I blinked.
He smiled, a glimpse of white against his olive skin. “Your accent and clothing give you away. Lovero, yes? Though I didn’t know they had adopted the robes of their priests as fashion.”
I flushed. I hadn’t known I had an accent.
“I lost my belongings, and the priests were kind enough to clothe me temporarily.” I raised my dress bag in front of me. “But I’m afraid I find your streets and canals most confusing.”
“Ah, I see.” He stepped closer. I clenched my hidden dagger. “You must be new to town, if you’re just now replacing your clothes.”
He hadn’t worded it as a question, so I didn’t respond. I held my eyes wide and innocent.
“I was born in Lovero, you know,” he said. “My mother was a devout follower of your death god.”
I held my tongue. Let him continue to fill the silence if he must.
“Perhaps you can help me with something, Miss . . .”
“Lea.” As soon as I said it, I cursed myself. I should’ve lied about my name, called myself Jenna or Marya or anything. He had an unsettling manner about him I didn’t understand. It tripped me up.
“Miss Lea, then. It’s been a long time since I’ve called Lovero home, and I have a few questions.”
There was nothing I wanted to help him with. “I must really be on my way. I promised I would return these robes to the priests, and the church is so far from here. I would hate to be caught on the streets when there are ghosts about.”
“I’m not afraid of the ghosts. It will only take another moment of your time, and then I will send you on your way.” He stepped closer still. My body tensed.
I didn’t know what game he was playing, only that there was some sort of game. He couldn’t know I was the clipper who’d fled from the body. I’d worn my mask.
I needed to get out of here. I could slide past him and run, but that would only indicate me as suspicious. Better to keep up with the act of a little lost girl, asking a lawman for assistance. “How can I help?”
He reached into his pocket, and I held my breath.
His hand emerged. In his palm rested a gold coin, stamped with the Saldana Family crest. My coin. I flinched. A slow smile spread once more across Lefevre’s face.
“Ah, I thought you might recognize this.”
“Any Loveran would. You should be rid of it. It does not belong to you.”
“Oh?” He flicked the coin between two of his fingers. “And who does it belong to?”
“Safraella.”
He tilted his head. “I don’t understand.”
I examined his face before I dropped my gaze to the coin. If he was faking his confusion, then he would make any stage player envious of his skills.
“That coin belongs to Safraella. It is a bribe, to request that She resurrect someone quickly. The coins are placed on dead bodies by clippers. If you are not a child of Safraella, you should not have taken the coin. You could draw Her ire, or the ire of one of Her disciples. It would be best for you to make that coin a gift at Her church.”
He examined the coin between his fingers. “And this stamp, this Family crest, if you could just tell me which Family this coin belongs to and how to reach them, then maybe I can converse with them. Lovero may be a country of murder and death, but here in Rennes, our laws and gods are different.”
“I can’t, I’m sorry.”
“You do realize it is illegal to impede a lawful investigation, yes? I could bring you to jail for refusing to answer my question.”
“I’m sorry, Captain Lefevre, you misunderstand. It’s not that I won’t help you, it’s that I can’t. That coin is stamped with the Saldana Family crest, but there are no Saldanas left.”
He stared at my eyes. I let him see the truth in them, showed him that in this, at least, I was not a liar. He scowled. “Well, isn’t that awfully convenient.”
“Hmm.” I thought of Brother Sebastien and how he’d dispatched the Addamos. “I would say it’s awfully inconvenient for you and your investigation.”
He closed the coin in his fist. “The Saldanas made their home in the city of Ravenna, right? They share territory with the Da Vias, if I recall.”
It was clear he knew more about the Families than he’d let on. He’d been testing me. Or trying to catch me in a lie.
Lefevre snapped his finger. “I know. I’ll send a letter to the Da Vias, perhaps. Ask them about this coin. I’m sure they’ll help.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, desperately trying not to give anything away. If he really did send a letter to the Da Vias, they would know I was hiding in Yvain.
I smiled. “The Da Vias are not known for their love of the common. I do not think they would help you, even if they could. Now, if you would be so kind as to point me to the main street?”
He stepped in front of me, so close his warm breath brushed across my face. It would have been easy to slip my knife between his ribs.
“I think you’re hiding something from me, little girl. And until I find out, you won’t be able to shake me. As a lawman I see terrible accidents all the time.”