Free Heartbreaker by Carmelo Massimo Tidona Page B

scale leaned undoubtedly from the side of success, and more so than for any other similar corps. A large part of this remarkable curriculum had for sure been deserved thanks to the man – or rather the dwarf – sitting on the leader's armchair.

    That must be a particularly unlucky day, because when Shim crossed the common room from which all offices could be reached, he almost immediately met someone that wasn't used to be there at such an early hour at all.
    Celendlinis Delmenar, head of the first homicide squad, watched him going by as if he had left the comfort of his bed only for the purpose of seeing that show. It was almost impossible not to read in his eyes an underlying note of acrimony toward Shim, something that had nothing to do with the well-known difference of opinions of their respective races, and was instead deeply personal.
    When the Magic Control Department was created, only two people were in the list of candidates to be appointed head of it, and the elf had already established that the place would be his. He wasn't even able to see a reason why it should be given to Shim, especially given that he had some natural affinity to magic, while the dwarf, like any other member of his race, had none at all. When the choice had been made, and not in his favor, he had accused Shim of any kind of subtlety and mischief, from corruption to kidnapping firstborns, being soon forced to stop in order not to change a missed appointment into an actual sacking. Still, he had never changed his mind, in spite of having to show otherwise, and kept dealing with his colleague with an arrogance far greater than that he used with anyone else, although it was quite hard to notice any difference.
    On the other hand, Shim reserved to the elf an affected courtesy and an extremely polite attitude, treating him not with warmth but without any trace of despise or lack of respect. Partly he did that not to give him any kind of excuse to start quarrelling, but mostly he did because he knew how much that upset him.
    «Good morning», he said even before his colleague could think about greeting him. «Early start today? I hope there is no emergency.»
    The elf looked down at him, not a difficult thing to do as there was at least half a meter between their heights. Actually, Celen was very good in the not so easy task of looking down at anyone, even creatures he could have looked in the eyes only with the help of a ladder.
    «I've been here since yesterday», he replied with an acrid tilt in his voice, that was to say in his normal tone. «I spent all night on a case and now I have been ordered», he made sure that that single word carried all of his scorn for the simple idea that someone could order him anything, «to give everything to you.»
    Shim looked at him, unsure about what to think of that. It was fairly unusual for an homicide to be assigned to his department. Not that homicides by magic were rare in themselves, it was just unusual that investigating on them was up to him. If the case was assigned to him, it had to be more than someone who had simply been killed with a spell or an enchanted weapon, it had to be a more complicated matter.
    «What's it about?» he asked, genuinely interested.
    «I have been told to give you the file, not to report to you», the elf grunted in reply, handing him a folder. Shim opened it. He barely had the time to put the portrait of the victim into focus when Celen, in spite of what he had just said, started talking again.
    «It seems that someone took fun in ripping out the heart of a man without even bothering to slice his chest open first. Very fancy, but I don't think it is something that should concern your department.» He pronounced the word your with an ironic tilt, as if to stress out how deeply unjust it was that such a definition could be used in that case.
    If Shim noticed, he pretended not to, and just checked the papers in his hands, as if to look for a confirmation to what his colleague