Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nina
Sweetwater Point
Home sweet home.
Eventually.
By the time the train pulled into Sweetwater Point’s station, Nina was well over her non-voluntary holiday.
They sought medical care in the village for Anthony as he was quite perforated and concussed. The local doctor was reluctant until Nina flashed her badge. Abuse of power or not, she didn’t care. He was in no shape for the lengthy journey to Wilmouth.
Nina developed a cough and lung congestion due to smoke inhalation.
Despite her illness, she wrote to Anthony’s commander, Colonel Ashcroft, explaining the family tragedy and his injuries while remaining vague about the cause of the injuries.
She sent her chief deputy a note to inform him of her illness and gave orders regarding the duty roster.
She also wrote to her family. She advised them not to come, that she was already recovering.
They sent Mira.
The fire at Saltwick House burned all day and well into the night, a red stain against the dark sky. The scent of smoke and char lingered in the air for days. Roderick was not seen again. After the cinders of Saltwick House cooled, a search did not produce his body.
“He meant to finish us all,” Anthony said when Nina speculated if Roderick fled or allowed himself to be immolated. “He did. His work is done.”
That hardly answered her question. She doubted that Roderick survived the collapsing roof, but she needed solid evidence of his demise before she wrote him off.
Anthony spent time with Mrs. Marsh. She answered the questions he should have asked decades ago. She explained how her family had guarded his family for generations, keeping the Pearsons confined to Saltwick. The mania for familicide was something unique to Roderick alone.
The time came for them to leave to make the two-day journey to Founding. In Founding, she parted ways with Anthony. She and Mira were to visit Marcus for a few days while Anthony planned to visit an old friend. They were to meet again at the train station.
“General Mansfield owes me a favor,” he said. He would return to Sweetwater Point when his business was concluded.
Anthony had acquired a wide-brimmed hat and wore a shirt with a high collar and cravat. It was not much of a disguise as his color had firmly remained in place and refused to fade.
“You’re worrying about him again. You get a line here,” Mira said, leaning forward to press her thumb between Nina’s brows.
She batted her cousin away. “Stop that. We’re not children, and I cannot help but worry. He missed the train.”
“He’ll catch the next train,” Mira said, unconcerned.
“What if something happened to delay him?” A great many things could befall a monster in the world and they had already had their share of misfortune.
“It would have made the papers.”
There was no such headline. Nina checked. She had a stack of recent papers to catch up on current affairs during the train ride, but had only read the latest edition. “That is reasonable,” she grumbled.
“He is fifty years old,” Mira teased. “He can navigate the world.”
“He is not fifty!”
“And how old is he?”
“Forty-six.” When Mira pulled a face, Nina added, “Oh, don’t roll your eyes at me. He’s older than me, yes, but I am a grown adult. A twelve-year difference at our age is hardly worth noting.”
“I suppose it is the least of your worries,” she conceded. “Please do not worry, cousin. Being a monster in public is not a crime and his appearance is not likely to cause a panic. All is well.”
That was part of her worries. Despite no longer being under the influence of a Nexus surge, the crowds and noises of Founding could overwhelm him and cause an incident. Mira was correct that the daily newssheet said nothing of monster attacks so she must assume the best.
“You don’t… you don’t hate him, do you?” Nina asked. Anthony would be a fixture in her life and she expected resistance from her family.
“Well, he’s not to my taste,” Mira replied, sounding almost bored.
“Mira, please be serious.”
Her cousin sat up straighter. The rhythmic clacking of the train on the tracks filled the carriage. Eventually, Mira said, “No, I do not hate him. I understand that he is not at fault for Lucas’ fate. I do want to blame him, however, and I find myself resentful that I cannot.”
“Do you think Prudy?—”
Mira shook her head. “I’m not speculating about Ma’s reaction. That’s like trying to predict where lightning will strike.”
“Well, it’s not impossible. That’s why lightning rods exist.”
Mira chuckled, inciting Nina’s own laughter.
“Tell me,” Mira said, pointing to the stack of newspapers. “What did we miss?”
“A highwayman is terrorizing the southern provinces.” Nina passed a sheet over.
Reports of the masked man were, in her professional opinion, inconsistent.
Some painted him as a romantic hero rather than a thief, taking only from cruel landlords and distributing the riches amongst the locals.
Others described a terrifying man who could vanish before your eyes.
