A day and a half later at dusk, Panthonia was in a small room in the Internal Affairs Division of the Security Bureau. In front of him were the investigator assigned by his superiors and an assistant.
"According to this report," the investigator said, "you infiltrated the Queen's District several times within a month, using information from Polunius, eventually locating Salvaney's hideout, and led this raid."
"Yes," Panthonia, sitting across the table, replied.
"But before organizing such a major operation, you didn't report to your superiors."
"Because I believed it was a rare opportunity. Salvaney could easily hide elsewhere. Since we publicly issued a warrant for him, he almost never stayed in the same place for more than two weeks. I considered the layout of that house and the surrounding conditions before making this decision."
"So, you thought it would be a safe operation," the investigator's assistant said.
"No." Panthonia looked at him. "I considered the success rate of the operation."
"So, you didn't consider the possibility of significant casualties on our side? Seven people went, four were killed, including your partner Dennisen," the assistant said.
"It seems you are deliberately misleading this conversation. If you've already decided that I made mistakes in some aspects, please say so directly, because I thought we were discussing the validity of this operation. The final result proved it was valid, and even if I had reported it, we wouldn't have gotten enough manpower to ensure safety, as the superiors had expressed doubts about the intelligence from Polunius."
The assistant wanted to say more, but the investigator raised his hand to stop him. "He absolutely has no intention of misleading." The investigator flipped through the documents in his hand. "However, we do have many other things to discuss. Personally, I'd like to simply congratulate you on your achievement... but I have my job to do. So, I hope you can cooperate a bit more."
"I understand."
"We need to backtrack a bit... A month and a half ago, you and Dennisen were in charge of security at a celebration banquet, where you shot dead an assassin attempting to cause harm and captured a person who had poisoned the venue. According to your and Dennisen's report at the time, the poisoner resisted violently during interrogation, so you had to execute him on the spot, which prevented you from finding out his motive."
"Yes. The investigation on that matter is still ongoing. Since one of the victims was engaged in legal lending activities, the initial assumption is that it was a revenge act hired by a debtor. I believe that if this inquiry ends sooner, I can return to that case earlier."
"We lost one person in that incident. And you yourself were injured. For a debtor to hire such skilled assassins... isn't that too reckless?"
"I was just speculating."
"Can you completely rule out that these assassins were connected to Salvaney?"
"I can't. It can be assumed that the assassins came from the Queen's District, or at least had to contact people from there. It's not easy to do these things without Salvaney knowing. He controls almost everything."
"Alright... since you say so. Yes, that's not the focus here." The investigator lowered his head and pressed his eyebrows. "I want to discuss another matter, Mr. Panthonia. At the scene, specifically in Salvaney's bedroom, there was a strange corpse. The entire head was almost completely shattered, so I believe it wasn't your doing. Can you tell me what happened?"
"Salvaney killed him. At that time, I was hiding outside the balcony and saw Salvaney arguing with this person, which then escalated into a physical conflict. This was unexpected..."
"Wait, wait. So, you didn't know the deceased."
"No."
"I see. Please continue."
"I didn't know his identity and had no intention of dealing with two people at once. So, I had to wait. Fortunately, Salvaney killed him quickly, and I used that moment to signal Dennisen to bring the team in through the first floor."
"This person had a knife. Honestly, it wasn't an ordinary knife... I had a hard time even lifting it with both hands. According to the mission report, all of Salvaney's men were downstairs gambling, leaving their boss alone upstairs with someone wielding such a dangerous weapon."
"That's right."
"That's quite unusual."
"Maybe it was an unexpected event for them as well."
"What do you think? Hearing what Mr. Shawl has said," the investigator turned to his assistant.
"My opinion doesn't matter," the assistant said, still looking at Panthonia. "If I had to say, I'd guess it's a gang internal conflict. Every year, at least a hundred and fifty unsolved murders can be explained this way."
"An unexpected person disrupting the raid. I really wish you could have captured him alive," the investigator said.
"If it were possible, I would have."
"This might surprise you, but I have some ideas about this mysterious person's background, Mr. Shawl." The investigator sat up slightly, adjusting his glasses. "His back was covered in tattoos. I mean, almost completely covered with colorful patterns, all the way to his waist. In the center of these patterns, I found the old crest of the Kingdom of Alterac."
"Really?" Panthonia said. "Then he wasn't a local."
"Did you find any identifying marks on the bodies of the two perpetrators in the poisoning incident?"
"No."
"I really wish I could have seen them myself. Unfortunately, they've already been burned."
"Unless under special circumstances, a criminal's body is not kept for more than seven days."
"I know, I know. We seem to have strayed too far, Mr. Panthonia. Let's get back to the main point. According to your and another witness's report, the late Investigator Dennisen was the first to chase the fleeing Salvaney. After receiving some basic first aid, you followed. This part of the report, I think, is not detailed enough. I hope you can recount it more fully for me."
