CASE 2, ACT 2: CONNECTION
Renka embraced the disturbing sight of Georgia's dead body. She tried hard not to flinch in front of the others, all of whom remained awestruck from her extraordinary emergence.
"Greetings, all. My name is Renka, Descendant of Cronos. It appears that this woman has been speared to death. Does anyone have anything to say?"
Not a word phonated.
"I see," murmured an annoyed Renka through gritted teeth. "May I ask who summoned me?"
"I did, Descendant. I am Lord Acacius, the owner of this market. This is my wife Sophia. The guards here are Theo, Alexander, and Lucas. This is Elena, Lyra's assistant, and Lyra, the manager, is over there by our quarters. This is Cora, Georgia's assistant, and on the floor is… well… her mistress."
"Thank you," said Renka. "Do you all have quarters behind that wall?"
"Yes, we do," responded Sophia. "Apart from Cora, of course. My dear, you stay with Lyra and Elena for now."
Cora nodded. "Yes, my lady."
"Very well," said Renka. She stood tall as she faced all of the staff. "I take it you were all present here during Georgia's death, thus you are all suspects. I will question you all in good time, and uncover the truth behind her death. In the meantime, you must all stay on these grounds."
They all nodded with a grim seriousness.
"Go." Renka waved her hand to dismiss the staff, and they all went into their individual quarters. The three guards went into their quarters to the right of Acacius'. Cora entered the quarters on the left with Lyra and Elena, and Acacius and Sophia went into theirs.
Renka faced Georgia again, now free to show her true dread. Her breathing hastened as she struggled to look upon the body, but, nonetheless, she persevered.
Renka observed where the body had fallen, and the angle of the spear. She assumed that the spear had entered Georgia through her back, so Renka looked at where the rear of the spear was pointing. It faced the South East corner of the market hall.
Renka walked over to that corner, and looked around the area. There was nothing of suspicion, just some rubbish left by the merchants. Renka looked back at the body, then looked around herself. She considered where the killer would have been standing to successfully spear Georgia.
After a pause, Renka walked back to Georgia. The Descendant clapped her hands twice, another bright light appeared, and her young assistant appeared from it, holding a lit torch.
"Good evening, my lady."
"Greetings, Sol. Please, analyze this body."
"Yes, right away." Sol looked over Georgia's body, walked all around her, then stopped. She pointed at the elements of most interest. "The spear has pierced the victim's torso from behind her, and was likely thrown from the South East corner of the hall. The spear's tip is shinier than the rest of the spearhead, so it could have been sharpened quite recently. I believe it would take a very skilled marksman to spear someone with this amount of accuracy."
"I see. I wonder how the killer got their hands on the spear just before throwing it. They were not simply carrying it around, as someone would have surely noticed that."
"I agree, my lady. There may be a hiding place within this hall, so we should review its architectural plans. This structure looks new, so the plans should still exist."
"Indeed. For now, please take the body and the remains of her stall to the temple for examination."
"Yes, my lady."
Sol clapped her hands twice, and she, Georgia's body, and Georgia's belongings were surrounded by a light. Sol and Georgia disappeared, and a chalk outline of where Georgia's body lay was left behind on the stone ground.
Renka then eyed the three doors on the market's back wall. She tapped her chin as she decided which one to approach first.
She walked over to Lyra's quarters. After knocking on the door, it was opened to reveal the manager herself.
"Hello, Descendant," said Lyra weakly. "Could it really be that… one of us is a murderer?"
"I am sorry, Lyra, but that is indeed the case," came Renka's blunt response. "But have no fear. I will find Georgia's killer, and stop them at once."
"Oh," said Lyra with a little more strength. "I sincerely hope so. I had always told Acacius to never build a market on these grounds. They are haunted, you know!"
"Lyra, there is no such thing as a haunted ground," reassured Renka. "There is only a haunted person nearby with an evil prerogative. I would like to speak with Cora, please."
"Ah, yes, of course. Cora!"
Cora appeared at the door.
"Yes, Descendant?"
"Please come with me," commanded Renka.
Cora nodded. Lyra watched on as the Descendant and Cora walked over to the front of the market, and the two sat down on the moon lit steps. Lyra, still tense with concern, retreated into her quarters and closed her door behind her.
"Cora, how long have you been Georgia's assistant?"
"Oh, for a few years now. Actually, as a matter of fact, I am her slave."
