A Murder in Alvedara - Chapter 17 - A Murder Close to Home

[Kane]

A Murder in Alvedara – Chapter 17 – A Murder Close to Home

With almost fifty men, the search didn’t take long. We knew what we were looking for; a building with four intact walls that could be sealed off from prying eyes. It took just over two hours. As expected, we found Corporal Mehan laid out on a rough wooden table with his chest cut open. Most of his intestines were gone, neatly cut away with the same precise cuts I’d seen on the other victims.

My anger was explosive.  I wanted to hit something; crush something in my hands. The killer was taunting me, as if I was some helpless child. My dead man was a message that the killer could take whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He didn’t fear me and would brush me away if I became too annoying. I’d never experienced such a level of helplessness. With enough evidence I could take down the leaders of the greatest families in the city, but this killer thought me weak; able to rub my face in the mud.

I had to leave the body for a few minutes to calm my thoughts so I could look at the murder scene with a critical eye. It took longer then I’d hoped to regain my composure. When I’d come back, Yolan and Bashar were ready to give me their reports. I nodded to Yolan first.

“I’d swear that the Corporal was killed by the same man. The cuts are distinctive and sure. The Corporal was bound like the others; you can see where the spikes were driven into the ground. The marks on his wrists and ankles are similar to the others; likely the same chains. There is one difference.”

That got my attention, “what?”

“There’s some bruising around the back of the head. I think the Corporal put up a fight, but it was brief.  The other three victims had no external bruising.”

I mulled that last bit for a moment trying to see how that could help. “Anything else?”

Yolan walked me over to the table. “There’s no other furniture in the building. The table come from somewhere else and appears fairly hastily made. Mehan weighed about three hundred pounds so the table had to be sturdy. It’d also take several men to lift him.”

“From the dock hand’s statement, there are at least four others involved; one quite large. Sergeant, do you have something to add?”

“We found the other guardsmen in Mehan’s patrol fifty feet or so north. They were left in a neighboring building, their throats slit and their weapons neatly laid at their feet. There was a little blood in the street, but it’s likely theirs not the attackers. It had to be quick, they were four good men.”

I thanked them and asked that Mehan’s body be left on the table for a few more minutes so I could try to lock the scene in my mind. He was facing in toward the city again, so the angle of the body was important. I made sure to mark the location so I could add it to the map in my office. With a little luck I might see a pattern so Mehan’s sacrifice would have some worth.