Retribution (Drakenfeld 2) (42 page)

Why had an entire island been kept off maps by Grendor? The obvious answer was that he did not want anyone finding the place, but what was on the island worth protecting? If this was the precious mineral I had mistakenly called evum, then the group of people on Lydia’s list had been involved with its extraction. That was all well and good, but I still could not link it to the murders. Mining precious stones is not worthy of murder, unless someone else was after it?

But even then, there were more subtle ways to go about it. These murders were violent and very ritualistic incidents. If someone had wanted to take over the island, for example, then the obvious deaths of individuals in Kuvash would attract attention.

No, whatever that mineral was, I did not think it the reason for the murders. It was on Evum that we would find answers, perhaps, and I was determined to go there after we protected the others on the list. However, hours later, as we arrived back in the Sorghatan Prefecture back in Kuvash, it soon became apparent that we were already too late.

Two more people on the list had been found dead.

Tagg Drennar and his wife Meruwa had been found in the centre of a market square sitting back-to-back on the floor. The husband’s intestines had been wrapped around them both, as if it was a rope that bonded them. Their bodies appeared to sag, their heads lolling to the same side. They were covered in blood from the open torso.

This was the only difference to the other murders. Otherwise the two of them bore the same wounds. Numerous lacerations, which were the probable cause of death, their tongues removed, and knife entries in the eye sockets. As Tagg had been slit horizontally, his skin was peeled back to reveal his glistening innards. This was a unique twist in the series of murders. Was it a new addition to a ritual, or was this a different killer?

A mesmerizing, rapid fluttering of bats came and went with the wind. Soldiers had sealed off the cobbled square, but it had not stopped people from leaning out of their windows to see what was going on. Even at this late hour many a lantern-silhouetted form peered into the gloom. All of those inquisitive faces were asking to be interrogated, so methodically, over the next two hours, I had soldiers from the City watch head round to all the properties in order to take any statements. Every single apartment, every terraced dwelling, every drunk passing by was investigated by the military and asked if they had seen anything. Though I did not speak it out loud, I assumed the people of Koton would be used to such bold intrusion by soldiers, and their compliance in the matter confirmed this. Given the elusive nature of the crimes so far, I was not optimistic that these interviews would prove successful and as time slid by, when all that came forward were fanciful meanderings of the eccentric, accounts that involved many-limbed monsters and ghosts, it was confirmed.

To add to the eeriness, a soldier made a minor confession, away from his comrades. A slender man with a long nose, his manner was nervous. ‘Funny thing, sir. Only, when we first found the bodies, they were arranged slightly differently. Truth be told we only turned our backs for a minute, like. No more. Two at the most. And in that time . . . well, their heads seemed to droop the other way. And a leg had been bent.’

‘Are you quite sure?’ I said.

‘Aye. I mean, it could have been one of the lads playing a joke with us I guess.’ He nodded as if reassuring himself. ‘That’s likely. But thought you ought to know, being Sun Chamber and all that.’

‘Thanks for telling me.’

He gave me a salute and marched back to his position. A joke, a coincidence, a bad witness – or something more sinister. All of the bodies had, in some way, not remained still. All of them had something to do with evum.

With regards to the murder itself, all we knew was that no one had seen a thing. It was absurd that the killers were able to act in such a way. When I enquired about the routines of the plaza, soldiers simply told me that it was a market square that would have packed up earlier in the evening. A heavy traffic of horses and carts would have been here a while before. One of them suggested it was possible the murderers could have brought the corpses here in a cart, blending in with all the others, and then be the last to leave in the darkness.

Despite her protests to remain, I had asked that Nambu return with Leana so that she could get some sleep. Tomorrow would be another busy day and I was tired myself. I wondered whether or not it was wise to take her along to Evum. Perhaps I was taking liberties in dragging the young girl from place to place, forgetting that she was of royal lineage. I did not want to be accused of treating her poorly, so would dragging her to a potentially dangerous island be wise?

With my hands in my pockets I turned to regard the dead couple bound in their final moments. It had been a ghastly way to die. A civic cleaner – a scrawny, elderly fellow – had found the two of them while he was sweeping the square for the morning’s trading, and he reported it to the authorities instantly. No one had so far come forward with information. Admittedly this public square was low on passers-by at that hour, but it said a lot about the skill of our murderer that they had not yet been seen.

This took the body count to five now and for each of the preceding incidents nothing had been noticed, despite the very public locations in which the victims had been found.

‘The cut was sloppy.’ Sulma Tan was still crouching by the side of Tagg Drennar, examining his wound rigorously. ‘I doubt these are skilled people, for there are less messy ways of peeling back folds of skin.’

‘Who were these two?’ I asked.

‘The Drennars were small-scale merchant bankers. They were obscure. They held no public stalls, and no building had been registered in their name, so few people will have heard of them. In fact, they maintained a very low profile in general, though I recognize them from their occasional meetings with the queen due to them owning an armoury. But they did not discuss those matters in front of me.’