"Her slave? Was Georgia wealthy?"
"Yes. The upper-class always pay high prices for arms as souvenirs, and Georgia always had plenty of those arms to sell."
"I see." Renka looked to the ground and gathered her thoughts. "The spear that killed Georgia… Was that hers?"
"Yes. We had three bronze spears for sale in the morning, but they were gone by the end of the day."
Renka's brow tensed as she looked up at Cora. "Who bought them?"
"I do not know. When I returned from my break at the middle of the day, the spears were gone. Georgia made no complaints of theft to the guards, so I assumed that they had been sold."
"My assistant has taken the remains of Georgia's stall to my temple. Will she find a record of the day's sales?"
"Yes, she will. There will be some silver missing from her coin bag as I paid Lyra her fees today."
Renka took a deep breath, and wondered where the two other spears had gone.
"And where does Georgia get her arms from?"
"I am not sure. She has never revealed who her supplier is."
Renka nodded, believing her, but the slave's words cast great suspicion on Georgia and her business.
"I see. Is there room in Lyra's quarters for you to rest tonight?"
"Yes, there is."
"Good. Go there now, Cora, and do not leave there unless I tell you to."
"Yes, Descendant."
Cora rose to her feet.
But then, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
"Descendant… Are the stories true, that you are always on the verge of death?"
Renka looked up at Cora and smiled reassuringly.
"That is correct. But do not worry, my curse is at bay. I will stay alive to solve this case, no matter what."
Cora returned Renka's smile. The slave bowed and ran off to Lyra's quarters.
Renka's smile disappeared, and she gazed up into the night sky.
"Did Georgia obtain those spears through unlawful means?" the Descendant muttered to herself.
Renka got to her feet, then walked across the hall to Acacius' quarters. She knocked on the door, and it opened.
"Greetings, Descendant," said Sophia. "Please, come in."
Renka entered the quarters, and saw Acacius seated at his table. Sophia walked over to her husband's side, while placing her hand on her stomach to ease a mild pain.
"I apologize to you both for calling at such a late hour, but I have some urgent questions to ask."
"It is of no inconvenience to us," responded Acacius. "I doubt we could sleep tonight anyway."
"I understand. My lord, I will need to see the plans for this market hall."
"Yes, of course," said Acacius quickly, fully expecting the request. "Lyra can access them from the Government's archives. At sunrise, I will ask her to get them."
"Lyra? Was she involved in building the market?"
"She and Acacius were," said Sophia. "They planned the market when they were engaged to be married. At that point, Acacius and I had not met yet."
"Forgive me if this sounds humorous, Descendant," began Acacius. "But Lyra and I bitterly disagreed on the foundation of the market, to the point where we separated. I felt that this land I chose was good, but she believed that it was… haunted."
"So I have heard," said Renka. "What was the land used for previously?"
"It was only used for standard farming, from what I could see," replied Acacius. "I gave the local people plenty of time to recover whatever they had left on the land before I built the market on top of it. Lyra probably heard rumors that the site was previously used for demonic rituals, or something like that."
"But Lyra became the manager here despite her concerns?"
"Yes. After I married Sophia, Lyra and I put our differences aside, and we continued on as friends and colleagues. She eventually put aside her irrational fears of the land, and I asked her to put her vast experience of managing establishments to use here. Thankfully, she agreed."
Renka nodded.
"I take it you want the market to be closed tomorrow, Descendant?"
"I apologize, Lord Acacius, but closing it off would be wise right now," advised Renka. "The killer may be betting on the market being busy tomorrow, which will greatly slow down my investigation."
"Worry not, Descendant. I will ask the guards to spread the message to as many merchants as possible tonight, and we will keep out everyone else in the morning. I would rather not have the killer walk amongst us for longer than necessary."
"Thank you, both. I will see you tomorrow."
Renka bowed, left the quarters, and closed the door behind her.
She felt a presence. Renka looked around her, but no one else was present.
Renka clapped her hands, and time around her slowed down to a creeping crawl.
Renka walked over to the columns, and looked behind them. She saw Elena and Lucas frozen in time, hiding behind a column. They stood close, looking into each other's eyes and smiling.
Immediately understanding their relationship, and feeling that there was no need to question them at this point, Renka walked away and left the market.
She clapped her hands again, and time returned to normal.
She wondered what Elena and Lucas were discussing away from their quarters.
