Turi and the ring of Valar Belain (Thranduil fanfic)

Chapter 7

Turi was sitting opposite Coamenel in one of the meeting rooms at the palace. A number of objects were laid out on the wooden table between them. They were clues, some more important and worrisome than others. But all potentially meaningful to unveiling exactly what had taken place.

As they looked at the evidence laid out before them, Turi sighed. 'This can't be right. I'm really scared by what this suggests.' She looked up at the commander in chief for a reaction, but he looked like he'd gone into deep processing mode. Or maybe he was just listening to some imaginary music in his head whilst waiting for her to draw the conclusions.

She sighed again, scratching her head. Actually she was way past scared. They had found a new clue, and therewith an actual suspect. But this couldn't be right. Turi was terrified.

To the contrary of some of her past cases, clues were abounding here. She'd been told that the most straightforward explanation is often the one that is right, but she felt alarmed by what that might come to mean in this case.

Turi's mind was hovering uselessly from one object to the other, trying to connect the dots and come up with some other explanation than the most obvious one, which was also the most disturbing.

She inhaled, then ran through them again in the hope that this round would generate some useful feedback from her superior.

Turi pointed at clue number 1: Drannor's folded sleeping tunic. 'This seems to imply the trader wasn't planning on disappearing.'

Coamenel returned to the living and let out a shallow laugh. 'Yes, he wasn't planning on getting murdered.' Turi just looked at him for a moment, then proceeded.

'Clue number 2: some strands of black hair and dried leaves on a brush in the room.' Before she could continue, Coamenel interjected. 'Dear Turi, as I've told you before,' he looked at her with a look bordering on endearment 'though I've never personally met Drannor, I have heard that he was a vain elf who wore all kinds of garish tunics.'

'Though this is some fine cloth' he added pensively, fingering the fabric of the sleeping tunic. Thinking it takes one to know one, Turi patiently waited for the commander to make his point.

'Clearly' Coamenel smiled 'he was using this brush to take out the leaves and ensure the condition of his hair.'

Now it was Turi's turn to smile. 'It's not this brush that's the problem, commander' she said, hastily adding 'in chief' as Coamenel frowned at her. 'It's the question of why the trader asked for a brush downstairs' she pointed out the engraved Greenwood Inn on its handle 'when he already had his own brush and comb in his bag?'

Moving on from the silence that followed, Turi crossed her arms and said 'clue 3: why was the body moved to the central hall?' The commander nodded, as if agreeing to some unspoken point.

Turi fixed him with a stare and waited, but no riposte was forthcoming. 'Why there? How is this place significant?'

Coamenel shrugged. 'Maybe because it is seldom visited? Maybe to get away from the scene of the crime?' Turi nodded. 'But why risk being seen and log a body all the way there?' A search of the surroundings had turned up nothing.

This was so frustrating. It felt like answers were not forthcoming on some vital points, whereas the rest all added up to some big bad news that no one wanted to hear.

'Clue number 4 then: the trader has been dead longer than he has disappeared for.' Turi looked up at Coamenel to see him shaking his head. She had to admit she was unsure about this fact, and that it sure seemed impossible. But it was a forensic clue they couldn't just dismiss. Though clearly, her superior did seem to think they should do just that.

Unable to mount a defence that made any sort of sense, Turi moved on to clue 5. This was the most disturbing clue the investigation had turned up, and the reason she'd called this meeting.

There was a suspect's name in the trader's little notebook that had been found in his room. The last entry, circled in black ink, read:

Meeting with Thranduil, elven king, at táranar – hour of the high sun.

It bore yesterday's date. Turi was scared. What was this connection with Thranduil? And why hadn't he mentioned this to her? Surely, this was a vital piece of information for the investigation. According to this, Thranduil was the last elf to see the victim alive.

'He is not involved in this' Turi said with as straight a face as she could manage. 'If you say so, I believe you' the commander in chief replied.

'Thanks. Now I guess we still have to ask him?' She squinted as if feeling some imaginary pain. Coamenel nodded and broke into a smile.

Payback time.

The commander in chief suddenly got up, thereby announcing the end of the meeting. As Turi hastily collected her physical clues, her superior already stood waiting by the door.

Coamenel wrung his hands. He was clearly anxious to question the king.

Now, the tables had turned.