"You knew him personally, sir?” said Ana.
“I did,” said Kardas. “But only somewhat. He was rather new to my
section.”
“But you had met him before.”
Kardas slowly furrowed his brow. “I… Well. Yes? Why?”
“Had the rest of your delegation met him?”
“Yes. Again—why?”
“I beg your pardon, sir, but if I might ask… Do you have an engraver on
staff here? One who might have also met Sujedo?”
Kardas glanced at Signum Gorthaus. “I do. Why?”
“I am simply testing a theory about his disappearance,” said Ana. “If it is
true, then we can cut to it, and save your valuable time, sir.”
The prificto extended a hand to his signum. “Gorthaus, I believe you
served with Sujedo some six years ago—correct?”
The young signum bowed in her seat. “Correct, sir.”
“Then, if you would kindly oblige?”
She shot to her feet. “Certainly, sir.”
“Excellent,” said Ana, grinning. “Another engraver makes this much
easier. Now. Please summon a memory of how tall Sujedo was, Signum.”
Gorthaus blinked uncertainly, then did so, eyes fluttering. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Now…hold out your hand to show exactly how tall the man was.”
Again, Gorthaus blinked but did as Ana asked, holding out her hand as if
touching an invisible man on the crown of his head. “That tall, ma’am.”
Kardas’s eyebrows had now arched so high they were halfway up his
brow, but he stayed quiet.
“Din here has been to the Treasury bank today and spoken to the
Treasury engraver there,” explained Ana, gesturing to me. “He asked him to
display how tall Sujedo had been when he visited the bank. Now, Din—
please show them the height Signum Tufwa indicated.”
I stood and approached Gorthaus’s outstretched hand, feeling slightly
ridiculous. My eyes fluttered as I summoned the memory, and I pointed on
my shoulder to where Tufwa had touched; yet the spot I touched was a full
four smallspan lower than the height Gorthaus was now indicating.
“Is there a difference in height, Din?” Ana asked.
“Ah…yes, ma’am,” I said. “Tufwa indicated the man was four smallspan
shorter.”
“I see,” said Ana softly. “How fascinating.”
“I don’t understand,” said Kardas. He anxiously bit the tip of his thumb,
then asked, “Are…are you suggesting that Sujedo was shorter that day at the
bank?”
“Allow me to test further,” said Ana. “Tell me, sir—was Sujedo an
attentive man? Quick to notice things about people, and ask questions?”
The prificto now looked bewildered. “Ah…no, I would not say that of
him, Immunis.”
“And yet,” said Ana, “the Apoth guard who accompanied him reported
that Sujedo was clever, charming, and noticed several details about him that
ordinary people would have missed. Does that sound like him, sir?”
“N-no. No, that does not sound like him.”
“I see,” said Ana. She was now oozing smug satisfaction. “Well, then, sir
—what would you say is your assessment of all these reports of Sujedo? The
height of the man, and his strange behavior?”
Kardas turned this over. “I would say everyone has made some mistake,”
he said finally, “and been looking at the wrong person entirely!”
Ana’s grin widened. “Exactly. Exactly! I would say the same thing myself.
In which case, the conclusion is obvious.”
There was a beat of silence.
“To me,” muttered Malo, “the conclusion is not obvious at all…”
“I’m afraid I agree,” said Kardas.
“Well, we are now faced with two impossible proposals,” said Ana.
“Signum Malo—you say it was impossible for someone to be stolen out of a
locked room in the top of a tower, then moved across the city and the jungle
and the canals without anyone noticing. Yes?”
“I do,” said Malo.
“And you, Prificto,” said Ana, “you say now that it is impossible for all
these witnesses to have seen the man you know to be Sujedo, correct, sir?”
“I… suppose,” said Kardas.
“Then one can only conclude,” she said, “that Sujedo was not stolen out
of that room and spirited away to the jungle—because he was never in it to
begin with. Because the man who arrived in this city claiming to be Sujedo,
and indeed moved into his rooms and slept in his bed, was someone else—a
complete and utter impostor.”
- A Drop of Corruption, Chapter 10 pgs. 84-86
