have asked, Dolabra…You claim my life is being threatened, again?”
“So I have concluded, ma’am,” said Ana. “And I thank you for being here to discuss this.”
“I thought Jolgalgan was dead,” said Fayazi. “And her crackler. That was the news being bandied about.”
“They are. But the conspiracy against you goes beyond that, I am afraid. An immunis in the Apothetikals was murdered in her office last night. The threats continue.”
“Immunis Dolabra,” explained Vashta to Fayazi, “wishes only to interview you and your staff personally to attempt to identify the threat. It is purely a precautionary measure.”
“Before I ask any questions, however,” said Ana, “I would like to review all we know about the circumstances thus far—about the movements of Jolgalgan, your father, Kaygi Haza, and even Commander Blas—for I have had discovered many revelations in the past few days. Only once the nature of those crimes is established might the threat to you be made clear, madam. Would that be acceptable?”
Fayazi looked to her Sublimes. Both nodded.
“It is acceptable,” said Fayazi.
Ana grinned. “Excellent. Let us begin.”
* * *
—
“I WILL NOT bother any of you with reviewing the death of Commander Blas,” Ana said. “I resolved that weeks ago, and we know now that the identity of the murderer was Captain Kiz Jolgalgan, of the Apoths, now dead. Instead I will move forward to the day of the party at the halls of the Hazas, for that concerns us most. Do we have any protest there?”
Again, Fayazi looked to her Sublimes. They shrugged. “We see no problems there,” said Fayazi.
“Very good!” Ana stood up, hands clasped behind her back. “At that time, Jolgalgan was already on the Haza estate grounds. The crackler Ditelus had already lifted the trellis gate, allowing her to slip inside and secrete herself away in a small, shallow hole some several dozen span from the back patio of the house. She had the poison—this dappleglass—and she meant to use it. When she finally heard the sounds of the party, she rose, slipped out of the hole, replaced her cover, and joined the crowd, and no one was any the wiser.” She raised a finger. “But here we come to the first unusual thing about Jolgalgan—for she was already very familiar with the grounds, with the house, with the rooms and the halls. For she had been there before. Many times, in fact.”
“Jolgalgan?” sniffed Fayazi. “At our house? I think that most unlikely…”
“I’m afraid it’s not,” said Ana. “I am sure that you were quite unaware of all this, Madam Haza, but your father practiced the very common and not at all unexceptional institution of patronage—the selection and encouragement of key officers in the Iyalets.” Fayazi opened her mouth to object, but Ana thundered along: “This is, of course, not illegal. There are no laws forbidding it. And as I said, it is very common, especially here in Talagray. Why, I expect that even the commander-prificto has known the attentions of the gentry now and again…”
“I have known entreaties,” said Vashta frostily, “but not for many years.”
“Of course,” said Ana, bowing. “Kaygi Haza was like many gentrymen in this fashion. He had a small circle of officers he met with, encouraged, and occasionally gave gifts to—and Jolgalgan was also one such officer. For how else could she have known of his bath? How else could she have so easily navigated the servants’ passageways, and known which door to use? The answer is, Kaygi Haza had brought her there before himself, likely many times—as a friend.” A languid wave of her hand, acknowledging her point. “Now that Jolgalgan was in the estate, she then used her knowledge and her altered vision to navigate the dark passageways without a light, ascending to the roof. And there, she delivered the killing blow, dropping the dappleglass into the boiler above the steam room. At that point, her goal here was accomplished. Jolgalgan rejoined the party and left with the throng. Kaygi Haza took his steams after the party—and then, sadly, he was to perish before the morning.
