Sam

  “The Bloody Party, sir? Are you referring to what happened at the Walsh mansion?” Sam asked, unsure.

  “Yes, that one.”

  “By the nine hells, who hasn't?” Sam said, brushing his hair with a hand. “An ambassador, a priest, and a bunch of noblemen were butchered while having dinner. Fuck, the whole city…” He went silent, recalling the rule of not swearing. He became pallid.

  However, George didn’t seem to mind it. “Don’t stay silent, lad. What do you know about it?”

  Sam coughed, then shifted in his seat. “I remember it happened on a Nuvingues night. Two and a half months ago. I believe it was the 8th of Asciper. Fourteen people died in a little private party that Count Tomas Walsh was hosting at his home. The most notable victims were Priest Johnson, master of the largest temple at Mirawark County, Rafael Hernandez, the Iberian ambassador at the time, and Count Walsh himself. The other victims were friends of the Count and his guards. Nothing happened to the family and servants. They all were murdered by a single man: Jose Zambrano, the ambassador's own bodyguard. He has not been caught yet.”

  “It was truly a tragedy what happened at the Walsh mansion,” Ruby said, taking the word. “It was truly, truly awful.”

  “It was,” George said. “Tell me what you know, miss.”

  “Well, sir. I know a lot about it. I guarantee you,” she said, playing with her fingers and looking modest. “I’ve read a lot about the case. Would you mind hearing it all?”

  “You can speak freely.”

  Ruby smiled widely at his response. “My goodness, where to start,” she said cheerfully. “For Count Walsh and his guests to die in such a horrific manner.” She dramatically shook her head. “And let’s not forget the murderer: Mr. Jose Zambrano. That the ambassador's own bodyguard was capable of doing something so terrible, I can only imagine how shameful the citizens of Iberia must feel. I dread thinking that monster is still out there, walking freely among the public. It makes one worried, don't you think? However, between you and me, sir, and I don’t know if I should say this, but it’s something that has kept me thinking for a long time… I believe that crime wasn’t the work of one man. I believe, like many others, that Jose didn’t act alone. It is obvious he couldn’t have killed all those people by himself. It’s impossible, right?”

  “I believe the same,” George answered.

  “I remember no one in the city could talk about anything else for weeks, especially the press.” Ruby continued. “Every day they reported something new about the case, though often it was just more of the same, but with a new spin. It soon became monotonous and boring. However, there were some newspapers without morals and ethics—tabloids that like to cater to the imagination of the lower classes by writing nonsense—that kept adding new things to the case. I don’t know if you are familiar with them, sir, but they began to write all kinds of unsound and demented theories; everything to keep the public engaged. I remember that the most popular theory said that Mr. Zambrano was, in fact, an innocent man, and that is why the police have been so incompetent in capturing him. They must also think he’s innocent. But then, who’s the culprit if it’s not Jose, right? In fact, it is believed that the one responsible was the wife of the Count: Countess Aveline. She planned everything. She was having an affair with one of the Count’s friends, and after years of this forbidden romance, they schemed to get rid of the Count with the help of a professional killer, so they could take all his money. However, somehow the plan went sideways that night, and others became involved, thus getting themselves killed, or being falsely accused, like Mr. Zambrano. What an absurd invention this theory is, don’t you all think? She asked, looking around the room.

  George watched her as his smokeless pipe hung on his mouth; it had run out of tobacco a while ago, but the man kept sucking on it. Noel was about to say something, but was quickly stopped by Christine. She leaned over him and whispered to his ear. Noel nodded and stayed still. Seeing that no one was saying anything, Sam decided to do likewise. He was surprised by the girl's lengthy talk and sudden change in demeanor. She seemed excited about the story. He waited for her to resume the talk, and judging by her smiling eyes, she was ready for it.

  Then she continued,

  “These tabloids may be unscrupulous and distasteful, but one can’t deny their creativity.” She nodded to herself. “You might all think this theory I said is shocking and absurd, right? Well, trust me when I tell you it’s not the most grievous one. The worst theory I have encountered so far, in my humble opinion, said that the Countess not only had one lover, but several, a dozen in fact. Not only were these lovers friends or acquaintances of hers, but also strangers that she brought home to enjoy them for one night, and then she discarded them when the morning came, like used paper. There are rumors on the street saying she’s an insatiable sexual beast, always searching for a man to satiate her, and the Count was well aware of this side of her, but said nothing; he even supported this behavior because he loved her. To help her with her deviations, the pitiful man often took the children with him on weekend trips, leaving her alone in the mansion. She used this chance to have day-to-night orgies with all her lovers, taking multiple at the same time, while they were consumed in alcohol and drugs. Sometimes she hired prostitutes to spice up the sessions, when having too many men began to bore her. Can you imagine what the servants must have been thinking, watching all of this?

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  “The theory also said that the Countess had preferences for the occult, and so did the Count. The two were, in fact, demon worshipers. Maybe this is why the Count put up with his wife's deviancies. And this could also explain the massacre that occurred at the mansion. Perhaps that was in fact some kind of dark, blasphemous ritual the married couple carried out for their demon gods. They killed their guests with the help of their cultist allies, and then offered their bodies to statues of naked men and women with animal heads and hands. Then they all got naked, and began to dance, and scream, and copulate like wild animals through the night. And since this was a sacred ritual, it needed to be led by a priest, and I bet you cannot imagine who was in charge—”

  “That’s enough, miss,” George said, scowling at her.”?

