"What?" More than one head shot around at this.
"Nothing was left at the scene!" protested Elleyn. "I checked that personally."
Sallis pointed to the sword-rack, but addressed Pusila. "Did that leave your sight at any time when they brought it here?"
Pusila shook her head.
"You told us your husband spent lots of time polishing and sharpening these weapons?"
"He did," agreed Pusila. "It let him think, he said."
"One of the blades has the tip missing," said Sallis.
Olista nodded to Crallin, who turned to the rack and inspected each blade. He finally held one up and passed it to Olista.
"Only a small part," said the Senator.
"That is the murder weapon," said Sallis. "I knew the moment I touched it."
"That's why you stopped looking at the blades!" Realization dawned on Olista's face. "You knew and said nothing!"
Sallis nodded. "I'm not the only one to keep things to myself." His gaze flickered towards Vayburn. "Several people wanted me to join the Guard. They did not want me to succeed as a bounty hunter."
"That blade belonged to my husband," said Pusila. "It could only have led you to him, if what you say about your Gift is true."
"What I say about the Gift is true," replied Sallis. "But not even I can follow the dead. The killer left sweat behind on the handle. And that did give me something to follow."
"To the thief who murdered my husband?" asked Pusila.
Sallis shook his head. "No, Mistress Pusila, the trail led me directly to you."
"What did you say?" Olista blinked.
"I said that the trail led me directly to Mistress Pusila."
Then the uproar really began.
"That is obscene!" screamed Pusila. "How dare you?"
"This lady is from one the wealthiest families in Marka!" shouted Captain Elleyn. "They do not run around murdering people."
"Will you all be silent," shouted Olista. "Dammit, this is my home!"
The man stood outside the study opened the door and peered within to make sure nobody was trying to kill anyone else. Sallis saw two concerned blue faces watching from the far side of the hall. Satisfied, the Guard withdrew.
Sallis kept his face calm and expressionless, ready for any sudden lunges. Gradually, Olista managed to restore some order.
"This is worse than the Senate," he grumbled, the moment silence fell.
"I followed a very short trail leading to you, Mistress Pusila. And also the thief saw you." Sallis smiled.
"Who'll believe him?" demanded Pusila. "He's a criminal. He stabbed my beloved husband to death and took his knife away with him."
"You're sure he took it with him?" asked Sallis, quietly.
"Of course. There was nothing in the study with my husband's body."
"Lieutenant Vayburn inspected your husband's body," said Sallis, before turning to the named officer. "Did you find anything, sir?"
Vayburn looked startled and glanced at Olista, who nodded.
"I did."
Sallis smiled. "So glad you're willing to share this time. Senator?"
Olista held up a tiny sliver of metal.
"That was taken from the wound," said Sallis, looking at Pusila. "The way you killed him is very inefficient, though I doubt you'll get another opportunity to kill anyone. Is it a match, Senator?"
The sliver of metal was clearly from the long dagger laid before Olista.
"So the thief stole that blade," said Pusila, shaking visibly. "Thieves do steal things, you know. And they do also turn to murder when caught."
"You're telling me that Kein picked the lock, took the dagger, murdered your husband, returned the dagger and locked up again? You told me yourself you'd put your husband's sword away before going into the study." Sallis shrugged. "This thief is a messy worker. He doesn't pick locks. He smashes a way in if people don't leave a door or window open for him."
Sallis paused before continuing. "And there is more evidence, if not exactly conclusive. You moved your sylphs out of the villa a month before your husband died. We know you weren't exactly firm friends."
"I loved my husband," protested Pusila.
"But you love your family more." Sallis forced a smile. "You loved your husband so much that you slept in separate rooms. Your family wanted you to dissuade him from extending the franchise in Marka and he refused, again and again. You moved the house sylphs from the villa and made them sleep in converted stables. So they could not hear your rows? Or to ensure there would be no witnesses if you felt compelled to commit violence? Those pieces of evidence are nothing by themselves."
Sallis pointed to the dagger and continued. "But that condemns you. Only you had access to that armory and only you kept the key. Even your husband had to borrow it when he wanted to think. I know from my visit the armory door was never forced. Everywhere else that thief went, doors and windows were forced. Everywhere."
Olista looked up. "The game's up, Pusila."
"This is nothing more than conjecture," protested Pusila. "A string of lies." She pointed at Sallis. "This boy is trying to extract more money from you, Olista. You know what bounty hunters are like."
"With the Father as my witness," interrupted Sallis, "I was contracted to find the thief. I have found that thief and I've returned him to Marka to face justice. Payment for that service will only be made once Master Kein is found guilty."
"Then why do you even care?" demanded Pusila. "Does it matter whether he is found guilty of theft or murder?"
"Care, Mistress Pusila?" Sallis's lips twisted. "What I care about is justice. You would let Kein hang for a crime he did not commit. Another death on your conscience, if you have one."
Pusila snarled, and shook her head.
"I wonder if Kein can identify you," mused Sallis.
"Of course he can," snapped Pusila. "You and he had two days to invent all of this. Fabrications!"
