The Trial

Chapter 32 - Edited

The Controller speaks with a calm voice, and does nothing to hide his oddly colored teeth. "We all know who he was." His hand removes something rolled up and lays it out on the empty table, which reveals symbols I've never seen before. "He had this on him. Do you know what it is, Keeper of Forbidden Records?"

I press the cloth a little closer to my dripping nose in an attempt to stop the stench of death from reaching me, but it's too strong to do much of anything. My eyes look across the symbols that fill the scroll as I take my time, since this is far better to look at than anything else in the room. It must have meant something to Rabbi Solomon, but he never shared it with me.

I look into the dark eyes of the Controller, and give an honest answer. "No, Controller of the State. I've never seen anything like this before. I don't recognize the language."

I know you want to tell him what he can do with his accusations, but hold your tongue. Don't let any of them get to you. You are the Keeper of Forbidden Records, which is all any of them care about.

He waits to determine if I'm going to add anything else, but won't beyond what I've already said. "He told us it's a Torah." He nods in the direction of Rabbi Solomon's corpse before continuing. "That's one of the forbidden records. Aren't they supposed to be locked away in your warehouses, Keeper of Forbidden Records?"

Don't take the bait. Look at his eyes. He's not as clever as he thinks he is. There's no evidence of anything.

My eyes burn into his and neither of us looks away. "Do you have any idea how many forbidden records make it to my warehouses every year, Controller of the State?" He shakes his head and opens his mouth, but I don't give him the satisfaction. "There are a lot of records in the world that have yet to be discovered. One of his jobs was to discover where these records are being hidden, and bring them to me at all costs."

There's a little doubt starting to build within him, which tells me everything I need to know about the extent of the combined knowledge in this room. "Tell me something, Controller of the State. Did he tell you what he had before or after you had him beaten?"

His eyes start to move quickly as he scrambles to come up with something. "Before, Keeper of Forbidden Records."

You need to control yourself. I feel it all starting to surface. You can't let them see anything other than what's expected.

My closed fists slam the table hard enough to hurt a little, and he's not the only one who jumps from the sound. "He told you what he had without a single punch being thrown." He nods as I take a breath. "Did the beating reveal anything?"

You handled that perfectly. You're supposed to be angry at the insinuation sent your way. Don't take it any further than that. This is about you, not Rabbi Solomon.

There's a little fear in his eyes, and wish we were alone right now. "Nothing, Keeper of Forbidden Records."

It's not easy to keep my anger in check, but I must. "He volunteers what he has, and reveals nothing after being beaten. What happened, Controller of the State? Never mind. Rather than contact me immediately, which is what you were supposed to do in situations like this, you had him shot. Then decided to have an inquiry, which is the only reason the judges would be here."