The Wrong Trail Knife

by Jane Fletcher

jane.fletcher@virgin.net

Disclaimers: Please see chapter one

Chapter twenty-two – The future

All of the 12th were assembled on the parade ground. The sky was clear but it was too early for the sun to have any warmth. Dolovok stood on the raised platform at the front of the officers’ block. Chip and Sanchez were at the foot of the steps to one side, while Katryn was a little way off, next to the quartermaster’s staff. Dolokov was speaking, telling the squadron about Bergstrom’s death. The rangers did not stir in their lines, but more than one woman’s eyes strayed repeatedly in Chip or Katryn’s direction.

As she waited for Chip’s turn to come Katryn tried to evaluate her own feelings. Chip’s explanation the previous night had neatly fitted all the facts. Too neatly. Katryn was not sure she totally trusted the conclusion, but it would soon be put to the test. She looked at the members of her old patrol, standing to attention behind Jan; and at one face in particular – the woman Chip was certain had murdered Ellis. The woman who had deliberately framed her for the murder, not caring what would happen. Katryn’s jaw clenched. She half-hoped Chip was right, so all the doubts would be ended – she half-hoped Chip was wrong, so she wouldn’t have to watch the consequences destroy someone she knew, no matter how well deserved the punishment. Looking at the face of the woman Katryn was a little surprised to realise she had no lust for revenge.

Dolokov finished her part of the announcement. "The matter of Sergeant Ellis’s death is not yet fully resolved. However Sergeant Coppelli from the 23rd has something she wishes to say about it." Captain Dolokov nodded to Chip, her face showing some reservation. Like Katryn, the captain had felt the explanation too contrived, but she had been willing to let Chip have her chance – after a little pressure from Sanchez.

Chip mounted the steps and turned to face the squadron. "I don’t know how many of you are aware I have been looking into Sergeant Ellis’s death. Since Private Nagata joined my patrol it has obviously been of some concern to me. I managed to produce various theories. Most of them have been shown to be unworkable, and one of them lead us to the confrontation with Lieutenant Bergstrom. However I now think I have finally got to the bottom of it, and want to tell you how I think the events went surrounding the murder."

There was a faint rustle among the rangers, the simultaneous drawing of breath. Chip waited for silence and then continued. "The murder was planned in advance, the first steps were made during the afternoon, when the murderer was working in the stores. She had already decided when, where, and how she was going to murder Sergeant Ellis, and she had worked out, not just how get around the fact no-one was being allowed to take her knife out of the barracks, but how to make it work in her favour. She made sure no-one was watching, then hid her own trail-knife in the stores. It didn’t need to be a well concealed spot, on top of a stack of crates would have done. As soon as she was finished in the stores she went straight to the bunk-house and put her empty belt in her locker. Presumably if someone had noticed her knife was missing she could have pretended it had been left behind by accident – at that point she was not irrevocably committed to the crime. However the empty sheath was not spotted, and the murderer went on to arrange a secret meeting in the stores with Sergeant Ellis; probably saying she suspected Private Nagata of stealing; since framing her was part of the plan."

Chip’s eyes flicked briefly in Katryn’s direction – quite a few others copied the action.

"That night the murderer left with the rest of B patrol to visit a tavern in town. She had already talked people into going to the White Swan, which had quick access to the rear door of the stores. The patrol stopped off on the way to talk to Private Nagata in the stable. The murderer made an excuse to return alone to the bunk-house, where she took Private Nagata’s knife and put it in the empty belt in her own locker. She then went to the tavern with the others. Sergeant Ellis also put in a brief visit to the White Swan, probably to co-ordinate the meeting in the stores. Once enough time had passed to allow Sergeant Ellis to get back, the murderer slipped out through the rear exit of the tavern. Sergeant Ellis had set out the bridge and helped her climb in. All that was needed was to divert Sergeant Ellis’s attention for a few seconds, pick up the knife from where it was hidden, and stab her in the back. The murderer then took the key and left via the rear door. Locking the door from the outside did not require too much agility. There is a convenient row of thick iron bars to stand on, and they are designed to stop people climbing in, not out. The murderer jumped down, and went to rejoin her comrades in the tavern. The last step in the plan was the part which relied most on luck. The murderer wanted to be present when the body was discovered, and someone might have stumbled upon it by accident before the patrol returned from the tavern. However luck was with her, and she got the opportunity she wanted. The lighting in the stores was not good, so no-one noticed that when she bent over the body to check for a pulse she slipped the key back into Ellis’s pocket."

