Citizen Vareen Gonshar stared into the eyes of her killer. Her hands tore ineffectively at his arms, the breath burned in her lungs. She struggled to breathe, but the braided leather belt was wrapped firmly, tightly, killingly about her throat. The spittle drooled from her open mouth, bright dots danced across her vision. The last thing that she saw was the eyes of her killer. Shortly afterwards she died.

**********

There was a slight tap on the bronze glyphs of the sanctum door but, without waiting, Scriptor Karpus shuffled into the room and bowed in abasement. Inquisitor Brake muttered a private prayer to the Emperor for Patience and Restraint, the interruption had almost caused him to lose the thread of the three Interrogations he was monitoring and ,with a complex gesture, he dismissed the glowing web of the Holomat control system which surrounded him.

Inquisitor Roberto Brake was not an impressive physical specimen, below average height and with a slight build and the worn but indeterminate age of those who have traveled frequently in the warp. His undress robes were plain and austere. There was little outward sign of the power of the man until he transfixed you with his gaze. The power of infinity was in his eyes. It had saved his life on several previous occasions.

His incipient ire was tempered by the long knowledge that Karpus would not disobey his direct orders for privacy without very good reason. Karpus was everything physically that the Inquisitor was not, tall and broad shouldered with the natural movements of a leader. Traits he fought every day to control in the presence of his superiors. He was, however, one of the few people that Inquisitor Brake trusted and on many previous occasions his assistance was vital to the Inquisitor’s successes. They made a good and effective team and High Inquisitor Sigismondo, leader of the Ordo Veritas, knew this well.

The Inquisitor acknowledged Scriptor Karpus, his primary administrative assistant and private secretary, with a faint nod.

“My Lord, High Inquisitor Sigismondo has just told me to inform you of an incident which requires your immediate attention,” Karpus said in slightly excited voice. “There has been a murder and an attempted suicide in the Visitor’s private quarters. You are commanded to investigate and bring the criminals to Justice as soon as possible.”

Again Inquisitor Brake muttered a prayer to the Emperor to control his frustration. Many years ago he had proven to High Inquisitor Sigismondo that an event that appeared to involve Daemons and Chaos influence was merely an ordinary and sordid murder. Since that time he had been assigned to investigate all similar cases within the Ordo Veritas. Unfortunately his dedication, devotion and natural talents allowed him to solve these cases which brought about his rise in the ranks of power and influence. His very name was feared in some parts of the galaxy, but these investigations distracted him from his personal inclination, the rooting out and destruction of corruption and heresy. He felt that investigation was the work of the Adeptus Arbites, but he acknowledged that only the Inquisition was qualified to investigate the Inquisition. His duty was to obey. Obedience is Service, he reminded himself.

“Are there no more details than that?” he inquired.

“No,” replied Scriptor Karpus, “High Inquisitor Sigismondo indicated that he did not wish to prejudice your investigation”

“Well, we must follow our Duty” said the Inquisitor, and moved toward the doors of the sanctum. He stopped near the threshold, and a concealed cupboard opened revealing the Inquisitor’s dress robes. After the Scriptor helped him don his third-best robe and hood, he held open the door, and ushered his master on his way.

The Inquisitor glided across the plaza in front of the Visitor quarters and the Scriptor sub-consciously adjusted his longer stride to remain a deferential two paces behind his master. Each of them felt the slight pulse of recognition as the electoos in their wrists responded to the security scanners and they were given authorization to proceed. Not withstanding this authority, the bolters in the security emplacements continued to track the pair.

Although the Inquisition considers that there are no Innocents, only various degrees of Guilty, the Visitors to the Inquisition Cell headquarters are slightly more guilty than some others. Visitors are usually witnesses to crimes against the Emperor or others who must undergo a basic Level I Examination before giving testimony to Inquisition tribunals. It is unfortunate that because of the subtle influences of Chaos voluntary evidence is worthless, and all who bear witness must submit to Examination. However, those who submit willingly are rarely damaged permanently. Those who resist are obviously more guilty than already suspected. The quarters are a secured facility to protect the Visitors from outside influences and to keep them available until their information is extracted, analyzed and examined.

