"Well?" Norian asked.
"Got two leads—we can track tonight," the man said, lifting his sandwich and biting into it.
"Lissa Beth, this is Lendill Schaff, my second-in-command," Norian introduced us. I nodded to him, assuming he was more than aware of who I was even without Norian calling me Lissa Beth.
"The vids don't do you justice and I thought they looked pretty damn good," Lendill took another bite of his sandwich. I had no idea how to respond to that, so I didn't. Lendill had short, almost-blond hair, dark blue eyes, a slightly crooked nose (as if he'd broken it in a fight or two) and a nice mouth. He was taller than Norian, too—Lendill stood at six feet, even.
We followed Lendill away from the sandwich shop after our meal and hopped onto the public bus, which took us toward the downtown area. The buses all ran on a track and were computer operated—no drivers needed. The workday was over so the bus wasn't crowded; it was only half-full, if that. We got off after a while and walked about twelve blocks until we came to a barricaded building. Lendill led us to the back of the squat, ugly brick structure, opening a door there with a key.
"Three city workers were murdered in this building," Lendill said, leading us inside. I knew that already, just by the scents. Those deaths had been bloody, too; I smelled the blood before we ever got to the room where they'd been killed. Of course, the scents of the killers were now mixed with the scents of the local investigators and medical personnel who'd been called to the scene. I wouldn't be able to sort it all out unless I was introduced to each of the emergency responders, and that would be next to impossible. A buzz and a blurring of images appeared whenever I attempted to Look, and that spelled power to me. Could be wizards, warlocks or a number of other possibilities.
"Was there any connection among the three? Did they work together, on the same shift or anything?"
"Sometimes—they worked maintenance; usually on the sewer and water lines." Lendill had done some legwork already.
"Did they work together on anything recently?" I continued my questioning.
"A busted water line below street level, located three blocks from city hall a few days ago," Lendill replied.
"Any fingerprints or other evidence at the scene?" Norian asked.
"Nothing, boss. The victims' throats were slashed; no weapons, footprints or fingerprints were found and we don't know how they got into the building to begin with—the doors were locked and the alarm was set. This is a city-owned facility and the workers can come here during breaks for lunch or to take a quick shower if they've been doing dirty work."
"Somehow, all three of them ended up here, at the same time. The door was shut and locked already—none of the three used their code to get in or set the alarm, and then all of them were killed. The killer managed to get in and out without setting off the alarm or using anyone's code—the employee who set the code last was here two days before the murders. He also has a solid alibi." Norian shook his head.
"Well, if a wizard or warlock is involved, or someone else with power, it would be easy," I muttered. Erland could circumvent electronics and surveillance equipment with half a thought. He could also transport several people at once—without blinking.
"That's a nasty thought—if Black Mist has managed to hire or coerce a wizard." Norian didn't sound happy. "We haven't had any evidence of this before, but then they might be desperate after a bunch of their top assassins were killed not long ago. We're still trying to figure that out."
I knew, but I wasn't about to let that slip—Erland and Wylend had sent out some of their own and Solar Red, Red Hand and Black Mist had all gotten hit. They didn't know that I knew, but I did. They'd complained, too, that they hadn't been able to find Black Mist's or Solar Red's headquarters—they'd settled for temples on several worlds, and managed to find a few Black Mist operatives who'd moved in with Solar Red or Red Hand at those temples.
I hadn't told Erland, either, but I'd gone Looking for Black Mist myself, and what I'd found, or in this case hadn't found, worried me greatly. There was a blurring of information surrounding Black Mist, just as there was a buzz blocking information on the murders we were investigating. If Black Mist was able to block me from finding them, then somebody connected to the organization likely held a great deal of power. We'd have to track Black Mist by normal methods. I couldn't find them otherwise, and that was quite aggravating.
"Can we go to the last place the three victims worked together?" Norian asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"I'm ahead of you, boss—that's next on the list," Lendill said. We walked ten blocks or so and then Lendill attempted to manhandle the heavy, steel cover that concealed an entrance into the city's sewers. After watching him struggle for a while with the heavy weight, I moved him aside and lifted the cover off easily. Lendill quirked an eyebrow at me. Norian didn't even blink.
"They couldn't find a nicer smelling place to work?" I complained as we climbed down a narrow metal ladder and dropped into the round, brick-lined tunnel.
"Lissa Beth, are you going to complain the whole thirty years we work together?" Norian was back to smiling.
"More than likely," I muttered. "If you don't like it, feel free to go to the Charter Members and demand another Liaison."
"That will not happen. They were quite insistent I work with you on this. I am stuck with you and you with me."
"Are you sure they said thirty years? That seems too long to me," I was back to being grumpy.
"I thought you were immortal—thirty years is no time at all," Norian pointed out as we followed Lendill.
"Is it part of your job description to be a thorn in my side and to continuously point out the obvious?" I wanted to poke Norian in the ribs.
"It is. In fact, I asked for that stipulation to be added to my contract shortly before I came to Le-Ath Veronis."
"So, tact and diplomacy aren't your strong suit?" I had to stop myself from elbowing Norian. As tight and muscular as his body was, he might not even feel it if I did.
"If I had either of those things, I'd be working as an ambassador for the Alliance." Norian was grinning again. Choosing to ignore Norian for a while, I turned my attention to our surroundings. Dim lights shone over our heads; otherwise, Lendill and Norian would have been walking blindly through the sewer. We branched off to the right after a while, until we came to the recent repair. New brick and mortar patched a hole large enough for a man to crawl inside on one wall. My skin itched. Something was wrong here and it had me worried.