Swordplay

Part 11

When she woke the next morning, Druidus sat on a chair beside her bed with his head sunk on his chest. He snored gently. Moira watched him for a while. His fringe hung into his eyes, but the rest of his black hair was cropped much shorter. Shirt and pants were crumpled, but made from expensive material. She suspected both to be custom-made because the clothes fit like a second skin. Asleep, he resembled a boy. His care made her feel good until she remembered that he was only waiting for her statement. With this thought, her memory returned, and pain cut through her heart again although she didn't truly miss Lif. The way he died was too brutal not to be sorry for him. She curled up and cried for him once more. A small part of her mind wondered about this since she didn't shed a single tear when her beloved grandfather had died. Back then, she had been too numb.

When she felt better, she climbed out of bed and tiptoed into the kitchen, to cook some coffee without waking Druidus. But she had forgotten about her wake-up nerl. Just as she meant to close the door silently, the nerl jumped from the nightstand onto her cover and danced around singing. "Sortie du sommeil, sortie du sommeil."

Druidus'S head shot up. When he saw Moira standing in the door, a big smile lit up his face. "You're better."

"Bad weeds grow tall."

"I was worried." He stepped close to her and hugged her shortly. Then, he held her at arm's length and gazed into her eyes. "Shall I call someone you can talk to? A friend? A priestess?"

Moira shook her head. Druidus bent forward and kissed her cheek. Brotherly. "You really are someone special."

For a moment Moira was distracted from Lif's brutal death. She had to calm the butterflies somersaulting in her stomach. She chided herself. How can I forget Lif this fast? Fighting for countenance, she asked, "Do you want coffee too?"

He nodded. "And a statement for Sabio if possible."

She fetched two mugs from the cupboard.

A little alter, they sat at the kitchen table, und Moira dictated her statement to the DiktaNerl Druidus had brought. Meanwhile, the coffee dripped through a filter the old-fashioned way, since Moira's coffee-machine-nerl was on holiday for a few days.

When she finished her statement, Druidus said, "Last night you indicated that you know the pin's owner. Could you explain?"

"Oh, the pin." Moira tried to win time by getting up and filling coffee into the two mugs. Then, she pulled herself together. "More than eleven years ago, my father founded a security firm he called P&OS: Personal und Operational Security. If you look at the logo closely, you can see that the hands holding the letters are made of this abbreviation."

"We found the enterprise but didn't know the owner is your father."

Moira wanted to tell Druidus that she hadn't seen her father in years, but she stopped herself at the last moment. It was none of his business what kind of relationship she had with her parents.

"Last night, you made it sound as if you knew the exact person the pin belongs to."

"My father designed it so the letters between the hands are its owner's initials." Moira sighed. "LB means Lavant Bellamie. The pin belongs to my father." Even if she was at odds with him, she hated to tell on him.

Druidus stared at her with surprise. Moira was sure she knew that he was thinking and shook her head. "He didn't know I was meeting Lif."

Druidus waved her comment aside. "Your father is Lavant Bellamie? That Lavant Bellamie?"

"Is it important?"

He set his mug aside. "We have to tell Sabio. Do you feel well enough to come along?"

As an answer, Moira went into the hall to fetch her summer jacket.

Druidus watched her with a dreamy expression on his face. "Has someone ever told you that you're very beautiful?"

Moira's mouth dried out, and her heart skipped a beat. With her hand on the doorknob and back turned to him, she said, "We've got work to do. Are you coming?"

Three quarters of an hour later, they entered the Gendarmerie. Half way to Sabio's bureau Semra approached them. She looked tired and annoyed.

"There you are. Today of all days, you're late." She took Moira's elbow and pulled her toward the exit.

Druidus stopped her. "Moira reports ill today."

"She can't. I need her urgently." Semra put her hands on her hips and frowned. "I've got to question fifteen women from the cleaning service and two secretaries to find out who has been pining for Pete Huudien."

Druidus pushed Moira behind himself and bent down to Semra. "Her boyfriend was murdered, and she found him. I will take her home the minute we finish talking to Sabio." He glared at Semra.

"Work is the best medicine."

Semra and Druidus faced each other like two dogs fighting for the same bone.

"Stop it! It is my decision to say if I'm going to work today or not." Moira hated being treated like a minor. "I will now go to Sabio, to repeat my statement. And then, I'll start working as usual." She left the two squabblers and walked away.

Druidus caught up with her near the door to Sabio's bureau. He put a hand on her arm. "The healer said you're to easy on yourself for a few days."

Her hand on the doorknob, Moira looked at him. "First, I'm feeling much better. Second, I'd get cabin fever without work. And third, I'm not like my father. I do believe that the Gendarmerie catches criminals, and I want to be part of it."

Without waiting for Druidus' answer, she opened the door and entered Sabio's bureau. It was small and overflowing with bookshelves and filing cabinets. On the few free places at the walls, pictures with the sea gave the room a personal note, and two chairs with a floral pattern stood in front of the fastidiously tidy desk.

The Commissaire seemed glad to see her and offered her a chair. "Hadn't you better stayed at home? After this kind of loss?"

Moira sighed. "Everybody assumes that Lif and I were lovers, but we weren't. We had a date because both of us wanted some fun. He is … He was sexy." It was hard to use past tense in connection with Lif. She pushed her hair back and stared at the desktop. "I got to know him when I lived in the dorm. He did his last year for his archaeology-degree when I participated in the preliminary course for the Gendarmerie. He was a womanizer with a new girlfriend every week." She looked up at Sabio. "When he asked me out, I knew he wouldn't be interested in long term commitment. Lif only loved himself."

"Thank you for your trust." Sabio smiled before looking at Druidus, who stood beside Moira. "Did you record her statement?"

Druidus nodded and summarized Moira's report in a few words. He placed the dicta-nerl on the desk. "You can listen to the details later. The most important fact is that the pin we found at the crime scene belongs to Moira's father."

"Well done." Sabio rubbed his hands. "In that case, you two should talk to him."

Moira pulled her eyebrows up and stared at the Commissaire. "Me too? But I'm aspirant of the burglary department."

"Someone who doesn't lose his power of observation although in shock is a most valuable addition for my department," Sabio Marten said. "Druidus will look after you."

"Sabio is known for getting people into his team that others don't believe in." Druidus winked at Sabio.

The Commissaire smiled knowingly. "I've never been wrong so far."

Moira feared that she would be his first misjudgment, but her heart still thumped in her chest with joy. I can join Murder Two.

Sabio seemed amused by her silence. He leaned back and stretched. "It will take a few hours to sort out the paperwork. You can come here after lunch."

Druidus patted her shoulder. "Welcome to the team."

Sabio reached for the parlebol, and a little later, Moira's temporary relocation to the department of murder had been granted. If the memories of Lif's brutal murder had been less haunting, she would have been singing on her way to Semra.