The interview [https://i.imgur.com/PG9CAIZ.png]

THE INTERVIEW

have something to wake us up. Are you ready to start?" The white-haired man asked.

Stupidly, Monte waited a few days before opening the letter with the Guard insignia on it. Once he did, it was far too late to make proper accommodations. He had quit working his jobs in the Capitol. When he received the letter, he was living off a small cut of the jewels from the Abbas heist that Pavani had let him slip off with.

When he finally read the message, he cursed himself for waiting so long. He and the cat left the same night. Monte had arrived only just in time for his appointment, and his plan was to leave once it ended.

"I suppose." Monte said.

The two uniformed Guard glared back at him. Monte felt an immediate pang of embarrassment and sat up a little straighter in his seat.

"I mean Aye… sir." Monte said, looking down at the mug in front of him. As far as he was concerned it was still too early to wake up. Besides, he knew where he could get a proper coffee once this business was taken care of.

"Let's get this over with." The larger of the two men said, grinning and glancing over at his partner.

"On the night in question, we understand you entered the town clock tower. Is that correct?" The white-haired man asked.

You know the answer.

"That is correct." Monte said. The larger man rapped his knuckles on the table and scowled.

"And how exactly did you gain entrance to said tower? I happen to know it's locked after dark." The larger man followed up immediately.

So, you're the hammer.

He knew from his years in the academy what to do in a situation like this. One man was the Hand and the other, the Hammer. The hand's role was to steady the suspect and the Hammer’s was… well, to hammer him.

"I climbed the exterior wall and entered through the lowest window above the main gates." Monte answered.

Both men made a note in their booklet after he answer. Monte took another drink from the mug. The flavor was bitter, but it still warmed him. Monte could feel the wheels in his mind beginning to turn quicker.

"And once you were inside, we understand you encountered a few people. How many were there in the Guard tower." The Hand asked without looking up from his booklet.

"Inside the tower… I believe there were five people." Monte said, taking a moment to compose the answer. The Hammer rapped his knuckles a few more times on the table. Was he aware he was doing it?

"You 'believe' there were five, or you know?" The Hammer asked. Monte had been expecting it and was prepared.

"To the best of my memory of the evening, there were five people inside." Monte said. He had a plan. He'd decided ahead of time when to tell the truth and when to bend it. If he appeared to cooperate early one, maybe they would let him go early. So far everything was going exactly the way he anticipated.

"And pray tell us, who did you encounter in the clock tower?" The Hand took his turn again.

"First, the mayor Padrig." Monte said. He watched as both men's eyes relaxed for a split second. The Hand even made a little nod.

"Then, an assailant, followed by three more assailants." Monte said. He was choosing to leave out the fact that he recognized two of the men from the Final Tolling ceremony the night before. It was his first half-truth, though it hardly felt like it. Monte could barely remember all the events of that evening. The entire affair felt as though it was a lifetime ago, though it had only been around eight weeks.

"You say 'assailant', did these men attack you?" The Hammer asked. He was leaning back and trying his best to appear relaxed, to lull Monte into giving something up. The sound of his knuckles hitting the old wooden table gave him away.

You're not going to fool me.

"Yes, while I was removing the gag from the mayor I was attacked, and then again in the bell tower." Monte said. Only the first man had attacked him, the rest Monte had dispatched before they'd had a chance.

The two Guard investigators made notes in their booklets again. Monte didn’t need to distort the truth. He was, after all, the town hero. He rescued the mayor and revealed the Company plot to turn the entire town into a coin minting venture.

Still, he wanted to protect what he knew about the Company, especially when he wasn't being paid for the knowledge. Besides, these men didn’t need any more information to make their case, this was all just routine.

"How did the mayor escape the bell tower?" The Hand asked.

"After I removed his gag, I was attacked. I dispatched the first assailant--" Monte started to say but was cut off.

"With what weapon?" The Hammer asked. His eyes were narrowly watching Monte's every expression.

"The dirk knife I used to cut the mayor's wrist bindings." Monte said. The Hammer looked down at his notes.

Monte paused to compose himself, then continued.

"As I was saying after I dispatched the first assailant, I instructed the mayor to leave through the front gate." Monte said.

"But you just told us the gate was locked." The Hammer asked.

