The Master Executioner (The Executioner's Song Book 5), page 18
Finn nodded. “I know. I don’t think I have enough information for us to put forward any recommendation for sentencing.”
“You don’t recommend he be brought before the magister?” Meyer asked, setting down the bread on the plate. Lena glared at him before turning her displeasure on Finn. “The warden seems to think it’s pretty straightforward. From what I understand, he was found running from the scene of the crime carrying his registers.”
“That’s the official report,” Finn said.
“You don’t think he did it.”
“Well, I don’t know. I thought it worthwhile to look into. He claims his innocence, though as a man who is facing almost certain hanging, that’s not terribly surprising. He denies he did it and told me where I needed to look for additional information. I went to find a junior accountant who worked with him and Michaels, and I learned something quite interesting.”
“That is?”
“Michaels has been dead for the better part of a year,” Finn said. “They concealed his death to their clients, wanting to maintain the clientele that Michaels brought in. Apparently, Michaels was the one who had more of the upper-class clientele. Bolgar brought in some of the more questionable clients.”
Meyer frowned. “I see.”
“There’s still the issue of the body. Those who responded to the fire found the burned remains of somebody. If Michaels was dead for the better part of a year, then it certainly wasn’t him. That doesn’t mean that Bolgar is innocent. It’s just that I don’t think he’s guilty of killing his partner.”
“Which begs the question as to why there would be another body in the shop,” Meyer said. Lena prodded him, and he took another bite.
“That, and it raises the question as to the purpose for the fire. Somebody is getting the rumor out in the community that there was an argument between Bolgar and Michaels that started the fire.”
A rumor that hid the truth of witchcraft.
Seeing the way Meyer looked at him, Finn was careful not to make that suggestion.
“You can’t go chasing every rumor that’s out in the city,” Meyer said.
“No, but this one, combined with what I have learned, leads me to question whether the person who started the rumor is responsible for what happened.”
“What is your recommendation?” Meyer asked.
“I need more time. I don’t think he’s guilty of this, and I want to have more time so that I can look into it better. If Bolgar didn’t do it, then somebody else is guilty of starting a fire, attempting to make it look like he did, and trying to conceal evidence.”
He considered telling Meyer about the witchcraft piece, but he wasn’t entirely sure that Meyer even wanted to know. When there had been witchcraft in the city before, Meyer had not wanted to dig too deeply. Finn could do that on his own, and he wouldn’t upset Meyer.
“If the warden submitted a report, then we will both have to appeal to the jurors,” Meyer said.
“I know,” Finn said.
“You anticipated going to this sentencing,” Meyer said.
“I thought I needed to. In this case, until we know a bit better, I thought we had best work together on this.”
“I see,” Meyer said. He took a deep breath, glancing over to Lena. “Would you stop poking me, woman?”
“You need to keep eating.”
“I am eating enough,” Meyer said.
“You aren’t. You need to eat more.”
“I am eating all I need to.”
Lena flicked her gaze over to Finn, which earned a heated stare from Meyer. It wouldn’t be long before Meyer knew that Finn knew what was taking place. Meyer was smart and had plenty of experience watching reactions, gauging truth from people who wanted to conceal it, and Lena simply didn’t have that experience.
“What time is the sentencing?” Finn asked, wanting to change the focus.
“We need to be at city hall at ten bells,” he said.
“What time is it now?”
“Almost nine bells,” Meyer said.
Finn shook his head.
“What is it?” Meyer asked.
“I had hoped to have an opportunity to visit with Bolgar again before the sentencing. I didn’t intend to oversleep.”
“Then perhaps you shouldn’t have stayed out so late drinking,” Meyer said.
“I have Oscar looking into whether any of the crews were involved.”
“You would trust him with that?” Meyer asked.
“Normally I wouldn’t, but seeing as how I have to figure out which partner the arson targeted, I figured it was reasonable for Oscar to start. If he finds anything, then I can use that to continue digging.”
“You need to be careful with that one,” Meyer said. “I know he’s trying to run a more reputable business, but men don’t change easily.”
“I know,” Finn said.
Meyer watched him, and there was something in his eyes that lingered, a hint of hesitation, as if he feared for Finn.
Finally, Meyer set down his fork, pushing his plate away from him. He’d eaten only half of the eggs, nibbled at one of the biscuits, and left most of the bacon on the plate.
“We should get going,” he said.
Lena opened her mouth as if to argue with him before clamping it shut. “I can have a meal ready for you for noon,” she said.
Meyer shook his head. “I have too many things that need done today to have time to visit at noon.”
“I could prepare something for you to take with you.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“Henry… Master Meyer, you need to—”
Meyer turned to her sharply, and Lena cut herself off, just shaking her head.
Finn had a sense that this was an old discussion between them, and probably had been taking place far longer than Finn knew. How had he overlooked this while Meyer continued to deteriorate?
