~Chapter 16- Interrogating the clueless~

"What're you talking about? I would never do anything like that!"

"We caught you last night trying to abduct that woman. We caught you in the act."

"I don't remember any of that!" The bulky man replied frantically. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked scared.

Deporah stood outside the cell, holding the large man that Schwartz had apprehended. They had detained him in the basement of the Kingsguard barracks, where they had numerous cells for short-term imprisonment. He'd be moved to a more permanent cell after being questioned.

"Why did you do it? Did you kidnap the others?" Aingr asked sternly.

"I didn't kidnap anyone! I don't even know how I got here!"

Deporah only grew more frustrated with each answer. Aingr and Schwartz continued to press the man, but he kept pleading innocence... There was no trace of dishonesty in him. It was as if he believed what he was saying.

After bringing him in, they were able to identify him as Wright. A blacksmith who was able to maintain work through the depression. Aingr made sure to have his home thoroughly searched so nothing was missed, like with Urba's case. But they found nothing. No record of any previous crimes either. When they questioned neighbors, no one had an unkind word to say. He seemed to be an astute hard worker.

Aingr and Schwartz left with no more information than they had before. They left a few soldiers to watch his cell and stepped away with Deporah.

"He'll crack, we just need to keep pressuring him!" Aingr declared, "We may have to just change our approach. We still need to know what happened to those other missing individuals."

"If I didn't catch him in the act, I might actually believe him. He's very convincing," Schwartz added, "Either way, we wouldn't have been able to do it without you, Deporah."

"I'm glad I could help," Deporah replied while looking at the two of them. But her eyes lingered on Schwartz for a moment. He seemed... different somehow. She couldn't quite pick out why. Until she looked into his eyes.

"Were... Were your eyes always that color?"

Schwartz scrunched up his brow, "What do you mean?"

"They're like an amber color. I thought they were brown."

"They are brown," Schwartz defended.

Aingr got a good look at Schwartz as well, "...She's right! They are amber!"

Schwartz looked between the two, unsheathed his sword, and stared at the metal of it for a reflection. He squinted hard at it before finally saying, "...They do look different..."

"Do you feel well?"

"I'm fine." Schwartz answered confidently. But then his mood soured. "But there was this moment last night. Wright grabbed me and-"

"The King is here!" A soldier shouted from down the hall.

Without another word, Aingr and Schwartz immediately stood at attention in preparation for the King. Deporah was no soldier and wouldn't do the same. She simply stepped to the side and looked down the corridor for him.

King Whedon came into view; His blonde hair was neatly trimmed, and his royal garbs and crown made his status apparent. His sharp grey eyes were focused. Close behind him was the aged Commander Ein and a few other soldiers.

As Ein reached them, he said, "At ease, men."

"Yes sir!" Aingr and Schwartz replied in unison.

"Where is the man responsible for these missing people?" Whedon asked pointedly. He didn't seem to want to waste any time. He didn't even acknowledge Deporah when he saw her.

"In that cell over there."

"I'd like to speak with him," Whedon declared.

"I'll accompany you," Ein said.

As Ein passed Aingr, he muttered, "You just couldn't leave it alone, could you?"

The King and Commander Ein entered the cell as Deporah and the others watched from just outside. They asked the same questions which led to the same clueless answers.

"Who was the man who captured you?" Whedon asked callously. He seemed like such a kind man before; the last decade had truly changed him.

"I don't know... That man said he was the one," Wright replied, pointing to Schwartz just outside the cell.

Whedon glanced back at Schwartz, staring for a surprisingly long time before turning his attention back to the prisoner.

The King left the cell once he seemed satisfied.

"Execute him." King Whedon said simply to Aingr.

Deporah was taken aback by this, as were the others. Even Commander Ein seemed startled.

"My King, are you sure?" Ein asked.

"Yes. I believe he acted alone, and he is clearly the culprit. Unfortunately, those who have gone missing are most likely dead. We can't help them. We'll destroy this monster and be done with it."

"Sir, don't you think that's a bit rash? Remember the case with Deporah's mother all those years ago? We rushed to finish that case, and we executed an innocent woman," Ein rationalized.

Whedon glanced at Deporah, and there was the briefest pang of guilt in his eyes. But he managed to push that guilt away. "This is different. This man was caught in the act of trying to abduct that woman."

"Sir, if I may," Aingr said, trying to get a word in. The King scowled at him, but he continued regardless, "We'd like to investigate a little bit more. Just to be safe."

"Very well. Do your final investigations so we can finish this case," Whedon replied.

As the King went to leave, he stopped and looked at Schwartz. He simply stared at him inquisitively. But he said nothing.

"My King? Is everything okay?" Schwartz nervously darted his eyes from side to side.

King Whedon stared for a moment before saying, "Yes. Everything's fine. Thank you for stopping that monster."

With that, the King and Commander left them be.

Deporah leaned against the corridor's walls, "Whedon seems so callous now."

"He hasn't been the same since his father died..." Schwartz replied.

"That's no excuse. He's worthless as a king," Aingr said. He turned to Deporah and placed a hand on her shoulder, "In any case, thank you for your help. I'll make sure your grandmother gets the best help in the city."

"Thank you," Deporah replied. But her thoughts were on the King. He was unreasonably quick to try and dismiss this case. Was he up to something?

She needed to get closer to him.

"Would you mind if I went to see Norton in the castle?" Deporah requested.

"What- what for?"

"I've been busy helping with your investigation, I haven't spent much time with him. Would you mind?"

Schwartz raised his hand with a smile, "I'll escort you personally, if that's fine with Aingr."

"Go ahead. You can take a break after that, Schwartz. You had a long night."

"Gotcha mate," Schwartz said with an overly exaggerated salute.

As they traveled to the castle, Deporah thought about how she'd get close to the King. Perhaps, Norton could help. She needed to figure out why Whedon was behaving so strangely.

Schwartz had other thoughts in mind.

"So, how long have you and Norton been seeing each other?"

"What do you mean?"

"Aren't you two together?"

"No, we're not," Deporah said flatly.

"That's a shame. Norton would be lucky to have a girl like you," Schwartz added.

Deporah remained quiet. That wasn't a topic she wanted to talk about. At least, not now.

"You know, you'd be queen one day if you two got married?" Schwartz teased.

Deporah laughed, "Stop! We're friends!"

"I know. But the boy likes you. Having someone like you as Queen would help fix our city. It'd certainly be better than the way things are now."