“Oh, I have ideas. Many of them. And all of them will require further verification.”
There was a tense pause.
“Perhaps the location that sent a message to Kaygi Haza will reveal more?” I said.
“Mm, I rather doubt it,” she said. “But we should look anyway.”
I did the trick again, writing with my finger with my eyes shut, then opening them.
“As I thought,” said Ana. She squinted at my writing, then read, “The Haza Prime Hall, First Ring, Sazi Lands. In other words, the Hazas’ home here in Talagray got a message from the elder brothers of the Haza family very soon after Kaygi Haza’s death. Meaning Fayazi’s Sublime lied to you—they’ve probably gotten lots of letters from the senior lineage since the old bastard sloughed off his sandals. Not surprising.”
“So what does that mean?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It means whatever secret Kaygi was rushing to keep secret commanded the attention of the senior clan.” She grinned wickedly. “So it must be one hell of a big fucking secret, eh, Din?” Then she cocked her head. “Mitral, Bekinis, Qabirga, and Juldiz…I wonder what connects them to the Hazas? And Blas, and Oypat, and all those silver coins you found.”
* * *
—
WHEN WE WERE done, Ana replaced her blindfold and called Miljin back into the room to share these revelations.
“Any chance these cantons mean anything to you?” Ana asked him at the end. “Mitral, Bekinis, Qabirga, or Juldiz?”
Miljin frowned as he thought. “Think I rode through Qabirga once. Lots of farms. And it rained. A lot.” He shrugged. “？’S’all I got, ma’am.”
“Hm. Rather less than useful…” said Ana.
“I note we don’t have any conclusions regarding the actual murder, though, ma’am,” said Miljin. “How Jolgalgan got in to poison Kaygi Haza’s bath, or the ten dead Engineers…And the fire, and the hole in the ground on the Haza property. Don’t have much there, yes?”
“We have more than we think,” said Ana. “I believe I have one solid idea, at least. We’ve been wondering how Jolgalgan snuck poison into the halls of the Hazas, yes? Well—what if she secreted herself in with it? For I suspect it’s very likely that she infiltrated the Haza grounds and buried herself in that little hole for a day, or two, or more, waiting for the party.”
There was a short, stunned silence.
“Truly?” said Miljin.
My eyes fluttered as I summoned the image of the little hole up in my mind. “That could work…” I whispered. “It was large enough, yes. Then when she heard the music and talking, she could just stand up, slip out, brush herself off, and join the crowd.”
“And when the party was done,” said Ana, pleased, “she’d just leave with them.”
“But how could she navigate the servants’ passageways up to the roof?” asked Miljin. “They were close, cramped, and dark.”
“Well, Jolgalgan is an Apoth,” said Ana. “And we know Apoths have a fondness for self-alteration. When Nusis went to go look at Suberek’s corpse, remember, you asked if she needed a lantern.”
Again, my eyes fluttered as I remembered the moment. “But Nusis said she could see perfectly well in the dark,” I said.
“Yes,” said Ana. “Admirably simple, isn’t it?”
“It’s…interesting,” said Miljin. “But not watertight. Still don’t know how Jolgalgan got on the grounds in the first place, ma’am.”
“We don’t!” Ana said chipperly. “But I have a theory, though it will need researching. That’s where you come in, Captain. Would you please go about getting a list of recent Talagray Legion personnel, please? I would like especially for you to focus on enhanced individuals. Enhanced for strength, specifically—much like yourself.”
“？’Course, ma’am,” said Miljin.
“Good. I think we have a lot to parse through—but tomorrow, Din, you and I shall get more. For we must interview those we once called colleagues, to hear what they saw at this party. Perhaps they saw our killer in action—and witnessed something that may be useful to us.” Then she paused and turned to me. “But Din…one last thing.”
“Yes, ma’am?” I said wearily.
“When you first came to the Hazas’ property, you asked how big it was.”
“Yes?”