13th Fall 517AV
Morning
Morning
”So, explain to me what happened.”
The inspector was in the cosy abode of a client, awkwardly perched upon one of the stools. Notebook open on the table, ink and quill poised for writing. The autumn sunlight was coming through the open window, the air less stifling than the summer time and allowing her mind some clarity to focus. Her kukri was strapped to her side, obvious and on show – she was a Kuvan, she made that no secret in the city. Tugging at the collar of her tunic, she neatly dated the corner of the page; scribbling down a few observational notes of the client and the room, before focusing intently.
Human. Dark hair. Blue eyes. Benshira extract perhaps? Female. Lacking the symbols of Akalak ownership. What was the word? the inspector gave a small tilt of the head, lips curling up into a small smile. It was an act of reassurance, if anything else, Ah, yes Nakivak.
A collection of cups had been placed down on the table, steaming tea filling them and tickling at the inspector’s senses. It allowed her time to sit and think, while allowing the client something to fiddle with. The thick, Riverian accent came out shortly after, ”My home was broken into two nights ago while I was upstairs asleep. The commotion downstairs woke me up, so I came to investigate. By the time I came down I was gone.”
“So a break in, a burglary?”
“Of a sort. They did not steal anything, but…” she saw the narrowing of eyes, the chew upon her lip as she seemed to feel her way through the situation, ”They made a mess. Tipped out the pantry and ripped open the cupboards. They were far from subtle.”
“Did you manage to get a look at the trespasser?”
“No, it was too dark and they were… well. Gone.”
Fallon’s lip gave a small curl, So that would be why this has been passed onto me by the guard. No leads, nothing taken, and little to go from. Let’s them focus on the bigger problems while I tidy up the little. Sounds about right for the foreigner in town.
Her quill dipped into the vial, and she began scratching down more notes, ”How did they get in?”
“Through the back door. They managed to cut through the lock. Well. The lock bolt.”
The inspector frowned, brow creasing and the quill scratching upon the page. The word Tools? was underlined for emphasis. She paused and looked past the woman in to the back of the house, eyes narrowing through the door way to the small kitchen space beyond and the back door. The mess left in the wake of the break in had yet to be cleaned away; but beyond that even from here she could see how a chair had been propped up beneath the handle, with several heavy looking boxes sitting along the base. Obviously a lock smith had yet to replace the damaged article, ”You mean to say, some how, the tools managed to get through the gap in the door?”
“It seems that way. You’re welcome to look yourself.”
“I intend to. But to matters at hand.”
The inspector gave a small jab of the quill in the direction of the kitchen, ”So you found them going through the pantry? Nothing seemed a miss?”
“No, mainly seemed to be just tipping things out. Rice. Grain. So forth.”
“And they ran when they heard you?”
“Exactly. Out the door like a rat up a drain pipe.”
Fallon’s lips pulled into a small, amused curl then, ”Tell me, do you keep any valuables in the house? Anything of personal value even?”
“Well. I do have some savings, but I keep that under lock and key, and hidden. I have some paper work there too, you know, settling in the city, lodgings, work details, so forth.”
Fallon released a hum, and took a sip of her tea, ”Well. I am willing to investigate. Glean things. Do you mind if I?”
She did not wait for an answer, not really. In a single swift move she was up on her feet and beginning the process of sauntering over to the scene. Her nose itched, gaze spying the various over turned goods, the thick prints that were embedded into the flour. She licked her lips, letting the bitter after taste rest upon them as she hummed. The first question that came to mind was how did they break the lock? The second was how without making so much noise? She released a snort, before awkwardly stepping over to the offending door.
No time like the present.