“Well, then the lights in the corridor across from mine went on. I chased them back to the main portion of the library and when I found nothing there, I ran out of the library, but I never caught up with whoever it was. I assumed it was Andrei. That he'd changed his mind about speaking to me.”
“I think we can safely conclude it was not Andrei,” the King said with a grim look at the body.
“You were lucky that you didn't catch up to the killer,” Konstantin grabbed my upper arm and pulled me away from Nikolay. “Never be so reckless again.”
“I won't,” I whispered.
The Swan King cleared his throat, and Kon dropped his hand.
“So, we now have an exact time of death,” Niko said. “Have you learned anything else from the body, Garin?”
“His throat was slit first, obviously to silence him. Then he was stabbed five times in the heart.”
Nikolay grimaced. “That would do it.”
“Yes, whoever murdered Andrei was efficient and professional.” Konstantin glanced at Niko's knights. “They knew how to keep him quiet so they could hurt him enough that even his Larch healing wouldn't save him.”
“Immortal doesn't mean invulnerable,” the King murmured, his gaze distant.
“No, it does not,” Konstantin said. “If you would excuse us, Your Majesty, I could use Lord Mikhail's help with processing the body.”
“What more have you to do?”
“Search him.”
“You want my sweet Misha to help you searcha corpse?” Niko lifted his brows at Kon. “I understand how he helps you with my court, everyone adores my consort, butthis? No, he's a singer, not a Garin. Do your job yourself, Lord Konstantin.”
“I want to help,” I said. “Please, I need to help solve this, Sire. I was here when Master Andrei died. I'm a part of this now.”
Nikolay took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he stared at me. “Very well, Misha. Play detective with your new friend. But I've seen all I can take.”
The King swept away, looking as if he were wearing medieval robes rather than a modern suit. Two of his knights went with him, but another two remained behind, watching our every move.
“Here, put these on.” Kon pulled out a pair of latex gloves and a couple of booties.
I pulled on the gloves, then the booties before following Konstantin back to the body. The knights drew closer as Kon and I searched Andrei's pockets and patted down his clothing. In his jacket's front pocket, I found a scrap of paper, but something prompted me to hide it. I curled my ring and pinky fingers over it as I removed my hand, then quickly continued the search.
“Can we move him onto his front?” I asked.
“Not without rolling him in blood.” Konstantin turned toward the end of the aisle and called out, “Bring in the gurney!”
As the medical assistants rolled a gurney down the aisle, I stepped back and used the distraction to slip the paper into my pocket. With Kon's help, the assistants lifted Andrei's body and placed it face down on the gurney. When they stepped back, Kon and I finished our search.
“All right, you can take him now,” Kon said to the assistants. Then, to Master Yaroslav, he called out, “I need a full autopsy.”
“I'll start immediately,” the Master Physician followed the body out with his team.
It took us another four hours to thoroughly search the aisle and the rest of the library, focusing mainly on the path I'd seen illuminated. We found exactly nothing.
Konstantin finally yanked off his gloves and said to the knights, “I'm done here. You can send the cleaners in.”
They headed off as Konstantin and I removed our booties. As we left the library, we cast our gloves and booties into a bin that had been set near the door. Instantly, we were bombarded with questions from the courtiers outside.
“All right, quiet down, everyone!” Konstantin held up his hand and didn't continue until it had gone silent. “As I'm sure you've heard, Master Andrei has been found dead. He was stabbed as the others were. I know nothing more than that, but if any of you have information about Master Andrei that may help my investigation, please step forward now or find me in my quarters later.”
Konstantin waited, but no one offered information. All we got were more questions.
“Are these murders random?”
