Predictably – almost agonizingly so – Ash’s temperament did little to soothe Katerina’s disposition on that windy morning in Adeluna. He had a knack for pissing off just about everyone he met thanks to his seemingly unyielding sense of justice and his opaque lack of social etiquette. One of his past co-workers had even remarked at one point that the young detective could make even the jolliest jester hate his guts if he caught by a single whiff of wrong doing. His sense of humor, sadly, was lacking by all accounts.
What he lacked in social goods, however, Mr. Winters more than made up for with his shrewd attention to detail. He never took anyone’s testimony at face value, always wanting to relentlessly confirm it with a third party before moving forward. For this reason, his next course of action following Katerina’s statement was just as foreseeable as his belligerent nature.
"Next, I go to confirm your story," he said with a straight expression. The young man turned on his heel away from Katerina immediately afterward, making a beeline toward the inn that he knew she had been staying at with Nikolaus from the police report. As he went, he moved his jaw in grinding motions, as if he were trying to chew on something invisible in his mouth: a bad habit he had developed over the years to deal with stress. He continued with that motion until he and Katerina arrived back at the inn, at which point he stopped to talk.
"A word of caution before we head in here," Winters spoke calmly but gruffly over his shoulder to the woman still following him. "No matter what the innkeeper says, do not attack him. If you do, they'll execute your husband immediately, and simply presume your violence as proof of his crimes. They’ll get reprimanded and punished, sure, but that won’t change the fact that your lover is dead." He talked as if he knew the man they were about to meet and as if he knew what he would say. In fact, the young, scraggly officer did know this character. He had visited this man regularly in the past for a drink and, more recently, for information. The innkeeper, whose name I care not to remember, would recognize him almost as soon as he saw that scraggly mess enter his bar once more.
"Yes, how can I – oh, Mr. Winters! Here for business or - ?" Unfortunately, he would also recognize Katerina mid-sentence, causing a rather uncomfortable silence until the fat cook spoke again. "What's she doing here?"
Ash had to be careful here, because, while this man was helpful for his profession, he disliked him on a personal level. This was one of the few people he didn’t want to piss off, even if what he really wanted to do was lock him in a cell and throw away the key. Sadly, the innkeeper was protected by the local guards who didn’t see eye to eye with the royal inspectors – especially not the newbie of their ranks. For better or worse, Mr. Winters had to be at least marginally cordial.
"She's a rather incessant tagalong, but that doesn't change that I'm here on business," he began. "You served this woman and her husband last night, yes? Well I need to know what exactly they had in their food, as strange as that request might sound."
Thankfully, the innkeeper was feeling cooperative today. He didn’t even ask for money before he answered.
"Aye. Cow's blood with oregano for the vampire. Beef stew with bread and cheese for her. Both spiked with verbena." Known among trained botanists in Revaliir, Verbena is a vampire killer. It is one of the few herbs that are actually poisonous to that race, provided a member ingests enough of a certain subspecies to render an effect. Ash recognized its name immediately during his conversation with the innkeeper, and his eye twitched as he tried to suppress his first instinct. The man in front of him had just admitted to attempted murder in front of an inspector; and yet he was not able to do anything about it. All he could do was confirm the statement and move on quietly.
"So you knew that the man was a vampire and you admit to trying to poison him and his spouse," the young Winters asked for clarification?
"More like I strongly suspected, what with the killings and all. Better safe than sorry since everyone's screaming vampire." With a smug grin, the innkeeper owned up to his crime, knowing no one was going to touch him. He even gloated about why that was in the follow-up. "Sides, if they drop dead from contact with an herb that's harmless to pretty much everyone else, it's not like you folks would come arrest me. Only good vampire's a dead one in this town. Even you know that, Inspector."
He was right, but only about the town. Ash didn’t share the racism inherent in many of his cohorts, but he recognized the grim reality of Adeluna. If you weren’t human in that town, a lot of officers would turn a blind eye toward crimes committed against you. It was a sad reality, but it was one the young detective worked against. He didn’t believe Nikolaus was guilty just because of his race; and now he had reason to believe Katerina was telling him the truth. He just hoped she wouldn’t make things worse by strangling the innkeeper and would, instead, follow him outside so they could talk.
“Thank you for your time.”
"To be honest, I'll take criminals over women any day. At least I understand criminals." -Ash Winters
