Free Widow's Pique by Marilyn Todd Page A

afraid it's exactly as Pavan says, Claudia. We conducted the most thorough search of the area, but -' Mazares shrugged his very fine shoulders - 'no body, no blood . . .'
    'Of course there was no blood,' she retorted. 'The poor sod was strangled.'
    Mazares and Pavan exchanged glances.
    'The mule doctor has no doubt that what ye saw was real in yer mind,' Pavan rumbled.
    'How reassuring to have a diagnosis that comes quite literally from the horse's mouth. No doubt his sick asses tell him what they saw, and he then proceeds to explain to them how they imagined those blue oats and flying cabbages.'
    Claudia took advantage of the uncomfortable silence to press on.
    'For your information, gentlemen, Raspor was no hallucination.'
    Hallucinations don't sneeze.
    'He was standing underneath that very window, wringing
    his little fat hands, and he was wearing the same singleshoulder tunic that he—'
    'My Lady.' Mazares's tone was placating. 'Those who serve the gods also honour them. For a priest not to be wearing his official robes at any time is sacrilege.'
    Of course, it could mean the little man had escaped his attacker . . .
    'But you do have a priest named Raspor, who serves the Thunder God in Gora?'
    'Ye-es,' Mazares said slowly. 'He's Guardian of the Sacrifice and his job is to select and then care for the animals whose lives are forfeit to Perun.'
    . . . leaving him too weak and too frightened to seek help on the island . . .
    'And would this Raspor be a small, round fellow with a ring of dark curls like a halo, perhaps?'
    'Aye,' Pavan said. 'But Raspor is also a dedicated servant of his temple and tomorrow a white ram is due to be sacrificed for the Zeltane.'
    Zeltane. Arguably the most important festival in the Histrian calendar . . .
    'With all due respect, ma'am,' the general continued, 'it's highly unlikely that, faced with such a solemn obligation, he'd trek out here to Rovin.'
    Except when concern for his King's welfare was more compelling than his priestly duties . . .
    'Pula,' she corrected. 'He trekked out to Pula - well, you know that.' She turned to Mazares. 'I was talking to him when you arrived.'
    'I hate to remind you, My Lady—' even through her fuzzy vision, there was no mistaking that twitching moustache - but when I first saw you, you were sprawled backwards over a crate of peacocks and squawking louder than they were.'
    Slimy bastard.
    'So, a man's been murdered, yet neither of you intend to take the matter further, because you think I made the story up?'
    'It was a nasty fall,' Pavan pointed out.
    Claudia snorted. She had not, repeat not, imagined Raspor being strangled, and her stomach lurched when she remembered his sandalled heels drumming impotently against the rocks.
    Mazares read her expression. 'Let me ask around,' he said gently. 'Find out whether this was someone's idea of a practical joke.'
    Baiting Rome had long been a source of amusement, he added, and if a group of embittered locals thought they could exploit the situation while she was befuddled by drugs . . . ?
    'Why only a mule doctor?' she demanded.
    Pavan came as close as he would ever come to squirming.
    'The royal physician should have been on Rovin a week ago,' he growled. 'There's been no word. No official explanation. But . . .'
    His voice trailed off as he found a sudden desire to examine his fingernails.
    'Come, come, Pavan. Claudia's a woman of the world.'
    That lazy sparkle had returned to Mazares's eyes.
    'What the general is too shy to spit out, My Lady, is that the doctor's inclinations differ from the average red-blooded Histrian's, and although he isn't on the island as he was supposed to be, neither is a boat builder of the same persuasion. Now, since we Histri tend to take a, shall we say, more traditional view of family relationships, the general consensus hereabouts is that His Majesty's physician and the boat builder have taken a short vacation.'
    He stroked his goatee beard.
    'Nevertheless, I think I'll ask Salome to