Author's Notes: Hello everyone, glad you liked the last chapter. As always Games Workshop owns everything except what I make up.
After leaving the Lord High Justice's office they went to a nearby tavern. As they ate a simple lunch Karl asked what Werner planned to do first. The older man thought about this for a moment, chewing his food reflectively, and then he began to speak.
"We shall begin our investigation with the last victim, Katharine Von Galt. Since she died only yesterday she should still be in the temple of Morr. There we shall examine the remains and hopefully gain some insight into the killers and their methods. Afterwards, we shall go and interview her father."
As Werner knew the way to the temple they made their way there quickly. Once there he spoke to the novice at the gate and asked to speak with the abbot. Karl felt slightly uneasy entering the temple. He did not sense anything wrong he just found himself uneasy in a temple dedicated to the death god.
Presently the abbot, a tall, pale and skeletally thin man named Albert Kessler, presented himself. Werner introduced himself and Karl and then explained their purpose in coming to the temple, Werner presenting the abbot with the paper the High Justice had given them. Karl could not read it, of course, but Werner had told him it said that they had authority to conduct the investigation.
Kessler read the paper for a moment and then returned it to Werner. "You are known to us Brother Werner," Kessler said in a hushed whisper the seemed appropriate for the solemn atmosphere of the temple; "Will you please follow me."
So saying, he turned and led them down a long hallway. Though there were no stairs Karl got the feeling that they were descending into the ground. Though candles burned in niches they did little to lift the feeling of gloom.
At last they came to a room that contained several stone tables. On one of these lay a body of a young woman dressed for burial in a dress of the finest quality. As they approached Kessler seemed to anticipate Werner's requirements, at a signal from the abbot several novices appeared along with a young priest.
At the abbot's command the novices began to undress the body while the abbot introduced the young priest as Father Sebastian, the priest who had supervised the preparation of the body for burial. Once the clothing had been removed they all gathered round to examine the remains. Undressed the body was that of a young woman of about twenty.
She had had a rather plain face and a rather stout build and mousy brown hair. What attracted everyone's attention were the numerous stab wounds that covered her body. Washed clear of blood and sown closed the wounds were now a series of ugly scars.
Karl looked at the wounds as well but in truth he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for, a wound was a wound to him. As Werner studied the wounds too Father Sebastian described what he had seen as he cleaned the body. "I counted a total of seventeen wounds. Due to the nature of the wounds, such as the variations in angle and depth I concluded that this poor soul was attacked by at least five attackers.
"As she was found in her bed I imagine they stood around the bed and all thrust down repeatedly. Due to the tearing around the wounds I would guess that they all used knives with curved and serrated blades. Judging from the angles of the wounds at least one of the attackers was left-handed. I believe that there was a great deal of difference in strength among the attackers due to the fact that some of the wounds were quite deep while others were far sallower."
At last Werner straightened himself and thanked them for their aid in his investigation. On their way out they stopped at the chapel to offer prayers for the soul of the departed. It was with some relief to Karl when they exited out into the afternoon sun.
Werner announced that now they would go to the Von Galt mansion and speak with the girl's father, Gerhard Von Galt. As they rode toward the mansion Werner asked Karl what he had learned from the examination of the body. Karl, rather abashedly, had to admit that he did not really know what he was supposed to be looking for.
"That is quite alright," Werner said with a patient smile; "I forget that you are not one of my novices. Well, the examination revealed several things. One, this confirms that we are looking for a number of killers, we already suspected as much but we needed confirmation. Second, we are not looking for professionals; as you yourself saw they inflicted near twenty wounds. A professional, even in the dark, would be able to inflict a killing blow with a single strike; and such persons rarely work in groups."
Karl hesitated for a moment then said; "Could the wounds not be part of some ritual?" As he said it he remembered stories he had heard of forbidden cults conducting human sacrifices by the light of the moons.
Werner shook his head. "No, I think not, though I commend you for thinking about it. I have had the misfortune to have examined the remains of such victims in the past. In such cases the wound are clean and usually in a pattern if there is more than one, which is not present here. Also, organs, usually the heart, were usually removed. That is not the case here; here the wounds are sloppy and random and none of the organs had been removed. No, whatever else these people are, they are not professionals and this does not have the look of a cult killing."
