Chapter Eighteen: House Merrill
…
Navi gladly changed her mind about leaving down the fire escape, fully aware of the implications of both of them exiting the brothel in plain view of the street. If any other Watch officers were present, it would most certainly be reported; the Watch had standing orders that officers caught soliciting sex workers were to be reported for either demotion with a disciplinary reassignment or termination. Public figures soliciting sex workers was a crime which had devastated the Watch's integrity and standing with the city's population ten years prior due to associations with corrupted officers and officials. She wished she had known Link would be chasing his contact into a brothel so she could warn Link not to go near it. To their fortune, it appeared that no other Watch officers had seen them.
Link led her back to Stable Road on a route that was less chaotic than their chase. Navi found herself pondering over what Layla had said and wondered if she was right about the murder being a part of a House feud. It had been a long time since she had even heard of noble houses feuding, and she had not been a member of the Watch long enough to actually witness one. What she recalled from some of the more senior officers was that a House feud could become quite deadly. A single slight could escalate into fights over properties and businesses. And when those properties and businesses run by commoners came under violent attack, the cycle of retaliation could result in members of a House's staff mysteriously falling ill or even being murdered in the streets. The worst part was the only way to stop such a thing, it seemed, was the eventual intervention of the Watch or even the Royal Family. If it was the Watch, the court would be busy sorting out the mess for years before deciding both sides needed to have their participating members incarcerated, all depending on which actions could be pinned to which members. However, the intervention of the Royal Family meant much more; a House caught in a feud, whether they started it or not, would have their titles and lands stripped. In the years just following the establishment of Hyrulia, the Royal Family had been known to execute the heads of the feuding Houses, sometimes even the rest of their family. It made Navi pray even more that this was not a feud.
Meanwhile, Link's opinion of the situation had not changed much. If there was a connection with another house, then they had a list of suspects. It was much more than the alley at the crime scene had revealed. Layla's remarks about House Merrill being one of the decent nobles made him think back to House Brettson and how sorry he would feel if it had been Lord Reba's son or daughter-in-law that had been murdered (though he had to admit that empathy for Edward might be lacking). It made him wonder even more about Lord Marcus Merrill and his House, whether it was one of the smaller ones that just flew under the Guild's notice or if it might have been big enough that they could afford to be so decent. He thought back to the crime scene, remembering that Yoanna Merrill had been looking directly at her killer. He wondered how, if it had been part of a House feud, the killer had been able to find and target her. She must have had a routine, something he would have to ask about once they reached the main estate of House Merrill.
It was still before noon when the two returned to their carriage. Constable White, having grown bored after half an hour of waiting, had pulled out a deck of cards and was playing a solitaire when they walked up nearly an hour later.
"Constable," Navi spoke up from beside the driver's seat.
"Yipe!" White cried with a jolt. She looked over her shoulder. "Y-yes, Detective Sergeant?"
"We're moving on," Navi said. "We need to get to House Merrill as soon as possible."
White started picking up her cards, giving a brief comment under her breath about losing anyway. "Yes, ma'am."
"How was lunch?" Link asked.
"Not bad," White replied.
Link raised an eyebrow. "'Not bad'? That's all you got?"
White finished placing the cards back in a box and stashed it near her feet. "Well, what was the name of the place you wanted me to find?"
"Jeb's."
White shook her head. "Sorry, that place smelled like something died in it."
Link shrugged and said, "Well, it is a butcher shop on top of a restaurant…"
"The 'butcher shop' part wasn't something I could get over." White dug into a pocket and pulled out a blue and two green Rupees. "Here's your change."
Navi had pulled out her notebook and found a page. "Constable, our next stop is Ninety-Sixth South and Silver Armos Road," she told White while White dropped the Rupees to Link.
"The Adages," White said with what seemed to be a mournful sigh. Then she took the reins into her hands. "This'll be a long day…"
"It gets longer when you complain, Constable," Navi said as she moved to enter the carriage.
"Least you got a lunch out of it," Link said just before following Navi inside.
"Lucky me…" White groaned.
Once inside, Link knocked on the sliding panel. This prompted White to snap the reins, starting the pair of horses. Link staggered from the motion and quickly sat down.
Navi sighed and began removing her jacket. "This is not how I was expecting my day to go…" she said to herself.