Olista gestured to the dagger still on his desk. "This alone is enough to condemn you," he said. "The game is over, Pusila."
"No."
"The rest of you, out," said Olista. "Not you, Elleyn, I want a witness."
Elleyn inclined his head.
Outside the study door, Dowl looked relieved. "I so hate being involved in these things, so distressing."
Sallis smiled, but said nothing. He turned to Vayburn. "Why did you hold out on me when I asked?"
"Asked what?" growled Vayburn.
"You know what. Whether you'd found anything on Jarron's corpse."
Vayburn shrugged. "If Kein had been hanged, and then we found evidence to clear him, I doubt if you'd be employed as a bounty hunter again. You should be in the Guard."
"You'd let an innocent man die for that? You're as bad as Pusila!"
Vayburn snorted. "Kein is hardly innocent."
"He is of murder." Sallis hoped disgust did not show on his face. Sickened, he turned away.
Through the thickness of the study door came a word of denial.
"No!"
Sallis blinked at the strength in that word. Pusila had not given up, or was it something else?
"Olista is making her write her confession." Vayburn's voice was quiet beside him. "She won't face the gallows. That's the way of it. The rich look to their own and deal with their own. You'd better get used to that."
"You all treat this like a game," protested Sallis. "It's people's lives you're playing with!"
"All of life is a game," replied Vayburn. "And like all games, there are winners and losers. Nobody has any choice; we're all forced to play. You have a quiet evening Sallis ti Ath. It'll be a long day at the inquiry tomorrow."
***
Chapter 18 - Threads
After the court of inquiry, Sallis sought and found Olista. Headed for his favorite alovak house, the Senator smiled a welcome.
"We must talk," said Sallis.
"Come with me," invited Olista. "We can talk over alovak. Have you changed your mind about your payment?
Want it bringing forward? You have clearly caught the right man for the thefts."
Sallis scowled. "I said once he was proven guilty and I meant it," he replied.
"As you wish." Olista indicated the alovak house now before them, with a partly covered outside seating area. "Here we are. A shame to waste such a pleasant day, so shall we sit outside?"
Sallis nodded. Still morning, but the sun already beat relentlessly on the paved street. The covering, he realized, served to keep off sun, as well as rain. At Olista's invitation, he took one of the chairs, but sat with his back to the wall, able to see everyone who came near.
"That's a sensible precaution," said Olista, sitting beside him. "Less likely to be surprised this way."
An infertile sylph, bells jingling as she moved, stepped forward to take their order.
"Why the bells?" asked Sallis, watching the sylph scurry away.
Olista laughed. "Sylphs move silently, or can do," he replied. "But when they wear bells, you can hear 'em coming. Not sure where it started, but it's catching on all through the city. Talking of which, how are you enjoying Marka?"
"It's getting very hot," remarked Sallis. "When will it get cool again?"
"After the autumn equinox," replied Olista. "This is good mainland weather, none of your offshore rainfalls and winds."
Sallis laughed. "A man might sweat to death here."
"The trick is to slow down."
"Never knew continental weather got so hot."
Olista grunted. "This is not hot," he countered. "It's still only early summer."
"Then I dread full summer."
"You might enjoy winter. Those are very cold." Olista gave the younger man a tolerant look. "You'll get used to our weather. Ah! Our alovak."
The same infertile served them. Sallis thanked her and received a shy smile in return. Seeing the creature reminded him of his determination to buy sylphs for his father's farm.
Olista inhaled the alovak's aroma and finally sat back. "You didn't seek me to discuss the weather or sylphs wearing bells."
"They dropped the murder charge against Kein."
"Of course. We now know he had nothing to do with the killing."
"But the murder wasn't mentioned at all."
"The court of inquiry established the facts about the thefts," smiled Olista.
"Nothing about Senator Jarron."
"You might be pleased to hear his motion goes before the Senate again tomorrow. I expect the Senators will vote to extend the franchise. He'll be remembered as a friend to Marka's people."
"I was talking about the murder," insisted Sallis. "It happened. Pusila must be tried."
Olista took a long swallow of alovak. "That will be difficult," he replied.
"Why? Didn't you get a confession out of her?"
"I did."
Sallis looked at Olista and scowled. "What aren't you telling me?"
Olista took a breath and wagged a finger. "They're right about you. The Guard would offer you a glittering career. You have a happy ability to see what is not said. You think logically. Amazing at such a young age."
Sallis's laugh sounded forced. "I can also see verbal sidesteps," he replied. "Why won't Pusila be tried? I thought this city took great pride in its attachment to justice. Doesn't Senator Jarron deserve justice?"
"That dagger would not be enough to convict her in court," replied Olista.
"You have a confession!"
"Which she would doubtless claim we forced from her." Olista shrugged. "It's happened before. Far easier to convict an established criminal, especially as he stood in the room where Jarron died, at the time he died."
"Kein is innocent."
"I agree with you." Olista took a careful swallow of alovak. "Pusila will not face trial, because Pusila is dead."
"What?"
