The man stepped out of the shadows silently. He had waited a long time for the room to empty. He had watched people come and go, observed as they searched both the room and the body, listened as they discussed the details of the crime. Most of it would not be useful.
The murderer had not left many clues. The Librarian had been knifed from the back, his throat slit. But only a shallow cut. The poison did all the work. The assassin wanted something. Information probably. But any answers died with the Librarian’s last breaths.
The murder was deliberate, and carefully planned. Most of the evidence, what evidence there was, was circumstantial. The time of the murder coincided with the Queen’s speech, so that the Library was nearly empty. The Librarian’s hands had been removed after his death, and no clues could be gathered from them. The room had been ransacked. If the assassin were looking for particular information, it would be impossible to isolate what it might have been.
The Queen’s guards, who had no experience with such crimes, could discern little. But even had they been more thorough, they would not have discovered anything useful. There had not been any mistakes. They would not be able to solve this murder unless the assassin struck again, if he ever did.
No, the assassin had been too proficient to leave behind a trail.
Fortunately, someone else had provided the clues the man would need to continue the search. From his hidden vantage point, he had witnessed the Herald enter the room, doing his best to stay unnoticed. His name was Colm Bainbridge, and from what the man knew of him, was not favorably looked upon.
What connection the Herald might have with the Librarian was beyond him for now. But for whatever reason, he risked arrest by stealing a map during a crime investigation. This map had been buried amongst the clutter of the room. There was no certainty that it was connected to the Librarian’s death, but it must have been important for the Herald to go to such lengths.
The assassin’s trail was cold, so he was left with discovering what was on that map, why it was stolen, and what, if any, connection Colm Bainbridge had to the Librarian’s murder.
The man slipped out of the now empty room. He must first report to his master, and then he would locate Bainbridge before the Herald disappeared from the city. Or wound up dead himself.