By now all of B patrol had worked out the name of the ranger Chip suspected. Nikki even turned her head slightly to peer in Bo’s direction. Pat was standing next to her and was glancing sideways with a genuine expression of dumbstruck amazement. Bo herself kept her eyes fixed rigidly ahead but she was looking as if she was going to be sick. Katryn studied her dispassionately, and then turned her gaze away. Bo was guilty. Her face said it as clearly as words. Whether the last part of Chip’s plan would work and provide the evidence was scarcely necessary.

Chip went on speaking. "The murderer’s plan worked perfectly. Everything fell into place for her. Everyone went where she wanted them to, and saw what she wanted them to. Nobody spotted the things she didn’t want noticed. But there was one problem – she’d assumed all trail-knives are identical. I guess it hit her first thing the next day, when she had the chance to get a good look at the one she’d taken, and she realised the very same thing Private Nagata did when the murder weapon was shown to her. There was no way the two knives could be confused. Private Nagata had been a ranger for less than six months; her knife was almost brand new. The murderer had served for years and her knife was visibly worn. She was in a awkward spot. It was possible no-one would look closely enough to spot the switch, but the murderer dare not count on it. The chances were that, pretty soon, the search would be on for a veteran ranger with an unexpectedly new knife. At this point the murder knew she had to switch knives again, but she was stuck for options. She didn’t want the new owner to notice, just in case the search never came, nor did she want to throw suspicion on any of the rangers in her patrol. She didn’t want the investigators to start wondering how someone who’d been in the White Swan might have committed the murder. There was only one person whose knife she could take. So the murderer slipped into the sergeant’s room and swapped Sergeant Ellis’s knife with the one she’d taken from Private Nagata. This worked well enough in misleading the investigators into thinking Sergeant Ellis had been stabbed with her own knife. It meant that the plan to frame Private Nagata failed, but it also meant the murder went unsolved, which was nearly as good from the murderer’s point of view, especially when it was so easy to convince most of the squadron that Private Nagata really was the guilty one."

Katryn looked over the ranks of rangers, noting the ashamed expressions dotted around, and matching them to her memories. But they were all watching Chip in fascination – all except for Bo who was staring up at the roof of the officer’s block with dead, hopeless eyes. Had she already taken the final logical step and realised what was coming next?

"Where the search for the switched knife went wrong was that it looked for a ranger with a knife which was too new. What they should have been looking for was a ranger with a knife which was too old." Chip pulled her own knife from her belt and held it up. "I have been a ranger for eight years; and this is reflected in the degree of wear on my knife. The person I suspect of murder has been a ranger for a similar length of time and should have a knife in a similar state to mine. However Sergeant Ellis had been a ranger for eighteen years. The difference won’t be so marked compared to a new knife – there’s a limit to how polished a handle can get. But her knife should still be visibly more worn. Captain Dolokov…" Chip turned slightly to face her. "You have served for slightly longer than Sergeant Ellis, but your knife should be roughly comparable. What I propose is for Lieutenant Sanchez to take our two knives and compare them to those belonging to the rangers who were at the White Swan the night Sergeant Ellis was murdered."

Dolokov nodded. It was pure theatre; the plan had been agreed that morning. Sanchez mounted the steps and took the two knives, then walked down towards B patrol. Jan had taken the lead and drawn her knife. She held it balanced across her palm for inspection. Sanchez made a show of looking at it for the purposes of completeness, before moving on to Tina and Sal who were also presenting their knives. At the end of the front row was a ranger, new to B patrol, who had taken the post of corporal. In response to the questioning look Sanchez shook her head to confirm she was not a suspect and need not show her knife. Sanchez walked around her and moved on to the second row; first Nikki, and then Pat. Bo had not moved. Sanchez stopped in front of her. For long, drawn-out seconds they stood like statues. Finally Sanchez reached out and took the trail-knife from Bo’s belt.

Bo’s eyes closed and her head dropped, shaking in disbelief or disavowal. Sanchez examined the knife for a few more seconds, pursed her lips and returned to Dolokov on the top of the steps. The captain also studied the three knives and then looked back to the assembled squadron. "Sergeant Sivarajah. Leading Ranger Hassan is under arrest for the murder of Sergeant Melanthe Ellis of the 12th squadron. Remove her sword and any other weapons and see that she is secured in the lock-up immediately."

Bo was lead away, wide-eyed and stumbling like a lost child. A confusing snarl of emotions beset Katryn as she watched her go.

