Liaena smiled and dipped her head in response to the compliment. “You’re too kind”

[i]“You’re certainly expensive…”[/i]

The sum the broker had quoted her was steep indeed. Liaena bit down on her tongue at the urge to haggle. Rich girls that were prepared to throw away lavish sums of money on chasing down an ex…probably didn’t haggle. The girl made a mental note to impersonate someone more businesslike next time as she pondered the mans offer for a few seconds, before looking back at him. “Agreed, then. I would like the information from both the housing records and the royal registry. I will pay you a quarter of the sum now, with the rest to follow when my friend is found. Is that acceptable to you?”

“There is one point though” Liaena added, holding up a finger when the broker started to speak. “You must appreciate that this is an urgent matter. I’m sure your business is nothing if not efficient, and it is that efficiency and that speed that I am paying for. I’m sure you understand my feelings?”

The broker smiled, a gesture that showed a lot of teeth. “Perfectly, my lady. Now, if I can ask….what is the name of the lucky gentleman?”

“That would be…Sherraine”

Liaena summoned a soft smile as she said the words, and resisted the urge to bare her teeth. “Sherraine Silverlion”

*

“Kathlin Lennox” The girl returned, bobbing her head back at the dwarf when he introduced himself. The young woman herself was of average height, with reddish-brown hair, brown eyes and wearing navy robes that were noticeably short at the cuff. She was also completely identical to the girl at the estate agent, simply less clean and well dressed. 

“You said in the paper that nobody went in or out” Kathlin observed after spending a moment chewing over Ragnars words about suspects. “He didn’t, uh, have servants there? Or anything?”

“Nah. Tha man was fanatical ‘bout privacy, which kinda defeats tha point in havin’ a bodyguard s’far as I’m concerned” Ragnar grumbled. “Tha only people he’d have in his quarters overnight wuz his wife and his personal servant if he called ‘im – which he didn’. I was stationed [i]outside[/i] his private quarters, next to tha only door. First thin’ I heard was tha screams”

“From his wife”

“Aye. She’s tha person to talk to s’far as I’m concerned….not that anyone here’s bin givin’[i] me[/i] so much as tha time of day all night” The dwarf muttered grumpily. “Not surprised she’s messed up though. Messy death”

“Mmhmm” Kathlin mumbled noncommittally. Waiting for the servant to return, her thoughts returned to the events of last night. They had been…eventful, to say the least.

*
[i]
“Tomorrow, I want you to talk to the dead mans wife. If it seems like she did it, come tell me first”

“Whaaa…?” Kathlin groaned, having just been shaken violently from sleep to hear her own voice talking at her. “What?”

“Tomorrow, I want – you to talk – to the dead mans wife” Liaena repeated herself tediously slowly, each word enunciated carefully as though she was talking to a small child. "If it seems – like she did it – come tell me – first”

“I heard you the first time” Kathlin muttered, resigning herself to being awake at some unholy hour of the morning as she sat up in bed. “Why? I thought you were coming with me”

“No. I’ve got something else that needs doing. Its just that if it seems like it was the wife that did it, I want to know before anyone else does. Okay?”

“Okay…but why?” the girl enquired doubtfully, after taking a moment to digest the most recent news. “Are you going to try and blackmail her or something?”

“…No, actually” Liaena was already at the door, turning the handle when she looked back. “It just probably wasn’t her fault. See you later”

“But –“

Click [/i]

*

“Her ladyship will see you now” Kathlin looked up swiftly as the servant rematerialised in front of them, tilting up his head to give them both an annoyed look. “I will ask you to remember that my lady has recently gone through a terrible ordeal. There must be nothing that may upset her further, no inappropriate questions and the meeting ends when she deems it so. Is that clear?”

“Completely” Kathlin murmured as she fell into step behind the servant. “No inappropriate questions. Gotcha.”