The Ashvane plot was becoming as thick as day old Sailor’s Pie, and Vincent was feeling increasingly troubled about what they’d find at the end of their investigation. Inglewood’s corpse was a grotesque but critical new piece to a larger puzzle, and even though he was contained within the most secure prison compound that Kul Tiras had to offer, he was still eliminated. Their only clue on the scene itself was the name “Jane” carved into Inglewood’s stomach.
Vincent’s main concern wasn’t the “how” of Inglewood’s death. After all, it didn’t seem to matter at this point where their suspects operated or were incarcerated, they always seemed to be taken out before being turned or otherwise questioned. The main concern for him was the “who”, meaning, of course, Jane. Was it an alias, a la Jane Doe? Unlikely, he supposed, if Inglewood himself (or even someone else) carried out the act. That’s a lot of effort to go to for just a fake name.
He followed the others out of the prison, stopping quickly by the entrance to retrieve his short sword left with the guard when they checked in.
“I’ll head for the record vaults then.” he said to Quai. “But I need to make a slight detour to the Academy first - a personal errand, but important. It won’t take long.”
Quai nodded. “Alright, meet us there as soon as you’re done.”
Vincent walked out of the Academy a short time later, having just dropped off Professor Clifton’s medicine with his assistant. He was adamant about getting it before the week’s end, so Vincent obliged. He didn’t mention his other work in the area.
As he was walking out the main corridor to the main road that would eventually lead him to the record vaults, his eye caught on something on the wall. Upon further inspection, he almost couldn’t believe the coincidence.
“Proudmoore Academy welcomes guest lecturer Commodore Jane Altham - Starts promptly on 6pm this Sunday. Lecture will be located in Falerevere Hall. Q&A segment to follow.”
Vincent’s hand fumbled to retrieve his comm stone, not taking his eyes off the poster in case it would somehow disappear if his attention wandered.
“Alanna, I found a potential identity for our Miss Jane.” he said into the stone.
Almost instantly there was a response. “You have? That was quick. Okay, who is it?”
“There’s a Commodore Jane Altham set to give a guest lecture here at the Academy this Sunday at 6pm.” he said. “Maybe-”
He was cut off with a short bit of laughing on the other end. “I’m sorry Vincent, that’s not possible.” Alanna said. “Jane Altham is a highly decorated, high-ranking retired military official; she does the lecture circuit during the fall every year at Proudmoore Academy, and she’s been a staunch defender of Kul Tiras for years. There’s just no way.”
Vincent paused for a moment, then clicked on the comm stone again. “Alanna, Inglewood was a general, so who knows how high up this goes.” he said, then pauses for a moment, then adds “I think we should at least consider it.”
A few seconds of silence pass. His comm crackles on again. “We’ll need to do more than simply consider a person like Jane Altham. If you’re serious and want to build a case against a retired Proudmoore Admiralty Commodore, it has to really stick. We’ll start digging.” she said. “In the meantime, I’ll keep going over connections to other Janes that Inglewood might have known.”
“Copy that.” Vincent said, then put the stone back into his pocket. He ripped the bulletin off of the wall and placed it into his front pocket. Despite Alanna’s reaction, Vincent considered this a promising lead. After all, it would fit the trend of corruption in the Admiralty up to now.
As he walked onwards in the direction of the records hall though, his thoughts lingered on his latest and biggest concern: how much higher could this possibly go?
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