Surveying the room, Elyon directed Emma and Rita. "Miss Emma, could you check the walls for any hidden doors or signs of damage? Rita, you'll be responsible for recording the questions I ask."
Rita pulled out her shorthand notebook, and Emma began examining the walls.
"What time did you part ways with Ruby last night, and where did you go afterward?"
The two men stood at the doorway, with the more astute of the two answering, "After you... educated us yesterday, we left around 6 p.m. Ruby told us to go home and not to bother you. Of course, we wouldn't dare to bother you. We just went home."
"Good, so you didn't continue to cause trouble. Has Ruby offended anyone recently, or encountered any strange individuals?"
"No, we all got along well in our construction crew, and the foreman often treated us to meals. The only strange encounter was when we were heading home from work one day, some folks were handing out little bottles of beer and had us fill out a form with our names, relationships, home addresses, and the like."
It wasn't the agency this time, Elyon mused. "When did this happen, and can you remember what the people giving out beer looked like?"
"End of last month, I think. Don't quite remember their faces, just that there were three of them—two men and a woman. The woman seemed to be in charge, telling one to hand out the beer and the other to collect forms."
"Any other distinguishing features?"
"Oh, they were all wearing crimson robes with hoods. The woman in charge had a letter 'k' embroidered on her clothing."
"Anything else? Think carefully."
It was then the other man, who had been silent, spoke up. "The woman's pocket watch looked expensive, like a custom model."
"Don't give the officer irrelevant information; that'll just confuse him."
"No, that's important. How did you know it was a custom pocket watch?"
The man scratched his head as he explained, "I noticed her pocket watch chain was made of gold, so I took a closer look. The outside of the watch was engraved with delicate patterns—like the shield on the back of a franc coin, with designs carved into the raised part. I wanted to see it better, but the woman tucked it away quickly."
Elyon had a good idea of what he meant and smiled appreciatively. "That's very helpful; now I have a general scope for the murderer of your colleague. You've been a big help. Did Ruby have any other family or friends? Who will handle the funeral arrangements? And how should I thank you for your assistance?"
Both men waved off any thanks. "Just catch the killer quickly, that's all we ask. As for Ruby's family, he's been an orphan since he was a kid, no other relatives or friends. If you finish the investigation, just send us a letter; we've left our address at the station. We'll take care of the rest. If there's nothing else, we'll be going now."
Elyon gestured a farewell and handed them a shilling, "Take this for the ride back, and get yourself something to eat."
Gratefully accepting the note, the men hurriedly thanked Elyon and left. Elyon then called for the landlord and pointed to the room. "We'll send someone to clean up this afternoon. You can arrange to have the door fixed tomorrow."
The landlord nodded eagerly, then, with a fawning expression, addressed Rita, "Miss reporter, could you avoid mentioning my address directly in the paper? It would make my life very difficult."
Dressed in a worn suit and clutching a polished ledger, the landlord almost seemed impoverished if not for the large set of keys Elyon had seen. Elyon teased, "Even if your monthly income drops from fifty to forty pounds, that wouldn't affect your lifestyle."
The landlord protested, "It's not that much, only around twenty pounds. And with this unlucky incident, this room will be hard to rent out. There are also those who owe rent; I only evict them after a couple of days of non-payment. They call me a miser, not realizing how hard it is to find cheaper rooms in Gonia."
Ignoring the landlord's complaints, Elyon propped up the broken door, securing it back into place with a loud thud.
Back at the precinct, Elyon, Emma, and Rita carried fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. The fried fish, though a bit fishy, was crispy and spicy with chili powder—Elyon found it passable, while Emma devoured hers voraciously.
"You've never had commoner's food before?"
"I'm just hungry, what do you know."
Dropping the debate, Elyon let it be; after all, she had paid for lunch.
After the meal, Rita lingered, and Elyon eyed her and extended his hand. "Miss Rita, do you still have the statement you wrote?"
"Right here. You said you have a potential lead, tell me about it." Rita handed over a sheet, scrawled with the interview process. Elyon pitied Bell, who would have to file this messy handwriting.
"I still don't have a clue from the letters; 'enr' doesn't give us much to go on. But today's questioning gave me some direction."
"How did you figure it out?" Rita inquired.
"First, the size of the 'k' organization. It's at least three people, but definitely not large. Any sizable organization would have records at the Special Actions Division, and 'k' hasn't attracted much attention, judging by only Emma being sent to us."
"I find that a bit offensive, but go on," Emma said, not taking offense at Elyon's words.
"Second, the 'k' organization isn't short on money. Buying agency data and collecting information costs money, but 'k' isn't just challenging us over money. It's not the main factor."
"You got that right. Go on."
"Thirdly, there must be nobility involved with 'k.' The construction worker recognized a family crest on a pocket watch, similar to the shield on a franc coin, which represents the Kerlonge Region. Such crests are usually exclusive to hereditary nobility. Newly wealthy nobles wouldn't have them, but this noble isn't from a grand house. Otherwise, they wouldn't need to personally collect information at the agency; they could have accessed it through city hall. Grand nobles, regardless of their parents' approval, generally wouldn't stoop to supporting a secret society."
"That sounds plausible," Rita noted quickly.
"So, combining all the information, 'k' is likely led by an unmarried female noble, at the helm of a small, novel secret society. They're probably planning an activity at the port while publicly carrying out murders to distract the police and Special Actions Division. This female noble should come from a family with over 200 years of heritage, possibly a baron or knight's household. They're financially stable but not exceedingly wealthy; otherwise, she wouldn't need to be personally involved. With this, I believe narrowing the search to nobles within a day's travel from Aegisburg will leave us with only twenty to thirty potential candidates."