We’d figured out both the culprit behind the switcheroo and where he’d stashed the genuine article.
Who would have guessed it was Earl Lizardtail all along?!
This wasn’t one of those mystery novels that are all the rage these days; we weren’t about to gather all the suspects in one room and have the detective (which in this scenario would be Mr. Fisalis, I guess) spell out the answer for his audience. We had to solve the case and catch the criminal strictly behind closed doors!
“Our mission is to get back the necklace and apprehend the earl as swiftly as possible,” declared Mr. Fisalis.
“That’s right!”
“I do have to report this to His Majesty, seeing as the earl will need to be dealt with,” he muttered to himself, sorting out his thoughts. “But so long as we file the damage report in confidence...I think we can pull this off.”
If we didn’t submit a damage report to the police force, there would be no record of this whole stolen necklace fiasco. As a result, we’d have no authority to arrest the earl. But that department was, naturally, under the jurisdiction of the chivalric order—which meant we could resolve the matter in secret.
“Rohtas. Head back to Rohze and instruct Corydalis to bring his platoon here. Let’s see—we have no way of knowing when exactly the earl will make his next move...so tell him to head out as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mr. Fisalis went on to give Rohtas a more detailed version of the instructions: give Corydalis a full account of the event, have him submit the damage report for us, send over a couple guards before the main force arrives, and so on and so forth.
In addition, Mr. Fisalis wrote a personal note to Corydalis and asked the butler to deliver it for him.
“Tell him to follow the standard mission protocol when he arrives: take the utmost care to ensure no one sees him.”
“Certainly, Master.”
“It’s gotten late, so let’s retire for the night. Rohtas, you should wait until tomorrow to set out.”
And thus, that night’s strategy meeting was brought to a close by motion of Mr. Fisalis.
✦ ✦ ✦
And then, the next day dawned.
Rohtas had left for the city first thing in the morning and managed to relay the facts of the case to Corydalis, so it was just past noon—a little too early for afternoon tea—when our two knight-guards arrived on the scene.
“Platoon Leader Pulcherrima will be on his way as soon as he’s finished carrying out the rest of your orders. He ought to arrive sometime after sundown.”
“I see. Thanks for the heads up. Now tell me—have you already been given the rundown on the case?”
“In broad strokes, yes.”
“The original necklace is still in the earl’s possession. Our servants are currently standing watch near his room, so I’ll need you two to go take over their shift. If anything happens, come get me right away.” Mr. Fisalis shifted immediately into Work Mode as he commanded his subordinates.
“Yes, sir!” both men shouted back.
He looked so dignified as he smoothly, decisively handed out his orders, and my heart fluttered to witness this side of him I so rarely got to see. He was almost like an entirely different person. If I wasn’t careful, I might just fall for him all over again!