decided to reflect on the whole day one last time.
He’d managed to find out that Caim Rocha wasn’t who he claimed to be, so the story about the transfer due to family circumstances vanished like smoke on a windy day. The first suspicious behaviour that would need to be investigated on Atlantis. He squeezed his eyelids tighter.
The mysterious soldier with whom the murdered man had spoken before his death clearly must have known Rocha and been aware that he did not actually come from the village north of Bushtabhar. He had even hired random youths of a similar age to Caim and ordered them to pretend to be acquaintances.
The crime scene and the surgeon confirmed that death had not come quickly to the deceased. It had been a long and very painful process. Moreover, it had been inflicted by someone who knew exactly what they were doing. This ruled out a crime of passion or a random act of violence. Furthermore, the killer must have somehow muffled the sounds of the torture, meaning he was either a mage or possessed a very powerful artefact.
As for the magic itself, there were indications that, contrary to the information provided by the army and the City Watch, Rocha possessed magical abilities. This was now impossible to confirm, but fortunately it was not the basis of the entire investigation.
Finally, there was the matter of the evidence and the body itself. It turned out that Caim Rocha was still in the mortuary. Just like all the evidence in the case, for that matter. Darius was somewhat alarmed to find that it was simply jute sacks tossed into a corner of the room.
As if that weren’t bad enough, the Guards sent into the city had returned empty-handed. No useful gossip. Nothing to go on. On the other hand, there was plenty of talk in Bushtabhar about the governor, and none of it was flattering. Another item on the list to verify.
‘There are still the Watchmen from the entrance to the enclaves. We need to find the bloke who was