The doors opened as the Inquisitor approached and, under the watch of the Retributor Guards, they entered the building. As they has been crossing the plaza, Scriptor Karpus had received directions on his electoo which he had forwarded to the Inquisitor, so that the two of them knew the route to proceed directly to the Refectory.

The scene in the Refectory was one of subdued confusion. The Visitor occupants remained at their tables picking nervously at their food, conversing in low tones under the watch of three Retributors. They were all witnesses to attempted suicide, a serious crime. Death in Vain is an Insult to the Emperor. Should the attempt prove successful, some of them would inevitably be selected as witnesses before the Tribunal and thus be held for longer and subjected to additional Examination. Over to the left was a limp body, lying near a small pool of blood, there appeared to be a table knife protruding from his side. He was being attended to by an Interrogator Examiner, experts in keeping their subjects alive.

Standing watch over this was a stone-faced Proctor who had come to attention as the Inquisitor entered the room. Inquisitor Brake faced the Proctor, raised his left hand in a small salute and at the same time the electoo in his palm displayed the Mark of Command. The Proctor snapped to rigid attention with an audible click and his eyes took on the far-away look of one under Command. The Inquisitor was not one of those who preferred to investigate by indirect means unless necessary.

“Tell me what you know of this,” asked the Inquisitor quietly.

The Proctor replied in a flat, even monotone.

“My Lord, this man is Remlak Gonshar. I do not know him. I have never seen him before. Thirty-six minutes ago he entered the Refectory claiming that his wife had been murdered and now his brother could never be proven innocent. He went to the cutlery rack, picked up a table knife and stabbed himself several times in the side. The Interrogator has determined that if he had been eight minutes slower, the man would have died. Now he will live. None of this is my personal observation. I am relying on the reports of others.”

The Inquisitor absorbed this for a moment, giving Scriptor Karpus time to analyze the information and, upon receiving confirmation, displayed the Mark of Ease. The Proctor relaxed, but only very slightly, the only real sign of it being the animation of his face.

“Remlak Gonshar, Kurman Gonshar his brother, Vareen Gonshar his wife, Turman Brevak, Karoly Gemdar, and Honotorio Toscanoni were all brought to headquarters from the settlement of Chamblee fourteen days ago,” replied the Scriptor. “Attavan Gonshar, brother of Remlak was killed by a mob in Chamblee, accused of membership in a forbidden Cult, the others are to be witnesses at the Tribunal set up to investigate the incident.”

Scriptor Karpus had a relatively rare corneal electoo that allowed information to be projected as if into the space in front of him. This added greatly to his value to the Inquisitor, they has been together for fifteen subjective years, and most corneal electoos resulted in blindness in five years. The Inquisitor was truly lucky to have such an assistant.

“There are housed on Level 85, Sector 11, Common 3. Remlak and Vareen Gonshar are assigned to Section 6,” said the Scriptor anticipating his Inquisitor’s next question though long experience.

“Good work Karpus.” “Proctor, remain here, identify everyone in the Refectory, make sure that Gonshar is restrained and placed under guard after the Interrogator is finished with him and select three witnesses in case the man dies, although Grauman is an artist and I cannot imagine anyone in his care daring to die from such minor injuries.” With that Inquisitor Brake glided out of the room followed two paces later by Scriptor Karpus.

They turned to the right and entered a small alcove containing a shrine to the Emperor as the Finder of Truth, they both spoke the short prayer of Truth and then walked through an apparently blank wall into a private staff transport cabin. The Scriptor had already established the destination from his electoo so, as soon and they had entered, the restraint fields were activated and, with almost imperceptible acceleration, the cabin headed for its destination.

The cabin delivered its occupants to the public staff entrance of Common 3, the common living space for all the Visitors whose private sleeping quarters opened onto it. The Common was almost empty as expected during mealtimes. To one side, in the shrine to the Emperor as the Provider of Certain Retribution, were two men and a woman guarded by two Retributors, another Retributor guarded the door to Section 6 and Inquisitor Brake whispered a quiet prayer of thanks to the Emperor when he recognized the leader of the Retributors as Proctor Master Paramedes. Inquisitor Brake had been involved with Proctor Master Paramedes before and was impressed by his devotion to his duty and his enthusiastic thoroughness. Unlike so many Retributors, Master Paramedes thought about his work, dangerous if done poorly, but a blessing if done well. Master Paramedes did well. He was a Norcross native, and Inquisitor Brake planned to ask for his transfer to his own private staff of Retributors when he and High Inquisitor Sigismondo left for their next assignment. Surprisingly, High Master Tau was happy to agree to the transfer.