**********

The lock-up was small and virtually identical to the one in Roadsend. Bo sat alone on the end of one of the bunks, huddled against the wall with her arms wrapped around her knees. She peered up as Katryn stepped through the outer door of the cell. Her expression was twisted in anguish but held more of self-pity, Katryn judged, than remorse or shame. Recognising her visitor, Bo pulled herself up and let go of her knees, but she still presented a picture of pathetic despair.

"Katryn? Is there any news?" Bo asked.

"Dolokov is going to hold the court marshal tomorrow morning." Katryn made sure there was no trace of smugness in her voice – it wasn’t hard; she didn’t feel any.

"I know that."

"Then you know as much as me."

"Then why…" Bo’s shoulders slumped and she swallowed. "Do you hate me?" Her voice was a dead whisper.

Katryn stopped to consider the question. It wasn’t an easy one. She felt she had the right to hate Bo; especially when she called on the memories she’d tried hard to forget; in the latrine block and the grim satisfaction on Bo’s face while smashing fists into her ribs and stomach. But Katryn also remembered sitting in the lock-up at Roadsend, and the fight to keep panic and despair at bay – a fight Bo had already lost, judging by the look on her face. It gave her an unsettling empathy.

At Katryn’s silence Bo leaned her head back against the wall and looked at her with a sideways stare. "You’ve come to gloat. Will you enjoy watching me hang tomorrow afternoon?"

"No." That was an easier question to answer, but only as she spoke did she realise that with it they both acknowledged the inevitable. If Bo had struck out in a fit of anger she might have got away with a lesser punishment, given Ellis’s record and the provocation, but not with the calculated planning, and certainly not with framing someone else to die in her place for the crime.

"So why are you here?"

"I wanted to know why you did it. I know you hated Ellis. So did I. But why kill her when I was the one she was picking on, and why frame me for it?"

"I was sorry about you, but…"

But not that sorry, Katryn mentally finished the sentence for Bo. "So why didn’t you kill her before?"

Bo’s head dropped. "I had nine years of being her victim. You know what that’s like. I got all the shit that was going. Every move I made was wrong; at best I got laughed at. After two years I stopped trying – and it made no difference." She glanced up at Katryn. "I should have told you there was no point trying to get your kit clean. Whether you took five minutes or two hours you had the same chance of sentry duty. You might as well of not bothered. The rest thought I was a joke; so I made myself the patrol clown; but it hurt. When I’d joined the rangers I’d been so pleased with myself. I remember putting on the uniform for the first time, and grinning all day, and…" Bo face contorted, she could not finish the sentence. "And I ended up under Ellis. It was hell – until you joined the patrol, and suddenly I wasn’t bottom of the pile anymore. It was only when I was out of it I could see how bad things had been. I had a few months when I kept most of my free-time, when I didn’t wake up each morning feeling sick at the thought of the day ahead. A few months when I felt I had a chance... when I felt I could prove I deserved my place in the rangers. And then there was that skirmish with the cats. That was the best shooting I’d ever seen, and not just me. I was standing with Ellis. Do you know how much it shook her to realise she had a sharpshooter in her patrol? She hadn’t known, so you could bet Dolokov didn’t know either. I was just starting to think that through when Tina let drop you were offered a lieutenancy in the militia." Bo’s eyes met Katryn’s. "I was never as bad as Ellis made out, but I’m not in your league. There was no way Dolokov as going to leave you to be kicked about by Ellis once she realised what you had to offer the squadron. Tina suggested you apply to change patrols. I saw it as a safe bet you’d be moved as soon as Dolokov got back and read the report of the incident. And once you were gone I’d be the scapegoat again. But you said about killing Ellis and it gave me the idea. I couldn’t go back to being the butt of the patrol, not after seeing now much better life ought to be." Tears started to trickle down Bo’s face. "I couldn’t go back to years of wading through shit. Can’t you see that, now that you’re free of Ellis as well?"

Maybe, but I wouldn’t have let someone else hang for it. Katryn swallowed the words, and the other things she could have said. Bo obviously didn’t know that Ellis wasn’t going to be allowed to re-enlist, and there was no point telling her now.

"Nikki says you were the one who talked everyone else into giving me a beating." Katryn spoke the accusation without bitterness. Nikki, wearing her new leading ranger’s badge, had been the first to volunteer an apology, without hiding behind excuses. It had eased the resentment more than Katryn had expected.

