One thing was for sure: bureaucrats and politicians were the same, no matter the species. They wanted every fine detail, down to how many times you wiped your butt after taking a shit, if you used paper or a washable cloth alternative, and who gave you leave to even go take a crap in the first place.
I was trying real hard to not let my eyes glaze over from the sheer monotony of listening to the Hand ask Pilar to clarify the most minute things before continuing on. Seriously, who gave a flying fuck what color shirt Lord Roe was wearing when he greeted us at the door upon our arrival?
It didn’t help that Pilar was voluntarily bringing up stuff like the lack of shine on the hall floors, which had been clean. Somehow the lack of polish being high enough to cast reflections well meant something to them other than housekeeping being laxer than they thought it ought to be.
My ears perked up, though, when he mentioned the state of the chess table and lack of other furnishings and the state of the curtains in the grand entryway. Suddenly the whole point of the housekeeping made sense to me – it wasn’t that he thought the maids were lazy. It was that Lord Roe had probably sold off some of his heirlooms to other Councilmen and he couldn’t afford the more expensive polishes and waxes nor to replace the draperies.
I remembered us talking about that, in fact, and now I felt stupid for forgetting. The lack of money, along with his piloris addiction, gave Roe motive to join the scheme involving the pine needles. This same scheme which might even tie in with the piloris smuggling and the disappearance of his husband and son. But did it have anything to do with our original murders? And why did someone kill Lord Roe?
“New settlement?” I heard the Hand ask, returning my attention to the debriefing. “There’s certainly nothing there. We surveyed the entire area yesterday by satellite, tracking the movement to and from those hidden fields.” He leaned forward. “It may interest you to know that several cartloads were loaded onto boats.”
The river! But if Lord Roe was dead and his husband and surviving son missing, who would be there to receive the shipment?
“His killer must be someone who lives on the estate,” I spoke up.
Richard looked at me sharply. “But who?”
Pilar cocked his head, consideringly. “The stablemaster needs a closer look. He was possibly the last known person to see Roe alive, other than the killer if he didn’t do it himself.”
The Hand gave a nod. “I agree.” He turned to Richard. “Tell me about meeting these two at the tavern. It was unexpected?”
“It sure was. I was on my leisure time,” Richard began.
I frowned. The Hand had us skip part of the narrative. Did they have the rest already recorded from when we called? I decided that was likely, some sort of record of all official calls being made and such like. They’d probably stitch that into this record somehow.
My stomach rumbled, reminding me that I’d last eaten on the train several hours ago.
Richard paused, giving me a wide-eyed look as all eyes turned to me, causing me to flush.
“We’ll stop here to offer refreshments. I’ve had my staff prepare some foods I’m told humans like to eat.” The Hand smiled as he spoke and my embarrassment vanished.
“That would be wonderful,” I told him honestly.
“I think with what we have from the call from Miljack earlier that we have enough. Uncuff them,” he instructed. “I’ll attach the call records to the archive and transmit to the Arbiter immediately.”
I blinked. That was it? We were done here? I was onboard with that.
The Hand stood up after tapping several icons that appeared in the air over his desk. “There, done.” He moved to stand next to me. “So tell me, how did you personally find our young Pilar?”
“Um, he’s fine,” I stammered. “He’s a great guy and um, a fantastic investigator. He had the witnesses all eating out of the palm of his hand?”
The Hand threw back his head and laughed. “I see. Just fine, hm?”
My mind reeled at what he was insinuating.
I caught Pilar’s eye as he moved towards me. He gave me a gentle look, one I now knew he only reserved for those close to him. His smile was small, but reassuring, as he linked his arm through mine and replied, “I’m sorry, sir, but my Intended is hungry and this entire ordeal has been most taxing.”
Triumph blazed in the older man’s eyes. The High Lord, who had remained silent throughout, seemingly content to let his Hand do all the talking, appeared at our side. “It looks like I owe you a bottle of Gilfert, my old friend.”
“I look forward to sharing it with you and Klonnar at work’s end,” the Hand told his boss.
“You were matchmaking?” I asked stupidly, still not quite believing what I was hearing.
“No. Well, when your Council asked us to send an omega specifically, they didn’t realize we actually had one that was a Hunter,” the High Lord explained. “We rather got the impression that they were trying to humor Lord Roe and his allies. But Pilar is unattached, or should I say was, and very personable according to his files. We agreed, as the murders needed solving and the quicker the better.”
The High Lord inclined his head to indicate The Hand. “Olibat here was of the opinion that not only would his presence reopen a dialogue about our kind among yours, that as he came into contact with your ordinary citizens, they’d come to understand we are nothing to fear.”
“And you two bet a bottle of some expensive hooch as to whether or not I’d fall for him and vice versa,” I supplied.
“It’s a rare wine,” Pilar told me; his lips thinned. He didn’t appear to be happy about being the focus of a bet, either.
“Not you specifically, no,” Olibat replied. “To be more precise, I wagered a bottle of Jorgenberry gin that Pilar would become the object of infatuation by at least one human, and if it was one he had to work closely with, such as yourself, a deputy or so on, he might find himself growing equally fond.”
“And I bet that Pilar would be so eager to prove himself on his first big case that he’d let professionalism stand between that happening. So many young Hunters get so focused on the job that they forget they are allowed personal lives at the same time when they get handed a particularly juicy case.”
Olibat nodded. “But we both hoped that if my outcome came to pass, that both parties would be brave enough to seize onto it. Not just for personal happiness, but also because of the status it would place his Intended with.”
“A voice in the government,” I responded softly. The canny bastards had been one step ahead of us here, for sure.
“Quite,” the High Lord said. “Now, if you’ll just follow Olibat, he’ll take you to the dining hall where he’s had the staff prepare a meal.” He grimaced. “I’m afraid I have to remain behind and discuss this with the Arbiter, then contact your Council.” His lips quirked up in a tight smile. “I can’t wait to see their expressions when they discover you’re going to bond with our Hunter and I reveal just who they’ve been accusing from among us.”
Richard laughed. “Oh, that’s going to be good!”
Low chuckles around the gathered Hunters echoed the sentiment. I almost wished I could see the moment of epiphany myself. Still, I hadn’t yet actually agreed to pursue marriage with Pilar, so I needed to find time alone with him to find out why he’d said we were engaged. He never said or did anything without a reason, as experience had quickly shown me during our admittedly brief association. I just needed to know that reason, so I could navigate these political waters and come out intact.
“You have fun with that, my Lord,” I said, keeping my tone light, and turned to follow the Hand and his entourage out.