I cleared my throat. “His Majesty was with me. Or rather, I was with him. We were passing by in his carriage when the bells sounded.”
“Really?” Jupeng, a fellow Eljaffna, knew I frequented Newfangled. We'd seen each other there often enough. “You were passing by?”
“Yes.” I stared him down.
Jupeng glanced at the King, swallowed visibly, and nodded. “Ah. Of course.”
“Your notebook,” I said.
“What?” He scowled at me, baffled out of his curiosity.
“I need a notebook. Do you have an extra one?”
Jupeng smirked and pulled out two notebooks. He tossed one to me. It even had a pencil tucked into it. “You owe me.”
“No, I don't.” I turned back to the body.
Jupeng moved to join me, but the King intercepted him.
“Perhaps you could explain the process of this to me while Claw Shinkai inspects the body, Claw Jupeng,” the King said. It was not a question.
“Oh. Uh, of course, Your Majesty.”
I hid my grin and my appreciation as I returned to inspecting Claw Greishen. I did so quickly, knowing Jupeng would only allow himself to be distracted for so long. Luckily, it was clear how he had died. And it was also clear that he was a clue. As was the satchel on his lap.
I picked the bag up. Nothing lurked beneath it. No note. It was a simple style, with one large compartment and a pocket on the outside. Inside the main compartment were a pair of pants, a shirt, and a pair of shoes. Interesting. I held each item up to the light spheres that hovered over the remains. Then I put them down, lining them up on the table. As I set the last shoe in place, shock—doubled because I thought I was past it—rolled through me. I let the shock roll even as I wrote in my borrowed notebook.
Jupeng had been speaking to the King throughout my inspection, but he abruptly stopped when he saw me writing. “Shinkai, what did you find?” He peered at the items, and then at the body. “Fuck, I just saw him yesterday.”
I jerked my head up. “Yesterday? Yesterday when?”
Jupeng frowned. “Uh, I was heading out for lunch, so it was around one in the afternoon. He was on the sidewalk, smoking his pipe. He nodded at me, and then left.”
“Heleft?”
“Yeah. I think he had just finished his shift.”
“We need to find out if you were the last person to see him.”
Jupeng nodded. “And what case he was working on.”
“Yes.” I stared at the shoes.
In a surprisingly normal tone, Jupeng whispered, “What is it? You look spooked.”
“I believe these things belonged to a boy who went missing many years ago.”
“What? Why do think that? Is there a name on the bag?”
“No, but I don't need a name. Look. It's obvious.”
Jupeng sighed. “See? There it is. That's why. Because you say things like that.”
“Why what? What are you talking about?”
“Why people find you so fucking irritating.”
“I'mirritating?You'reirritating.”
