the Palace a little later than her usual time, around midnight, or perhaps a touch after. Their Lordships, the Governors, were of course here that evening, and I am sure that she would have been busier than normal. As all the staff would have been.'
Winterburne thought about his next words carefully. He was sure that they would cause some stir amongst them all. 'I believe,' he said, 'that she was followed home from the Palace, that night.'
Courtenay raised his eyebrows as Winterburne said the words, and the Emperor leaned forward listening intently.
'Really?' Martell asked. 'What makes you think that?'
Winterburne pulled the medallion from his pocket and held it before them all. 'Because of this,' he said. The medallion swung wildly, and all eyes moved across to look at it.
Courtenay walked over to where Winterburne stood and reached out, taking the medallion from his hand. He looked it over. 'And the significance of this is what, exactly?'
'This, Your Highnesses, My Lord, is the mark of an assassin,' Winterburne said. 'It was left at the scene of the killing. It may even be possible that the owner has yet to realise that they have lost it.'
'An assassin? How ridiculous!' Martell laughed. 'Why would an assassin want to kill a serving girl?'
'That, Commander,' the Emperor said, 'is a most interesting question. If you would care to give him time, I am sure that the Captain is going to enlighten us with his thoughts on the matter.'
'Thank you, Sire,' Winterburne said, nodding and taking a sideways glance at the Commander. 'It is indeed highly unlikely that a mere serving girl would attract the interests of a contracted killer. Certainly, she had no enemies that we can so far ascertain.' He walked before the dais and paused. 'I believe that the most likely course of events is that she heard something in the Palace, or perhaps on the way home, that attracted the attention of this man.' Winterburne pointed at the medallion.
'Captain,’ Courtenay said, ‘I wonder if you realise what it is that you are actually suggesting? That Agatha heard some piece of information that cost her her life? Don't you think that is a little far fetched? What sort of information do you think a mere serving girl might have been party to hearing?'
'That's right!' Martell snorted, in derision. 'You don’t know what you are talking about, Winterburne. This is absolute rubbish! It's nothing more than pure conjecture.' He stepped forward and spoke directly to the Emperor. 'Sire, hand the investigation over to me. The Guard would be able to get to the bottom of this. This matter is clearly way over the heads of the Watch, they have taken far too long already.'
'And what difference would you have made?' Winterburne said.
Martell turned to face him. 'We would ensure efficiency of effort. Focus of purpose. Clarity of vision.'
'You would have us living in a military state no sooner than clicking your fingers.'
'I would have us safe and secure in our beds, Captain,' Martell said.
Winterburne approached him until the men were almost toe to toe. 'And how would you do that?' he asked. 'Enforce a curfew after the hours of sunset?'
'If necessary,' Martell replied.
'Gentlemen, Gentlemen,' Courtenay stepped forward and separated the two men. 'Decorum, please. Remember where you are,' he said. 'Honestly, you are as two of the Emperor's hunting dogs turning on each other in their own kennel.'
Martell turned to face the Emperor again. 'Turn the security of the city over to me, Your Highness. I will ensure its safety. It is what the people would want.'
Frederick lifted himself from his throne. 'Commander,' he said, raising his voice, 'I would urge caution in your words, before you say too much. As far as I am aware this is not a democracy. At least, it was not on the last occasion that I checked. May I suggest, that if I had wanted to know the views of the people, then I would have taken the opportunity to ask them myself.'
Martell bowed his head. 'Of course, Your Highness. Please accept my apologies for speaking out of turn.'
Frederick walked down the steps where the two men now stood side by side. 'If I am very much not mistaken,' he said, 'the Captain, here, was only just getting started. Am I correct?'
'You are, Sire,' Winterburne said.
'Please, continue then.' Frederick paced slowly between Winterburne and the dais.
'As I was saying, Sire. I believe that she may have heard something, although I concede that I do not know what.' Winterburne could see that Frederick appeared to be receptive, possibly even to the point of being on his side, and he took the medallion from Courtenay. 'I believe that this man,' he said, holding up the object, 'killed the girl to keep her quiet, and then ran off into the night.'
Winterburne unfolded the shirt which had still been tucked beneath his arm, 'Where he met with Master Appleby, who was wearing this shirt.' Winterburne held up the garment for the meeting to see. The blood was clearly visible on the front. 'And,' he said, 'Appleby died because he saw the face of the man that killed Agatha.'
'Captain,' Courtenay said, 'that is a most interesting theory. How confident are you that that this is precisely how events unfolded?'
'It is the most likely course of events that matches the facts, My Lord.'
'How about this, Winterburne,' Martell said. 'This Appleby man, was an assassin and killed Agatha himself. Then, later, he got into a fight and was himself killed. That also fits the clues, does it not, and it does not take a genius to reason out.'
'With the exceptions, Commander,' Winterburne replied, 'that the girl's killing would have been without apparent motive, and that I believe we will find that it would have been totally out of character for the man.'
'The truth is,' Martell spat, his eyes narrowing, 'that you don’t have the first idea how any of this happened, do you?'
Winterburne ignored the comment and continued with his summary. 'If,' he said, 'Agatha heard something that was not intended for her ears,' he paused, 'then the question is who spoke the words and what message did those words contain?'
