Pale stood her ground even as the guards began to close in. She kept a tight grip on her knife, eyeing each of them carefully. There were five of them, but given she was only armed with a short blade, the odds were not in favor.

Her gaze turned to the woman's corpse. Someone broke out from the crowd that had gathered and approached it; it didn't take her long to recognize the ornate bronze armor.

"Captain Allen," she called. "I did not kill that woman."

"I will be the judge of that," he said back to her as he stopped to stand over the corpse. "You are the most likely suspect, having been here when the body was discovered."

"I didn't have the time, and you know it. Moreover, look at her – does that really look like something a regular person is capable of?" Pale shook her head. "You know it isn't me."

Captain Allen knelt down and examined the body. After a moment, he let out a grunt, then shook his head.

"Be that as it may, you're still the most likely suspect," he countered.

"I will cooperate fully," Pale answered him. Slowly, she sheathed her knife, then held her hands up to show she was unarmed.

That was all it took for the guards to rush forwards. They grabbed her and roughly tackled her to the ground, then shackled her arms behind her back. Pale laid there on the snow-covered cobblestone, looking up at Captain Allen. He glared back at her, then grimaced and shook his head.

"Sit her up. And while you're at it, clear the stragglers."

Two of the guards obliged, pulling her into a seated position while the others began to disperse the crowd. Allen watched them go for a moment before turning back to Pale, dropping down to one knee to stare her right in the eye.

"Talk," he demanded. "What do you know?"

"I was out taking a walk," Pale told him. "I heard a woman scream, and when I came to investigate, I found her body lying there, with nobody else to be found."

"And the knife? Why did you have that on you?"

"I keep it on me for personal protection. Is that a crime in this city?"

"It is when we're investigating a murder. Do you have an explanation for why it was drawn when my men found you?"

"Like I said, for personal protection," Pale answered. "I'd just heard a woman scream and found her body. I had the knife on me, so I figured it was best to keep it readied, just in case whoever killed her came back."

Allen's gaze fell to the sheath on her hip. Without a moment's pause, he reached for it, drawing the knife. Bringing the blade up, he ran a finger along its edge, his eyes widening when the blade opened a thin gash along his fingertip.

"Surprisingly very sharp…" he commented, staring at the blood as it dripped down onto the snow. "This knife has excellent craftsmanship. Where did you get this?"

"Found it."

"Oh, I'm sure."

Allen suddenly stood up, then marched over to the woman's corpse. Pale watched as he gently pressed the tip of the blade onto the neck, only to grimace before shaking his head.

"Not the murder weapon," he commented as he came walking back.

"Then what is?"

"Not sure. But she had two puncture marks on the side of her neck, just over her left side carotid artery, and both were far too small to have been made by that knife." He turned to one of the other guards. "Search the area, see if whoever did this thought to dump the murder weapon as they ran away."

"Yes, sir," the guard said before taking off to investigate the nearby streets.

Pale watched him go for a moment before turning back to Allen. "You believe me now?"

"No," he coldly replied. "You're still the prime suspect, since you were the first one to find her. What were you doing out and about, anyway?"

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"I needed to clear my head. The tavern was getting a bit noisy and cramped for my tastes."

"Tavern…? You were drunk, weren't you?"

"Is that a crime as well?"

"No, but it doesn't reflect well on you. Who's to say you didn't get drunk and decide to take your aggression out on that woman?"

Frustrated, Pale let out a sigh. "What was her cause of death?"

Allen seemed taken aback. "What?"

"Her cause of death," Pale emphasized. "You mentioned two puncture marks over her carotid artery – I take it that means she bled to death?"

"Indeed."

"Look around you, Captain. Do you see any blood anywhere?"

Allen blinked in surprise, but did as she asked, looking around the nearby area. His eyes widened when he realized what she was getting at.

"I see," he acknowledged.

"Do you?" Pale challenged. "I couldn't have been the one to kill her. If I had stabbed her like you seem to think I did, I'd be covered in arterial spray, and so would the nearby ground and buildings."

"But the snow-"

"Isn't falling hard enough to completely cover up every trace of blood that would have been left behind, and even if it was, that doesn't explain how I don't have any on me." Pale's expression narrowed. "I am not the killer here, Captain. I'm just the one who found her. And unless you have proof to the contrary, you should let me go."

"It is well within my power to hold you until we find the real killer," Allen threatened.