"Sorry, but I thought if everyone had a stake in thinking you guilty they wouldn’t be so keen on looking for other suspects, and it wasn’t…" Bo broke off, looking uncomfortable. She twitched her shoulder in a nervous shrug. "I am sorry, and you’re okay now, aren’t you?"

The insincerity of Bo’s tone brought the first real flash of anger to Katryn. She clenched her jaw shut, unable to answer the question, and made as if to go. Before she reached the door Bo had scrambled off the bunk and grabbed hold of the bars.

"Katryn." Bo’s voice was desperate.

Katryn turned back. "What?"

"I know I don’t have the right to ask you this but…" Bo gulped air. "When you leave here you’re going straight back to Eastford?"

"Yes."

"On the way you’ll go through this small village, Amberwell. Do you know it?"

"I think so."

"It’s where my family come from. I’m not bothered about my parents – they never gave a toss about me, but two of my grandmothers… they run the general stores, they… they were always so proud of me in my ranger’s uniform. I don’t want them to learn…" Bo was fighting to voice the words. "…about all this from a letter. Please, call in and see them on the way. Tell them the news. Be kind to them… it will break their hearts anyway. Say something nice about me. Lie if you must… please?"

Katryn nodded once sharply then turned and left the jail.

**********

A soft drizzle was falling on Fort Krowe. The nearby mountains were lost in low cloud, however the air was not cold, and it carried the scent of spring. Chip and Kim stood in a doorway and looked out. Rangers in green and grey scurried between the buildings, their speed inversely relating to their rank. Horses grazed on the fields above. A squad of new recruits were slogging through the mud, carrying weighted backpacks, while a drill-sergeant hurled abuse.

"Home sweet home." Chip remarked.

"I wonder how long we’ll be here?"

"Only a few days. We’re being posted to Northcamp for the summer."

"Northcamp?" Kim said in surprise. "How do you know? You haven’t been calling in favours again, have you?"

Chip laughed. "No. I wouldn’t dare. I want to keep my anatomy as it is."

"So how do you know?"

"I was chatting to a member of staff."

Kim shook her head in amusement. "We’ve been back less than a day, and already you’re up to date with the gossip."

"Oh, I wouldn’t say I was up to date – give me a couple more hours." Chip’s smile faded as she expression became more serious. "But on the subject of gossip, are you hearing anything?"

"About..?" Kim prompted.

"Me and Katryn."

"Oh, that... yes, there’s a bit of speculation – but there’s been that for months."

"Months!" Chip exclaimed. "But we’ve only…"

Grinning, Kim interrupted. "The pair of you have been desperately ogling each other since mid-winter – of course people noticed."

"You knew Katryn was interested in me?"

"Yes."

"And you didn’t tell me?"

"I thought you’d have more fun working it out for yourself. Neither of you were being particularly subtle – it was just that you were too nervous to look at Katryn long enough to notice."

Chip groaned and stared desolately at the pattern of rain falling on a puddle. "So we may not have very long."

Kim lent her shoulder against the frame of the door and examined her friend. "You think you’ll be separated?"

Chip shrugged by way of an answer.

"It has to be serious before they do that." Kim said.

"It’s serious."

"Really?"

Chip looked up at her friend. "I’m utterly crazy about her, and it’s getting worse, not better. Suddenly I’m re-scheduling my whole life. Even if we do get separated, I find myself thinking that I’ve only got three more years left of my enlistment term, Katryn has just under four to serve, and then we’d both be out with our de-mob payments."

"You’re thinking of leaving the rangers?"

"Yes."

"Children?"

"Oh, children, grand-children. A little cottage. Flowers around the door – you name it."

"And what is Katryn thinking?"

Chip shook her head. "She refuses to think about the future. When I said about leaving the rangers she said four years was a long time and anything might happen before then."

"She might go off you?" Kim said, half-teasing.

"No. She’s promised that’s the one thing that won’t happen." Chip’s grin returned. "Oh… this is getting ridiculous, I keep fluctuating between panic and euphoria."

"As I’ve said before – what a state for a ranger to get into."

Chip reached out to poke a finger into Kim’s shoulder. "Don’t be so smug. It will catch you one of these days, mark my words."

Kim opened her mouth to reply but she was forestalled by a shout. "Sergeant Coppelli."

Chip twisted her neck to look back out the doorway, a ranger was hurrying towards them. "What is it?"

"Sergeant Coppelli, ma’am. Captain LeCoup want’s to see you in her office."

"Right." Chip tapped Kim’s shoulder one more time and headed off through the rain.

