A/N: Shout outs to my anonymous reviewer and James Birdsong! Glad you liked the last chapter. Some answers now. :)
Chapter 28
Fiyero walked back into the room where they had been holding Farhidi. His arm had been bandaged but he didn't bother to change out of his bloody undershirt. The mill owner's eyes went wide.
"What happened?" Farhidi wanted to know from his seat.
"Candy was kidnapped and then shot by your buddies. Worse still, one of my Corporals was shot as well. No more dancing around. If either one of them dies, you'll take the fall along with those men we captured today. Now tell me what I want to know and maybe, just maybe, I'll let you see Candy again, before you go to jail," Fiyero gave him a look before taking a seat across the table from his witness. Finally, the man's shoulders fell and he heaved a big sigh.
"I was approached by a guy, while at the brothel, who told me that he knew I was cheating on my wife with Candy. Said he knew that I could have brought my family from Gillikin to the city, but then my secret with Candy would be ruined," Farhidi started.
"So, some random guy approaches you and tells you all this and you believe him? I have to be honest; I think your wife knows what's going on. Ten years and she hasn't come to join you?" Fiyero gave the man a look.
"The whole reason the rest of the family didn't come with me was because my parents and her parents were not in good physical shape. I came here to make more money than I was making at home to help cover medical expenses. My wife and the children had their hands full, but they were getting help from cousins. I was trying to make sure that ten people were being fed, taken care of, and kept a roof over their heads. When I became the official flour supplier to the Palace, the money went up, but our problems didn't get less. Finally, about three years ago, my wife's parents passed; my parents had been gone for two years before that," the man explained.
"Ok, so it's still been three years…" Fiyero raised an eyebrow.
"I told them that I needed some time to get a bigger house. That worked for only a little while and then the upheaval with the Wizard hit and it bought me more time. I've been running out of time and this guy starts telling me he knows all about my situation. Then he tells me that if I thought my wife finding out about Candy was going to be bad, what was going to happen when he told them that I hadn't purchased a new home because I'd been giving money to Candy?" Farhidi asked the rhetorical question.
"So, what was his offer? How was attempting to kill Lady Glinda a fair trade?" Fiyero demanded.
"He promised me enough money to buy that new house and that he wouldn't tell my wife about Candy," Farhidi said.
"How was he going to reach out to your wife anyway? How does he know where you lived?" Fiyero asked.
"He showed me one of her handkerchiefs. It even smelled like her. That's when he told me I didn't have a choice. I either did what he told me or I didn't and the last thing my wife and children would see would be the sword that chopped off their heads," the mill owner told him.
"He went from a nice offer to threatening you in one sitting?" The Prince wasn't so sure how true that story was.
"I told him that I'd think about his first offer. The next day he came back and his tone was completely different," Farhidi explained. Fiyero mulled over his story. It was quite possible that whoever was threatening the mill owner had been tracking his family, but what was the likelihood that they got a fresh hanky in one day? What if Farhidi's family was in the custody of these men? It may already be too late for them. Lieutenant Zetti along with Sergeants Zeki and Duncan were busy speaking to the captured kidnappers. He needed to speak to them.
"So why couldn't you tell me this earlier?" The Captain wanted to know.
"I didn't know what to do. I was hoping you'd release me or I could keep my mouth shut and just say I did it on my own. I figured it would be safer to not say anything about those guys. Then they'd leave my family alone," Farhidi said. Fiyero heaved a sigh and stood up.
"Hold tight. I have some questions for our kidnappers," the Prince said and left the room. Outside in the hallway, he was met by Corporal Norris. He was supposed to be relieving Corporal Patz.
"We need an artist. I want Farhidi to give a description of this guy who approached him at the brothel," he told the Corporal.
"I can see what I can do sir. Lady Glinda and Lieutenant want an update," Norris said.
"When I'm done, I'll give them an update. Get Bock to cover for poor Patz here and then take care of getting that artist," Fiyero told him.
"Yes, sir," Norris nodded before taking off down the hall.
"Thanks for your work today, Patz. I know guard duty isn't the most exciting assignment," the Prince said as he turned to the Corporal.
"Sometimes no excitement is a good thing sir," Patz smiled. Fiyero chuckled,
"You are right about that one."
To Be Continued…