Chapter fourteen: The post office

Trigger warnings for those who need them

No trigger warnings.

It’s peaceful in the Royal Griffin, the morning light peeking through the parlour windows. I collate my translated notes and flick through the pages one last time.
It’s all here, it’s in the right order.
It’s ready to deliver.
I’m glad officer Menfrey knows Cygnian because I wouldn’t be looking forward to translating everything to Charan. I may know the basics by now. But I’m not nearly proficient enough to translate all this without spending hours with my nose in the dictionary.
Part of me wishes my mother taught me Charan when I was young.
She always spoke Cygnian to me, even after father left.
Did she not like her mother tongue?
Or did she not want to saddle me with the ‘hassle’ of learning another language?
The latter seems more like her.
Then my shoulders jump as the sound of a pair of heavy boot thumping down the corridor.
“Dana?” I ask cautiously at the sound.
Dana’s head pops around the doorframe in response. “Yes?”
“Are you heading to the post office again?” I ask.
“I am.”
That gives me an idea! “Can I maybe tag along?”
“Sure, do you need to send something?” she asks, coming in.
“Not necessarily.” I pull open the drawer of my writing desk and pull out a wooden rod with gorgeously turned knobs on each end. “But it’d be a whole lot easier to post these to the police office rather than trekking all the way to the other side of the city again.”
I roll the papers onto the stick and wrap a yellow ribbon around it to keep it all nicely together.
Was it under over or over under before tying off, or the other way around? It’s been a while since I had to write a letter and actually have it delivered.
My old etiquette-teacher would have a spell of weakness if she found out I forgot.
I decide to go under over and hope that I don’t end up making a fool of myself.
“All done.” I tell Dana as I jump from my chair.
Then we head out together.

The post office is close to the docks where Xuiyo and I come sometimes to test our marksmanship but I’ve never gone inside. It doesn’t look like an office to me and more of a small brick hut covered in ivy.
However, upon closer inspection it turns out the ivy isn’t ivy at all but bundles or telephone wire snaking their way out of the building and down little ridges in the street.

