Page 21 of The Tainted Cup

Ephinas and Gennadios then did so, pulling their clothing tight against their bodies while I looked them over, blushing, for I found this more mortifying than just searching them. Then I cleared my throat and searched Uxos, checking his waist and leggings. Nothing.

“Satisfied?” asked Gennadios.

I ignored her and knocked on Ana’s door. I heard a short “Come!” and opened the door.

Ana had redecorated. The books and projects had all been removed from the meeting room. Instead, she had produced a small desk, and she was sitting behind it in her short stuffed chair, waiting for us with her blindfold on her eyes.

She smiled as we trooped in. “Good morning. I am Investigator Dolabra. Please take a seat.”

She gestured before her. Two chairs awaited the witnesses, along with a stack of books to serve as the third seat.

The three servants stared at her. I took up a position standing behind Ana, my hand on my practice sword. It seemed unlikely that these anxious people would try anything, but Ana had told me to be ready, so I would be ready.

“Excuse me,” said Gennadios. “But—the investigator isblind?”

“Only occasionally, Madam Gennadios,” said Ana. “I find that reducing one or several senses often makes it far easier to absorb information, andthink.Please—sit.”

They did so, with Uxos taking the seat on the pile of books.

“Thank you for joining me this morning,” said Ana. “I know it is unusual—but then, these are unusual circumstances. A man is dead, killed in a most unusual way. I have a few questions for each of you that I thought would be better asked directly.”

Gennadios shifted her posture into that same damned position from the house: knees together at an angle, her whole body facing away like Ana wasn’t worth looking at. I was surprised to see her treat an Iyalet officer so, but then I remembered what Ana had said of thegentry:Such folk don’t necessarily feel like they need to obey all of our laws all of the time.

“It would have been easier,” Gennadios said, “if you had come yourself.”

“Of course,” said Ana. “First, Madam Gennadios—I would like to begin by asking you more about why Commander Blas was staying at the estate in the first place.”

“He is a friend of the Haza family,” Gennadios said. “Surely your boy told you that.”

“He did. He repeated what you said—that friends sometimes stay with one another. However, the Hazas were not present. Correct?”

“Obviously.”

“And did they have any intention of being present?”

“I am not always informed,” said Gennadios, “of my masters’ plans.”

“Nor were any other Iyalet personnel or imperial officers present.”

“No,” she said coldly.

“And Blas did not visit any Iyalet personnel or imperial officers in Daretana.”

“If you say so.”

“So the suggestion seems to be,” said Ana, “that Blas was staying totally alone in someone else’s mansion with no one but the servants, without any of his colleagues in Daretana being aware of it.”

A twitch in the muscle behind the old woman’s nose. “It is a very fine residence,” she said. “We labor daily to keep it so. I would expect many would travel across the cantons to spend a night there.”

“Perhaps so.” Ana cocked her head, grinning. “But I do find it curious that Blas, as a commander in the Engineers, also had access to the senior officers’ quarters here in Daretana—which is quite a nice accommodation, I understand. Yet he did not stay there, nor even visit.”

“A Haza estate,” said Gennadios, “is doubtlessly far superior toany Iyalet barracks.”

“Of course. But then there is the fact that Commander Blas served in the Engineering Iyalet, on the sea walls. And the wet season is approaching. If such a person were to break away from his duties, I would assume it could only be for official Iyalet reasons. And ifthatwere the case, I would assume he would stay at the senior officers’ quarters, to discuss his labors with his colleagues. Wouldn’t you?”

There was a long silence. The smug look had been wiped off Gennadios’s face now. I was so curious where this was going, though, that I didn’t have much mind to enjoyit.

“Was there another guest coming to the estate, madam?” asked Ana. “One whose purpose was toattendto the commander?”