Imager’s Intrigue

22

On Mardi, I skipped the early-morning exercises and slept later-not all that much later, given Diestrya, but I needed as much sleep as I could get, and I was grateful that my disturbed dreams hadn’t led to sleep-imaging. Even so, I didn’t head in to the station until close to ninth glass, but the day was still damp and chill.

Lyonyt greeted me with an announcement. “Captain, we just got a report. First District thinks they just picked up the body of that elver you asked about. Red hair…same scar along the forearm.”

“Thank you.” I couldn’t say I was surprised that Kolasyn’s brother was dead. The only questions that had ever been in my mind were when he would die and whether anyone would find his body. Some elvers could put in a day’s work, go home and smoke a weed-pipe or two, got to bed, and get up and go to work. Then, there were the ones for whom smoking the weed was life itself. They died hard and young. Haerasyn had clearly been one of those. “I’ll have to go down to First District in a bit.” I paused. “We haven’t had any word from any of the goldsmiths, have we?”

“No, sir. I’d say it’s not too likely now.”

“You’re right about that.”

After checking the logs and the reports and finding nothing out of the ordinary, I walked into Alsoran’s study. I didn’t close the door.

As usual, the lieutenant was on his feet. “I heard about your relative.”

“It had to happen. It’s better that it’s over. I’ll go down there and take care of matters after we’re through here.” I gestured to the chairs, then took the one facing his desk. “What’s happened that’s not in the logs, if anything?”

“We’ll need to rework some of the rounds tonight. Last night, Vaeryn got his foot run over by a cart, and Socaryt’s out with a flux of some sort.”

“Is the foot something that will heal?”

“The surgeon thinks so, but it will be weeks, if not longer.”

“Can he handle the duty desk on the midnight to morning shift?”

“He should be able to. We can see.”

Once Alsoran and I reworked the rounds, I took a hack down to the headquarters building on Fedre, just a block or so up from East River Road, not because I wanted to be anywhere near Cydarth, but because the rear of the building also held First District station.

I didn’t know the patroller on the duty desk, but he clearly knew me. “The body’s in the cold room, Captain Rhennthyl.”

“Thank you.” I walked back to the far corner and opened the heavy door slowly. There was almost no odor, even though there were five bodies laid out. I could tell from body positions that four were elvers.

Once I stood beside the redheaded form, I recognized Haerasyn. His dead face held the contorted expression common to all the elvers who’d died from the stronger weed. I didn’t even shake my head.

I walked back to the front desk. “It’s him. I’ll sign the claim forms and have the crematorium pick up the body as soon as they can.”

“We’ll hold it.” The desk patroller handed the single sheet of paper to me.

I filled it out, signed it, and handed it back.

He looked at me again.

“I’ll be making the arrangements right after I leave here.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I could understand his feelings. No patroller wanted to have a dead body around very long, although it wasn’t so bad in late fall or winter.

“Oh…I’d sent a request about jewelry and goldsmiths?”

“Yes, sir. No one’s reported anything, and with a reward, it’s likely that they would if it crossed their counters.”

“Thank you.”

After I left the First District station I walked around to the charging section of headquarters. As I’d hoped, since it was early afternoon, Buasytt sat unoccupied at the desk.

“Captain…what brings you here?”

“Business with First District. I just wanted to hear what the chargings have been like everywhere.”

The graying patroller shook his head. “Last glass has been the quietest in weeks. Until now, it was like every tough in every taudis had decided to get busy.” He frowned. “Except Third District.” After a pause, he asked, “Would you care to tell me why that might be so, sir?”

“All I can say is that we’ve been working to change things as much as we can in Third District. We cracked down on the taudis-gangs years ago.”

Buasytt nodded slowly. “I recall something about that. You took on two of the taudischefs yourself, didn’t you?”

I laughed. “I didn’t have a choice. They came after me. When that was done, it made sense to finish the job.” And I had, but certainly not in the way I made it sound. “Have there been any attacks on patrollers in other districts?”

He shook his head. “Lots more smash-and-grabs, a couple of small explosions out in Sixth District, but away from anything.”

That sounded like someone testing something, but I didn’t say so. I just smiled. “I appreciate learning what’s been happening. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Captain.”

From headquarters, I took another hack out to Elsyor Memorials, where, for the appropriate payments, they were happy to agree to pick up Haerasyn’s body, prepare it for viewing, and then for cremation, after a family viewing. They even had a courier service so that I could send a message to Seliora at NordEste Design. I wanted her to get the message, because someone with a level head needed to be the one to inform the family.

Then I took another hack back to Third District. Just in dealing with that small part of the mess Haerasyn had left behind, I’d spent three golds. That didn’t count the thirty golds worth of jewelry and coin he’d stolen when he’d vanished.

There had been two smash-and-grabs while I’d been gone, not that they wouldn’t have occurred even if I’d been there. I did get back in time so that, at fourth glass, when the evening patrollers reported and those on the day rounds returned, Alsoran and I were able to brief all the patrollers on the possibility of violence against them by taudis-types from outside the district.

After that, I stayed until ninth glass that night, accompanying various patroller teams who worked the taudis on their rounds, but the entire afternoon and evening were quieter than normal. Again, I had to walk to find a hack, but only to the Midroad.

Seliora met me at the door. She studied my face, then stepped back and said, “Thank you for dealing with Haerasyn.”

I closed the door behind me and took off my cloak and hung it up in the foyer vestibule. “I’m sorry the message had to come to you, but I wasn’t certain how Odelia would deal with it.”

“She didn’t handle it well.”

“She wanted to know where I was, I expect, and why I only sent a courier and a message…and that I sent it to you and not to her or Kolasyn.”

With a wry smile, Seliora nodded. “Mother and Aunt Aegina pointed out that matters are very unsettled in L’Excelsis and that you had taken time to track down Haerasyn and make the basic arrangements for the services and cremation.”

“And Odelia got upset and then retreated?”

“You’ve gotten to know her moods well.”

“For better or worse, her feelings come first.” I didn’t point out that sometimes thought came far later, if at all.

“She’s good at heart,” Seliora pointed out.

“That’s true, but she can be hard on those closest to her.” I laughed as we walked into the family parlor. “At times, I suppose, that’s true of all of us.” The warmth of the stove felt good after a cold night and a colder hack ride back to Imagisle.

“You’re aware of that, dearest.” She squeezed my hand. “You’re cold. Sit down. I have some warm spiced wine for you.”

I didn’t need much persuasion to settle on the settee in front of the stove, especially since I knew Seliora would be back beside me before long.