'That is interesting indeed,' Courtenay said. 'I am sure I speak for us all when I say that you have uncovered some most intriguing evidence. I trust that you will continue your investigations, and keep us informed of your progress.'
'Most intriguing indeed,' Frederick agreed. He climbed the steps to his throne and sat in his seat next to the Empress. 'I thank you for sharing your findings with us, Captain, and I would indeed be grateful if you would keep me informed, personally.'
'Of course, Your Highness.'
Winterburne understood this as the key to tell them all that they were dismissed and he stood to attention before bowing to the Emperor. Draper appeared on cue and he fell in line behind the valet and the others as they were led out of the chamber.
oOo
Kateryn stood and watched the men leave, filing out of the chamber. She walked across to the top of the steps and as soon as the men were out of sight, she smiled.
Frederick saw the look, and a grin crossed his own face. 'You were quiet,' he said.
'I was just enjoying the floor show. Are those two always quite so entertaining?'
'Usually,' Frederick replied. 'You know,' he said, 'it is truly ironic. I could trust both men with my life, but I couldn't trust them alone in a room together for one hour without them savaging each other.' He rose from the throne and walked over to stand beside her. 'I swear,' he added, 'that when the day comes that they really do butt heads we will be in for serious trouble. I really have my work cut out to keep them apart.'
Kateryn grabbed Frederick around the waist and pulled him close, looking up into his eyes. She stood on her tip-toes and kissed him. 'Well, Your Highness,' she said, 'I am sure if anyone can, then it will be you.'
21
The Thirtieth Day of New Year,
Imperial Year 2332
The Hooded Man waited on the quayside, staring up at the night sky. Dark clouds shrouded the moon, killing any natural light that it may have offered and leaving him standing in the shadows. He shrugged his shoulders,
twisting his head from side to side to encourage his cloak to sit more comfortably, and then pulled his hood tight around his face to keep out the chill.
He reached inside his clothing, pulling out the gold timepiece that he always liked to carry with him. It was a particular favourite of his, partly because the hands had been painted with phosphorescent paint allowing him to read them in the dark, but mostly because he had purchased it with the proceeds from his first commission. The hands indicated one hour past midnight. Any time now, he thought.
The single ring of a bell floated across the water, accompanied by laughter, and the Hooded Man turned in its direction. Someone was having a good night, he thought, looking out across the harbour to where the ships would be anchored. Then, there was silence again, or as close to it as he could expect; the sound of the water lapping against the dock wall was still there, somehow comforting.
Away to his right were the constant stone steps that led up to the road skirting the harbour. Within moments, the Young Man appeared at the top and made his way down, his feet scuffing on the stone as he descended. As he reached the bottom the Hooded Man turned to face him, glancing down at his pocket watch again.
'You're late,' he said.
'Barely,' the Young Man replied, a wide smile on his face. 'And anyway, what if I am? It must only be by minutes.'
'Nonetheless, it is unprofessional to keep the client waiting.' The Hooded Man looked across at his accomplice with a cold stare, but the Young Man seemed to pay him no heed. 'Were you followed?'
'I was not followed.'
'How can you be so sure?'
'I was not followed.'
'There are still people around,' the Hooded Man said, 'we cannot afford to be any more careless than you have already been.'
'You really must learn to trust me. Especially now that we have become associates.'
The Hooded Man looked up at the sky again and his gaze worked its way out across the vast expanse of the sea to the horizon. 'It's such a lovely night tonight,' he said. 'No stars. No moon. So peaceful. A perfect night for business.'
'I did not come here to socialise, or to talk about the weather,' the Young Man said. 'The hour is late. We had a deal.'
'Yes, we did.' The Hooded Man took his eyes off the ocean and turned to face the Young Man. A smile crossed his lips for the briefest of moments and then it was gone. 'You agreed to help me with my cause, and in return, I agreed to reward you.'
'So, where is my reward, then?' the Young Man asked. 'We agreed a fair price and I have kept my side of the bargain.'
'It is most unfortunate that two innocent people had to die,' the Hooded Man said. 'The girl was a pity, but I agree, in the circumstances it was largely unavoidable. The second killing, however, should not have been necessary.'
'He saw my face,' the Young Man replied. 'He could have identified me. And if I had been taken by the Watch, it is inevitable that you would have been next.' He paused for a moment, looking around him to see if there was anyone nearby. 'I have earned my payment.' He walked towards the Hooded Man. 'I also believe that we agreed a bonus. The authorities are asking questions, the little extra would help to ensure my loyalty.'
'Oh, my friend,' the Hooded Man said, chuckling. The sound was mocking, intended specifically to antagonise the Young Man. 'You still have not grasped how this works, have you? Yet again you have forgotten that I am the client. Need I remind you that you have been slapdash, not to mention unprofessional.' He took a few paces along the quayside and stopped, turning to look at the Young Man again. 'My own investigations have yielded information to suggest that you left some evidence at the scene of the girl's death.' He sighed, and shook his head. 'It disappoints me greatly that you thought not to mention it. It also makes matters rather more complicated.'
'I did not realise until