A Murder in Alvedara - Chapter 16 - A Step Behind

[Kane]

A Murder in Alvedara – Chapter 16 – A Step Behind

It was just before midnight when Bashar came back to the office and simply nodded. He had taken care of business at the docks. Yolan was with me as we both expected another murder tonight. Reports were coming in every few minutes from the teams we had searching through the city. I was mulling over what I was going to tell my brother in the morning when I heard a commotion outside my office. Sergeant Bashar was yelling at one his men.

“When did he last report?”

The younger guardsman was visibly shaken by the sergeant’s anger. “Before I came on sergeant, maybe six or seven hours ago.”

If possible Bashar looked even angrier. “And you didn’t think that was odd when they were supposed to send word back every other hour?”

The guard started to stammer, “I, I, I thought with the distance they might have been delayed. I didn’t think it odd until they missed the second report on my watch.”

It’d been a long time since I’d seen Bashar this angry. “What’s going on?”

“One of my patrols hasn’t reported in at least six hours, maybe as much as eight. Corporal Mehan’s squad, good men who know better than to miss reporting.”

I had a bad feeling; a premonition of the worst kind; “describe him.”

Basher started to speak and then stopped, he had the same thought. “Bigger than me and wide, probably the strongest of my men. It can’t be.”

Right then, I knew that we’d Corporal Mehan lying on a slab with his chest cut open. “Where was he patrolling?”

His voice a little deflated, Bashar said, “northeast, the old ruined merchant quarter.”

“Pull your men back and start searching in the northeast. I want Mehan’s squad found before dawn.”