Finn made his way out of the kitchen, leaving the two of them to bicker. Lena said something sharply to Meyer, though Finn didn’t catch the full content of her speech. He recognized the irritation in her tone. Meyer didn’t answer loudly enough for him to hear, but as he departed the kitchen, he carried a small container and hand that he stuffed into his pocket.
Finn smiled to himself. Lena must have convinced Meyer to bring something with him. Whether he would eat it would be a different matter.
“Let’s go,” Meyer said.
They headed out of the home, through the gate, and out onto the street.
“Oscar told me there have been some upstart crews in the city. With the kind of moneylending Bolgar and Michaels had been involved in, I was thinking I would dig there—"
“I think it’s time for us to start talking about the next steps in your training,” Meyer said, cutting him off.
Finn winced, looking over to him. “The next steps?”
“You have been a journeyman for many years. Eventually, you need to move on.”
“I realize that,” Finn said. “I didn’t realize I needed additional training before I could do that though.”
“It’s not so much that you need additional training as you need additional testing.”
“For what?”
“To become a master executioner.”
Finn frowned. “Am I ready?”
“I submitted your name to the executioner court.”
“What happens then?”
“What do you mean?” Meyer asked. They passed a small group of people heading along the street, and they all gave a wide berth to him and Meyer.
“What happens once I am tested?”
“Once you’re tested, you either pass or you do not. If you do not, then you remain a journeyman. There’s no shame in such a thing. Even as a journeyman, you can continue serving the kingdom, as you have seen. I am certain you could serve the king well as a journeyman, though eventually you will need to leave Verendal.”
“Which means I would wander the countryside?”
Meyer glanced over. “To a certain extent. You would be expected to travel. You could stay in some towns and villages a little bit longer, waiting for your next assignment. For the most part, it is up to the journeyman where he travels and how quickly he travels.”
It would be a life on the road. There wasn’t anything necessarily wrong with that. In reality, there was a part of Finn that wondered if that might be appealing. He would get to see more of the country than he had otherwise. Staying in Verendal, even traveling to the neighboring communities, didn’t give him an opportunity to get to know the kingdom all that well. He had seen far more over the last few years than he ever had before, and had traveled to places that he would once have only heard about, but he still had much that he had not seen.
“And if I pass?”
“Then you would qualify to serve a city as master executioner.”
Finn nodded. He thought he understood what Meyer was getting at. Once he passed, assuming that he did, and Finn hoped that he would, he wouldn’t necessarily be able to serve in Verendal. The city already had a master executioner.
“When will this take place?”
“As I said, when the court sends word that they are meeting, you will go.”
“Alone?”
Meyer nodded. In the past, when the executioner court had met, Meyer had been the one to go. The only time Finn had gone with him was when he had been tested at the very beginning. Progressing to journeyman had been all Meyer’s approval. It had been easier. Over time, as Finn had proven himself, Meyer had given him more and more responsibility, and with that came a certain status. From there, Finn finally had felt as if he truly fit the job.
The next stop would be different.
With it would come a title, something that Finn had never dreamed that he would ever achieve, but at the same time it was something that he thought he was ready for.
What he wasn’t ready for was to leave Verendal.
“You will present yourself to the court alone, and if you pass you will leave them as a master executioner, able to sit upon the court as a full member. If you fail, you will continue as a journeyman, though given that I have submitted your name for testing, they would anticipate that you would no longer serve in Verendal, especially as it means you would have already demonstrated your potential.”
“So either way you will need to take on another apprentice.”
Meyer didn’t say anything, and the two of them continued through the street, moving past the crowd, weaving along.
Finn lost himself in thought. Was he really ready to become a master executioner?
He thought that he was. It was something he hadn’t necessarily given much thought to, but it certainly was something he felt ready for. Already, he was responsible for carrying out much of Meyer’s duties, fulfilling obligations a master executioner would fulfill. He worked autonomously, investigating crimes, suggesting sentences to the jurors, and carrying out those sentences when appropriate. At this point, the only thing that separated Finn from Meyer was his experience and his title.
“You have any idea when this will take place?” Finn asked.
“Once the request is submitted, tradition holds that it will happen within the month. Once the request is received, the court will determine where they meet.”
“Which means that it won’t be here,” Finn said.
“We are near the edge of the kingdom. It would be unusual for the court to meet here.”
Finn didn’t want to travel outside of the city again already. He felt as if he had barely returned, and so for him to have to leave again didn’t feel quite right. This would be different. When he left, when he traveled to meet the executioner court, it meant he wouldn’t necessarily be returning to Verendal. He certainly could, but he wondered if he would feel like he fit. If he had been promoted to master executioner, Finn might chafe at such a thing.
“I understand,” Finn said.
Meyer looked over to him, nodding. “I thought you might.”
