A Dark and Starless Night

Chapter Ten

Eve stared out over the gentle, white-crested waves, her arms folded across her chest. They had been by the wreckage for an hour now, waiting for the guards to dismiss them. Much to her dismay, the same guard that had caught her snooping was the one investigating the shipwreck. She had finally gotten his name at least – Lieutenant Tom Urlington.

She had considered putting in a complaint about him, but that would involve admitting to his superiors and Don's peers that she'd broken several minor laws, as well as the trust of her friends and uncle.

Part of her wished she'd never known about Nadia's death. It would've been so much easier to ignore it if she'd heard about it in passing instead of walking by the scene, if she hadn't found out Nadia was from the Isle of Light. Ultimately, if none of those things had happened, she probably wouldn't have stumbled upon those bodies. She still couldn't get the smell out of her nose.

She stepped closer to the water, glad for the strong wind that came across the sea. It brought with it the smell of sand and seaweed. She'd take the smell of shit over the smell of the rot and decay on that ship.

"Your Grace," one of the guards said, having approached her. "The lieutenant is ready to speak with you."

She nodded, following the guard to the tent that had been erected to work as the guards, base of operations. She entered as May was leaving and they exchanged weak smiles.

"Duchess Mintarryl," the lieutenant said from behind the table where a map of the beach was spread. "We meet again. Twice in one day."

"What a lucky coincidence," she managed, despite the lack of fire she was feeling. "Are you sure you're the right man for the job? A lot of foreigners to be identified."

He smiled while his men shifted uncomfortably. "Don't worry." He held up a leather-bound book. "Identifying the deceased won't be hard. The log is still intact. And I think we can all agree it was a storm that washed them up. I'd wager the mast went and brought the ship down. But, the investigation will tell for certain."

"Lovely. So, can my friend and I leave now?"

"Tell me, Your Grace," he said, making the title sound like an inside joke, "did you notice anything unusual when you found the bodies?"

She sighed, putting the image from her mind. "I noticed there was cloth, or something, jammed into the gaps around the door. I... I'm guessing it was probably in an attempt to keep out the water. I hoped maybe there were people alive when I managed to break the door in."

"Would you say that on an average day you're normally able to break doors down?"

"The wood was weak. From the water maybe? I don't know."

"The guards say you came across a hidden room."

"Yes. There was no one in it though, just some clothes and straw. A few ruined books."

"And at least one criminal at large," he said, running his hand along the map from the place they were to the city.

"If they managed to survive that, the whole city would have been talking about it by now."

He looked at her and shook his head. "Whatever schooling you were given was wasted. If a criminal managed to survive this – a smart criminal, mind – there's no way he goes around telling people. It'd only be a matter of time before he was brought in for questioning." He gestured to one of the other guards. "Go with this guard and show him where the room is."

"I'm not getting back on that ship." She turned to the guard. "It's on the left side of the ship. The door is probably still hanging wide from when I fell in."