The Inquisitor approached Master Paramedes who bowed in the acknowledgment of a servant rather than the attention due a superior. The Inquisitor noted to himself that either Tau had been talking too much or Paramedes was even sharper then he had expected. Master Paramedes then drew himself to attention.

“My lord, I was on duty when I was summoned to the suicide attempt by Remlak Gonshar. On hearing of his words about the murder of his wife I left the Proctor in the Refectory and immediately came here with my men to secure the scene of the crime for whoever was sent to investigate. I have detained the three people who I found here. I have touched nothing, I have not gone into Section 6, no one has been allowed into the Common, and no one has spoken to the detainees in the shrine” said Master Paramedes quietly, so that no one else in the Common could hear him.

Inquisitor Brake was inwardly pleased by the actions taken and the thoroughness with which they were carried out. Joy through Duty was indeed this man’s creed.

“Did you look in Section 6 to see if a murder had indeed taken place?” he asked quietly, and was both pleased and amused by the look of consternation which quickly furrowed Master Paramedes’ brow.

“No my Lord;” he replied after a brief pause, “I thought it better to disturb nothing until someone more experienced arrived. Inaction could cause no harm, action could ruin everything”

Inquisitor Brake was pleased more by this response but said “Unless of course the poor woman has been bleeding to death while we wait,” and was not surprised by the looks of horror and panic which chased each other across Master Paramedes’ face. Inquisitor Brake made a slight gesture to halt the Master as he turned toward the door to Section 6 and said, “Let us look shall we?.”

The door to Section 6 was not held by a privacy lock, and so opened to Scriptor Karpus’ over-ride code. Section 6 was revealed as little larger than a closet containing a bed with a rack over it holding some poor local luggage, a basin for ablutions and a small Ikon of the Emperor as the Savior of Mankind. Some clothes hung on a hook at the foot of the bed, and there was nothing else in the room, apart from the body of course.

The body was a short, thick-set woman of middle age, appropriate to what Inquisitor Brake had seen of Citizen Gonshar. She was not bleeding to death, but instead had the comprehensively bulging-eyed dead look of someone who has been brutally strangled. A conclusion confirmed by braided leather belt knotted around her throat, her protruding tongue and the broken doll arrangement of her limbs.

What a waste of time thought Inquisitor Brake. It would be better to ban marriage outright and save the Imperium a lot of trouble. The Emperor had never married as far as anyone knew, and if the Inquisition didn’t know no one knew. Of course the Empire needed new citizens and the Inquisitor had done his duty as a young man, but he had not suffered from the distraction of marriage. His seed had been collected and tested, the surrogates had been impregnated, and the resulting children raised in the Schola Progenium along with the orphans of other Imperial servants. He hoped for a balanced mix of males and females to better serve the Imperium. Inquisitor Brake had risen high enough in the Ordo Veritas to track down his children had he wished, but he had no desire to do so. Emotional family bonds were a weakness that an Inquisitor could do without.

Master Paramedes drew his breath in sharply as the three drew back out of the doorway, for there was room for only one other in the Section itself. Inquisitor Brake had seen death in more forms than he could remember. It seemed that Master Paramedes was less experienced.

“My Lord, “ he said, “I recognize that belt. It belongs to Kurman Gonshar, the brother-in-law of the deceased. I was on duty in charge of the Reception when this group of Visitors arrived. I supervised the search and scanning of their possessions and I remember that belt very well. I will put out an order for him to be detained as soon as he is found.”

“Don’t worry, Master Paramedes,” said Scriptor Karpus, “I can locate him using the building’s scanner system. His electoo will register where ever he is.”

“Excuse me Scriptor,” said Master Paramedes. “but this is a very primitive planet in some ways, electoos are not common among the lower classes, and rural people such as these may never have even heard of them. They do not have electoos”

“You did not fit them with temporary skinplants?” asked Inquisitor Brake a little sharply.

