details from you.”
Tolsynn glanced to his left, toward the guard who had wanted to stop us.
“Khallyn, if you would find out what you can from the guard and the clerk?”
“Yes, sir.”
I looked at Tolsynn. “Please continue.”
“Captain…no one was seriously hurt, and nothing was taken.” He shifted his weight from one foot to another.
“A bombing that causes damage to a banque and injury to its employees is not trivial,” I said mildly. “It’s also against the law, and enforcing the law and finding the perpetrators-and the reasons for their actions-is the duty of the Patrol.”
At my mention of reasons, I could sense an increase in tension. “I see you think there might be someone who had a reason to bomb this branch of the bank. Could you tell me who that might be and why?”
“I cannot. I really don’t know of any reason.”
I had a good idea that he was lying. “I presume, with your location here, that you handle the accounts of some of the Guilds and factoring associations.”
“Our client list is privileged, Captain.”
“I did not ask who your clients were, Director.” I smiled coldly. “I asked if you had clients of that nature.”
Tolsynn moistened his lips. “It would be logical to assume that.”
“Would that assumption be wrong?”
“No, but I shouldn’t say more than that.”
“Has any client indicated that you needed to take special precautions?”
“Of course not.” His tone bordered on outrage.
“There is one other matter that might be related…”
“Oh?” His tone was close to that of dismissal.
“The clerk who was recently found drowned.”
His eyes flickered. “I don’t understand. What does Kearyk have to…What business is that of the Patrol?”
“It could be that people don’t believe that Kearyk drowned. Not on his own accord, at least. It just might be that drowning was a convenient way to keep matters from being exposed. So-called accidents and suicides do happen that way.”
“That’s a serious allegation, Captain.”
I smiled again. “I don’t believe I alleged anything. Bombing a banque is a serious offense. When a bombing occurs following a drowning of a clerk and the Patrol is informed that the two might be connected, we are obliged to pursue the matter.” I waited a moment. “What can you tell me about Kearyk?”
“He was an account bookkeeper. He’d been with the bank for eight years. Very neat. Very well groomed. Very accurate with his figures. He was very reliable.”
“Where did he live?”
“How would I know? He was referred to us by the Grammaire D’Martradon. That was years ago.” Tolsynn looked past me.
I turned. A squat patroller with a leather case stood just inside the doors. “Excuse me for a moment. We have a few more things to discuss.” I walked over to the patroller with the case.
“Captain…I’m Chenoyt. You sent for me? With reason, it appears.”
“I did. We’ve tried to keep people clear, but I’d like you to look all this over and tell us what you can.”
He nodded.
“If you don’t need me at the moment…”
“No, sir.”
I returned to Tolsynn. “We were talking about your clerk Kearyk. Would you care to give me your thoughts on his drowning and the disappearance of funds from the account of the Portraiture Guild?”
Controlled as he was, Tolsynn still twitched. “There’s no problem with the accounts.”
One of the many things I’d learned over the years was that the world was far smaller than people realized, and that someone always knew someone else. Most times I had to look to find the connections. Once in a while, as now, I already knew. “You know, or perhaps you don’t, that before I became an imager and a patroller, I was a member of the Portraiture Guild. What you probably don’t know is that the head of the Guild is the cousin of a well-known Maitre D’Structure. Now…we can discuss these matters now, or Master Reayalt and Maitre Schorzat can come and discuss them, doubtless with less courtesy.”
“We’d best go to my study.” Tolsynn didn’t quite sigh, but I could sense the resignation.
I followed him to a study smaller than mine at Third Station. He did not sit behind the narrow desk, but stood beside it, clearly hoping our talk would not take too long.
“After Kearyk’s death was reported,” he said after several moments, “I immediately audited the ledgers and the accounts he handled. I didn’t expect anything unusual. That’s just the normal procedure when an employee dies or leaves. It’s to make sure that whoever takes over the accounts starts with a balanced and accurate set of records. The accounts balanced, but…there was a letter from the clerk at the Guild claiming that the account had one hundred golds missing, and with the letter was a listing of withdrawals and deposits. I checked the daily ledgers and found a withdrawal that was not in the list sent by the Guild, but it was the last one of the day, and the hand was different.”
“Someone entered it later?”
“Kearyk was the one who closed the daily ledger that Meredi, but the hand wasn’t his.”
“He could have disguised it.”
Tolsynn shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“That suggests someone had access to more records than that one ledger,” I pointed out.
“We’ve checked through all the ledgers. We’re not finished, but so far, there seem to be no other discrepancies. We have, of course, returned the hundred golds to the Guild account.”
“Might I see one of the daily ledgers?” I asked.
He turned to the case beside the desk and handed a wide ledger to me. While the account book was bound, the binding was secured with brass screws so that pages could be added.
“Could you show me a page that closes the daily transactions?”
Tolsynn turned several pages, then pointed. Right below where the last entry was a stamped ornate foil seal pressed into the paper.
“Who has access to that seal?”
“I do. So does the head clerk. No one else.”
“Where is it kept?”
“In the vault at night. It’s locked in the head clerk’s desk during the day.”
I nodded. “I may have some more questions for you later, Director.”
“Do you have any idea…why?”
“Someone wanted to send a message to the Patrol. I don’t think it has much to do with the banque, but it’s too early to say. I’ll let you know as soon as possible what else we find out.” I stepped back and nodded. “Thank you very much.”
It was clear enough to me that neither Tolsynn nor the head clerk had anything to do with matters, except as unwitting accomplices, but someone in the banque did, someone who knew the routine, probably poor Kearyk, who had been pressured to switch a single page in the ledger and enter the withdrawal on the Guild account. The entire routine had been designed to call attention to the funds transactions involving Caartyl and Cydarth. The bigger questions were who was behind the gambit and why.
Once I left Tolsynn, I made my way to Chenoyt, who was closing his leather case. “What have you found out?”
He lifted the case, then turned to me. “This wasn’t so much a bomb as an explosive. It looks like they used damp guncotton packed in heavy pressed paper with a fuse set to ignite a dry guncotton primer.”
“They wanted a big explosion but limited damage?”
Chenoyt nodded.
“If you’d write that up for me…and headquarters.”