They continued through the street, heading past Declan prison, the dark stone seeming to absorb the sunlight, giving it an even more ominous feel. There was always something dangerous about Declan, and even though Finn knew the prison well and had spent considerable time inside it, though not as a prisoner, he couldn’t shake that strangely ominous feel. He looked over at it, though he saw no movement coming out of the prison.
“They have already brought him,” Meyer said.
“I don’t like that,” Finn said.
“Which is?”
“The warden submitted a report without one of us approving it.”
“The warden can submit his own report,” Meyer said. “You know that.”
“I know, but I’m still not thrilled with it.”
Meyer chuckled. “You’re just accustomed to being the one submitting the report.”
Finn shrugged. “Yes.”
“You were out of the city for a while. The warden didn’t know when you might return. It is not altogether surprising he would submit a report.”
Finn supposed that was true enough, but that didn’t make him like it any better.
They made their way to City Hall, neither of them speaking much.
“I keep waiting for you to say more about the executioner court,” Meyer said.
Finn hadn’t given it much more thought. He’d been so wrapped up in what was taking place and what he needed to find that he hadn’t even thought about the fact that he might be drawn away from the city. If the executioner court summoned him, deciding that they were going to meet soon, then Finn would have to go.
It would leave the investigation of Bolgar and whoever was responsible for the arson up to Meyer. It was a sign of his progress, Finn suspected, that he questioned whether or not Meyer was the right one to continue digging into the truth. Given what he had uncovered, and the fact that he was the one to raise suspicion, he thought he needed to stay involved. It was more than that though. It also had to do with the fact that Oscar was now involved, and Finn didn’t like the idea that he would’ve pulled Oscar into something like this without him being around.
He knew how Meyer felt about Oscar, though he had helped him. He knew that were it to come down to it, Meyer would probably not use anything that Oscar might learn.
Dismissing that information out of hand could be disastrous to finding the truth.
If Meyer did look into things the way Finn would, it meant that Meyer might get drawn into investigating some of the city’s crews. Finn didn’t want him to do so, not wanting him to risk himself.
“I figured you’d tell me what I needed to know.” Finn looked over to him. “You do have a reputation there, I hear.”
“I have. As do you.” That was news to Finn. “And you will be meeting with them in three days.”
Three days might be enough for Finn to investigate a bit more about what had happened. If he spent most of his time looking into what had happened, digging into who might be responsible for the fire, he thought he could come up with enough that could explain what had happened, but…
“Where are they meeting?”
“In Vur.”
Finn closed his eyes. “That’s three days from now.”
Meyer nodded. “You will need to leave later today.” He looked over to Finn. “Were it not for this sentencing, I would have sent you first thing this morning.”
Finn wouldn’t have a chance to say anything else. He wouldn’t have a chance to look into anything else. And he wouldn’t have a chance to help Meyer, though he suspected Meyer would claim he didn’t need any help. He probably could do it, but with him getting sicker and weaker, he might need Finn’s help.
“I could meet with the court another time,” Finn suggested.
Meyer looked over.
“It’s just that we have this unusual case. I don’t have to go to the court right now. We could send word, and—”
“If you don’t present yourself to the court now, you might never get another chance.”
Finn breathed out.
“You cannot stay a journeyman your whole life,” Meyer said.
“I know I can’t,” Finn said.
“You’re far too skilled.” It was rare praise from Meyer. “I hadn’t been certain when I chose you, but you have proven yourself time and again. You have demonstrated a level of honesty that makes me question whether we should have been exerting the executioner’s right more often.”
“My alternative was worse,” Finn said.
“You haven’t lived under the threat of that sentence for many years.”
“It still hangs over me,” Finn said. “I know it shouldn't and that I have served the kingdom, but I still feel it.” Sometimes he felt it like a weight on his shoulders. He had not only served the kingdom, but he had saved it. The king appreciated that. “What has kept you serving all these years?” Finn asked.
“Honor, I suppose,” Meyer said. “And the fact that it was a job that needed doing. I don’t love the violence, but I learned to live with it.”
Finn held Meyer’s gaze. He supposed he felt some way similar. He didn’t love the violence. It didn’t matter whether or not he was skilled with the sword, could tie a knot, or had managed any other number of sentencings. What surprised him was that over time, he had come to feel strongly that what he did mattered. He did serve the king, and in doing so he offered a measure of justice but also vengeance to those wronged that was needed. He felt he did it honorably, and if he did not, then others would come in and might do the job in a way that dishonored the profession.
They neared city hall, and Finn still hadn’t said anything.
“You’ll find Lorvend in a single-story house on River Road in the Huster section. It has a blue slate roof. There are no others like it. He’s the one who worked with Bolgar.”
“I will find him,” Meyer said.
“We need to question Bolgar about who might have been responsible for targeting him.”
“I understand what’s involved,” Meyer said.
“He needs to be challenged about Michaels.”
Meyer looked over to him, and there was a hint of a smile on his face, which wrinkled the corners of his eyes. “I do know how to perform my job.”