One person had been seriously injured in a robbery.
Robberies attributed to the same highwayman occurred days apart from each other, despite being hundreds of miles apart from each other.
The evidence laid forth in the article had to be considered with skepticism. It could be two or more thieves employing the same methods or one man with the unlikely ability to travel hundreds of miles overnight. Or the dramatic imaginings of eager reporters wanting a sensational story.
“How daring.” Mira held up a page featuring a very lavish portrait of the highway man. “And handsome.”
“Is he to your taste?”
“He’s to everyone’s taste,” Mira said.
Nina’s stomach was rumbling by the time the train pulled into the station. Her mouth watered in anticipation of her mother’s home cooking. She wanted a hot bath, to wear her own clothes, and sleep in her own bed. Tomorrow she’d return to work.
A crowd was waiting on the platform. She recognized Deputy Hal and Chief Deputy Pierre, as well as the round red face of the mayor. He pointed in her direction. Her gut sank.
With a forced smile, she gave a wave as she stepped off the train. Steam curled around her feet and across the platform.
The crowd parted as the mayor approached. His eyes were bright and he seemed so pleased with himself. This could not be good.
“Mister Mayor, how kind of you to welcome me back,” she said.
Pierre was the one who spoke. He kept his eyes on the ground, as if ashamed. “Nina Navarre, you’re under arrest.”
* * *
Sweetwater Point
Sheriff’s Office
“Murder?!” Nina shouted in disbelief.
She did not fight when Pierre put the handcuffs on her. She held her head high as they walked from the train station to the sheriff’s office, taking the main thoroughfare and keenly aware of all the eyes watching. She wouldn’t be shamed.
Mayor Kelley was ever so pleased with himself, slapping backs and pouring celebratory drinks for all his cronies. He had turned her station into a saloon. Nina wouldn’t have been surprised if someone pushed in an upright piano and started playing.
“Explain this charge to me,” she said. She sat at a desk in the interrogation room.
Ink stained her fingers. Processing her arrest had been painstakingly slow, in the open office where anyone who cared to could watch. Kelley invited all his goons to an impromptu celebration.
Pierre and Hal sat opposite her. She had been in the room hundreds of times but never on this side of the table, never with two grim-faced deputies staring her down. Pierre, she felt, was going through the motions to appease the mayor. He had a family to feed, after all.
Hal’s motivations were more obscure. Massively tall and strong, no one could physically intimidate the orc. He did have a wife and family to consider, so perhaps that was the angle.
“I’m not upset with either of you,” she said. “I realize you’re both family men trying to keep your heads down and do your jobs. We’ll clear this mess up in no time.”
Pierre ignored her statement. He said, “You’re charged with the murder of Major Anthony Pearson.”
That again.
“It seems like you need a body for there to be murder,” she said.
Pierre gave her an exhausted look.
“Fine, say no more. Mayor Kelley isn’t going to let a little thing like a lack of body frame me for murder,” she said. “You do know I didn’t do this?”
“Do you want to make a statement?”
A jubilant shout came from the mayor’s crowd.
“I keep asking for the budget for soundproofing,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Hal, can you remind the mayor’s guests that this is a place of law and order, not a dance hall?” Pierre said.
“Is that code for cracking skulls?”
“Throw the bastards out.”
Hal grinned. “Can do.”
Nina waited until the door shut behind the orc. “He’s normally a peaceful man. What did you do to my deputy?”
“Me? That’s Mayor Kelley’s handiwork.” Pierre rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Look, I don’t want to do, this but I have to.”
“The mayor threatened you?”
“My wife. Said unless I played ball, he’d revoke her business license,” he said. His wife Peggy ran a flower shop. It’d be a shame if it closed.
“That’s exactly how he operates.”
“I need you to be honest with me. Is Major Pearson dead?”
“No,” she said.
He visibly relaxed. “Good. The mayor has his hooks in the office. That Remi is a dirty little ratbag, by the way.”
She knew that before this mess. “Did you write to the governor?”
Pierre nodded. “I did, and he said that no one was above the law and you should be prosecuted as anyone else.”
“Sounds like the governor. He only really cares about avoiding embarrassment and looking good in the papers.”
“We should?—”
“Listen carefully,” Nina said, interrupting him. “What I’m about to tell you, you keep to yourself. Don’t tell Peggy. Don’t tell Hal.”
“Don’t you trust Hal?”