Fear suddenly gripped Arjan's heart in a vise. They'd just been speaking of evil influences, black magic, and now the Abbot was dead. How long had it been? It felt like it was only moments since he'd fallen asleep, but at the windows pale lines of dawnlight could be seen at the gaps in the shutters. Morning, then, but still very early.
"Was it a natural death?"
"Brother Tashiin didn't seem to know. Apparently the Abbot was found in the monastery courtyard; he went off his tower, with or without help."
"Has he closed off the monastery to prevent anyone from leaving?"
"Already done. It was the first thing I thought of."
"All right, then. Let me get dressed so I can speak to Brother Tashiin. A hot cup of tea to clear my head would be nice, too."
"Consider it done, boss."
Colce slipped out of the room, and Arjan quickly went about the business of waking up and readying himself for a new day. He chose to again put on his formal robes; if Tashiin was coming to him this early concerning the Abbot's death, then it was very likely his official capacity was relevant and it would be good to show a visual reminder of that. Particularly, he thought, as I have no official standing here, even though I am the highest-ranked church official surviving.
When he was ready, he pulled back the curtain between rooms. Tashiin stood there, shivering with barely-suppressed tension.
"Thank Heaven, Your Grace. For a moment, I feared..."
"Let's put that aside. What do you need from me?"
"On behalf of Azaana Monastery, Your Grace, I humbly request that you take charge of the investigation into Abbot Kozil's death."
Arjan understood it no more than he had when Colce had said it.
"Why?" he asked. "Although the Abbot's death is tragic, the rules of monastic authority would provide that the Prior would assume control until a new Abbot is appointed by the hierarchy. Nor can I believe that an orderly, well-run monastery lacks the basic facilities for administering justice."
Tashiin shuffled his feet, a gesture that seemed very unmonklike; in Arjan's experience the training of the white-clothed orders made for a very composed set of people.
"As to that, Your Grace, the senior Prior, Maavik, is over one hundred and ill in mind and body; his rank is an honor to his age and past service rather than any mark of genuine power. As steward, I am next in the chain of authority, and while I feel confident in fulfilling my administrative duties on an interim basis, I readily admit that I am out of my depth in investigating a case of unnatural death."
"Unnatural? Do you suspect it was murder, rather than an accident?"
Tashiin nodded.
"Yes, Your Grace. The windows of the Abbot's bedchamber are far too small for anyone but a child or a professional contortionist to pass through easily and are impossible to fall from. The only place he where he could have accidentally fallen is the observatory tower, and not only is there a railing, but there was no reason for him to be on that tower in the first place!"
Arjan nodded.
"We discussed the observatory at dinner, and His Reverence did mention that the weather made it impossible for him to make his usual stellar records." Tashiin's suspicions seemed to have a sound basis.
"It was a stroke of good fortune that a famous investigator should be staying with us the very night of such a tragedy. It must be, Your Grace, that Heaven has guided you here to assist us. You have experience in solving crimes of this sort, and you also are an outsider, free of local feelings and prejudices. If you would take charge of investigating this matter, it would be a great favor to me personally and to the monastery as a whole."
What could Arjan say against that? It was true that he had dealt with several criminal cases including five murders during his time as Prelate of Vassha, though if he was being called a "famous investigator" rumors were spreading all out of proportion to the truth. And he had been the Abbot's guest; there was a duty there as well as that required by justice. Although he wished for nothing more than to return home, it did not seem reasonable for him to turn aside.
"Very well, Brother Tashiin; I accept your request. You will have to formally name me as a Vicar of Azaana, though, to legalize my authority." A vicar was a priest named to stand in the rank of authority of another in the hierarchy. "Bureaucracy is, at times, as much the Church's master as is Heaven."
"Yes, Your Grace; I'll have the papers drawn up at once. And...thank you. Thank you very much."
Arjan shook his head.
"We all have a duty, Brother Tashiin. Now, Colce said that the body was found in the courtyard? Take us there at once."
Tashiin looked puzzled.
"To the courtyard, Your Grace, or to the body?"
"I thought they were together."
"No, Your Grace. The body was taken to the infirmary at once. Our infirmarian is a trained physician and will serve as coroner."
Arjan sighed.
"In cases of suspicious death, it's important not to touch anything until the investigators have had a chance to examine the scene for trace evidence."
"I'm sorry."
"No; it's a lesson I only know from dealing with police matters as a Prelate."
Tashiin smiled thinly.
"It goes to show, though, why it was a good idea to enlist your aid."
Perhaps he had a point, Arjan considered. There was value in experience.
Colce reentered the room with a young man who carried a tea-tray. Arjan immediately poured and gulped a hot cup; the kej was fresh-made but obviously from leftover leaves as the bitterness revealed. It did its job, though, helping to clear his mind of the last wisps of sleep.
