John Ship: PI

I own nothing but my OC's

You know, it's amazing how productive you can be when the government bans you from leaving your house. Yeah, another chapter, a lot shorter than the previous one but I hope you enjoy it.

And now, more than ever, BE CAREFUL! The Corona Virus is a catastrophe and the last thing we need is someone spreading it by ignoring guidelines.

The Case of the Shadow: Part Three

The next afternoon I, escorted by Foor, walked into the Red Keep. It was the second time my work had brought me up to the blood red castle which dominated the city. My last trip here had restricted me to the kitchens and the servants quarters, this time I truly was walking through the halls of power. I had read Arch Maester Glydan's seminal work on the history of House Targaryen at one of the libraries and my thoughts drifted to the great events which took place here. Was it in this hall that Jaehaerys and Alysanne planned their secret marriage and flight to Dragon Stone? Was it through that door that Blood and Cheese crept towards their bloody mission? Did Maegor the Cruel march through this same corridor, a foul atrocity on his mind. So much blood had been spilt, so many glories, so many acts of love and hate had taken place in the Red Keep, and yet I, the crippled son of a coal miner, now walked through it.

All around us were the rich and powerful of the city, all content with going about their own business, completely separated from those of the people in the twisted city below. I hated the atmosphere it gave off, and the condition of my foot made it even worse. According to the maester who gave it a look over the night before it would be alright, just some bruising. He also seemed more interested in the botched surgery which got my foot in that mess to begin with, but he was eventually persuaded to leave.

My foot hurt whenever I put pressure on it, despite my specially made boot, and my new walking stick was a different length to my old one making walking even more awkward. Still, I persisted as we made our way around the castle.

That morning I had wasted hours trying to find the guest list for the party attended by Caril but no one seemed to have it so I decided to go straight to the top with it. I had to go and ask Littlefinger himself. I had heard a lot about this man since I arrived in King's Landing, and little of it was good. Apparently he was a genius when it came to money, had increased revenues ten times over and appointed merchants and businessmen to offices usually held only by the nobility. That was the good part. The rest of it, not so much. He ran brothels catering to every desire, some of them illegal, but could get away with it thanks to his position. People who opposed him had a bad habit of turning up dead in the Black Water and some whispered that he had claimed the virginity of the wife of the King's best friend.

He was a dangerous man, I suspected, but I had no choice. I had to get the information for the sake of the case and therefore I had to talk to Littlefinger, well, his proper name is Lord Baelish but everyone referred to him as Littlefinger. There were areas of the Red Keep which were reserved for public access, mostly, it seemed, for nobles to gather around and gossip and for commoners to petition the king. As for the private areas, getting there wasn't as much of a problem as I thought they would. The gold cloaks put on guard there held us up for a moment but after telling them I was going to see Lord Baelish they let me past at once, and after that a servant girl we bumped into escorted us to the mans chambers.

'Thank you,' I said to her and handed her a stag which she grinned at before hurrying off.

At that I knocked on the door and after a few moments came the answer.

'Enter.'

Foor opened the door for me and I went inside. The office was large with tapestries depicting birds covering the walls, shelves covered by neatly ordered ledgers were standing against the tapestries and in the centre of the room was a large desk, neatly arranged with papers and quills. Sitting there, looking at a sheet of paper, was a man a few years younger than me with dark hair and a thin moustache. He was skinny and not too tall, not an intimidating man at all, yet I had seen his type before, back when I worked at a tax office, usually men who tried to avoid paying up.

'Thank you for letting us in,' I said as I walked towards the desk.

'You are?' he asked me.

'John Ship, of John Ship Investigation Services.'

'John Ship? The man who sometimes works for the Gold Cloaks? Caught that Wilson man?'

'That's me.'

'We'll it's good to meet you Ship,' he said, putting the paper on the desk. 'Please sit down. How can I help you?'