"Well, I'm havin' fun," Link said, slipping his arms free of his uniform jacket.
"That doesn't surprise me," Navi said. "Was it really necessary to chase that girl Layla down?"
"I did ask if I could take my jacket off," Link said as he shoved said jacket into one corner of the seat. "I was hoping she'd just take us a few blocks away to talk. I mean, c'mon, do you really think the Guild would discuss something in full view of others?"
"I didn't expect there to be a 'Thieves' Guild' in Hyrulia in the first place."
Link shrugged. "Well, there is."
"Do you believe her? The things she told us?"
"She has less to hide about the nobles than the nobles do. You think we can believe anything the nobles tell us?"
"Considering the amount of business a noble seems to deem private, I suppose they would be the ones to not tell us of their affairs. I especially don't expect Lord Marcus to admit to being in a House feud with another. Any noble who wishes to keep their House would rather sit on that."
"I wouldn't expect it, either. But I do have a few questions."
"Such as?"
Link pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "We're going to the Adages. What was Yoanna Merrill doing so far from home? And without a carriage or a servant?"
"I don't think it would be so unusual for a noblewoman to be out and about alone. She might have just wanted to walk around."
"Maybe somewhere closer to her home; I'd believe that. Out in the middle of the dense business area of the district, though? I think it's questionable."
"If she had a routine, then it would certainly be easy for a gunman to target her. I have my doubts, but I am starting to believe that this was not a random shooting. The question is: will we have suspects?" She watched Link put on a smart grin. "What's that for?"
"In case you hadn't noticed, Detective Sergeant, it's my first day with Homicide. And we're investigating a murder conspiracy."
Navi groaned and, after planting her left elbow on an armrest, pressed her face into her hand. "You're unbelievable…" With that, their discussion ended for the ride to the Adages.
The Adages, an area on the southeast edge of the district, received its moniker from the noble houses that occupied the area due to each one having their family's motto, often some pretentious or long-winded saying, displayed in large letters somewhere on the gate of each residence. It was often said among the commoners living nearby that one could gain a lifetime full of lessons on a few walks through the area (provided that person was able to read). The roads in this area, paved only as far as the nobles needed to reach their homes, extended beyond the demarcated area for Hyrulia's city limits and into Hyrule Field as far as Zora's River. Technically, half of the region was not supposed to be built upon since the Zoras had asked for a buffer between Hyrulia and the wider areas of the river. Link could imagine most of these nobles whistling their pretend ignorance while their workers built the houses and divided the lands. Not that the Zoras had been in much mind to complain, having long abandoned the stretch of the river nearby as pollution from the Factory District slowly found its way up-river. Land in this area was popular for the neighbors (for those definitions of "neighbor" involving a deep-seated disgust for anything and everything that person did, rational or not), and no estate was ever left empty for long. Each property was divided from others with a short brick wall topped by a metal fence. And each property was large enough that one could not throw a rock at the other's house and expect to make inside their own home before getting caught. In addition to mansions two or three floors high, many estates sported additional luxuries: stables, coach houses, servants' barracks, detached kitchens, small fields for farming and grazing, and even a few small factories.
The Merrill estate sat on an extension of one of the city streets, making it relatively easy to find. Compared to other estates in the area, House Merrill had claimed a small parcel. The front gate was wrought iron with swirl and wavy patterns up to the top third of the arch. The top third of the arch bore in the negative space between its bars the words "Too often, where we need water, we find guns". Constable White explained their presence to a gatekeeper on the other side, and the gatekeeper opened the latticed gate to admit the police carriage onto the grounds.
The carriage approached a two-story house painted in sky blue that almost appeared white under the noon sun. In spite of expectations, the curtains had been drawn to block the windows. White directed the horses around the raised flower garden occupying the middle of the estate's circular driveway and stopped at the front door for Link and Navi to exit.
The front door opened as they stepped out of the carriage, and Navi recognized the custodian from the crime scene. She had changed her clothing since returning; she now wore a black dress under her apron, the collar laced tight against her throat. She appeared to be in her late thirties, although the tears she had clearly tried wiping away before opening the door aged her almost a whole decade.
"Welcome to House Merrill, Detective Sergeant," she greeted with a cracked voice. "I have informed Lord Marcus of your delayed arrival. As you might imagine, he is rather distraught. He is currently waiting in the parlor."