‘Which makes their appearance here all the more surprising.’

‘Yes.’ She rose and stood by my side.

‘Was any royal money held in their bank?’ I asked.

Sulma Tan betrayed herself with her expression, but I admired her pride. ‘No. They dealt with select individuals in other nations as well as ours.’ At least her obviousness when she was lying confirmed how frequently she had been telling the truth. I did not hold it against her that she was protecting her sovereign.

‘What should we next do?’ she asked.

‘The remaining two names on the list – are they based in the city?’

‘We are already investigating. I despatched a messenger to one of my administrators.’

‘When you find out if they’re living in Kuvash, you should have them watched immediately.’ I gestured to the deceased couple. ‘There is a good chance they will end up like this. But more importantly I will now want to talk to them to get some answers.’

She nodded. ‘These soldiers will help remove the bodies and take them back to the palace when you are done with them.’

‘Thank you.’

Sulma Tan walked with speed into the distance, her cloak flailing, and faded into the night.

Meanwhile, for the second time that night I moved across the cobbles to inspect the bodies. At my indication, a soldier came over with a torch to cast light upon them, and blood glistened in its light.

The Drennars were in their fifties, which was an age consistent with the other victims. Tagg had shoulder-length grey hair, while Meruwa’s was still blonde and came down to her waist. They were heavily built individuals and what clothes remained on them were clearly once resplendent. Curiously, Meruwa’s boots were on the wrong feet – that indicated a level of haste about the act. It was as if the killer had been forced to act quickly: after having made the many cuts up and down her body, they struggled to remember which boot went on which foot.

However, something else struck me as very odd. Not about the individual incident itself, nor about the physical evidence before me.

But the fact that there were
two
victims.

How was it possible for
one
killer, working alone, to have managed to accomplish such an act? It didn’t seem likely that one person would have been able to overpower two heavy people, at least not without great difficulty. And though it seems strange to say it, there did not seem to be – at least from this initial glance – signs of a severe struggle. If these were like the other victims, then the wounds would have been inflicted once they had been incapacitated in some way. I noticed rope marks on their wrists, where they had so clearly been bound, perhaps in some backstreet workshop.

Other than the initial note, which was not solid grounds for evidence on the matter, it became more apparent that there were two killers; maybe even a gang operating in a calculated, organized manner.

There was no note upon either of their persons, and nothing else to go on. I informed the nearest soldiers that I had finished and that they could take the bodies.

‘Try not to sever the innards,’ I said. ‘Keep them as intact as you possibly can. I realize that might not be a particularly easy job.’

With insouciance the soldiers moved over to the bodies to contemplate how they would carry out the act of separation.

I made my way alone back through the long streets feeling incredibly weary yet eager to press on. The search was successful – we had a list, we had a new direction in which to steer our investigation, and it felt as if the mosaic of ideas and observations was beginning to form a much grander picture.

A few elements were still obscured, but I couldn’t help thinking of the size of the revelation already: a hitherto unknown island had suddenly appeared on the map. What would that mean for the nation of Koton? Would it have implications across the continent? I needed to keep all of these ideas relatively fresh to despatch another message to my superiors in Free State first thing in the morning. It was important to rest my head, though. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

With the clarity of a new morning, I found myself excited, and even had something of a plan at the back of my mind. But even that was to change.

After some brief administrative work involving writing my letter to the Sun Chamber to update them on recent events, Sulma Tan sent over a messenger. He carried details of the final two members on the list of names taken from Lydia Marinus’ house.

Her letter was brief yet revealing. These final two were living within the Sorghatan Prefecture – and very much alive. Four soldiers had been despatched in civilian clothing, though armed discreetly, to visit their house and offer protection against any potential attacks. They were to keep a low profile so the murderer – or murderers – would not realize how far we had come in our understanding of the crimes.

The names of the individuals were Han and Lunus Saul Kahn.

The Kahns, according to Sulma Tan’s message, and much to my surprise, were two eccentric brothers. Twins, in fact. It occurred to me that they might have been the same curious brothers who dined with Grendor the night before he was killed, the ones to which Nambu took a dislike and whom Leana had interviewed. They had massed a sizeable amount of wealth together through business, but mostly trading with Detrata, and neither of them had married.

In addition to this Sulma Tan had requested that the physician Carlon conduct an examination of the Drennars’ bodies, and he had free time this afternoon when he could dedicate himself to the grim task.

I sent an oral reply back via the messenger and told him we would join Sulma Tan at the front entrance to the palace within an hour, and then we would proceed to the dwelling of Han and Lunus Saul Kahn.

Leana, Nambu, Sulma Tan and I left as the sun was starting to rise. The long shadows were retreating like ghosts and the morning became sharp and clear. The air as ever was rich with the smell of woodsmoke, and I knew the heat would come soon enough, today with some intensity.