“I am very sorry, my Lord.” replied Master Paramedes, “but even that technology is restricted to the more secure areas of this headquarters. Remember Lord, the Visitors are only witnesses. None of the doors outside this facility will open without an electoo. This method has always been sufficient in the past. It should not be difficult to find him. My Lord,” replied Master Paramedes, “Kurman Gonshar is not a man you soon forget. When I first met the two Gonshars, it was hard to believe that they were brothers, Remlak, the elder, was middle aged, of average height and build. Slightly balding with white hair, his brother was twenty years younger, a head shorter ,dark-haired and with a full beard. As you will have noticed from the belt my Lord, he is a man of considerable girth, a brewer I believe.”

“You are right,” admitted Inquisitor Brake, “and in any case, it is not your responsibility. Start your search and detain the man, but make sure that he is captured alive, there may be more to this case than there appears. Let us talk to the people you have detained and see what, if anything, they can tell us.”

The Scriptor closed the door and the Inquisitor, with a shrug of his robes, enveloped himself in his full Inquisitor persona, representative of the Emperor, Defender of Mankind, bearer of almost limitless temporal power. Power radiated from his very presence.

The detainees bowing before him were an unprepossessing bunch, a slight very old man, a tall middle aged woman, and a young man, probably the woman’s son. They were all dressed in the homespun style of rural Norcross.

“I have confirmed with the Administratum that these are Anna Spirikos, her son Michael and Karoly Gemdar,” said Master Paramedes. “They all belong here in Common 6. They have been here all morning.”

The woman and her son had the drawn and exhausted look of those who were recovering from Examination. The old man looked as though he would be unlikely to survive the process, but these rural peasants could be a lot tougher than they looked. However, Inquisitor Brake made a note to himself to check on the selection process for the witnesses in this case to make sure that no one was abusing their authority to settle a personal score. If so they might find out what a real Examination was like.

“Tell me. Citizen Gemdar, what did you see here this morning in connection with Section 6?”, said Inquisitor Brake as he transfixed the old man with his gaze.

“Well your Highness…”

“You address him as My Lord,” interrupted Master Paramedes.

“Well my Lord,” said the old man in the thick accent of northern Norcross, “I wuz here with the Missuz and the boy going through the Articles of Faith.” From behind his back he produced a worn but obviously revered Book of Faith. “The Missuz haz a hard time of it lately, and I’z a lay preacher back home and knew I could help her.” The look in her eyes confirmed this much at least.

“But what did you see this morning?”

“Well your … my Lord, I got up early, I sleepz lezz than I’z used to. Well, I comez out went down and eatz me food, said me prayers, and came back and seez these two in the Shrine.

Inquisitor Brake muttered a silent prayer for Infinite Patience. It was clear that the story was going to come at Gemdar’s own pace, which like many old people, wandered slowly from place to place.

“Well, we wuz reciting the Faith when the boy Turman went in to get young Remlak. Well, after a while they comez out , Remlak said goodbye to his Missuz and they went after the rest to the big Shrine downstairz for the morning service together. I rememberz coz they had their robez with them. Well, ..”

“Did you hear anything while Citizen …”

“Brevak” supplied the Scriptor

“Citizen Brevak and Citizen Gonshar were in the room with Citizen Vareen?” asked the Inquisitor.

“Well, I hearz a bit of a row, but nothing much, Turman is a nice enough boy, but he haz a loud voice and a bit of a temper. It weren’t nothing. Well, …”

At least Gemdar’s speech pattern made it easy to get a word in edgewise.

“Are you sure Citizen Vareen was well when they left,” asked the Inquisitor

“Well, I’z pretty sure, I knowz I heard her slam the door shut. Well…”

“Could Citizen Brevak come back while you were praying?”