"Thank you, miss," Navi replied.
The custodian beckoned them with a hand holding a handkerchief. "This way, please."
The custodian took them through a circular entry hall with a large staircase against the far side from the main door. Link and Navi very quickly understood what kind of wealth they would be witnessing. White marble floors and intricately-carved handrails on the stairs were almost a standard for noble homes. Having a gilded chandelier bearing candles and glass crystals to spread light from the dome skylights overhead was an amazing luxury in a day when the average noble house preferred electric lights.
The parlor was through a wide doorway to the right. The marble floors were covered with a pair of rugs: one of yellow and orange concentric squares directly in front of a massive bay window (through which only part of the early noon sun was able to get through with the curtains drawn shut) while one of faded purple occupied space at the back of the room. In front of the window were two sets of wrought-iron tea tables. At the back was an antique desk surrounded by bookshelves.
One of the tea tables was occupied by two people. One of them rose as the two Watch officers entered. The man wore a brilliant blue waistcoat and breeches of fine wool. This was somewhat unusual since he should have also been wearing a matching long coat to cover up the sleeves of his white undershirt. His head was completely bald, but his face sported a short-trimmed full beard of black hair. Seated next to him was a woman with her long, blond hair splayed across her shoulders. She wore a blue bodice with an embroidered lattice-like pattern which gave the impression of fish scales. Both of their faces were scarlet, the woman holding a handkerchief to cover her eyes.
"Master, these are the Homicide detectives," the custodian said.
Marcus Merrill's response was a delayed nod, giving the impression that he was still trying to grasp the reality of the situation. "Th-thank you, Miss Bisset," he said with a broken voice. The custodian nodded and left the room through a door behind the desk in back. Lord Merrill placed a hand over his mouth as he contemplated Link and Navi. Then he said, "I assume you two will be overseeing my daughter's… my daughter's investigation."
"Yes, Lord Merrill," Navi replied with a level, practiced tone. "I am Detective Sergeant Navi of the Watch, and this is my subordinate, Constable Fieldview."
"My Lord," Link said with a slight nod of greeting.
Lord Merrill held up a hand. "I'm in no mood to stand on formality," he told them. "My name is Marcus. This is my wife, Claire."
Navi bowed her head and said, "Please accept our condolences."
"We appreciate it," Lord Merrill replied. "Miss Bisset informed us that you were delayed in arriving here while you pursued a lead. Have you discovered anything?"
"I'm afraid not, Mister Marcus," Navi said. "Our lead was mostly a… coincidence."
"Are we to believe that this was an accident?" Claire Merrill asked, the bitterness in her tone accented by the black smears around her eyes.
"Considering the place where the incident occurred, it would be the prevailing situation," Navi admitted. "That area of the East District has been host to such incidents. However, observation of the area has yielded evidence that… your daughter's death may have been deliberate."
Link had never seen people's faces transition from grief to shock so fast. It still took a moment before Lord Merrill asked, "You mean… our daughter was murdered?"
"Our current suspicion is that she may have been specifically targeted by a professional shooter," Navi replied.
"That… that…" Claire Merrill stuttered before falling silent. Marcus Merrill could only shake his head.
Navi took in a deep breath to steel herself. "I… understand that this may be an inappropriate time, and I sympathize with your shock," she said. "But, in these circumstances, there are questions that we have to ask. If you feel that you would prefer to answer at a different time, we can return later."
"I don't know what would be a better time, Detective Sergeant," Marcus Merrill said. "I would rather find my daughter's killer as soon as possible. What questions do you have?"
"Well, we know that there is a history of in-fighting between noble houses around Hyrulia," Navi said. "Is there… someone who has expressed grievances or hostility toward you or your House?"
Marcus Merrill shook his head. "No, Detective Sergeant."
"Anyone attempting to sabotage your property or business?"
"No, Detective Sergeant. As extravagant as you might find our home, this House has been little more than a textile manufacturer for the past few decades." He turned and gestured toward a portrait over the nearby fireplace. The portrait was a man who looked like he could have been Marcus Merrill in the next twenty years: face full of wrinkles, beard gray and growing past his chest, and a full head of white hair (assuming Marcus was not naturally bald). "My grandfather devised a cheaper, more efficient method of machine-weaving certain types of cloth. From there, we've developed a line of practical clothing which is quite robust. Our business has brought in a decent fortune, and we are largely unmatched in similar industries. Our clothing has very little appeal to the nobility, so the common folk have been our greatest consumers. I can think of no noble House that would wish to sabotage our business or hurt our family."