I always thought those wires were for electricity.
Remarkable.
I follow Dana inside and find a pretty pale-green interior with one half of the office taken up by secretary desks and the other with waiting space. It’s pretty lively inside with lines at every desk but the waiting area is relatively empty.
On the far end is a wooden box with a single telephone inside and a sign currently turned to the word ‘occupied’.
Despite there supposedly being someone inside I can’t hear the telephone conversation.
Maybe the booth is sound-proofed?
Keep people from listening in?
“How does the telephone work? Supposed I wanted to make a call I mean.” I ask.
“You want to call your father?” She asks?
What? “No! Of course not. I’m just- curious.”
Dana looks at me with surprise at my harsh rejection. But quickly returns back to her calm expression as she explains. “Well, you go to the clerk and tell them how long you want to call for and which number. You then pay the fee, get a ticket and wait your turn. Once inside the operator asks for the number on your ticket and dials the number. Then you can call for the agreed upon time. And there’s a little bell that rings if there’s only a minute left.”
“And the phone wires go all the way to your shop in Choumuri?”
Dana chuckles “Through a very convoluted route yes, I think it goes through Sollertia and then Kaschmal before doubling back to Jaobai.”
“I see.” I smile politely while wondering why Dana assumed I’d want to talk to father.
I don’t want to talk to him.
Ever.
“Well, I’m going to get my number, didn’t you have a letter to send as well?”
“Yes, yes I do.” I make my way to the first line while Dana walks to the far end where one of the desks bears the sign saying ‘telephone only’.
Maybe I should have gone for the second to last cue, then we could at least have waited together.
Oh well.
My eyes drift round as I wait. Going from the phone booth to Dana to the interesting wooden carvings, sprinkled among the interior if you just know where to look.
I also spot a sign that says in-city post is a quarter copper, post inside Charalia is a half copper and outside it varies ‘please ask your clerk for the possibilities’.
“Good morning miss, how may I help you?”
I quickly look back to the clerk “Good morning, I’d like to send this to the police station.”
“Which one?”
“There are more than one?” I ask.
The woman smiles politely and reached under her desk to retrieve a multilayered map “There’s one by the gates, one skirting the pauper plot and the head office is-“ she lick her finger and flicks up through the pages to the highest leaf “Right here.”
“That’s the one I mean, yes.” I tell her handing off the stick.
“Understood.” She picks out a little card tag, writes a number on it, then cuts a piece of string and ties it around the stick “That’ll be a quarter copper, please.”
“Of course.” I pull out my father’s wallet and pay the fee.
The lady writes down the details on a piece of carbon backed paper and hands me the copy “Here’s you receipt, have a nice day.”
“Thank you, you too.”
I look back and find Dana already sitting in the waiting area on a richly carved wooden bench. The carving depict boats and airships and trains and all manner of transportation vehicles all bearing the mark of the postal service.
It’s stunning.
After spending a good minute on fawning over the craftsmanship I sit down next to her and ask “Are there many people in front?”
“Only two, but the people who’re on call now paid for a full hour so I might be here a while.”
“A full hour? That’s allowed?”
“If you pay enough. Mind, they’ve been at it for a while but if you want to go back then that’s okay.”
“No, I said I was gonna stay here and wait with you so that’s what I’ll do.”
She nods.
We wait.
There’s a tightness at the back of my throat that won’t go away.
Why do I feel so tense and annoyed that she assumed I wanted to talk to father?
It’s just an honest mistake, I should let it go.
And yet.
“I don’t think father would even want to talk to me.” The words leave my mouth before I fully realize it.
Dana lifts and eyebrow at me.
Right, that must have come out of nowhere for her. “You asked if I wanted to call father. But I don’t think he wants to talk to me if I called. And even if he did I don’t think I want to talk to him.”
A calm smile appear on Dana’s face “And why’s that?” she asks.
“Because I’m still mad at him, and I bet he’s mad at me and it’s just better if we stay away from one another.”
“Uhu.” she nods.
“I mean nothing productive would come from me talking to him.”
“Hmm.”
“And I mean, what if he demands his wallet back? I spent some of that money, and I’m not gonna be able to help Hamala and Xuiyo with their restaurant if he does.
I’m committed to send it back of course, after I made a name for myself by solving this case I can have people come to me instead.
And then I can start making the money back and once all the money’s accounted for, then I’ll send it back. But by that time the restaurant will be self sufficient and dad will have forgotten all about me and will be wondering where this wallet came from all of a sudden.
But that doesn’t matter, it’s about principles.”
“Hmm hmm”
“And I’d rather not have to look at it every time I pay people anyway. So I’d rather send it back sooner than later. It’s just that I cannot do it now.”
Dana blinks.
“And that’s the lesser of the possible consequences of me calling him.
He could also send people to come and ‘collect me’ once he knows where I am. And he’s a powerful man he could figure that out I assume through like…contacting the wire people or something. And then where would we be?
Even worse, what if that tips off the kashuya and then they know where to find me. And they’ve already seen me and Xuiyo together so then he’s in danger again so it’s not just about me it’s about risk and not wanting to risk putting my friends in danger you know.
I mean I also don’t want to get yelled at but not wanting to see your friends kidnapped is a good reason not to wanna call someone you know.”
“Uhu”
I cross my arms. Why do I feel like none of this is really ‘good enough’? Like she’s not taking me seriously. “He hit me you know. Right before I left. That’s why I’m angry at him. I talked back to him about how horrible he’s been to the Jigani people and he slapped me in the face.”
At this Dana’s eye grow wider.
Finally! A response!
“You didn’t tell me that before.”
I cross my arms “I didn’t tell anyone.” I scoff “He looked just as shocked as me. I assume he regrets it by now. But I’m still angry about it.”
“That’s okay.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.” Dana puts a hand on my shoulder “Anything else you wanna tell me while you’re at it?”
“Plenty but…not right now.” I sigh “I must have looked very silly just there, didn’t I?”
Dana shrugs “Sometimes thoughts just need to be put into words, there’s nothing wrong with that. Provided you do it at the right time to the right person.”
“Do you think I shouldn’t have told father what I thought of him?”
Dana shrugs “I don’t know. I’d need a lot more context before passing judgement. And what’s done is done anyway so I’m not sure if it matters by now.”
“I guess.”
The door to the phone booth finally opens up and to my surprise two people step out. A young woman and an older gentleman. They laugh and chat as they pass us by, completely unaware of our existence.
But I’m aware of theirs.
And the gears in my brain start turning like mad as I try to take in this new information.
Because those two people weren’t strangers.
Not some random background characters.
Melanie Pilkee and Harald Kiepel.
Why would they need to spend an hour inside a phone booth together?
I pull out my notebook, flick through the pages.
“Alice?” Dana pulls up an eyebrow at me.
“One moment, I need to check something.”
“All right, take your time.”
I flick back to my conversation with mister Kiepel.
My conversation with miss Pilkee.
Then let out a little “Oh.”
We part ways as Dana makes her way into the phone booth.
It’s gone significantly more quiet at the desks. The lady who helped me before is now cheerfully chatting with her colleague in the booth one over.
I walk towards her “Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Could I borrow your map?”
She opens the drawer again “Of course, what place are you looking for?”
“City records, a town hall or archive storing the dates of births, death, marriages and so on.”
“That would be the city archives, they’re on the east side nestled against the old city centre. Pass the water and then up the steps to the third level, second door on the left.”
I note the address in my notebook, then tip my cap “Thank you very much, have a nice day.”
Then get sleuthing.