A Murder in Alvedara - Chapter 14 - A Shot in the Dark

[Kane]

A Murder in Alvedara – Chapter 14 – A Shot in the Dark

The task I’d given to Bashar would take time and probably give me nothing, but I had to try. There was going to be another murder; and if I had to place a bet, the next victim would be killed either tonight or tomorrow. All I had was that the victim would be a large man and his killer was powerful enough to utterly destroy a soul. I had no idea how close he was to completing his ritual or how many more would die.

I sat and brooded in my office, hating the inactivity and being dependent on others to search for something, anything that would help prevent the next murder. I had to stay busy so I had a clean map of the city placed on my longest wall. I marked every murder with a red X and also marked where the victims had lived and worked. I was hoping there would be some pattern, some area in common where the killer was taking his victims. Nothing sprung out at me; the murder sites were too widely spaced and the three men moved in different circles. There was a connection, but I wasn’t seeing it.

As I paced my office, my mind wandered down dark paths, imaging fresh killings and a murderer who was beyond my reach. I thought of the Prince and was thankful for once that he was a short man and didn’t meet the killer’s preference for big, strong men. I thought of the three different occupations of the victims, noble, soldier, and legate. Those three occupations are the foundation of the Kingdom.  Without the support of those three, we couldn’t govern; there’d be anarchy. I still believed that there was a message in choosing these particular men. Unfortunately that idea would be confirmed just hours later.

I was thinking of leaving to get a late dinner when one of Bashar’s men arrived breathless at my door. The Sergeant wanted to see me as he had crucial news. His man said that Bashar didn’t want to leave the docks and a potential witness. The Sergeant thought that time was critical and begged that I hurry. If he thought it was urgent, then he was certain he had a solid witness. I quickly grabbed a cloak and my sword and headed for the docks. Maybe Bashar had the clue we needed to stop this killer.