'It's to do with a matter I'm investigating. There have been a number of burglaries lately and I think you may have some information to help me with it.'

'And what would I have to do with a common thief?'

Taxes, I thought to myself, before giving him the actual reason.

'One of the items stolen was a tiara belonging to Caril, Madame of the Blonde Blade.'

'Oh, her. I always thought she took security very seriously.'

'She does, but this thief is very good. She says that the last time she wore it was at a party you hosted a few weeks ago. This morning the other victims of the thief also confirmed they were all at the party as well. I need the guest list of the party.'

'I see,' Baelish responded as he stood up, walking towards one of the shelves where he picked up a file of neatly stacked papers, sifting through them on the way back to the desk. 'It was a large party, Ship. About two hundred people were there.'

'I'll go through them one at a time,' was my response.

'A determined man I see,' he commented and presented me with a sheet of paper. 'This is the guest list, it doesn't include plus ones though.'

'It will do,' I then stood up, Foor helping me do so, and then I extended my hand to Baelish. 'Thank you for your assistance.'

'It was my pleasure. Before I forget, well done for catching Lady Able's killer as well.'

'You heard about that?' I asked him, although it wasn't too much of a surprise considering that Varys did as well.

'Most of the court did, mostly just surprised that she was dead and that her sister tried to take her place.'

'It was one of the oddest cases I've handled. Anyway, have a good day Lord Baelish.'

With that I left, glad I managed to keep the meeting as short as possible, and Foor and I began the way back to the exit. However, after only a few minutes I noticed someone a short distance ahead of us slow his pace to come level with us.

'Good afternoon,' he said, stubble on his face and his demeanour and stance was rough, clearly he was some sort of hired muscle, Foor moved his hand towards the axe at his belt and I was very aware of my dad's knife beneath my coat.

'Can I help you?' I asked him, now we had stopped and I realised the corridor was empty except for us.

'Of course. Well, more like, I was wondering to meself, why go to see a man like Littlefinger?'

'None of your business,' I answered him. 'Now, if there's nothing else I need to go.'

'Actually it is my business,' he told me, his voice completely different, his stance and his look seemed different suddenly. 'I can't help but wonder why you wouldn't want to talk on your friend while in the Red Keep.'

'Lord Varys,' I said to the eunuch spymaster. 'I didn't realise it was you.'

'I travelled with a group of mummers when I was a child, I learned a few tricks. Now, why did you want to see Lord Baelish?'

'How did you know I was here?'

'I have a lot of friends in this castle, they saw you come in. Now, about Lord Baelish?'

'I needed the guest list to a party he hosted a few weeks ago.'

'The one attended by your good friend Caril?'

'Yes.'

'I suspected as much, since all the victims in your current case attended it.'

I was annoyed more than surprised that he would know the details of my case. Still, I tried my best not to let on my feelings on the subject.

'Do you anything? Who the thief is?'

'No, surprisingly. It's an unimportant matter but a fascinating one. Anyway,' he reached into his coat and withdrew a folded sheet of paper, 'here's the guest list, with the plus ones.'

Now that was odd.

'Thank you Lord Varys,' I said and took it.

'If you ever need my help, just come and ask.'

'That depends on what you'll ask of me one day,' was my response and I nodded to Foor, we left as quickly as we could.

'How long have you known the Spider?' asked Foor once we were outside of the castle.

'He spoke to me once before after we solved the Able Case. He hinted that he wanted me to work for him one day. I'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone.'

'I understand John, but remember, it's a dangerous thing, mixing with his lot. You know what they say. Play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die.'

'I hate games.'

…

That night I was sitting in my room, working by candle light and looking over the two guest lists. By the documents was a tankard of beer, almost empty. I was feeling tired in truth, and wanted to go to bed, but I had to find something interesting in the guest list. The list was a who's who of businessmen in the city, tavern keepers, land lords, madame's, shopkeepers and merchants were all there. Aside from the plus ones on the list, there were no differences between the two documents. I also had a few open ledgers with records of the registered businesses in the city, I got Gallin and Ser Tallard to acquire them from the Records Hall. I was looking at the guests then looking up their businesses to find something interesting that could suggest a motive or a link or anything.

