After a brief discussion with the guards (they were reluctant to allow Mae back into the palace, but Apollo assured them that he would keep an eye on her), Apollo, Albhi, and Mae made their way through the palace toward the channeling hall. Apollo decided starting at the scene of the crime would be best.
“As you know, Mr. Justice, this is highly irregular, allowing ‘common folk’ like yourself into the sacred channeling chamber of the Khura’in Palace, but Prosecutor Sahdmadhi gave explicit orders for you to be allowed wherever you see fit.” Apollo internally thanked god that he’d called Nahyuta on the way over and asked for assistance as the group followed the pompous chief ritual official down the hall. “I will be observing you throughout the duration of your investigation, particularly since you chose to bring the young lady in question with you.” The man’s lip curled as he directed a glare at Mae, who shrunk under his cold gaze. Albhi puffed out his chest, shielding her from any further stares.
“She didn’t do it, sir! You don’t have any proof that she did!”
“The entire staff knows about her family’s predicament with her sister, boy,” the chief ritual official sniffed. “And she was the only one seen around the channeling hall around the time of the theft.”
“I’m sorry, what time was that?” Apollo interrupted. Mae definitely hadn’t mentioned being around the area in her recounting of the day.
“Well, I’m not sure of the exact time. But it was after the time that the princess was scheduled to leave for her Dance of Devotion practice at the temple. I remember because I recall seeing the guards meant to escort her approaching the throne room before I saw this young lady here skulking around the channeling hall.”
Apollo threw a backwards glance at Mae, who didn’t meet his eyes. She just bit her lip, wringing her hands and keeping her gaze focused on the wood beneath their feet. Making a mental note to ask her about this later, he followed the official into the channeling hall.
The room was dark, lit only by candles, and curtains shrouded the walls, giving the entire room an ethereal feeling. The wooden floor was covered in rugs as well, with two pillows obviously meant for the queen and the visiting dignitary. “Where was the incense burner kept?” Apollo asked the official. He pointed toward an empty ivory plate in the far corner of the room. Apollo, Albhi, and Mae crossed the room to examine it.
“Hmm,” Apollo muttered, kneeling down to pick up the plate. “Look at the indention in the rug over here – this plate’s been moved. And I bet I know why.” He gestured to the rug underneath the plate. “Look at this burn.” A black mark sullied the rug and extended all the way to the curtain in the corner, which sported a hole that someone had attempted to hide. “I assume this wasn’t always here?”
Mae shook her head quickly. “When I come to observe with the princess, we sit right here.” She pointed to two tasseled pillows near the wall where the group was kneeling. “I’ve never seen this stain before.”
“Was the incense burner lit this morning?”
“It shouldn’t have been. It’s only lit just before channeling rituals, and there was not one scheduled today. Everything in this room should be pristine.” Mae wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know where this burn could have come from.”
“Do you think we’d be able to ask the queen about it?”
Mae’s eyes widened. “The queen? Oh no, Mr. Justice, she’s far too busy for that. But… it’s possible Her Benevolence might know something about it. Maybe she noticed it at the last channeling ritual when I didn’t. She should be in her chambers right now, if you’d like to ask her.”
Apollo nodded, mentally preparing himself to deal with Rayfa again. “I think we’d better do that.”
-
As the trio exited the channeling hall, the chief ritual official bid them farewell (saying something about the desperate need to report the newly discovered burn to the queen) and disappeared toward the throne room. Mae pointed toward the direction of Rayfa’s room, beginning to lead the way down the hallway, strategically not allowing Apollo to ask her any questions about the conflicting story of her whereabouts he’d just heard.
“I’m sure she had a good reason,” Albhi muttered, his eyebrows crinkling in thought as the two followed Mae down the covered walkway. “I don’t know why she’d lie though…”
Apollo’s eye was caught by a row of four statues positioned along the side wall of the channeling hall. All of them depicted the Holy Mother in different poses, each with a small basket in front of them. All of the baskets were empty, except for the one in front of the leftmost statue – it bore a fresh bouquet of flowers. “Albhi, do you know anything about these statues?”
“These? Yeah, they’re used for making sacrifices to the Holy Mother for small things. If I remember right, they’re for success, prosperity, wisdom, and healing,” Albhi replied, pointing at the statues from right to left as the pair walked by them. “Obviously, since they’re in here, they’re mostly for palace officials’ use, but tourists visiting offer things too. I usually see them emptied around 11am or so, when I manage to bring tours in here.”
“Interesting,” Apollo muttered. “I’ll keep that in mind.” They stepped aside to allow some soldiers to pass through the hallway, inadvertently picking up a bit of their conversation.
“…unexpected to have that break when we were not required to escort the princess to the temple…”
“….was she sick or what? I don’t even know if she went at all…”
Apollo and Albhi raised their eyebrows at each other. They had just stumbled on an interesting new lead to follow up on with Rayfa herself.
-
Apollo knocked on the door to Rayfa’s chambers and there was an entirely too long pause before a flustered “come in” sounded from within. Entering the room, the trio was greeted with a flurry of angry words. “Horn Head! And with her? What on earth are you doing here?”
