“That thing was Lord Pruit?” Khlid could not believe it.
Williams had a genuine look of shock on his face. This was his third surprise of the morning: first, the horrific murders of an Imperial family. Second, Khlid, one of his most trustworthy inspectors, returning from the scene to describe a suspect out of a fairy tale. And now Chapman, backing up the insane story.
Chapman pointed to the vial he had tossed. “You had to have seen her come in covered in that. What did you think it was?”
The captain held the vial up to the light from the broad window and said, “Mud.”
Chapman shook his head and said, “Age is a bitch.”
Williams fixed Chapman with a sharp eye. “Because a young man would have no trouble looking at a vial of dark liquid and determining it was the blood of an Imperial lord who, it turns out, is also a monster. You’re right, Chapman, I must be getting slow.”
Chapman grinned in response.
“Chapman,” Khlid said, “what could have done that to him? Hell, how do you even know it was Lord Pruit?”
“No clue what did it to him, but it was him. After you look past the stretched-out skin, the...” Unusually, Chapman seemed unwilling to list the former Lord Pruit’s other horrifying traits. “...Other oddities, the man was under there. We also found a necklace, the kind only Imperials wear, underneath all those… folds.” To the captain, Chapman said, “This one is above our pay grade; it's going to have to go up the chain. The military will want to take charge of anything to do with the rebellion.”
“Chapman!” Khlid could not believe what he had said. “The police protect the city. We’re responsible for finding out what happened here and—”
The captain cut her off. “You’re both right.” He put his now-empty mug down and said, “Every bit of this is going to the Ministry of Defense.” He glanced at the vial of black fluid. “And the Ministries of Health and Truth. But inspectors have jurisdiction to investigate anything and everything that happens within their district. You two keep working this case—Samuel, too. You keep me in the loop, and I’ll do the same for the Ministries. Almighty help me.”
Khlid could not hide her smile. “Yes, Captain.” To her surprise, Chapman said it with her.
Williams glanced at his pocket watch. “I have a meeting with some stooge from the M.O.D. Let me know what other nightmare fodder you turn up.”
The captain left the two of them. Chapman turned back to the evidence table.
“What the hell are you thinking?” Khlid asked. “You bullied your way onto this case; now you want to hand it to the military? This is the most interesting thing we’ve encountered in years. Possibly ever.”
“No, it’s not.” He waved a hand at her. “Don’t you remember the rogue Grip? Far more interesting.”
“That was six years ago.” She couldn’t hide her annoyance.
Chapman cocked his head. “Was it really?” Khlid’s eyes bore into him. “Look,” he offered. “I don’t know. I just don’t want to handle this one.”
“What is going on with you?”
“I can’t think what you mean, Khlid.” His eyes remained hooded, scanning the table of evidence and notes.
“You never give up cases. You have a petty assault sitting on your desk from over a year ago.” Khlid kicked the table to get him to look at her. “Really think you’re going to solve that one?”
“Already did. The mugging never really happened. Old man just wanted attention.”
“Sure.” She started examining the evidence herself. A written statement, given by the housekeeper who had first found the hanging boy, caught her eye.
Chapman’s eyes remained glued to the evidence table of the case he’d just disavowed. After a few minutes, he took a seat and began writing in his notes. Good, Khlid thought, her annoyance at finding him horning into the manor now forgotten. After the terror and violence of the morning, she’d take the help—particularly if it kept the military out of her way. Khlid did like working with Chapman at times. He cared about the work and could be genuinely funny. He simply had the social ability of a sea eel.
“Where is Samuel?”
Chapman looked up from his notes and into her eyes—something, she realized, he rarely did. “He stayed at the M.O.H. I believe he wanted to watch the full inspection. Read this.” Unexpectedly, Chapman produced a folder from his coat and slid it over to Khlid.
Khlid opened the folder and found two sets of documents: the first, the Pruit family’s record of service to the Empire; the second, a record of their finances over the past few years. Chapman had to have taken these from the manor, breaching the protocol for evidence collection. At first Khlid only scanned the documents, but after a few key facts became clear, she read in earnest. The last few lines of the financial report drove her to actually stand and begin pacing the room.
Lord and Lady Pruit owned and operated well over two dozen steel manufacturing plants. After they married, the two had united their dual fortunes to open plant after plant for over a decade. The war effort assured a ravenous demand for steel, which the Pruits provided exclusively to the Empire, assuring their martial superiority and enriching the already-wealthy Pruits beyond compare.
The financial report in front of her showed an extremely dependable relationship between the family and the government; that is, until about two months prior.
Two months prior, one of the family's plants had increased its steel production by over six thousand percent. Not only had this one plant produced enough steel in two months to launch an armada; the family itself had made more money in those two months than in the entire two years before them.
“They were about to become the wealthiest family in the city.”
“No,” Chapman said. “In the Empire.”
Khlid collapsed into a chair. “The rebellion just slaughtered the Empire’s most valuable family.”
“Not exactly.” Chapman’s voice was slow and extremely calm—a tone he took on when thinking very carefully. “The plants are safe as far as we know. The Empire would have massively increased security before this.”
“‘This’ what?”
“Steel manufacturing is chemistry. An increase like that only comes with a scientific breakthrough.” Chapman leaned forward. “I have no idea how, but this family is responsible for one of the greatest scientific—”
Khlid finally saw an opportunity to cut off Chapman and correct him, and by God, she took it. “No!” she said, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. Chapman stared at her with open surprise. “Who says the family made the discovery?” she continued. “They are clearly trusted by the highest levels of government. Let’s say someone at the Ministry of Science makes this breakthrough. They see the military applications. Who do they bring it to?”
“Ah…” Chapman put a finger to his lips. “Right you are. Far more likely.”
Khlid pushed on, “Word gets out. The secret is loose. Now, just a couple of plants can supply all of the military’s steel. Hell, if this method were common knowledge, steel would never be wanted for again—its price would drop to a fraction of what it was. We could pave the streets with it.”