Chapter 13

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For the next two nights that Alistair worked, Naia, Varric, and Juliet traded off shifts at the Dockside, watching and waiting for something to happen. Naia looked for the blonde elf, but he didn't return to the bar—at least, not that she could see. They had a moment of excitement on the third night when two drunks got into an incomprehensible fight over the bowl of peanuts on their table (at least, that was what Naia thought they were fighting about). Alistair, however, broke the fight up efficiently and gently; he hauled both of the drunks out the door without breaking a sweat. Naia was beginning to suspect that despite what Alistair claimed, the commission from the Templars had not been a prank. He was more capable than he wanted people to believe.

On the third night that Alistair was working, Naia was wrapping her scarf around her neck in preparation for the walk over when Juliet's phone rang. She ignored it. She usually did, since some of the people who would talk to Juliet wouldn't talk to her. The ringing soon stopped and the called didn't leave a message, but then it started again almost immediately.

When the caller rang a third time, Naia waved apologetically to Varric—who was buttoning his own coat—and ran inside to answer it.

"Tabris Investigations. Naia Tabris speaking."

"Oh!" The voice on the other hand was a man's. "I—this is Donnic Hendyr. I'm with the City Guard."

"Right, Juliet's old partner," Naia said, reaching for Juliet's note paper to take a message. "She's not in right now, but I can have her call you back."

"Um. I was actually going to ask her to put me in touch with you," the Guardsman said tentatively. "I'm at the alienage hospital with an elf—an assault victim, probably a mugging. We thought he was ready to cooperate but he suddenly clammed up. I was hoping you might be willing to talk to him, see what he's afraid of. I know we don't have the best reputation in the alienage, but I personally guarantee that whatever it is, we'll help."

Naia normally would have snorted out loud at that kind of declaration from a shem, but Juliet had vouched for Donnic. Plus, having a friendly Guardsman they could rely on for inside information was crucial to their work. Maybe this would clear a few of those pesky favors off their ledger. "I think I can help. Hang on."

She glanced up at Varric, who had planted himself in the doorway to Juliet's office. She pressed the receiver to her shoulder and opened her mouth to explain the situation, but Varric was already nodding with understanding. "Don't sweat it, Sparks. I'll take our shift alone. Bianca will keep me company."

Naia smiled gratefully and put the phone back to her ear. "Donnic? I'll be right over. Just tell me the room number."

*******

The alienage hospital was not Naia's favorite place. The feeling of unease began as soon as she stepped off the bus, and rose as she approached the building and pushed past the glass doors. Ten years later, and all she could think about when she saw this place was Shianni.

It wasn't just the horror of the attack on her cousin that stuck with her, though. She remembered spelling out her name for half a dozen hospital employees, pleading for information about her cousin, being told that she needed to stay in the waiting room. She learned later that Shianni had been begging the medical staff to find out if Naia had arrived yet. By the time a sympathetic orderly snuck Naia past the hard-eyed nurses, Shianni had endured her examination alone.

Naia had yet to forgive that cruelty. But now she was older, and wiser, and knew when to ignore people who told her to stay in the waiting room.

"Naia Tabris. I'm a consultant for the Guard. Donnic Hendyr called me to room 702," she brusquely informed the nurse at the front desk, flashing her investigator's license past his eyes with one quick swipe of her wrist.

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