The only detail which had stuck out was that of a guest I was unfortunately familiar with, Ser Chrison had been there, due to his businesses involving several warehouses and two wine shops. He was in position to see the tiara, but he couldn't have stolen the other things himself, he could never have fit in the bone bin or squeezed through the pipe. Still, he had plenty of men who could do it, but what would the motive be? He was a wealthy man, why would he need to steal these goods? I leaned back and downed the last of the beer, with some annoyance I pushed myself out of the chair and sighed, grabbing my cane and I began the walk downstairs to get another.

It was mostly empty in the bar room, except for a few others who were still drinking and Foor was asleep in the corner, his shirt stained with beer. At the bar I put the tankard on the counter and Kans at once filled it up. We didn't talk for a few minutes, my mind drifting back to England, and to Uncle Henry. I hadn't thought about him in years, my least favourite relative. My mothers wealthy parents had taken an instant dislike to my father, as for my mothers brothers, Simon, Henry and Thomas, had a mixed response. Simon and Thomas remained close to my mother, Henry didn't. He hated us, and due to being what can only be described, as a fanatical Roman Catholic, he saw my birth defect as a punishment from God. After he attacked me, Uncle Simon arrived and got me out of that mess. I didn't see Henry for years afterwards until I finally learned of his comeuppance.

My grandfather, on my mother's side, was Irish, and when a failed rebellion in Ireland contributed to a long war in Ireland after the Great War, Uncle Henry felt that it was his duty to help his countrymen. He was a wealthy banker and supplied funds to buy firearms for the IRA but was soon arrested and sent to prison. By then I had been working as a PI for a few years and had made a few contacts in the prison service, including that prisoners governor. Pulling some strings I managed to visit him, spat in his face and walked out. Well, that and I paid for a pair of musicians to play "The Sash my Father Wore" on the accordion outside of his cell at the crack of dawn every day for three months. Just thinking about how angry it must have made him made me smile.

'I'm closing the bar in half an hour,' Kans told me, bringing me back to reality.

'Better get me extra one as well then.'

'You know, I could just bring you up a keg. I have tapped ones with ten pints in them.'

'How much?'

'A stag.'

'Aye alright then,' I said and gave him the silver coin while he went to the back to get the keg.

He soon returned and we went upstairs, he put the small wooden barrel on my desk, and I filled my tankard with beer.

'Thanks Kans. It's been a long night.'

'You should get to bed soon you know. You've been on your feet all day.'

'No need to worry lad. I'll be going to sleep in a couple of hours.'

'Fair enough. Well, I'll see you in the morning.'

He left and I got back to work, looking through the names. Then I spotted something. On Varys's list I saw that Ser Chrison was listed as having a plus one, a woman named Dalanna Yarr. That surname, Yarr. I'd seen it before.

Further down on the guest list was a man named Linek Yarr with Dalee Yarr as a plus one. Curious to have the same surname. Feeling interested I looked him up the ledgers to find his address and then his business. My suspicion was confirmed, he lived with his wife, Dalee, and daughter Dalanna. As for his business that's what got me very interested.

He was a lock smith, his shop made locks for strong boxes, doors and anything that needed a lock. Curious, I looked over to Caril's box and picked it up, bringing it close to the candle and I felt a smile when I saw it. Etched onto the lock was the name "Yarr".

…

The next day I, Tallard and Foor found ourselves outside of the modest looking shop of the Yarr family. Gallin and Synol I left to run surveillance on Ser Chrison. After going inside, I found the place empty except for a young, serious looking girl of about sixteen behind the counter, her face caked in thick makeup and with a crooked nose.

'Can I help you?' she asked us.