LeCoup was standing, staring out of the window when Chip arrived, an unusually pensive occupation for the captain. She glanced around at Chip’s entrance, then paced slowly across the office and picked something off her desk. When she spoke her voice held the hint of a searching undertone. "Nagata’s certification as a sharpshooter has been approved, and she’s got her promotion to leading ranger. They didn’t bother sending the confirmation on to Eastford, it’s been waiting for us back here. Tell her not to worry, she’ll get her pay backdated." Whether or not it had been the intention of divisional staff there was no doubt LeCoup would ensure the members of her squadron were never sold short.

Now Chip could recognise the items in LeCoup’s hands as a new set of shoulder badges. She waited for the captain to hand them over but LeCoup continued to study the embroidered cloth patches as if there was something unusual about them. "Private Nagata and you seem to be getting on very well together." She did not look up, but there was no mistaking the implied question in her tone.

Chip’s stomach turned to ice. "Yes, ma’am."

"The safety and effectiveness of the squadron are very serious concerns of mine. I will not take risks with either."

Chip could not bring herself to say anything.

LeCoup’s gaze shifted to stare out through the window again. "I have been giving some thought to the squadron’s effectiveness. I think it might be a good idea if Leading Ranger Nagata was transferred to A patrol. You already have some women who are useful with a bow. O’Neil could do with a sharpshooter. I think the squadron would be better… balanced that way. What do you think?"

Chip’s pulse leapt with the shock both at what LeCoup was saying, and at what she clearly meant. Chip fought to find words. "I… er… I think it might um… work well."

LeCoup nodded solemnly. "Yes. That’s what I thought. I’ll leave you to explain it to Nagata. I’ll talk to O’Neil and see who would be best to swap from her patrol."

"Yes, ma’am. Thank you."

LeCoup met Chip’s eyes in a shrewd, appraising inspection. "The Ranger Command has very strict guidelines on maintaining squadron discipline. But as I read the rules there’s no requirement on me to probe into the private lives of my subordinates if I don’t think there’s a problem." The captain paused significantly. "I’m not likely to come across anything in the line of duty to make me think there’s a problem, am I?"

"I would hope not ma’am."

"I hope not as well." LeCoup’s lips twitched in a smile and tossed the badges across to Chip. "Dismissed."

**********

The horse flicked its ears and gave several of the short huffs Katryn had learnt to interpret as pleasure. Katryn also smiled and moved around to brush its other flank. She was working alone in the stables, but then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of someone standing in the doorway. Chip was leaning against the jamb, watching her. Katryn felt the smile on her face broaden.

"How long have you been there?"

"Just a few minutes."

"You enjoy watching people work?"

"Oh yes – it’s part of the job description for a sergeant." Chip said cheerfully. She strolled over, holding out the new badges. "I’ve just been talking to LeCoup. Congratulations, you’re now a leading ranger."

Katryn put down the brush and took the offered embroidered shields. She looked back to Chip. There was something else. Chip trying to act nonchalant but the excitement was showing in her eyes. "What’s up?"

"LeCoup made it clear she knows we’re lovers, and not merely bedfellows."

Katryn’s face fell, but she took reassurance from Chip’s lack of concern. "She isn’t going to transfer me?"

"Only as far as A patrol."

"A patrol?" Katryn frowned as she thought it through.

"LeCoup is juggling the personnel. It means you’re no longer my direct subordinate, which makes it easier for my patrol – you realise if you stayed in C I’d have to give you all the worst assignments so no-one could accuse me of favouritism." Chip’s voice was getting more exuberant. She was almost laughing as spoke. "And Ash is senior sergeant in the squadron. I trust her judgement more than I trust my own. If I see you standing sentry duty at the gates I’ll know you damn well deserve it."

Katryn was still slightly unsure. "And that’s it? LeCoup isn’t going to split us any more than that?"

"Not as long as we behave ourselves. She made it clear that she isn’t going to start asking questions about what we do off-duty as long as we don’t let it affect the way we perform in the squadron." Katryn closed her eyes and let her head fall back, as a smile swept across her face. Chip carried on talking. "It means we’ve got three or four years to work out what we want to do."

"Things change."

"You think you might go off me?"

Katryn opened her eyes and looked back at Chip. "No, never that."

Chip’s arms slipped around Katryn, pulling her into a kiss.

Katryn resisted briefly. "Hey, didn’t you just say we were to behave ourselves while on duty?"

Chip’s mouth twitched into a lopsided grin. "Just this once. Then we’ll start using our discretion a bit more."

====== THE END ======

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