A/N: The following is a piece of unofficial fan fiction. Taking place on Scadriel in Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere, it is set after Era 1 and before Era 2, but before the passing of the Allomantic Agreement of '94 (which I have assumed is 194). I do not own any of Brandon Sanderson's worlds, characters, universes, environments, and/or stories nor do I claim to ever attempt to do so.
Otherwise, enjoy fellow world hopper.
Chapter 1
Etienne walked into the store and was met with a mess of glass, shredded art pieces, and a small pool of blood. The glass near the door crunched under his boots. Jek's Art Emporium was a well-known establishment for its contemporary art. Old Jek sold pieces painted in a wide variety but seemed to focus on art depicting landscapes of Elendel and the Basin. The store was sectioned off for other not-so-popular pieces ranging from Survivorist pieces to theoretical ones of the world before the Catacendre.
Etienne tapped a finger against his dueling cane, which was strapped into his belt, as he was walked through by a constable. As an Inspector, he ranked higher than the other constables who walked about sketching references for later and taking witness statements from customers and clerks.
Etienne stopped in front of a piece that dangled off-center. Art never truly interested Etienne – his father teaching him to appreciate food and books over décor – but he knew how important it was to some. The piece in front of him was a painting of the Field of Rebirth, full of Marewill flowers. Their blue-white petals were full and so realistic, he thought he could smell them. Yes, despite not being interested in art, it was hard not to appreciate the intent of the artist. Etienne delicately leveled the painting on its display before catching up to the constable he had been following.
Old Jek was not exactly old. Though his face was wrinkled and beginning to sag, he was only forty-three years old – only a decade more than Etienne. It was more his attitude that gained him the title of Old. Old Jek waved away one of the constables who was trying to question him as he saw Etienne approach.
"Ah, Inspector Lekal," Old Jek said, "Finally, someone capable that will listen properly. Not unlike these rusting lazy oafs who ask me the same questions over and over."
Etienne smiled, pushing out a small pad of paper and pencil. He reached out to the other constable near Jek and was given his pad full of notes already.
Alright, Etienne thought, already covered the time, description of the thieves, and... 'This man is crazy. Recommend he close down and move in with his mother.'
Etienne glanced up at the constable with a raised eyebrow who blushed in response. Etienne glanced back at Old Jek with a friendly smile on his face.
"Alright, Jek," Etienne said, "Let's see if I got all the facts straight before I ask you my boring questions. Sound good to you?"
Old Jek nodded happily. "I know you'll find whoever did this Inspector. Just like how you helped my friend Vicen a couple of weeks back when his grocery was broken into."
Etienne bowed his head in thanks. "We will do our best. The Sixth Octant has a reputation to uphold after all. Now, approximately one hour ago, the store was robbed. One was already inside and two came in through said window. They held you all at cane-point, stole some paintings from around the store, loaded them into a carriage, smacked one customer across the head, and were off. Does that sound correct so far?"
Old Jek nodded eagerly and motioned for him to continue. Etienne made a few notes of his own. "Those three men were wearing regular, everyday coats, grey. All were bald, with no facial hair. Similar skin complexion. You or anyone else notice any scars?"
"None," Old Jek said, "No scars on their faces. Were the only things that weren't covered up."
"So, they were wearing gloves then?" Etienne asked, writing down Jek's words. Jek nodded.
"Did any of the clerks or customers talk to the one who was inside already?" Etienne asked.
"I spoke with him in the Survivorist section," Jek said, "Asked him if any pieces were to his liking and whatnot. Said he was only looking then went into the other sections before coming out with his cane raised a little while later."
"Do you keep a guard in the store at all, Jek?"
"No, never needed one. But after today... Rusting ruffians refusing to pay for my art."
Etienne tapped his pencil to his pad. "You didn't recognize any of the burglars at all, did you? No one you may have met before or seen?"
Old Jek shook his head. "Not that I can remember."
"What about the art? Do you know which pieces they stole?"
"Sure," Old Jek said, "They took pieces made by three famous painters. Two Salomes, three Goyettes, and a Junod. They're the best sellers I carry. Very rare. Difficult to get them."
Etienne made a few more notes, asking for any corrections to the spelling of the artist names, and glanced around the store once more. He finally saw the woman who had been hit over the head. Medics had arrived before him, and they were carrying her out on a stretcher. She was speaking, which sent a small sliver of relief through him. At least this wasn't becoming a murder investigation.
"Do you mind if I have a look around?" Etienne asked Old Jek, "I want to see if I or my fellow constables are missing anything."
