Page 60 of By Mistake
Oresti grinned and saluted."I will be here in time to dance with you, never fear."
Andrus rolled his eyes."I need food."
"I will have some sent up," Oresti said as he crossed the room to cup his face and kiss him softly."How are you feeling?"
"Tired.Weak.Much the same as I did after accidentally summoning Shimari.I'll feel muchly improved by morning.Just maybe no more using me to summon zero class demons for a bit."
"Well, you have no one but yourself to blame for that," Shimari replied.
Andrus gave him an unimpressed look."Wouldn't be allowed to forget that even if I wanted."
Shimari kissed him as Oresti withdrew."Back to bed with you.We will see you in the morning."
"Be careful.I know there is little for a demon and an investigator-slash-prince to fear, but be careful all the same."
"We will," Oresti said, and hugged him tightly before kissing him one last time.
He ordered food for Andrus, and made certain his staff knew to see to it Andrus did nothing but lie about, and then he and Shimari finally departed.
It only took returning to the courthouse to secure the addresses he needed, and then they were off to the depot captain's home.
According to his personnel file, he lived alone, which seemed to be true to judge by the small, two room apartment over a baker's shop in a nicer part of town.Oddly humble for an officer who made good money.
Closer examination revealed the spending, though: fine clothes, finer jewelry, expensive furniture, costly artwork.Smart, to live well but quietly.He picked the lock on the man's fancy roll-top desk and found exactly what he'd been hoping for: a ledger filled with meticulous financial information.Including suspiciously large payments only labeled 'Deposit – Fa – Security work.'Smart.Anyone who did see the payments would assume that he was picking up extra work doing security for Farthing, standing guard at parties and the like.
That would be easy enough to verify.Farthing's household would keep meticulous records of such things, down to the name, because if someone was injured or died in the course of duty, there was all manner of paperwork involved, and a lot of problems would ensue if they couldn't produce it.
He pulled out his notebook and copied everything.He'd be happier if he could take the ledger with him, but this wasn't an official investigation yet, so he would have to leave it.Hopefully, that would change soon.
"All right, next one."
Several hours later, well past dinner time, he'd investigated each and every soldier suspected of involvement.More than enough evidence to take to his captain and open an official investigation, and plenty for his sister to work with.
"How do you know your captain isn't involved in all of this?"
Oresti smiled wryly."Six years ago, his wife was found to be involved in a pretty awful murder of a young girl who, ultimately, was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.He denounced her, divorced her, and refused to speak on her behalf to get her sentence of execution commuted to permanent labor.He also attended her execution, and ignored her pleading throughout.It was quite the talk of the town.Some said he should be removed from his position, but some strange, mysterious intervention from the royal palace ended that matter."
Shimari cast him a look."Mysterious royal intervention, huh?So he doesn't know your real identity either?"
"Only the Commander of the City Guard does, for safety reasons and because we often work together on assignments from my father.Come on, we'll take this to my sister.I feel she will want to call the commander and captain to her directly, so that we can coordinate to catch Farthing once and for all."She'll probably want to arrest him at the royal ball, to make a statement to anyone else engaging in such nefarious deeds, or thinking of engaging in them.
He had a headache already.
"Better dance with your sweetheart early, or you might miss your chance," Shimari said.
Oresti rolled his eyes."Come on, let's go home and bother my sister."
Shimari whisked them away back to his rooms, where Oresti immediately went to check on Andrus.He was once more fast asleep, still and too pale.A servant sat in a chair nearby, working on some embroidery to pass the time.He stood and bowed as he saw Oresti."He's been sleeping well for hours, Your Highness.Woke up briefly to use the washroom, but that was it.I'm not even sure he entirely woke up, to be honest.The evening has been quiet."
"Thank you for watching him," Oresti said."That was above and beyond, and it's appreciated.You can go rest now.I'll be here the rest of the night."
The servant bowed again, then faded off, slipping through a discreet door that led to the passages and rooms used by the servants to get around the palace more easily, especially when hauling laundry or heavy trays of food and such.
Oresti discarded his outer layers, gathered up all his hard work, and went to find his sister with Shimari at his side.
He found her in her private solar, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting, whom she dismissed alongside attending servants, leaving the three of them alone."Tell me."
Oresti did, handing over everything he'd brought—files, copies of ledgers, bank statements, and more.The only thing he hadn't been able to get was Farthing's records, but those wouldn't be going anywhere.Other guards or investigators could collect them when the official investigation was launched.
