“Liatra said that June went to get dinner for everyone from the food table. Is that true?” Henrietta asked.
“Yes,” Calium said. Then his face fell. “You don’t think she would have…? No, that’s ridiculous. We were all eating the same thing. Liatra must have eaten something different. Earlier in the evening, maybe?”
Henrietta didn’t seem to know what to say next, so Gantalla dared to ask a question of her own. “Aside from June, would anyone have any reason to want to hurt Liatra?”
“None at all, that I know of,” Nalyx said. “And June would have no reason to either. Whatever’s going on here, it’s probably just an innocent mistake.”
It was interesting how both men seemed so certain that there was no foul play going on. Jealousy between the women seemed to be both accepted and swept under the rug. Had none of the women ever tried underhanded methods to get rid of competition in the past? Gantalla remembered Hallix’s angry reaction to her own decision to spend time with Nalyx, rather than with him. And while Hallix hadn’t resorted to physical harm, he’d still lashed out harshly at Nalyx while he was injured. Perhaps, with their ingrained familiarity with the customs of the city, the people here were overlooking the obvious possibilities?
But even so, Gantalla was reluctant to say anything. She didn’t know either June or Liatra well, and accusing June of attempting to poison Liatra was a big step.
Following that, Henrietta interviewed June and Helen, both of whom repeated what Nalyx and Calium had said; the evening was a typical one, with nothing of note happening.
With the questioning finished, Nalyx and the others were asked to wait in an adjoining room, while Samuel called the rest of the nurses together.
“So,” he said, gazing around the room. “We have a mystery on our hands. Red cap mushrooms were served at dinner. A number of people ate them, and no one else is showing any symptoms. And yet somehow, Liatra ended up getting poisoned, and all of her symptoms are consistent with purple cap toxin. So how does one woman out of a group of five people end up eating toxic mushrooms?”
Henrietta folded her arms. “Am I right in thinking that you believe this was done deliberately?”
“I’m having a hard time seeing how it could have happened accidentally. It’s a little early to be making accusations, but you’d have to admit, the circumstances are odd.”
“Could it be that Liatra’s lying?” one of the nurses suggested. “Trying to get someone into trouble?”
“I find that unlikely,” Nanta said. “Liatra hasn’t made any accusations against anyone in particular. And who in the world would poison themselves like that to get revenge? It would be completely crazy.”
The room fell silent as everyone mentally picked through the details, trying to come up with a workable theory. Gantalla sat silently, mulling over her own growing suspicions, but being so new, she was reluctant to say anything. Nalyx’s easy dismissal of the jealousy between the serving women had sat ill with her, and she thought back to each time she’d seen both Liatra and June with Nalyx at the same time. And as she remembered each incident, she was a little ashamed to realise just how closely she’d been watching him. It had been easy to spot him in the square each day, and easier still to find a quiet spot to observe him. The windows on the upper floor of the hospital had provided a vantage point to watch the goings-on, and she’d taken advantage of the quiet moments in her shifts to watch.
In each of the encounters, Liatra had always been cheerful, laughing and smiling, flirting shamelessly with Nalyx. But June, she remembered, had seemed put out, scowling at Liatra behind her back, inserting herself between her and Nalyx when the opportunity presented itself. But accusing June of poisoning Liatra was a big step.
But saying nothing could leave Liatra open to further attacks. Gantalla felt ill at ease with the idea of doing nothing, but without proof, any accusation was just speculation. She decided to test the waters, her conscience niggling at her unpleasantly.
“Liatra said that June brought the food over from the tables,” she said. “I’m not accusing her of anything directly, but that would have given her the opportunity to tamper with the food. If she was so inclined. And Calium said that she and Liatra had an argument last night. So potentially, that could give her both opportunity and motive.”
But Nanta shook her head. “Anyone with eyes can see that she and Liatra have a rivalry going on. But resorting to poisoning someone is over the top. Beside which, Nalyx has made it plain he’s not in the market for a wife. If June’s angling for a husband, she’s picked the wrong target. There are plenty of other warriors who would be more open to persuasion.”
Gods, it was all so straight forward in the eyes of these people. As far as they were concerned, the only reason for jealousy was because someone wanted to get married, and who in particular they married seemed only of secondary concern. Gantalla felt completely out of her depth. She had such a different view of the world, saw relationships as being built on trust and a common way of thinking, rather than wealth and physical pleasure, and her own jealousy – for all that she tried to deny it – was nothing to do with wanting to marry Nalyx. It was more about wanting him to see her as a unique individual, to see that she was worth more to him than a willing bed-warmer. Could it be that June felt the same way?
“Where is June from?” she asked. “Was she born in Minia? How long has she been a member of the serving women?”
“She was originally from Azertel,” Nanta replied. “Her parents moved here when she was about fifteen. Oddly enough, she actually trained as a nurse for a year before joining the serving women. We thought she was going to do well here, but then a few years ago, she decided to serve the warriors instead. Can’t say that I blame her. I was never pretty enough to hold their attention, but I can see why a young woman with her looks would prefer that to cleaning up vomit and treating bloody wounds all day.”
Well, that was interesting. Nalyx had already implied that other cities had different standards for marriage, showing no particular surprise at Gantalla’s views, given that she was notionally from Gadash. And if June had been raised elsewhere and taught to expect more loyalty from a potential love interest…
And she’d trained as a nurse? That meant she’d have studied the same books that Gantalla had, learning all about the poisons their patients might encounter. Learning the difference between a red cap and a purple cap mushroom.
“You honestly think June could have done this?” Doctor Samuel asked her. Even he seemed surprised by the implications of her line of questions. “That would be outrageous.”
“We have no proof,” Rachael piped up. “You can’t just accuse someone without evidence.” The serving women, Gantalla had learned, were held in almost as high esteem as the warriors themselves, with everyone in the city treating them like minor celebrities. And why wouldn’t they, when the warriors paid them so much attention and the warriors themselves were revered almost as gods.
“Rachael’s right,” Doctor Samuel said. “If June did do this, that would make it attempted murder. And I’m not willing to make that sort of accusation without proof.”
Gantalla fell silent. She’d said as much as she was willing to, and no one seemed inclined to agree with her. But as she glanced around the room, she momentarily met Gosta’s eyes. She winced automatically. In the weeks that Gantalla had been working at the hospital, Gosta had been cold and reserved, quick to correct any mistake Gantalla made and offering nothing in the way of praise or empathy. But Gosta was the head nurse, making her impossible to avoid, so Gantalla had done her best to keep her head down and keep the peace.
Now, Gosta was looking at her through narrowed eyes, a calculating look on her face. Gantalla braced herself for some accusation to be thrown her way, but what Gosta said instead caught her by surprise.
“If one was to look for proof,” the old woman asked, her voice gravelly with age, “how would one go about finding it?” Her question, though addressed to the room, seemed to be aimed at Gantalla.
It was a good question. If Gantalla herself had tried to poison someone, the first thing she would do would be to get rid of any evidence. Not that she’d ever entertained such an idea… but she had once stolen some fruit from the neighbour’s orchard as a child, and then carried the leftover rind off into the forest on a walk and buried it so that no one would find it.