Old Jek gestured to the store. "By all means. And if you want to buy something, I would appreciate it. It's going to take a bit of money to get a new customized window."
Etienne thanked Old Jek and moved to the first section of the store. As Old Jek said, there were no other sections hit. Only the main room of the store was missing paintings. Etienne walked through all the other sections and found nothing of interest. The last section, however, held the door to the storage rooms.
He tested the doorknob and, surprisingly, found it unlocked. The room beyond was dark, save for a window against the far wall letting in light from an alley. Etienne took a nearby candle off its holder and held it aloft as he walked in. There was very little dust in the room, but a store such as Jek's would never allow dust to settle on expensive products.
He found a small desk near one of the shelves and lit the candles sitting there. With more light, Etienne found that the entire room was, in fact, full of art. With a sigh of frustration, he walked closer to the canvases, careful to keep the flame from them. A few of the pieces looked as if they were pulled out slightly more than the others and several others had their sheets thrown from them.
Each frame held a tag with the name of the artist. Etienne compared the exposed tags to the list of stolen pieces he had gotten from Jek. None of them were the same.
So, they came in here looking for the pieces? But why those specifically? Moving back to the door, he checked the doorknob and found several gouges in the metal.
That's why it was unlocked. I'll have to ask Jek about this. Etienne turned and found another door in the back of the room between two shelves. This one was locked. He could cross out insider help in the thefts at least. Not wanting to allow anyone to sneak in during the investigation, he took the chair from the desk and shoved it under the doorknob as an extra precaution.
Blowing out the candles, Etienne walked back into the main room to Jek speaking to his clerks, assuring them they would be paid for the rest of the day. The constables scoffed at this, and some muttered something about overtime and no extra pay.
Etienne waited for Jek to finish his speech and gestured him over. "I checked your backroom, it was unlocked."
Jek's eyes grew wide. "What! Unlocked? How?"
"Based on the markings on the doorknob," Etienne said, "I would say our friend went through the inventory before coming back out. Several of the pieces had their clothes moved aside. It doesn't look like any were taken, though, based on your statements and the back door being locked still."
Jek let out a puff of relief and looked back to his clerks. "Any ideas so far, Inspector?"
Etienne shook his head. "I could not tell you at this time. We need our investigation to run entirely before we can say anything. I have a few more questions for you if you don't mind."
Jek raised his hands. "Do I look like I have time to do anything else?" Etienne gave him a placating smile, pulling out his pencil and pad.
"Several of the pieces, as you said, were very hard to come by," Etienne said, "Do you know of anyone who came in before asking about them?"
Jek shook his head. "No one specifically, but they may know more." He gestured to the clerks. At that moment, Etienne felt something off as he looked at the group of concerned clerks. They were discussing among themselves and were shifting nervously away from the blood stains on the floor and counter.
"I'll have the other constables ask if they haven't already," Etienne said, "Last question I have for you..." He felt the same sensation again, stopping his words. Etienne looked around and purposely dropped his pencil.
"Everything okay, Inspector?" Old Jek asked as Etienne knelt to grab his pencil. The feeling stayed, and Etienne had forgotten his question. He grabbed the pencil from the soft carpet and stood up straight, allowing a tinge of red of embarrassment to spread across his face.
"A little weak in the hand, shouldn't have skipped lunch," Etienne said as he corrected his notes and began to burn Bronze.
There it was—a familiar pushing of someone burning metal. And based on the feeling he was getting before burning bronze, they were trying to Soothe him. He reached for his service bottle and took a swig of water. He glanced over to the clerks but with everyone moving around him, he could not locate who it was.
Old Jek patted him on the shoulder. "Once you hit thirty, it all goes downhill, Inspector. It's not good for a working man to skip meals." The drumming pull continued a bit stronger now. He felt his mind begin to think of how much he'd like to leave and find the culprits rather than stay in the store.
"You can say that again," Etienne said with a forced smile, "Anyway-"
A loud neigh interrupted him and echoed from the street into the store. What now? A brown horse skidded on the cobblestone outside, and a woman hopped from its saddle wearing a constable's uniform.
The woman walked through the broken window and right up to Etienne and Jek. Etienne pressed his hand to his nose. The markings on her sleeve put her at the same rank as Etienne. She saluted him with a serious expression. Etienne also noticed the pull of the Soother had backed off.
"Inspector Ninon Monet, reporting for duty, Inspector Etienne," she said with a smile. Etienne sighed.
"At ease, Inspector Monet," Etienne said, "You don't need to salute me. We are partners after all."
Ninon smiled and put her hands behind her back before returning her face to a serious one.
