“About a year and a half. I started working here two years ago. I’m doing a traineeship as a chef. I didn’t even know they were using the door at first, but then one night we got a delivery through there when I was on late shift.”
Emica cleared her throat suddenly, stepping forward before either Maro or Kentario could say anything else. “All new staff are supposed to receive a full security induction,” she said, her voice gentle, and Kentario was more than willing to let her take the reins for the moment. All he was likely to do himself was terrify the poor woman even more. “Did you complete the induction when you started working here?”
“Yes,” Aki said, her lip trembling. “And yes, I know the rules about not bringing any deliveries in without getting security to check them. So I asked Liandra about it.”
“She’s head chef for the evening shift, isn’t she?” Maro asked, and Aki nodded.
“That’s right. She said not to worry about it. She said it took too long to get everything cleared through security, and since it was just food, nobody would mind if we brought it in this way.”
Kentario felt his blood boil at the ignorant stupidity of the statement. “So you ignored every single proper security protocol and just did what she said?”
Aki’s face turned pale. “Are you going to kill me?”
Emica tossed an exasperated look over her shoulder at Kentario. “Why would you think that?” she asked Aki, her voice soft and soothing. “We’re just trying to find out what really happened here.”
“The staff were talking,” Aki said, tears once more rolling down her face. “They said Prince Ryu’s dead, and Kentario’s come back to kill whoever’s responsible.”
Emica glanced back again, a black glare on her face. Kentario glared right back, wondering whether she was going to let the secret out. No matter how scared this woman was, risking Ryu’s life to make her feel better was pure insanity.
But once again, he was underestimating his sister. “Nobody’s going to be killed,” she assured her, sidestepping the question of Ryu’s safety. “If anyone here is at fault, they’ll be given a fair trial in court, just like any other criminal. But from what I’ve heard, if you reported this issue to your boss, then you’ve done your duty, regardless.”
Aki nodded, her lip still trembling, though her tears stopped. “I didn’t just go by what Liandra wanted,” she said, once she’d got control of herself. “I reported it to the night guard, as well. But then a couple of weeks passed, and nothing changed, so I figured it was okay.”
“You reported this to the Royal Guard?” Kentario confirmed, dark thoughts running hard and fast through his mind. Aki nodded. Kentario turned to look Maro square in the face. “Well, that’sinteresting.” Every security incident, whether major or minor, generated a report, and one of Maro’s weekly tasks was to review all the incidents and schedule any required follow-up. “There’s been a massive security breach for the past year and a half, and fuck all has been done about it.”
Maro opened his mouth to reply, but Emica beat him to it. “Aki, I’d like you to go and wait in the anteroom,” she said, tossing yet another glare Maro’s way. She hurried the woman out of the room, rounding up one of the guards to watch her while they talked. In the few scant minutes she was away, Maro and Kentario simply glared at each other, and from the stubborn set of the older man’s jaw, Kentario could only imagine what excuse he was going to give for this colossal fuck-up.
When Emica came back, even her steadfast optimism seemed to be wavering. “A breach in security was reported to the Royal Guard, and nothing was done about it,” she summed up the last few minutes, standing with her arms folded as she faced Maro. “Even you’d have to admit that that doesn’t look good.”
Maro glanced from one Amagarda sibling to the other. Yet still, he held his ground. Together, Kentario knew, they presented a formidable force. How the hell did Maro still think he could win this one?
“Thirteen years ago,” Maro began, “Arctesian revolutionaries broke into the Royal Palace and slaughtered ninety per cent of the Arctesian royal family. I had been appointed Captain of the Guard just two months prior to that event. Immediately after that attack, I went through this palace with a fine tooth comb. I foundeveryweak point in our defences. I sacked a quarter of the Guard for various indiscretions. I improved our training regimes and set up procedures to reward those personnel who went above and beyond the call of duty. With regards tothisdoor,” he went on, pointing down the dark stairs, “Ipersonallypadlocked it with my own hands. I informed the kitchen staff that it was no longer to be used, I created new protocols to have all deliveries come via the main gate, and I had a sign installed on the door declaring that it was not to be used for any purpose. At no time since that day have I heard or read any report about it being opened again.”
Silence fell, thick and heavy in the air.
“So,” Kentario drawled, “I have a hysterical kitchen hand who says that raiders came in this door, and the Captain of the Guard who says that’s impossible.” He turned to Emica. “Any more bright ideas, or can I just shoot him now?”
“Actually, yes,” Emica said, a frown creasing her forehead. “Aki said she was on night shift when she found out about the door being used. Because a delivery was brought in that way while she was here. But we don’t get food deliveries at night. So what was special about that day? Why were they bringing something in during the evening?”
“Let’s go find out,” Kentario said, already on his way to the door.
“For the Goddess’s sake, let me ask the questions,” Emica barked after him, dashing to keep up. “You keep glaring at that poor woman and you’re going to give her a heart attack before we find out what happened.”
Kentario held up his hands in mock surrender, stepping aside to let Emica go first. “Odin’s balls, you’re annoying sometimes.”
“That’s because I’m better at this job than you are,” Emica said, an insult that only his kid sister could ever get away with. Still, he let her go first into the anteroom, Aki looking startled as they all filed in again.
“We just have a couple more questions,” Emica said, taking a seat near Aki. Kentario’s strategy was to intimidate people into talking, but Emicaalways seemed to prefer winning their trust instead. “You said you found out about the door being used due to a late delivery. What else can you tell us about that night?”
“It was in the middle of the winter solstice festival,” Aki said, keeping her eyes on Emica. She was a far less scary interviewer than either Maro or Kentario. “One of the fridges broke down and all the fish went bad. They had to get more delivered as an emergency. Queen Elise would have had kittens if we’d run out of salmon to serve the guests. So Liandra called in a few favours and found a supplier who agreed to do a late delivery.”
“So this was December twenty-first? A year and a half ago?”
“That’s right.”
“And do you remember the name of the guard you reported the issue to?”
“No. Sorry. He was just whoever was stationed to the staff entrance that night.”