"That's true. I didn't know it would be unlocked, but I assumed it was less risky than sending the mayor further up in the bell tower." Monte said. The response came so quickly the Hand scoffed. The Hammer looked down at his notes again, then cast a quick sidelong glance at his partner. Monte took another sip from the mug. The brew was making him sharper.

"Can you tell us what happened next?" The Hand asked. Monte thought about his answer for a moment.

"I knocked out the first assailant, then went up the stairs to the belfry. There I encountered the other three assailants. They were in the process of disassembling the clock and I took them by surprise." Monte said. He purposefully made no mention of why the men were stripping the clock for parts, or of the bells' special ability. He had no intention of offering that information up even if asked directly.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"You expect us to believe that you fought off three men with nothing but a dirk knife? Do you take us for a couple of fools?" The Hammer sat forward in his chair as he said it. His question hung in the air for a moment.

"I didn't fight with the dirk. I used one of the hands of the clock." Monte said. The Hammer let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back in his chair, looking over at his partner.

Believe what you want, that’s the truth.

Monte hadn't expected questions about specifically how he killed three Company henchmen. He had used the minute hand from the giant clock at one point. Of course, he was leaving out one important detail.

"Did the men in the clock tower say anything to you?" The Hand asked.

"If they did, I couldn't hear it. The bells began to toll, and I couldn't hear anything else. My ears were ringing for days afterwards." Monte said. He looked over at the Hammer, waiting for the next question. The man crossed his arms and scowled and gave a slight nod to his partner.

"Can you tell us, please, how one of the men ended up thrown from the window of the bell tower?" The Hand asked, looking up over his notes as he asked.

"He was struck by a swinging bell." Monte couldn't help grinning as he answered. The Hammer made a noise and sat up again.

"We've heard just about enough of this nonsense from you. We know you spoke to the men, that you must have known they were there. We know you used a real sword, a sword we haven't seen since. And we know you threw the man from the tower." The Hammer delivered his final blow. Monte sat quietly.

You don't know anything.

"We found the minute hand, it didn't appear to have any blood on it, and hadn't been wiped down from what we could see. Two of the men showed clear signs of wounds from a sharp blade. Yet the swords we found in the tower were clean as well." The Hand rattled off the facts from his notepad. Monte couldn't help but smile, but he quickly tried to chew into a straight face.

"I only remember using the minute hand. I'm afraid I can't explain the absence of blood." Monte said.

"And we have a witness who attests that they saw the man pushed from the high window. He screamed your name on the way down, suggesting you must have spoken to them." The Hand said, still reading from the notes.

You have a witness?

"I saw the man thrown from the window from impact with the bell. I couldn't hear what he screamed on the way down." Monte said, telling the absolute truth this time. The Hammer's knuckles rapped the table.

"Can you explain why we've received reports you were involved in an organized burglary in the Jeweled City?" The Hammer said. Monte saw the Hand furrow his brow and glance gravely at his partner.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Monte asked. The Hand recomposed himself.

"We simply want to collect all the facts." The Hand said. Monte could sense from his lightened tone he was attempting damage control.

"Collect the facts? What is this all about? How could anything since that night be relevant to the mayor’s trial?" Monte asked, he could feel his voice rising.

You must stay calm.

"Are we to understand you were involved with the pirates, then?" The Hand said, declining to answer Monte's question. The Hammer sat forward in his chair again. Monte took a deep breath through his nose.

"I'm not saying another word until you tell me why I'm here." Monte said, as flatly as he could muster.

The rapping of the Hammer's knuckles started up again. Monte looked and found the Hammer had pulled his hand into his lap. The sound, he realized, was coming from the door behind him. Without further warning, the door opened. A third uniformed Guard popped his head in.

"This interview's over, the next suspect has just arrived." The man said. Both the Hand and the Hammer turned, eyes narrow and deep frowns mirrored in their faces. Then they turned back to Monte.

"That's all for now then." The hand said.

"We'll be in touch." The Hammer growled.

Monte picked up his pack and hurried out the door. The Guard who had interrupted them closed the door and beckoned for Monte to follow him. Once back in the lobby of the Guard office, he heard someone say his name.

"Monte! You're here so early! I assumed I was the first interview this morning." A voice spoke.