“Hello to you too, Your Benevolence,” Apollo replied, wincing. Rayfa’s shrill shrieks were not doing his head any favors. “We just wanted to ask you a few questions about what happened this morning.”
Rayfa stuck her nose in the air. “Hmph. She should be grateful. I’m the one who insisted she not be formally punished, just let go.”
“I-I am grateful, princess,” Mae piped up from behind Apollo. “But I didn’t steal anything, honestly. Albhi and Mr. Justice are helping to investigate to see if we can find who did.”
“Please. It had to have been you, Mae. No one else went near the channeling hall this morning, according to the ritual official. I certainly didn’t see anyone on my way to the temple to practice the Dance of Devotion. And how could you leave such a mess? Burning the floor and curtain like that was a sure way to get caught.”
“Well, Your Benevolence, that’s where we have a problem. We heard some soldiers in the hall saying you didn’t attend your Dance of Devotion practice today, or at least that you didn’t require the soldiers to escort you there,” Apollo countered. “And also, how did you know about the burn? No one else has been in the channeling chamber today”
Rayfa looked surprised for a moment, then her haughty expression returned. “Well, I did dismiss a few of the guards. I thought four was simply way too many. Two would suffice for a simple walk to the temple, wouldn’t you agree?” Apollo felt his bracelet tighten around his wrist. She was lying. “And as for the burn, the chief ritual officer mentioned it when giving his report to my mother and me.” Apollo glanced quickly at her, trying to spot her tell. It had to be somewhere… there!
“I don’t know about the soldiers, Your Benevolence, but you cannot have found out about the burn this morning. The chief ritual official didn’t know about it until we found it not fifteen minutes ago.” Apollo slammed his hand down on the desk where Rayfa was sitting, causing her to jump and exclaim “Horn Head!” disapprovingly. “I know you’re lying to me, Your Benevolence. Whenever you talk about the incident, you subconsciously rub the back of your right foot with your left. Are you hiding something?”
“Please tell us the truth, Your Benevolence. Mae really needs your help!” Albhi pleaded. Rayfa looked between the three of them, almost about to say something, then she stiffened, sticking her nose in the air.
“I don’t know anything more than I’ve told you. Now leave my chambers. I have a busy schedule this afternoon.”
-
Defeated, Apollo, Albhi, and Mae regrouped in the garden outside of the channeling hall. “What can we do now, Mr. Justice? If the princess won’t talk to us anymore, it seems like we’re at a dead end,” Albhi moaned, putting his head in his hands.
“Not quite,” Apollo responded. “Mae, it seems like you haven’t been entirely honest with me.”
The girl’s head snapped up. “I-I don’t know what you mean, Mr. Justice,” she replied, but her voice was trembling.
“D-don’t scare her, Mr. Justice,” Albhi piped up quickly. “I’m sure she’s telling the truth. Maybe the official was just mistaken!”
“Albhi, just because she’s your friend, doesn’t mean she can’t tell a lie from time to time,” Apollo said, before fixing his gaze on Mae. “Mae, it’s really important that you be honest with me, okay? I need to know where you were this morning after you escorted Rayfa to the throne room.”
Mae couldn’t look up, her hands clasping together. “I t-told you, Mr. Justice, I went to go run errands.”
“See, I don’t think you did,” Apollo replied gently, one hand on his tightening bracelet. “I noticed earlier too, but whenever you talk about where you were this morning, you clasp your hands. Almost like… you’re praying.”
Albhi gasped. “Mr. Justice, you don’t think-”
“I do. The baskets in front of the prayer statues are emptied in the morning, but there was a bouquet of flowers in the statue of the Holy Mother devoted to healing. Mae, did you go make an offering to the Holy Mother this morning for your sister instead of going to the market like you were supposed to?”
Mae’s green eyes widened. “H-how did you know?” She nervously adjusted the ornament in her hair as she continued. “It was the only time I could find to do it after I finished my chores, and I promised ma I’d make an offering in the palace for Juu’ni before I visited home this weekend. She has a big surgery coming up soon.” Mae sighed. “But my chores took so long that I didn’t have time to go to the market before the princess would arrive home and then all of this happened…”
Apollo processed this new information, then gasped, his head snapping up. “Mae, this means… you could have been right next to the crime scene when the incense burner was stolen! Think back to when you were praying. Do you remember anything?”
Mae closed her eyes, obviously thinking hard. “I snuck to the side of the channeling hall, since I was meant to be at the market… I laid down my flowers and I prayed… oh! I do remember something!” She fixed her gaze on Apollo, Albhi poking his head eagerly over Apollo’s shoulder. “I remember a voice inside the channeling chamber. It almost sounded like they were doing a ritual of some kind…”
“Doing a ritual, huh…?” Apollo repeated. The pieces were falling into place. “I think we need-”
“Excuse me, Mr. Justice!” The voice of the chief ritual official interrupted Apollo’s thoughts. “Please come quickly! There’s been a development. The incense burner… it’s been found!”
“So… there’s no crime then? Can Mae have her job back?” Albhi asked excitedly.
The official laughed. “Oh no, boy. Quite the contrary, in fact. The crime has gotten even more serious.”