"Relax, nobody has had her killed. Honor, especially family honor, is a delicate question. Wealthy families do not like having their name dragged through courts, doubly so for murder charges."
"She should have been held in a cell!"
Olista arched an eyebrow. "Why? I very much doubt she was a threat to anybody else and the Guard had orders not to let her pass through the gates, so we had no need to imprison her. Unlike Kein, who is obviously such a threat to the prosperity of this city's wealthy."
Sallis looked away. "How did she die?"
"Poison. Suicide over the tragic death of her husband and life companion. My understanding is that she swallowed hemlock sweetened with honey."
"You forced her into that to avoid the embarrassment of a trial?"
Olista's face darkened. "Young man, you have served this city well, but do not presume too far, sir."
Sallis stared across the street. He heard and understood the hidden message in Olista's words. "And I thought you people were all about justice," he muttered.
***
Rightly or wrongly, justice in Marka moved with commendable speed. Kein's trial began barely a week after the inquiry and the whole thing lasted less than a day. The thief pleaded guilty to the thefts, which shortened proceedings considerably. He paled when the judge sentenced him to twelve years hard labor, and recovered when he learned the sentence was suspended, provided he never returned to Marka.
Immediately after the trial, two guardsmen escorted Kein from the city, allowing him time only to collect his belongings. Sallis walked with them, but followed the convicted thief out of the city. Kein paused to mount Strider, his chestnut horse, from where he looked down at the bounty hunter.
"If you're waiting for me to thank you, you'll be there till you die," said Kein.
Sallis looked up and smiled. "You've still got your loot," he said. "That should help with your family debts."
Kein screwed himself around to look back at Marka. "You said nothing about that."
Sallis shrugged. "Why should I? They commissioned me to bring you back to Marka for trial, which I did."
"You could have let me swing," said Kein.
Sallis nodded. "I've got principles."
"They all say that."
"The difference is I mean it," insisted Sallis.
Kein nodded and turned to look south. "I'll be off then."
"Until we meet again," said Sallis.
Kein's eyes widened. "I hope I never bloody see you again," he said, and touched his heels to Strider's flanks.
Sallis watched him go and could not help but smile. "I hope so, too," he murmured.
A shout from the gatehouse caught his attention. "Farm boy! The cashier's waiting for you. Something about a bounty."
Sallis nodded and turned back. He had done his duty, and now it was time to collect his reward.
***
Once back in his room at Ulena's boarding house, Sallis began packing his saddlebags. He distributed his gold between the bags and secreted some on his person. He doubted if anybody trying to rob him would be successful, but he wasn't about to risk all his gold in one place.
He had already deposited most of it in Marka's brand new - and very secure - public bank, recently established by a group of wealthy people terrified of another Kein.
Sallis spun on his heel as the door to his room creaked.
"Looks like you're about to leave us," remarked Oston, staring at the stuffed saddlebags. "Did Olista's actions offend your grand principles?"
"Something like that." Sallis watched Oston carefully.
"There are times when you know someone is guilty and that you'll fail to prove it in a court. There are times when accidents must be arranged."
"I'm sorry you think so," replied Sallis. "There is no excuse for -"
"Don't say another word." Oston shook his head. "There will come a time when you realize I'm right."
"I hope not."
"We've upset you so much that you're going back home?"
"Only for a month or so," replied Sallis defensively. "I promised my father some sylphs to help on the farm."
Oston nodded. "Spending some of your r
eward on sylphs. Weren't thinking of buying them here were you? Few sylphs travel well."
"People keep telling me that," said Sallis. "I'll buy or acquire them in Calcan or Re Taura. They'll probably be cheaper in Calcan; I'll take the risk of any seasickness."
"Your father must wait a little longer," said Oston, expression neutral.
Sallis paused and watched as Oston flourished a missive, its creamy complexion ruined by a blob of black sealing wax.
"This comes from Olista, farm boy." Oston grinned. "He wants to see you. Like now."
Sallis ti Ath returned the smile. "Another commission?" he asked, stretching out a hand to take the letter. Oston was right; the sylphs and his father could wait a little longer. He might even arrange a ship to take four sylphs to his father's farm on Re Annan. "Olista wants me to hunt someone else?"
Oston nodded. "And he doesn't mention the Guard once. Are you staying or leaving? I won't tell if you decide to go."
Sallis eyed his packed saddlebags. For the first time since Elvallon had ungraciously terminated his training, he again felt as if he belonged. With a sharp twist of his wrist, he broke the seal and quickly scanned the words.
Sallis grinned. "Take me to Olista," he said.
***
***
The End of Gifted Hunter.
Nicholas A. Rose is the author of the Ilvenworld novels. He enjoys everything to do with the sea, the outdoors and the mountains, which he finds inspirational. Nicholas also enjoys the rather more sedentary pastimes of chess, reading, real ale and, of course, writing.
More Sallis ti Ath Novellas:
Gifted Apprentice
Gifted Avenger
Markan Empire Trilogy (full-length novels):
Markan Throne
Markan Empire
Markan Sword
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