A Murder in Alvedara - Chapter 13 - Starting Over

[Kane]

A Murder in Alvedara – Chapter 13 – Starting Over

As I walked back to my office, I thought about Laras’s last question.  Were there only three murders?  Were there other bodies we hadn’t found? If so, the killer could be far closer to accomplishing whatever he was planning. Vital clues could be out there waiting to be found. I had to cast my net farther afield.

Bashar and Yolan were waiting for me when I returned. I ordered lunch for all of us and told them what I learned and suspected after my talk with Laras.

“I think we’ve been looking at murders the wrong way. Laras asked if I was sure there had only been three murders and I couldn’t, with any certainty, say that I was. We need to get more men on the streets, scouring the slums and the outer districts. I want reports on any murders or bodies found with any similarity to our three victims in the past month.”

Turning to Yolan, “something you said about the precision of the cuts and careful removal of the blood and organs has nagged at the back of my mind these last few days. Our killer is very organized and has likely practiced his arts before. He wouldn’t risk a mistake once he started for real. Hopefully, he wasn’t as careful with his test victims. We need something.”

My Sergeant nodded but appeared unconvinced. “In the past month dozens of people go missing in the slums. Some leave, some are taken as tribute, and some find their way face down into the river. Very few will talk to us.”

He was right and it was a lot of work for little gain, but I would take almost any lead now. “Let them know there is coin and food available for the right information. Also talk to the street runners and make the same offer. I will be generous to anyone who brings me what I need.”

Yolan had been quiet so far. “Any thoughts old man?”

“I think you’re right about the size of the victims.  The killer is looking for very large, physically fit men. Bashar’s men should focus on large men killed in the past month or so. The killer may also have had access to corpses or victims few would miss. There are a few professions that fit that description, those that prepare the dead for burial, the city guard, interrogators like me, and the Order of Shadow. The killer may be one of us.”

Yolan said aloud something I'd been thinking, that killer had access to some of the elite of Alvedara; able to track their movements and strike in or near the heart of the city. Laras’s comments about power also led back to someone who would be seen as a friend or ally of the Kingdom.