"Just because we are partners doesn't mean I can't show respect to my senior."
"Are you calling me old?" Etienne asked.
"I am not calling you young, that's for sure," Ninon said, her face impassive. Jek looked between them.
"Uhm, am I missing something?" Jek asked.
"Mister Jek, this is Inspector Minot, my partner," Etienne said, "And while she may look serious, and sound like a goof, she's the best investigator I have worked with. Please show her the same respect you show me."
Jek eyed Ninon a bit more before turning back to Etienne. "What were you about to say, Inspector before your... partner interrupted."
Etienne cleared his throat, "Jek, would you be able to continue this talk back at the precinct? It would be helpful to the investigation."
Old Jek narrowed his eyes. "Are you detaining me, Inspector?"
Etienne blinked. "What? No. I figure an environment other than your store being in pieces would help us and you."
"Sorry, Inspector, but no. I will not leave my store unprotected. I have already sent for my brother who is bringing some muscle to help guard the place overnight."
"Very well, will you be here tomorrow? I would like to continue our conversation and find these thieves as quickly as possible. I'll even have some constables on standby along with your guards."
Old Jek scratched his saggy chin and nodded in agreement. "I'll be here at the normal opening times. The schedule is on the door. Just make sure your constables are aware the guards my brother brings are in charge."
Etienne nodded, put away his pad and pencil, put out his bronze, and dragged Nonin to a separate section of the store.
"What in Harmony's name are you doing?" Etienne asked in a whisper, "Your first day as an Inspector and you come sliding in on a rusting horse? And you're late as well."
"Oh, don't be that way, Etienne," Ninon said just as quietly, "It was fun. You gotta learn to relax just a little bit. After all, it was thanks to your recommendation I finally got out of that pit of typists. I am only just appreciating the level of freedom that you gave me. Besides, I had to do the paperwork. You know how time-consuming all that is."
Etienne sighed. "Fine. But no more showing off like that. You are one of the few lucky women to be promoted in the constabulary. We can't have you dying."
She shrugged with a mischievous smile. That smile was short-lived as Ninon saw something in his expression and she went back to being serious.
"What is it?" she asked.
"There is a soother in the other room," Etienne said, "And I don't know who it is."
"Aren't you supposed to be able to find them instantly?"
"It doesn't work that way. I am not a Mistborn, nor do I advertise my abilities to allow me to practice them enough while working. The number of people moving around makes it a bit difficult as well."
"Want me to smoke them out then?" she asked.
"That would help, but whoever it was stopped as soon as you sauntered in. Jek was just as surprised as I was, but I did not catch the reactions of the clerks."
"Maybe Jek is the Soother. It's been going around shopkeepers are metalborn or hiring metalborn to help their sales. You think it's one of the clerks, don't you?"
"Both are possibilities, but I think it's wise not to alert him or his Soother. Best to let them think we didn't notice anything." Etienne said. He crossed his arms and tried to think of a way to get Jek down to the precinct away from whoever was soothing the store.
"Since he already refused to come to the precinct, we can assume he doesn't want to leave his Soother's side," she said. Etienne glanced at her.
"Let's smoke him out," she said, "the old-fashioned way."
"I don't think he will respond to interrogation," Etienne said.
"Not that way," Ninon said, "We set a trap."
Etienne thought about it and then smiled. Ninon responded with one of her own. It wasn't a bad idea. And from what he had seen from her before, Ninon was very good at setting a trap. Etienne motioned out of the section back into the main room.
They moved from the section back into the main room. Etienne burned bronze and couldn't feel the drumming pull or the familiar sensation of soothing from earlier. He walked up to Jek and the clerks with Ninon in tow.
"Jek, I have conferred with my partner, and we will need some extra time to go through the information we and the rest of the constables have gathered. We will be here tomorrow if we find anything."
Jek shook Etienne's hand but refused to shake Ninons. "Thank you, Inspector. I hope we will speak together very soon." Ninon smiled at Jek and turned to follow Etienne out the door.
Etienne and Ninon went to gather their horses. The sun had gone down a bit, giving way to a clear afternoon sky. Ninon's horse had wandered down the street, and she ran off, telling Etienne to wait for her. As he mounted up, Etienne spoke to the sergeant in charge. He recommended he keep three men overnight just in case. Etienne also told him of Jek's men coming.
Etienne turned his horse to start down the street as Ninon's moved beside him.
"Race you there?" she asked.
"Not on your life," Etienne said, clicking his tongue to move his horse forward. Ninon gave a small pout as they rode towards the Sixth Octant precinct.