'I need to speak with the master of the house. Where's Linek Yarr?'

'He's in the back. Who's here to see him?'

'John Ship,' I told her and she at once hurried off to get Linek.

For a couple of minutes we waited, I took the time to examine some of the locks on display on the counter, a few of them matched the makes of the locks on the strongboxes.

'Good morning,' a voice said and Linek, a tall, lanky man with unusually long fingers and narrow shoulders. 'I am Linek Yarr.'

'John Ship.'

'Yes, my daughter said so. We went to watch the hanging of the Able killers you know. Well done on that.'

'It feels like the whole city knows about that one.'

'Indeed. It was quite a scandal.'

'It was an odd one I'll give you that. Anyway, I came here to ask you a few questions.'

'Oh?' he asked, certainly puzzled.

'Yes, is there somewhere quiet where we can talk?'

'Of course. Follow me.'

He then smiled and let us back through the workshop where a couple of apprentices were working away. He took us to a small office at the back where he sat down and gestured to a chair for me. I sat took a moment to begin this interrogation.

'There's a matter I need to discuss with you. There's been a few thefts lately, a burglar of unusual skill has been able to pick the locks of strongboxes and doors at several businesses and has made off with a lot of precious goods.'

'What does this have to do with me?'

'It appears that these thefts, all of which have been done by the same burglar, were targeted against locks which you made. I checked this morning, and all of them made use of your locks.'

'You think I make shoddy locks?' he asked, outraged.

'No,' I answered him. 'The opposite is true, I've inspected the locks myself and I tried to pick some of them. I am a talented lockpick myself and it was a struggle to get through them. To be honest, I think you might be being targeted.'

It was a lie of course. I needed to get on his good side to get information out of him.

'Why?' he asked me, now looking shaken. 'Why would I be a victim?'

'A rival perhaps,' I suggested. 'There are a lot of men with your profession in this city, could one of them want to ruin your business?'

'They wouldn't need to,' he said and slumped back down in his chair. 'I'm going out of business, we're nearing bankruptcy.'

'You are?' I asked, now finding a motive to steal high value goods.

'Yes. We did have a way out but that's gone now. I'm putting the business up for sale soon.'

'What was your way out?'

'My daughter,' he explained. 'She was engaged to a rich man, but he called it off yesterday.'

'Ser Chrison Torre?' I asked him.

'How did you know that?'

'I looked over the guest list for the party at the Red Keep a few weeks ago. I saw that he had your daughter as a guest.'

'I don't want any mention of that man,' he growled to me. 'He was my last chance at saving my business.'

'I'm very sorry. Do you know why Chrison broke off the engagement?'

'No,' he answered, obviously lying, judging by how defensive he was being. Now it was time to leave.

'Very well,' I said and stood up. 'If you can think of anything else, come see me at Visenya's.'

'The inn?'

'Yes.'

'Alright. If I think of anything I'll tell you at once.'

We left the office, walking past Dalanna who was waiting by the door. Once outside I looked at my men.

'He's hiding something,' I stated.

'I thought so too,' said Tallard.

'He was far to eager to be helpful while revealing nothing at all. Something bad must have happened between his daughter and Ser Chrison.'

'Why didn't you try to get his finger prints?' asked Foor.

'It's not an easy thing to explain, besides, if he is the thief he could accuse me of faking the prints. It's not exactly a proven science yet in this country. When we get back to base I'll have Synol start watching this place.'

Review Response Time:

A fan: Don't worry, I have no plans on giving up this story, out of all of them this is the one I've had the most fun writing. Thanks for your review and your dedication to this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Raw 666: Well, we've had John's first introduction to Littlefinger now. Is he involved, perhaps? However, keep in mind that a man like Littlefinger has a lot going on at once, and John still isn't a large player in the city.

Some guy the anon: Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Supremus85: Well, he didn't die horribly he got a fate that he deserved. Thanks for your review, and I hope you enjoy this one.