Thraxas at War [calibre 1.47.0]

'May I come in?' asks the woman in a voice so refined she could cut glass with it.

'If you must.'

I welcome them in, if allowing them to find their way through the mess on the floor while scowling roundly at them could be called a welcome. What does this Senator's wife want with me? She settles down quite gracefully on the chair in front of my desk.

'I wish to hire you,' she says.

'What for?'

'To clear my husband's name.'

'What's he accused of?'

'Murdering Prefect Galwinius.'

There's a brief pause while I digest this.

And your husband is?'

'Senator Lodius.'

I rise to my feet and point to the door.

'Can't do it. Try the Venarius agency uptown. They're more your sort of people.'

The woman remains seated. She looks unruffled, which makes me feel foolish.

'You are an Investigator for hire, are you not?'

'I am. And your husband blackmailed me last year. And called me a low-life piece of scum.'

'Did he really say that? It doesn't sound like my husband.'

I admit he might not have used those exact words.

'But he implied it.'

She wrinkles her brow just a little.

'Oh. I see. When you were recommended to me as a competent Investigator - and a man who'd fought in the war -1 did not expect you to be so sensitive.'

I'm not sensitive. I'm insulted. And I'm sensitive. Thanks to your husband I had to prevent an eviction.'

'Prevent an eviction? Was this unjust?'

'Well—'

I halt. I sit down.

'Possibly not, from the tenants' point of view. But it meant going against Praetor Capatius and it got me in a load of trouble.'

Trouble which hasn't gone away yet. That was the start of the accusations against me. It's fatal to become embroiled in the politics of Turai. Lodius forced me into it.

'Has he been arrested?'

'He will be very shortly. I received a message.'

And Senator Lodius sent you here to hire me?'

She shakes her head. It wasn't her husband who suggested it.

'Deputy Consul Cicerius recommended you. It was he who sent the message.'

This takes me by surprise. I've done some good work for the Deputy Consul in the past year. He's never shown much sign of appreciating it. I didn't know I'd risen enough in his estimation for him to be recommending me. And it's doubly strange, because Cicerius is also a bitter enemy of Lodius.

'Cicerius? Why would he try to help your husband?'

She shakes her head. She doesn't know.

'What did he say? Try Thraxas, he's a drunken disgrace to the city but he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty?'

'He was a good deal politer than that.'

The woman's facade slips a little, though she's not exactly close to tears. Upper-class women rarely cry about important matters; it would show bad breeding. On the other hand, they may weep profusely if the hairdresser is late.

I don't want to take on the case. Not only do I dislike Senator Lodius, I've a lot on my plate right now. Besides, with the Ores planning an attack, the city's liable to be razed to the ground in a few months' time. Then who's going to care who killed the Prefect? Still, I hate to see a murderer go unpunished. If the Civil Guards and Palace Security fail to catch the killer, he'll be walking around free, and that never sits right. If I take on the case and clear Lodius, it'll probably mean finding the real murderer. That, I suppose, would be good. But then I'd find myself on the wrong side of the city authorities and the King, who despise Lodius. That would be bad. I try to weigh things up but I'm drowsy from beer and tired from walking round Twelve Seas.

'I saw your husband hand food to Galwinius. Right after that Galwinius dropped down dead. It doesn't look so good for him.'

'My husband did not kill the Prefect,' says his wife, emphatically. 'No matter what the Sorcerers at Palace Security say.'

'The Sorcerers say he did?'

'I believe they are about to. An arrest warrant is being written as we speak.'

'Then Lodius is doomed.'

'My husband is not doomed.'

'He is. If the Sorcerers have fingered him, he's doomed. Sorry, lady, just because he's a rich Senator doesn't mean he doesn't have to suffer for his crimes.'

The woman looks at me coldly. She rises to her feet and speaks to her servant.

'Come. This man is not the person to help us. Deputy Consul Cicerius has misinformed us about his abilities.'

She turns away in a dignified manner.

'I'm sorry to have wasted your time.'

They walk to the door and leave via the staircase to the street below. I let them go, then take a hefty slug from my new bottle of klee. I'm annoyed. Usually when I give the brush-off to some unwanted client, they rant for a while, and insult me. Call me fat, or drunk, or cowardly, or something. They don't just apologise for wasting my time and walk out in a dignified manner. The more I think about it, the more annoying it becomes. Who does that woman think she is to just walk in here, be insulted by me, then leave in a dignified manner?

I cross swiftly to the door and haul it open again. At the foot of the stairs the servant is still helping his mistress into the carriage.

'Okay, I'll take the damned case,' I yell at her.

She raises her eyes towards me.

'Good,' she says, simply. 'Would you like to visit my house to learn more of the matter? Perhaps later this evening?'

I nod, then slam the door. Makri chooses this moment to walk in.

'So you're taking the case?' she says. 'Is Lodius innocent?'

'How do you know so much about it?'

'I was listening at the door. So? Is he innocent?'

'I've no idea. But now I have to find out. Damn it, I didn't want to have to work for Senator Lodius. I hate Lodius.'

'Then why did you take it on?'

'His wife tricked me by behaving in a dignified manner.'

'The calculating bitch,' says Makri. 'There's no way you could stand up to that.'

'You said it. Now I'm going to be defending the person the whole city will think murdered Galwinius. Probably at the instigation of the Ores. The news-sheets will be down on me like a bad spell. Why is it I always get the really bad cases?'

'Well,' says Makri, thoughtfully. 'You live in quite a bad part of town. Probably most of the better cases go to the high-class Investigators in Thamlin. And you drink a lot, which might put some of the more respectable clients off, and you're known to have a really bad temper, which again is off-putting for a lot of people. Also you've got quite a serious gambling problem so I suppose some people might think you're not really a trustworthy person to give money to. You've been thrown in prison quite a few times, you were denounced in the Senate and you've been regularly criticised in the news-sheets, including one really comprehensive report which included not only the time you were hauled before a magistrate for stealing a loaf of bread but also the time you tried to steal wine from the church in Quintessence Lane. You were sacked from your job at the Palace, your wife ran off, and you sometimes turn up to meet clients after smoking far too much thazis, which hardly gives a good impression, and didn't you once—'

'Makri, will you shut up. It was a rhetorical question.'

'I'm just explaining why—'

'Fine. I get the picture. Why don't you go downstairs and see if any Ore Sorcerers have been sending you flowers? I need to sleep.'

Also, you sleep on the couch when you should be working.'

Makri departs. To hell with her. One day that woman will push my endurance past its limit. I drink more klee and fall asleep.

Chapter Eight

I waken to the notion that I should be getting on with something. I've forgotten what. I'm splashing water on my face when I remember I've just been hired by the wife of Senator Lodius. It's one of the biggest criminal cases in the history of Turai. I guess I should be pleased to be involved. I'm not, and not just because I'm going to have to miss out on Tanrose's cooking for another few hours.