incorrect, even falsified, information had suddenly appeared.
‘Do you think that’s what it was all about?’ Rex turned round with a sombre expression.
‘A delay? Yes, that’s the only thing that makes sense.’ The tapping on the table quickened. ‘The only question is what someone hoped to achieve by it. I doubt it was to give the murderer time to escape, because he appeared and vanished without leaving a single trace behind. We might just as well have passed him in the inn without realising it. Given what we’ve discovered about Rocha’s identity, I’m beginning to wonder whether we’re dealing with some sort of organisation, or a spy ring operating in Atlantis.’
‘In the City Watch?’. The doubt in the corporal’s voice was by no means unfounded. ‘And not even in some senior position, but right at the bottom, and in an ordinary residential neighbourhood where there’s nothing of importance?’
‘Perhaps it wasn’t about the City Watch itself?’ Bleist tapped the tabletop lightly with his open hand. ‘To establish his identity? Why not. Rocha had a clean record, a good reputation, and was well-liked. After all, his sudden transfer to Bushtabhar didn’t arouse any suspicion. In fact, they even threw him a farewell party. It’s just that our victim didn’t anticipate that his friends would want to drive him home.’
‘Indeed, when they described Rocha’s reaction to their travel plans, it struck me as a bit odd. Sure, he might genuinely not have wanted them to subject themselves to the hardships of a long round trip and waste such precious holiday time, but it was peculiar all the same.’
‘Don’t forget that it turned out someone in the village did know our deceased friend after all,’ Darius emphasised, tapping the table. ‘And he must have known full well that Rocha’s identity was a fake, since he paid boys of a similar age to him in gold to pretend to be friends he hadn’t seen for ages.’
‘Except that there’s no trace of that vampire either. According to what we’ve managed to find out at the citadel, there aren’t any vampires