"I assume your business will be inherited upon your passing," Navi said.
"That is correct."
"Who would be inheriting it?"
Lord Merrill heaved a sigh. "If my daughter Yoanna was willing, she would have taken over along with the position as head of the House. However, now that she's dead, that inheritance will fall to my son Cirilo."
"Do you… perhaps feel it necessary that we talk to your son?" Navi asked.
"He's upstairs taking a nap," Claire Merrill spoke up, her tone still bitter. When Navi and Link looked at her in confusion. "He is only five years old."
"Yoanna and Cirilo are our only children," Marcus Merrill said.
"I apologize," Navi told them. "You might be surprised by some of the actions siblings take to gain their parents' property, but I have clearly errored in this case."
"I am not blind to the radical nature of nobility," Marcus Merrill said. "However, I have little tolerance of such things within this House, and, like my father before me, I have kept civil relations with other Houses so that my family will not adopt their ill deeds."
"Do you know if someone has expressed ill will toward your daughter?"
Both parents shook their heads. "Yoanna has always been the soft-spoken type," Claire Merrill said after allowing the scowl on her face to relax. "She would rather avoid conflict. She's quite studious and very intelligent."
"I had spent the last few years slowly introducing her to the finances of our business," Marcus Merrill added. "I felt she would have been successful if she accepted the role."
"So, she was at home often?" Navi asked.
"Perhaps more than other girls her age," Claire Merrill replied. "But she did have a group of friends that she met at the Academy. Very like-minded lot. We've hosted them a few times." She placed a hand over her mouth. "Dear… she was supposed to meet with them the day after tomorrow…"
Navi heaved a sigh. "I appreciate that you have no apparent rivalries," she told them. "Unfortunately, we cannot draw any leads from this."
"I honestly wish I knew who would do this, Detective Sergeant," Marcus Merrill said. "This has been an incredible shock."
"If there is anything you happen to remember, you can leave a message for us at the Watch headquarters," Navi told him.
"Detective Sergeant?" Link spoke up. This prompted all three of the room's occupants to look at him, suddenly aware that he was still standing beside Navi. "Mind if I ask a few questions?"
"What is it?" Navi asked, confused by the formal tone he was using.
"Well, young Miss Merrill was killed in the middle of a busy area of the East District far from home," Link said. "I was just curious as to why she was there."
Marcus Merrill's brow furrowed with confusion. "Why was she…?"
At the same time, Claire Merrill spoke up, "She was there for a hair appointment."
"A hair appointment?" Navi asked her.
Lady Merrill nodded. "Yes, she likes to have her hair dressed by Madame Blue," she explained. "Whenever she feels the need to have her hair dressed, she always goes to Madame Blue's salon on Eighty-Seventh North. She's done that since she was five."
"And you said it was an appointment?" Link asked.
Lady Merrill nodded again. "Yes, she made an appointment last week. She and her friends were going to meet for dinner at a restaurant in the Central District; I've forgotten the name."
"Does she usually go alone?" Link asked.
"Sometimes," Claire Merrill said. "It can be a little irritating having a servant loitering nearby while your hair is being styled. She usually calls up from the grocer next door when she is ready to be retrieved."
"Why didn't she take a carriage to the salon?" Link asked.
"Have you ever tried to ride a carriage through the business area of the East District, Constable? She tried it once and never again. Besides, she preferred to pick up a pastry on the way; the carriage deposits her at a bakery a few blocks from where the traffic thickens."
"How frequent are these appointments?"
Lady Merrill had to pause for a moment to think. "Perhaps… once… twice a month at the most."
"Does she keep a schedule?"
"She has a regular calendar she keeps track of. I don't know about having a schedule, but that's about as close as I can think."
"Does anyone else know about this calendar?"
"Yes. Myself and Miss Bisset mostly. Perhaps some of the other staff when she requires something of them."
"Wait, wait," Marcus Merrill spoke up, his tone sounding heated. "Are you suggesting that someone in this House might have arranged to kill her?"