“Well…”

“I think it unlikely, my Lord,” said Master Paramedes, Citizen Brevak may be a boy, but he is as tall as a Space Marine, and nearly as wide. From what I’ve seen he’s a bit simple, and he’s very clumsy, there were some problems at Receiving. I doubt that he could sneak anywhere”

“Well, he isn’t stopped growing yet my Lord, he’ll do all right, he’z still very young. Well…”

“Enough of him, did any one else go in to see Citizen Vareen”, said the Inquisitor with irritation in his voice. The Prayers for Patience seemed to be wearing off. One of Inquisitor Brakes’s few weaknesses, and one he fought against long and hard, was his intolerance of time-wasting fools. Time was a precious commodity. The Emperor gave each man only so much. To waste it, or have it wasted by others, was a crime deserving punishment. This Karoly Gemdar was just the sort of person who reminded the Inquisitor why he so hated these investigations. He also recognized that, like Examination, investigation was done best by those whose professional standards required them to do a thorough job, but a job that they didn’t really enjoy. Liking the work too much was a constant temptation and threat to all Interrogators.

Inquisitor Brake snapped his attention back to the old man.

“Well, a while later thiz Tosconi fellow…”

“That’s Honotorio Toscanoni ?” asked the Inquisitor quietly.

“Yez, Honoro Tosconi. Well, this fellow Tosconi comez in and goez in to see Missuz Gonshar.”

“You are certain that it was him?” the Inquisitor asked firmly.

“Oh yez, “ Gemdar replied, “I’d know him anywhere”

“My Lord, “ added Master Paramedes, “Citizen Toscanoni is a native of Caldur. It has a hotter climate than Norcross, the locals there don’t normally wear much clothing there, but they do adorn their flesh with tattoos in devotion to the Emperor. I was there when Citizen Toscanoni was Received. He is an adult of very early middle age, of average height and build, with dark hair, and his entire body is covered in devotional tattoos.”

Inquisitor Brake muttered another silent prayer for Restraint. He didn’t like being lectured on matters he knew very well by someone who had never been off his own planet, much less outside his own system. However, it did show a good education and memory for detail. Yes, thought the Inquisitor, I can make good use of this man in the service of the Emperor.

“Including his face?,” questioned the Scriptor, who had been following the proceedings quietly.

“Yes my Lord” said Master Paramedes, before Citizen Gemdar could start to speak again, “especially his face, some very good work there”

“Citizen Gemdar, did you see him leave?” asked the Inquisitor

“Well, yez my Lord, you see…” The Inquisitor cut him off with a gesture.

“How long was he in with Citizen Vareen?”

“Well, you seez my Lord, I don’t keep time too well…”

“He arrived just after the bell for the first meal sitting. He left about one quarter hour after he arrived, “said Citizen Anna, “ we both saw him too. No one else came or went in that time, and no one even came into the Commons until these men rushed in.”

The Inquisitor was please to get a concise answer for a change.

“My Lord,” said Scriptor Karpus, “if Citizen Toscanoni is from Caldur, he will have an electoo, it will be easy to track him. Just a moment. Yes, he is now located in the solarium on the roof. Scanner coverage for the Visitor quarters is not complete, but he arrived there no more than ten minutes after he left the Commons. He could just make it from here if he were a fit man. I have just sent Retributors to detain him at your convenience.”

Inquisitor Brake turned back to the three.

“Are you very sure that after Remlak left the Section, Citizen Toscanoni was the only one to go in all morning?” All three nodded in agreement and the Inquisitor gestured to prevent Gemdar from starting to ramble. “Did Citizen Toscanoni not get on with Citizen Vareen?” he asked.

“Oh yes, “ said Citizen Anna, “ they got on very well. The only person I saw her arguing with was her cousin, Citizen Brevak.

“Well…, I mean, that seems to solve it my Lord, “said Master Paramedes. “She was alive when her husband left, Citizen Toscanoni was the only one to go in, there is no other way into the section, he must be the murderer. The Proctor and his squad will have him in a moment. Simple really,” he added with a light tone of disappointment.

“Yes, “ replied the Inquisitor, “very simple. The murderer can be detained and punished, and I can get back to my work.”

Who is the murderer? How does Inquisitor Brake know who the murder is?

Remlak Gonshar, the loving husband

Kurman Gonshar, the rotund brother-in-law

Turman Brevak, the simple cousin

Karoly Gemdar, the old fool

Honotorio Toscanoni, the foreign friend

Master Proctor Paramedes, the dutiful guard

You will note that there are no butlers in the Visitor’s quarters.