"All right, then. First we'll go to the courtyard and see where the body was found. Have the witnesses brought so Colce and I can question them. After that we'll talk to your infirmarian, and you can draw up the vicarage papers while we're doing that. If the monastery had someone who is formally assigned the responsibility of investigating crimes, have him or her sent to me as well; they can serve as police-warden. Colce is my lieutenant in this investigation; he acts on my authority, so make it known that he has this power."
"Very well, Your Grace."
He gave several quick orders to the other monk, then took them down to the dormitory's first floor. He went along the same hallways as led to and from the Abbot's tower, but stopped along the way and opened a door in the left-hand wall. A rush of cold air greeted them as they looked out into the steel-gray morning. The snow had stopped at last, though the turbulent clouds overhead were still dark and threatening. A solid two feet of snow had fallen during the night; monks and lay workers alike were busy shoveling it into baskets which were in turn handed off to be carried away, presumably to be dumped outside. The solid U-shape of the dormitory buildings and the front wall guided the wind, and had led to drifts up against the wall where Arjan's group had emerged. The builders had clearly understood this natural tendency, because the door was at the top of a short but steep flight of stairs designed to keep snow buildup from blocking its opening.
"He was found over there," Tashiin said, pointing to his right.
They descended to a shoveled-out path, which was fortunate as they hadn't had time to put on overboots. The snow was over three feet deep up against the wall, and the drifts were broken up by the tracks of many feet. Still, although it was badly disturbed, Arjan could see the spot where the Abbot's body had been found. It had penetrated deeply into the snow, and there were no traces of blood. Arjan looked up at the tower rearing above them, thinking that even with a cushion of soft snow a fall could easily be fatal.
Another monk approached, one whom the Prelate did not recognize.
"Are you the one who found the body?"
"Yes, Your Grace. My name is Veyn."
"Very well, Brother Veyn. How did you come to discover the Abbot's death?"
"Each morning after a snowfall, there is one monk assigned to examine the courtyard and to arrange an appropriate work detail based on the severity of the storm. I was given that task last evening, so when I awoke just before dawn I came out here to determine the extent of the snowfall and what kind of job it would be to clear it."
He spoke in a formal, dispassionate, almost mechanical tone. Although many monastics did use that sort of voice with Church superiors, and although Veyn was middle-aged rather than a young man and so could be expected to have encountered death before, it still seemed wrong somehow. A man who found the corpse of his spiritual and temporal leader after violent death ought to show more emotion, or so Arjan thought.
"When I looked this way I saw that the snow had been disturbed," Veyn continued. "I walked over from the door there"--he pointed across the courtyard to a door near the male dormitory--"and when I got here I realized that it was a body. I recognized the Abbot's face at once."
"His face? He was lying on his back?"
"Yes, Your Grace. I went at once for help, summoning guards, Brother Tashiin, and Sister Melis."
"Our infirmarian, Your Grace," Tashiin interjected, correctly deducing Arjan's next question.
"Thank you. Go on, Brother Veyn."
"Sister Melis verified that there was nothing we could do, so the guards and I dug Abbot Kozil's body out and took it to the infirmary morgue." He hung his head and sighed. "It is a tragic case, Your Grace. Abbot Kozil was a wise and learned man, a veteran of many battles against evil even before he joined the Church. His death will be felt deeply by all of us who served under him."
The simple statement was clearly heartfelt, and hearing it gave Arjan a better understanding of Veyn's emotions. A controlled man, but not an unfeeling one--simply a person who did not let emotion interfere with duty, perhaps even used that duty to help work through shock.
"Will there be anything else, Your Grace?"
"I have a few questions," Arjan stated. "Was the Abbot's body partly snow-covered?"
Veyn shook his head.
"Only where the snow had crumbled in from around him on impact, Your Grace. There hadn't been any snowfall on top of the body, if that is what you mean."
"It was. Can any of you tell me what time the snow stopped?"
"The monks who were on nightwatch could," Tashiin suggested.
"Thank you. Colce, please go check on that, and as long as you have to wake them up, you might as well ask them the usual questions, if they saw or heard anything, and so on."
"I'm on it, boss." Colce left at once, and Arjan turned back to the witness.
"When you crossed the courtyard, Brother Veyn, did you see any marks or tracks?"
"No, Your Grace. Other than where the Abbot had fallen, the snow remained undisturbed."
Arjan wanted to ask if Veyn knew of any enemies of the Abbot, but now was not the time, not with Tashiin there as well. Some topics did not flourish in a group discussion, he had learned.
"That will be all for now, Brother Veyn."
"Yes, Your Grace." He bowed his head and left.
"Now, for the infirmary."