They rode in silence till they came to the Von Galt mansion. It turned out to be one of the largest houses Karl had ever seen. It was four stories tall and surrounded by gardens almost as large as a park. As they drew closer, however, they began to see signs of decay. In patches the paint on the house was peeling, the garden looked only half kept, with hedges only half trimmed and the decorative pond cover with a layer of scum.
Coming up to the door Werner knocked on the door while Karl held the horses, no groom having appeared to take them. After a long wait the door was opened by an elderly butler in a faded suit of clothes. Werner again introduced himself and announced his purpose and requested to see Gerhard Von Galt.
The butler nodded and indicated the way while at the same time calling out for someone named Hector. At last a boy of about fifteen appeared, the butler told him to take the horses and then fetch something from the guests from the kitchen.
The butler led them down a long corridor. On both sides were great paintings of men in armor or dressed for the hunt. They all had features similar to the murder girl, but were they had made her look plain and lumpy in the paintings the men were pictured as strong and forceful looking. Still, the pictures were dirty and neglected, as was the rest of the house. In truth the whole place seemed more like a tomb to a past age than a place people lived in, with the pictures and other trophies of the past masters of the house were all dirty and decaying as far as Karl could see.
At last they were shown through a door into large room that appeared to be a library, it being full of old dusty books. At the back of the room was a great fireplace in which a small amount of wood burned. Over it was another picture of a short but powerfully built man in hunting dress. At a desk in front of the fireplace sat the man himself.
The years had not been kind to Gerhard Von Galt, his muscles had for the most part turned to flab and he had developed a pot belly. His hair fell to his shoulder and had grayed and thinned and his eyes appeared piggish. He was dressed in a faded suit of clothes that looked to be as old as everything else in the house.
He scowled at them as they bowed and Werner made their introductions and presented the paper. Von Galt took it and squinted at it as he silently mouthed the words as he read them. Finally, he thrust the paper back at Werner with a disgusted grunt.
"Ha, my daughter gets herself killed and what does the 'Lord High Justice' do? He sends for a bleeding monk and a peasant oaf! High Justice, ha! He's those mad Leitdorf's little stooge and nothing more!" He snarled out in a raspy voice.
Werner refused to lose his temper. "The Lord High Justice is a servant of the city and province and he has requested I lend my aid to bringing her killers to justice. Now, if I may, I have a few questions to ask."
Von Galt grunted. "I don't need an investigation to know who killed my daughter. It was either those lunatic Leitdorfs or those blasted Alptraums!"
"You believe her murder to be connected to the contest for the position of Elector Count then?"
"Of course it was you fool! Why else? Gods above man, you're even more of a fool than that idiot Rohm! Get out! I have more important things to do than listen to your blathering!" So saying her turned back to writing and steadfastly ignored them.
Obviously deciding that they would get no more from the man Werner and Karl rose and left the room. As the old butler led them back the way they had come the man seemed to be considering something. At last, just as they reached the front door, he seemed to come to a decision.
"Sir, I was wondering if I might have a word."
"Of course my good man," Werner said, smiling encouragingly; "What is on your mind?"
"First sir, I wanted to apologize for the master's conduct. The years have not been kind to him and it has soured his disposition. The second thing regards the young mistress. Of late she had taken to going out on walks by herself. Last week as I was looking for Hector, I saw her getting into a carriage down the street. I did not see who was inside, it was too far away, but I did see the coat of arms as whoever was inside opened the door for her. It was the Stokers' crest."
Author's Notes: Well another chapter down. What did you all think? This is my first mystery so let me know if I am doing alright. In case you did not know this world has two moons and the Leitdorf family is in charge of administering the capital of the province. Till next time please keep praying for Shawn and persecuted Christians everywhere and all who need it. Especially the American pastor Saeed Abedini who was sentenced in Iran to eight years in prison. See you all later and may Jesus bless you all.