Page 11 of By Mistake
He'd spent the past two days going through a list of chemists that could provide a poison that would kill a man with no one the wiser poison had done the deed.So far, they'd all insisted they knew nothing.Of the seven he'd asked, he believed two of them.Until he'd eliminated all resources, though, he couldn't whittle down the liars to find his culprit.Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.
Making his way through town to the seedier districts, he stopped in front of a shop that had definitely seen better days.Half the windowpanes in the shop front were boarded over, and the door had been poorly patched.Inside, everything was dusty and mildewy, with the pungent scent of too many herbs further clogging the room.
A spindly man sat behind the counter and grunted in greeting as he saw Oresti."What brings you here, Investigator?Don't suppose you found the thief that kicked in my door?"
"Not my department, but I'll see that someone brings you an update on the investigation," Oresti replied."I'm here about the murder of a nobleman.What can you tell me about poisons that would go unnoticed, before and after the deed was done?"
"That there's more of them than people would like to know, and most of them are used by women with overly temperamental husbands," the man drawled.
Oresti's mouth twitched in a brief smile."Nothing like that.No idea if I'm looking for man, woman, otherwise, but it wasn't somebody looking to dump an abusive spouse."
The man regarded him pensively."There was a man what stood out, came in some two weeks ago looking for a subtle poison.Servant, but a well-heeled one.Small, kinda slimy in demeanor, his hair was brown, but his brows were a dark ginger.I offered him a few, he chose one of them."The man turned slightly to face the shelves behind him and plucked a small vial, the kind chemists kept in racks because their rounded bottoms meant they couldn't stand on their own, and slid it across the counter.
Oresti set down a full kel in return, and slipped the vial into his pocket."You're being remarkably helpful."
"He paid for the poison, begrudgingly and only after bickering.He did not thank me for my assistance or even bid me good day.I'm as nice to my customers as they are to me, and I don't need the trouble the law brings.We level, Investigator?"
"We're level.Good day, Master Chemist.Someone will be along today or tomorrow to update you on the theft."
"Good day, Investigator."
Back outside, he took a breath of fresh air—relatively fresh, anyway—and let out a sigh.At least one part of his day had gone well.
On to the next, which took him back across town to what the poor called the beginning of the wealthy district and the wealthy called 'new wealth' and 'imitation wealth' and a host of even worse names.He knocked on the door of the appropriate house and waited, trying not to think about how Andrus's home was only a few houses down.If he went back to the street, he'd be able to see it.
Maybe he could stop by after this, just to say hello, not linger overlong.Leave the necklace on his way out, even though he'd love to present it directly, watch Andrus's face as he revealed it, put it around his neck himself, fingers lingering just a beat too long…
Fuck, he really was smitten, and with a man who barely tolerated him as it was, and whom he could never have.Not with the power imbalance.Not with his being a prince.Andrus would absolutelydespisehim when he found out, Oresti had no doubts about that.
He didn't even want to think about the upheaval he would cause when people found out about this strange little arrangement they had.Not friends, Andrus would never permit that, but…more than acquaintances, surely?HowwouldAndrus describe their current relationship?Domineering Inspector and Impoverished Man Forced to Endure Him?
Thankfully, the door opened then, pulling him from his thoughts.The butler scowled in that polite but scathing away butlers always seemed to possess."Can I help you, Investigator?"
That was an odd response, given Oresti was here toinvestigate a strange death."I should think it more a matter of you requiring my assistance, unless the lord and lady of the house don't want a strange death investigated?In which case, I'll be launching an even more extensive investigation."
"Lord and Lady Pinry are not in residence at the moment," the butler said stiffly."I told that blasted officer that investigative services were not required at this time, and that His Lordship would attend the matter when he returns in four days."
Oresti held onto his temper, but only barely."A woman was murdered, and it wasn't a quick and painless death, either.She was found strangled to death, and bruising indicates it was done with bare hands.You will permit me onto the premises to investigate this matter, or you will be dragged to headquarters as the primary suspect."
"I can do nothing until His Lordship returns—"
"I will throw everyone out of this house and seal it as a murder scene under investigation, and His Lordship will return to find he is not allowed to enter his own home.You can let me in, or you can be hauled to headquarters and the house sealed up.Your choice."
Expression cold enough to frost half the city, the man stepped back and opened the door."Investigator."
Oresti stepped inside and ignored when the door was slammed shut behind him.Opening his notes, even though he had them memorized, he pointedly read off, "Miss Mila Tanner, who resides at 193 Gumdrop Lane and works here, a kitchen maid for the past three years.Found dead by strangulation at approximately the fourth hour.It was the head chef who found the body and another maid who found a patrol officer and brought him back.The officer arranged for transportation of the body, the sealing off of the room in question, and for an investigator to look into the matter.I'll start with you.Where can we sit in privacy so I can ask you questions?"
Clearly fuming, which amused Oresti in a vicious, entirely immature kind of way, the man led him to what must be the parlor they only used for unwanted guests, or people they wanted to leave quickly.The Petty Parlor, his sisters had always called it.Oresti had never understood why someone would dedicate an entire room to people they didn't like.Did it really matter what parlor you received them in?
Murders were so much easier to figure out than the societal games his family thrived on.Taking the seat that let him see the rest of the room, including a clear view of the door, he drew out a pen and rested his notebook on his thigh."Your name, sir?"
"Tillory.Markten Tillory.I have been in service to Lord and Lady Pinry for fifteen years.I began service at the country estate, but was promoted six years ago to oversee this household.I was the one who hired Miss Tanner.Bit of a gossip and a strumpet, that one.Not surprised she met a bad end.I was going to have her terminated at the end of the month."
She was so terrible at her job he'd kept her on for three years?All of a sudden, Oresti just felt tired.He would bet his entire fortune he was sitting right across from his killer.That poor Mila had repeatedly rejected the advances of a man old enough to be her father, and she'd finally done it one time too many.He came across such murders at least once a month, and it was bloody fucking depressing.
He asked the usual slew of questions, then questioned all the other staff, not really surprised when the women and a couple of the men confided in him that Tillory was exactly as odious as Oresti had surmised.
When he was finished with his questioning, he gave the room a look over, but it provided nothing.No doubt the bastard had thoroughly tidied up after killing the poor girl, so sealing the room had come too little, too late.