"You have to know that it'd do no good at this point," Pale challenged. "Face it – you have nothing to connect me to the crime or even implicate me aside from unfortunate timing. Now, if you can truly live with yourself knowing you've put someone innocent in chains, then by all means, go ahead. Otherwise, I think I've proven I deserve my freedom. Wouldn't you agree?"

Captain Allen grimaced, but after a moment, he motioned to his men. "Let her loose."

"Sir?" one of the other guards asked.

"I said, let her loose. She's not the one we're looking for."

The guards exchanged an uneasy glance with each other, but obliged, freeing her from her shackles. Pale stood up, massaging her wrists the entire time. Captain Allen rose up across from her, casting a glance back at the dead woman.

"Captain," Pale said, getting his attention. "With your permission, I would like to determine an official cause of death."

"And why would I need your help?" he demanded.

"What do you have to lose at this point?"

Allen scowled, but didn't rebuke her. Instead, he nodded. "Very well. But be quick about it."

Pale nodded, then moved over to the body. She knelt down next to the woman, then started to look her over. Her gaze was drawn to the punctures on her neck, the same as Allen's had been, but there were thing's he'd missed, which were becoming apparent to her the longer she looked.

"No defensive wounds," Pale noted as she examined the woman's arms and hands. "She didn't fight back."

"What does that mean?"

"It means whoever did this caught her completely by surprise. She probably barely had time to scream before they were done with her." Pale looked poked and prodded at her skin, noting how her corpse was little more than skin and bones at this point. Her brow furrowed. "Strange… it's like she's missing all her fluids. Cause of death is almost certainly exsanguination."

"What?"

"Extreme blood loss," she clarified. "What doesn't make sense is the method by which it was done, however – those punctures certainly have something to do with it, but the fact that there isn't a single stray droplet of blood spilled on her or the ground is interesting."

"That's certainly one word for it…" Allen muttered. "Are you done with your examination?"

"Answer me this, Captain – what do you know of that can sneak up on someone while making hardly a sound, drain them of their blood in the blink of an eye, and disappear into the night without anyone being any wiser?"

"Is this a trick question? I've never heard of anything that can do something like that."

"Neither have I, hence my confusion." Pale stood up, brushing her hands on her pants as she did so. "Would you be okay if I did a more thorough examination?"

"Such as?"

"An autopsy," Pale specified.

"A what?"

Pale hesitated, trying to find a way to explain it that would make sense to him. "I wish to examine the body's internals to see if my theory of extreme blood loss matches reality. With any luck, a full internal examination will prove to be quite elucidating-"

"You want to cut her open?" Allen asked, disgust creeping into his tone. He didn't even wait for Pale to clarify before shaking his head. "Absolutely not."

"Captain-"

"The poor girl's been through enough. Let her rest in peace rather than desecrate her remains."

"It's not desecration," Pale emphasized. "It's done specifically to-"

"I don't know how you do things where you're from, but none of that is going to happen while I'm in charge," Allen growled. "Consider yourself lucky I even let you take a look at her in the first place. I couldn't save her, but I can at least return her body to her family in one piece." He waved her off. "Get out of my sight before I change my mind and take you into custody anyway."

Pale stared at him, a scowl crossing her face, but nodded nonetheless. She turned on her heel and began to walk away, heading back for the tavern.

As she walked, the snowfall intensified all around her.

XXX

"Where did you go?" Evie questioned as she stepped back into the tavern.

"Needed some air," Pale replied, barely looking at her as she searched through the tavern. "Where's Kayla?"

"Passed out at a table off in the corner. Don't worry – I've got some of the caravan boys looking after her, so she'll be fine. Why do you ask? Did something happen?"

"Yes," Pale said bluntly. "Someone was just murdered and I was almost arrested for it."

Evie's eyes widened in shock. "What?! What happened? You were only gone for like twenty minutes!"

"I know." Pale's gaze landed on Kayla, who was passed out at the table like Evie had said. She began to push her way through the other patrons, all while Evie trailed behind her.

"So what are you doing now?" Evie asked. "If you're trying to leave town, that's not possible at this point – the snow's too intense to travel in, and the real blizzard hasn't even arrived yet."

"Believe me, leaving is the last thing on my mind right now." Pale helped Kayla up out of her seat, throwing one of her arms around her shoulders as she supported her companion's weight. "Did you already book a room?"

"Yes, it's upstairs."

"Good. I'm going to take her to bed."

"Uh, okay," Evie said, sounding uncertain. "And what are you planning to do afterwards? Something tells me you're not going to sleep."

Pale paused, then looked back at her.

"Simple," she said, "I'm going to arm up."