  Ruby quickly covered her mouth and looked away. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” she cried. “I got carried away, sir.”

  Sam stared at her wide-eyed, while Noel and Christine began to laugh.

  “You indeed love to gossip, my dear,” Christine said. “We hit the mark with this one. Don’t you think so, George?”

  “We sure did,” George said. “Sterling indeed warned us that she talks too much when excited.”

  “Where did you learn all this nonsense, miss?” Noel asked.

  “Well, um…” Ruby hesitated.

  “Does it matter?” Christine asked. “As you said, it's just nonsense.”

  “Of course it does,” Noel said, visibly upset by the question. “The press constantly berates us about how we do our job, but are fine writing this, this…”

  “Shit?” Christine added.

  “Yes, this shit.”

  “Miss. White. The late priest Johnson was in line to become a High Priest, and maybe he could have been our next Pontiff. He’s the reason why the Temple of Idnus sent a delegation to our country. They want answers, and the murderer.”

  “But why did they send their military?" Sam asked. “Couldn't they have sent anyone else?”

  George shrugged his shoulders. "We ask ourselves the same question, lad. It's not the first time someone from their organisation has been killed in our country. Remember their war against The Monolith. Their clergy and military personnel are always in danger because of them; hell, not even their civic side is free from threats due to all the companies and banks owned by the Temple of Idnus. I always read about some company they've taken over or some family they've destroyed.

  “The usual procedure in these cases is for them to let our detectives take care of everything. Sometimes, if the victim was someone of rank, they like to send their own officers from Helsane to inquire about the course of the investigation, which in this case they did. But this time, for some unknown reason, Temple’s army decided to get involved as well, which has given me something to think about. I want you two to help me with this problem.”

  “Do you think they’re hiding something?” Sam asked.

  “I do. Tomas Walsh was a noble whose ancestry goes back for centuries. His family began in the early years of Alba Flamma, when Griffin Whiteflame was still the king. The Walsh family is what we call the Old Blood: Alba’s first loyal servants—a dying breed, in my opinion," George said with a sneer. "The Count was known for his open opposition to the Crown, which he accused of abandoning the ancient traditions and duties that Griffin had established during his reign. If you ask those who knew the Count personally what he thought of the Crown, they will all tell you that he hated it for its betrayal, as do all the Old Blood. But do you know who the Old Blood hate more than the Crown?"

  “The Temple of Idnus,” Sam replied.

  “Exactly,” said George with a chilling smile. "The Crown may have betrayed the nobility, but it is the Temple of Idnus that is destroying the nobles. The Crown knows that it is only a matter of time before the nobility is completely crushed by them, so they have already chosen the winning side. We are at the dawn of a new era in which nobles and commoners will have equal powers and rights. The nobles fear this, and that is why they hate the Temple of Idnus more than they hate the Crown, and yet..."

  “The Count had a priest as a guest,” Sam completed the sentence.

  “Noel is the detective in charge of the investigation, along with two others, who are also part of the ISS. To the public, the case is being handled by Metro, but in reality, we are the ones investigating it. Now is your turn to intervene,” George said, looking at Noel.

  “Thank you,” Noel said, standing up. “Priest Johnson was a regular guest at the Walsh state. We counted eight visits in the two months prior to the tragedy. We questioned the family and servants about the nature of the relationship between Johnson and the Count. They told us they were longtime friends. The two had met through acquaintances and slowly developed a friendship. Of course, it was hard for us to swallow this story. As George has pointed out, the nobles' hatred for the Temple of Idnus is well known. The family and servants, however, became tight-lipped every time we brought this issue to light. They all repeated the same answers, as if they had practiced them. They said that the Count was a good man, and though he felt some displeasure for the Idnus Temple, he didn’t hate every member of the organization. They said he was an open-minded man.

  “We also asked those who knew and worked with Johnson, yet we gained nothing new. They found his friendship with the Count bizarre, but didn’t give much thought to it. Or perhaps they chose not to tell us anything.”

  “We have people watching the Walsh home and the temple where Johnson worked,” George said. “We know they aren’t telling us the truth, and the coming of the delegation has proved our assumptions. Something was going on between Johnson and Count Walsh, and the Home Office wants to know what it was. They requested a meeting with our current Pontiff to ask him about the delegation. They were rejected, however. The Pontiff’s office informed them that they received orders from Helsane to remain silent and not involve themselves in the affairs of the delegation in the country. The order came from The Radiant himself.”

  “My god,” Ruby gasped. “Are they perhaps plotting something, sir? I mean, with everything that’s been happening around the country, maybe it is them who are sponsoring the rebels. That could explain how we found so many weapons in Westbourne. The Idnus Temple owns several trading companies. They have the power and resources to do this. I think they want to happen here what happened in Auray and in—”

  “No, no, miss, you are completely wrong,” George said, shaking his head. “The Temple of Idnus is not our enemy. They are our allies.”