Free Murder in Cormyr by Chet Williamson

for one.”
    “And Barthelm Meadowbrock for another,” I said. “Not to mention Kendra. And they’re not the only ones. I know of a number of people Dovo’s offended in some manner. He’s cuckolded his share of husbands, I’ve heard. With all due respect,” I said, nodding at the corpse, “he wasn’t the most liked fellow in Ghars.”
    Tobald shrugged. “Well, Captain Flim, I have much to do in preparing for the arrival of the Merchants’ Guild council, so I’m going to leave this business in your capable hands. Return the body to town, and please inform the widow. Then begin the search for the perpetrator of this deed.”
    “Begging your pardon, sir,” said Captain Flim, “but my duty to my garrison must come first. What with the threat of Zhentarim and Iron Throne agents, most of my time is spent overseeing efforts to apprehend them.”
    “If I might make a suggestion,” said Benelaius, “why not let Jasper and Lindavar and I pursue this problem? Under Captain Flim’s supervision, of course.”
    “Sounds good to me.” Flim sounded relieved.
    “After all,” Benelaius went on after nodding his thanks, “I am a former War Wizard, Lindavar is a present one, and Jasper can prove quite valuable as my eyes and ears.” Then he smiled at me the way a mother dog smiles at her runt. “Besides, he has read a Camber Fosrick book.”
    “So be it!” cried Tobald. “And thank you, good Benelaius. I knew that when you came to dwell here you would prove a valuable addition to our community. If I can be of any service, let me know. I hereby make you and your friends honorary magistrates of Ghars, with all of the rights appertaining to that position. Go where you like, and question whomever you wish on my authority.”
    “I thank you, good Mayor Tobald,” Benelaius said, I think to shut Tobald up as much as anything. “Lindavar and Jasper and I will return to my home now to discuss our next step.”
    And that’s just what we did, leaving the mayor and the doctor to ride back to Ghars and the Dragons to follow with the dead Dovo. I prepared my master and his guest a tasty luncheon, in which he invited me to share as we discussed the murder.
    “Jasper,” Benelaius said, “I want you to go to Ghars this afternoon. Use your intuition. Talk to people. See what their reactions are to Dovo’s death. Aunsible Durn might be able to shine some light on Dovo’s activities. He was, after all, Durn’s assistant.
    “I suppose there’s always a chance that he could have been the victim of highwaymen. The envoy Grodoveth travels more than anyone else in town. If he has not yet
    departed, you might ask him whether he had seen any suspicious parties in his travels. Also, I wonder what happened to Dovo’s outer garments. And his horse, for that matter. He surely didn’t walk out there wearing armor.
    “So put your ear to the ground, Jasper. Spend another evening at the Bold Bard. Stop at the Swamp Rat on the way home. Pretend you’re”—he sighed—”Camber Fosrick. And do try to be back before midnight.”
    “I’ll do my best, sir,” I said, though nettled by the Camber Fosrick crack. I didn’t know what better role model I could find.
    “And even if you learn absolutely nothing,” Benelaius concluded, “the trip won’t be a total loss.” He handed me a huge volume that I had hauled from the tiny Ghars library a few weeks before. “Return this, won’t you?”

13
    Jenkus was not at all cheerful about the prospect of another ride so soon after his hauling Benelaius’s carcass back and forth to the murder site, but he had no more choice than I did. Secretly, I was delighted with the prospect of investigating this murder. There’s nothing like a headless corpse to bring a touch of excitement into one’s life.
    I had, after all, taken quite a step in the past twenty-four hours—from being an errand boy to being a government-licensed criminal investigator. Perhaps, using what Benelaius had already taught me