Finding the voice, Monte recognized the face of the young woman. It was Orna, the mayor's assistant and daughter to Kieran and the Clockmaker. It took Monte a moment to make the connection. Once he did, he forced a smile across his face.

"Well... I suppose I did expect to see you, after I saw her, I mean." Orna said, letting out a little chuckle.

Monte heard the cat's bell. Orna was standing next to a desk and petting the cat's head. The cat was purring and had her eyes closed. Orna looked down at the cat when the bell tinkled its note.

"How nice to see you again, Orna. How are things at town hall?" Monte said, giving her a slight bow. Orna returned it.

"Never better." Orna said.

Monte watched her. Something about her still looked so familiar to him.

I have so much to ask the Clockmaker.

Orna stopped petting the cat. She looked back up at Monte.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news about her." Orna said.

"Bad news about the cat?" Monte asked. He tried his best to not look surprised but knew his wide eyes gave him away.

"Oh! No no I'm so sorry. I keep forgetting." Orna said, and she reached her right hand out to show a simple band of gold wrapped around her ring finger. Monte looked from the ring to Orna again, this time making no effort to hide his confusion.

"I've crafted this ring" She said, then leaned in close to whisper.

"It allows me to hear others' thoughts." She said. Monte took a step back and took a long look at Orna. This time he noticed dark rings under her eyes.

"So you knew… what I was thinking?" Monte stammered out the question.

That can't be.

"Yes! Please forgive the intrusion." Orna said. Monte had never considered his thoughts might be perceptible to anyone else.

What else had she heard?

"Nothing. I just got here." Orna said.

Just then a Guard appeared in the doorway. Monte stood, trying his best to remember what he'd been thinking on the way out of the interrogation.

"Mayor, they're ready for you." The uniformed Guard said to Orna.

"I'm sorry, I have to go in. Even as mayor I can't get out of providing my testimony to the Guard. Come by my office a little later and we can catch up. I'll be back in my office once I'm finished here." Orna said. Then she followed the Guard down the hall.

Monte stood watching the entrance to the back hall for a moment after Orna disappeared. Was it even possible to hear others' thoughts? Monte had some doubts. He reflected on the conversation they'd had. Was it really that difficult to guess he was thinking about the Clockmaker? If Orna could read minds, it would have made her even more politically powerful than she already was. Why would she subject herself to an interrogation? Was Orna even skilled enough as a metalsmith?

The Clockmaker has a part in this.

As often happened, Monte was left with more questions than answers. He had more things to contemplate than just Orna and the ring. How did the Guard here know about the pirates? Why were they asking about it in relation to the mayor’s trial?

Monte was brought back into reality when the cat jumped onto his pack. He heard her bell tinkle once with a slight tinge of annoyance.

"We'll go find something to eat now. And a place to think." Monte said. Something told him he wouldn't be leaving this town as quickly as planned.

He turned and made for the front door. Through the glass he could see a woman approaching. He opened the door for her. She had long dark hair and was delicately carrying a white porcelain pitcher. Her eyes squinted in Monte's direction as she stepped through the door.

"Alaya. It's been a while." Monte spoke first.

"Monte? What are you doing here?" Alaya said, nearly losing her grip on the pitcher.

"I could ask you the same thing. I thought I was here to give information about the mayor’s case. But now…" Monte trailed off.

"I just saw the mayor. I didn't realize she was in trouble." Alaya said.

"Ah, right. I meant Padrig. The old mayor. My mistake." Monte said, shaking his head.

Alaya placed her free hand on Monte's arm.

"Of course… I'm sorry. I'm all out of sorts lately. Say, are you staying around a little while? Do you want to come by the café?" Alaya asked.

"Won't you be swamped with customers?" Monte asked. Alaya's café was the best, and only, in town. Monte watched her expression darken.

"I had to close for the day. This whole thing's been a mess. Come help me prep for tomorrow if you have time." Alaya said. She gestured with a welcoming wave of her hand. Monte couldn't help but remember the last time he'd been invited to her café, and he smiled.

"I have nothing but time. And what's been a mess?" Monte asked. The two of them started for the door.

"I'll explain everything over some fresh coffee and a scone." She said. She let Monte open the door for her and they walked out into the Square.