"There isn't enough information to suggest that," Link said. "It might be just as likely that she had someone stalking her and slowly learned her routine. Either way, I think it's reasonable to assume that the killer might have known both her schedule and her routine."
"You believe someone may have been stalking our daughter?" Claire Merrill asked.
"If she had a regular routine, it is possible," Link said. "It appears now that the killer knew that she would be especially vulnerable today and planned accordingly. And, if it was someone outside the House, they might have needed to break in in order to find her schedule."
Navi, hair having slowly turned to green as Link spoke, decided to ask the Merrills, "Have you had any break-ins? Any robberies or unexplained events in the home?"
The couple exchanged looks. "No, nothing comes to mind," Marcus Merrill said. "But… perhaps we should speak to our staff. If she was being stalked, someone might have noticed."
"Please do, Mister Marcus," Navi replied. "In the meantime, would it be possible for us to see a copy of this calendar?"
"I will have Miss Bisset create a copy for you," Lord Merrill said. "We will deliver it to the Watch headquarters tomorrow. Is there anything else that you require?"
"Can you think of anything, Constable?" Navi asked. Link shook his head. "Not at this time, Mister Marcus. However, we may have further questions pending our findings."
Lord Merrill nodded as someone entered the room. "We appreciate your response to this situation, Detective Sergeant," he said. "If there is anything else you require, please inform us at once."
"Excuse me, Master." The four glanced over to see that the custodian, Miss Bisset, had returned. She bore in her arms what appeared to be black bundles of cloth. "I do not wish to intrude, but, considering our circumstances…"
Claire Merrill gave a high-pitched hiccup and turned to hide her face. Marcus Merrill took in a steady breath. "Please do so at once, Miss Bisset," he told her. "After that, we have more work to do. We will need the staff assembled, and we will require you to copy Yoanna's calendar for the officers' inspection."
"Yes, Master," Miss Bisset said before hustling out of the parlor.
"If you will excuse us, Mister Merrill," Navi said.
"Yes, of course," Marcus Merrill said. "Please inform us if you've found anything."
"Of course," Navi replied with a slight bow. Then she told Link, "Let's go."
Navi and Link saw themselves to the front door and exited the home. As they stepped down from the porch, Link glanced aside to see that Miss Bisset was hanging one of the black bundles onto the support column to the left of the door, where a bar had been conveniently placed so that such a cloth could be draped with ease. The two Watch officers waited until they stood beside the carriage before turning to observe that the bundle was little more than a rectangular cloth with no design.
"What's that about?" Link asked in a low voice.
"It's a mourning banner," White said from her seat on the carriage, gathering her cards up again. "It's to let visitors know that the family is in mourning for a lost loved one. Deters people who aren't invited."
"Are you saying you never saw that kind of thing in Subordo?" Navi asked.
"Subordo's small enough, you'd know someone died and just waited for the family to talk to someone first," Link said. "I think they hung lanterns in other parts of Ordon. Kinda weird things; the lamps burned cuprous chloride so the flames were clearly blue."
"Oh," White replied with an intrigued tone.
"Fieldview," Navi said as she turned to him. "I'm surprised by your behavior. Not only did you keep your comments to yourself, but you were actually quite ready to share alternatives to ease the Lord and Lady's concerns."
"Been in the Watch for over two years," Link pointed out. "I think I picked up on the diplomacy. It doesn't do any good to make them think someone in the House is the only possibility, although searching for a stalker isn't really something I'd look forward to."
Navi narrowed her eyes. "But you believe that someone inside the House might be responsible," she concluded.
"It would be a reasonable assumption, but not conclusive," Link said. "If it was someone in the House, we don't want to make it look like we suspect them. It's easier to offer alternatives while we try to investigate the staff in a… roundabout way."
"Wow," White commented. "Sounds like this case is getting a little intense."
"We should be going," Navi said. "We could use some time to make sure we've got our notes in order."
"Sounds good," Link said as Navi moved to climb into the carriage. "Constable White, the corner of Eighty-Fifth North and Sparrow Way, if you please."
"Huh?" Navi uttered as she paused in the doorway. She leaned back out to look at him. "We need to get back to headquarters. Why do you want to go there?"
"I'm a constable who's been on the move all day," Link said. "I'm hungry."