"I caught up about two minutes later, climbing up to the rooftop. Although my left eye was injured, I could barely make out their positions. I chased in that direction, and during this, they fell through a decayed roof into another empty house. I reached the spot, jumped down, and found Salvaney pinning Dennisen to the ground with his left hand, while his right hand had a short knife stuck in Dennisen's neck. Dennisen's gun was on the ground behind Salvaney. I picked up the gun and shot Salvaney twice, killing him. By then, Dennisen was already dead."
"Did he manage to say anything to you?"
"He couldn't say anything. I'm very sorry."
"I figured as much. So, here's the issue... you said Salvaney killed Dennisen with a short knife. But at the scene, we didn't find such an item."
"After Dennisen died, I thought leaving the knife in his body was an insult, so I pulled it out and threw it out the window. I was very angry at the time and didn't think keeping the weapon would help us."
"Threw it out. So, we might find it near the house?"
"Heaven knows," the assistant said. "In that street, there are five or six scavengers wandering around every day. Not to mention the local thugs. If there was a knife dropped nearby, it's been almost two days, it's probably long gone."
The investigator didn't speak for a while. He took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.
"So," he said, "in one night, you witnessed Salvaney commit two murders. One victim is unidentified, and the other was your partner, Investigator Dennisen. The first time, for the sake of the operation, you let the murder happen. The second time, you tried to stop it, but failed."
"One could say that."
"Can you speculate on why Dennisen chose to chase Salvaney alone?"
"Firstly, we couldn't let Salvaney escape. Secondly, Dennisen thought my injury made me unfit to continue. Of course, the first reason was the most crucial."
"Do you think Dennisen's death could have been avoided?"
"Absolutely. This circles back to the previous question, Investigator. We could have avoided all casualties at the cost of letting Salvaney continue his crimes. Far more than four of our colleagues have died by his hands, not to mention his other crimes. We had to stop him. I believe they will rest in peace."
"Of course," the investigator said. "The higher-ups have decided to posthumously award Investigator Dennisen a medal, arrange the most dignified funeral, and exceptionally provide a pension to his fiancée. Poor girl. Do you want to meet her? After all... you were the last person to see Dennisen. Maybe it breaks some ethical rules, but you could try to fabricate a few 'last words' from Dennisen to comfort her..."
"I don't think that's appropriate."
"You're right. What a bad idea. So, that's all that needs to be clarified. Thank you very much for your cooperation."
The investigator closed the file and pressed it with his elbow.
"Mr. Panthonia Shawl," he said, "you might not know, but my brother, who also worked for the Security Bureau, died in a raid on one of Salvaney's strongholds. I approved his action plan. After his death, I requested a transfer to the Internal Affairs Department. Though I wished to avenge him personally, I knew I wasn't capable. Your success is very heartening to me. So, let me formally congratulate you on completing this extremely dangerous and significant mission."
Panthonia nodded at him.
"Now, I have one last question for you. This is unrelated to the investigation."
"Please go ahead."
"Can I completely trust you?"
The investigator's gaze was calm, but there was a barely detectable warmth and sadness.
"In work, you can trust me completely, just like any other member of the Security Bureau."
"That's enough. I appreciate your answer." The investigator stood up, walked around the desk, and headed for the door. The assistant stared at Panthonia for a while longer, then packed up and followed. "Oh, right." Before opening the door, the investigator spoke behind Panthonia. "Do you have any friends at the Second National University? Or are you investigating another case?"
Panthonia recalled that day. He had gone to the school intending to question Polonius's daughter but was sidetracked by other matters. He didn't remember telling anyone about the trip, and he and Dennisen had agreed to keep the self-sufficient woman a secret from everyone.
"Did you see me there?"
"No, I didn't. A janitor reported it, describing your appearance. He thought you looked suspicious..."
"I did visit, but it was unrelated to the Salvaney case."
"That's fine. I'm quite nagging, bothering you with such a trivial matter. I'm sure you have more important things to consider. Goodbye. Feel free to rest here a bit longer if you wish."
The investigator and his assistant left, closing the door.
Panthonia took some time to reflect on the conversation. The investigator had identified the gaps in his story but seemed to have no intention of pursuing them further. This wasn't entirely unexpected, but it was strange that the investigator asked why Dennisen chased Salvaney alone. I wasn't the only one under suspicion.
He now realized that, to outsiders, the most suspicious thing might not be Dennisen's death but the unidentified corpse in Salvaney's room. A man who loved to show off died flaunting his strength and vanity, with revealing tattoos on his back. For Internal Affairs, tracing this back to Ravenhold wouldn't take long.
But he couldn't take effective remedial measures. Someone was already watching him. People around him used the need to heal as an excuse to restrict his movement. The most notable information from the conversation was that the higher-ups had decided to provide a pension to that woman. This meant more people were aware of her.
No way to act.
He began to consider his mistakes. The fault was not in killing Dennisen. He should have thought more before and after the act. Unconsciously, he placed his right hand on the table. The sunlight streamed in through the narrow window bars, like a pale yellow snake; it leapt forward and bit his wrist.