Guardsman Benson really hated coming to whorehouses.
It wasn't that he was against the idea of a woman selling her body for the night. In his eyes, if the man walked away a little happier and the woman a little richer, it was a win-win situation for both parties involved. No, it wasn't the activities that were taking place within the house that normally drove guardsman Benson away.
It was the smell.
A scent that hits you as soon as you walk inside the damned place. A mix of cheap perfumes and even cheaper flowers, put there to hide the smell of the dirty deeds done behind closed doors. That, together with the extravagant decorations that adorned the wall, was all part of a show, a masquerade to make the place seem as if it were classier than it really was. It made the house lack in a certain type of honesty. Guardsman Benson liked to avoid places like this as much as he could, choosing to spend his free time in a little bar down the street instead.
Guardsman Benson silently cursed the murderer who had decided to kill one of the whores, forcing him to come down here.
He had come alone, the rest of the city guards either being on duty on the city walls or soundly asleep, as any sane man would be at this hour. Benson was just unlucky that he had been assigned the night shift on this particular night.
Benson was wearing a thick coat that protected him from the cold outside, but also hid the guardsman uniform that he was wearing underneath, as to not get recognized as such. He didn't need any potential witnesses fleeing at the sight of a guardsman, afraid of being publicly ousted as visiting the whorehouses.
As the guardsman entered, he saw a couple of men giving him a quick glance before returning their attention to the women who were talking to them in a flirtatious way. Some of the men wore veils before their faces, as to not be recognized whilst visiting establishments such as these.
Benson didn't have to wait long before a plump, older woman came to him. From the looks of her lavish dress with plunging neckline and expensive jewelry, he guessed that she was the matron of this particular pleasure house.
"Welcome to the house of a thousand moans sir!" she said with a smile and a motherly voice, which Benson found disturbing on several levels. "I'm Madame Sofia, and I run the house. We cater to any and all desires here." Madame Sofia looked Benson over.
"You look like a man with an exotic taste. Perhaps you would enjoy Rose, our newest addition from the far away isles. She is very experienced, but open to new things."
"Actually, I ..." Benson started, but he was cut off.
"No? How about Eliza? She is a moaner, but you needn't concern yourself with the noise, all of our rooms are soundproofed to not disturb our other clients whilst you and Eliza get better acquainted."
"That sounds nice, but my name is Victor Benson, a guardsman, and I'm here because of the death of one of your employees."
Madame Sofia's face soured at that, all warmth disappearing from her.
"Quiet you fool, do you want to scare away everyone? Come with me, quickly." She turned and walked away with a brisk pace, Benson quickly following in pursuit.
"The death of Amber has shocked more than a few of my girls," Madame Sofia said whilst walking down a hall towards the back of the building. "A couple of them won't be able to work for a few nights, which will cost me a great deal. But that is nothing compared to the amount of business I would lose if these deaths became public knowledge. That is why I need you, guardsman, to quickly write your report and discreetly get rid of the corpses, so everything can get back to normal."
"I'm sorry, did you just say corpses? As in, more than one?" asked Benson.
Madame Sofia stopped in the hallway and turned to face Benson, almost making him run into her.
"Yes," she said, "both Amber and that idiot she had taken as a lover. Didn't the runner I sent tell you that?" Benson shook his head. "Curious, can't find good help anymore these days." Madame Sofia turned back around and continued on her way.
At the end of the hall, they stopped at a door that had two houseguards posted next to it, men who were hired to discourage any loose hands. They made a quick bow to Madame Sofia and looked questioningly at Benson. Madame Sofia nodded to them and took a key from her pocket with which she opened the door, gesturing Benson to enter.
Benson noted that it was a beautiful room, with large paintings and other ornaments adorning the walls and a thick rug on the floor. In the center of the room was an enormous four-poster bed, big enough to house 4 men comfortably (which Benson suspected, it sometimes did). The only other furniture in the room was a small drawer that had a tray on it with two empty glasses and a half full pitcher which held a deep, red wine.
The room radiated comfort and was ideally suited for its intended purpose, if it weren't for the two people covered in blood on the floor.
A man and a woman lay half-dressed on the floor, looking up with eyes that would never see again. The woman her neck had been opened, her blood pooling around her lifeless form. The man had a knife sticking out of his chest, one hand still clutching its handle.
"These are Amber and Fernando." said Madame Sofia, who had joined Benson in the room. "Amber had worked for me for over 2 years and Fernando was one of our more regular clients. However, the past few months, he has always asked for Amber when he came here. The two fools thought they were in love." Madame Sofia snorted. "I knew this would happen. He was too obsessed over her, I could see it in his eyes. And it drove him to this." Madame Sofia handed Benson a piece of paper that she fished out of her pocket.
"This is what we found on the table. He must have written it beforehand."
Benson looked at the paper. It contained only a few scribbled words. It read:
No one can keep our love apart, we will be together in the next life. Fernando.
"The man must have grown insane from seeing the woman whom he loved sleeping with other men. This is why I advise my girls against growing too attached to a certain client, bad things always happen. Falling in love is unprofessional in our line of work." Madame Sofia continued. "I found out when I heard a scream coming from inside the room whilst making my rounds. I came here as fast as I could and went inside."
"The door was open?" asked Benson.
"Normally, every room that is occupied is locked from the inside and can't be opened from the outside, to guarantee the privacy of our clients. Nevertheless, I and the guards always have keys with us that open any door in the building, in case of emergencies." Madame Sofia held up the key that she had used to open the door. "When I came in, I saw them both lying on the floor as they are now. I called for the guards, but when they arrived, it was already too late to save either of them." Madame Sofia walked over to the plate that held the glasses, stepping carefully, as to make sure that she didn't step on the corpses. "Fernando must have used the wine to drug Amber, so she wouldn't resist when he killed her."
Benson walked over to the plate, smelling the two glasses. From them, came the strong, sweet scent of `white rose', a drug that, when mixed with wine, could help a person sleep. However, if the strength of the smell was any indication, this much of the drug would cause a person to lose all feeling in their limbs almost instantly.
Amber would not have felt a thing whilst she died, which was of small comfort to her now.
"Do you have enough to write your report, guardsman?" asked Madame Sofia with a hint of annoyance at being kept from her work.
"Actually, is there anyone working here that knew both Amber and Fernando, I would like to talk to that person." Benson said, putting the glasses down.
Madame Sofia sighed and said "I believe that Jane was the closest friend Amber had. She and Amber worked the same shifts often and spend much of their downtime together. She is in the other room, across the hall, recovering from the shock. Now, if you will excuse me, there is much work to be done. Just make sure that the bodies get taken away after you are finished here, guardsman." And with that, Madame Sofia turned her back and walked away.
`Charming woman.' Benson thought.
He walked out the room and closed the door behind him, glad to be away from the scene. He asked one of the guards where he could find Jane, and the guard pointed silently at a door a little way down the hall. Benson thanked the guard and went to the indicated door. Benson knocked twice and waited for an answer. He heard a lock turning before the door opened slightly and a woman looked at him from behind that sliver.
"Jane?" asked Benson.
"I'm sorry, I don't work today." said Jane, whose eyes were red.
"That's ok, I'm only here to talk." Benson said softly. "I'm guardsman Victor Benson, and I would just like to ask you a couple of questions about Amber."
Jane said nothing, only opening the door all the way and stepping aside. Benson took this as an invitation to come in. The room we were in was very similar to the one of the crime scene, minus the corpses. Jane closed and locked the door behind her and then went to sit on the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped. Benson sat down next to her.
"How long have you known Amber?" Benson asked.
"Since a couple of years." Jane answered. "We both started working here around the same time. We quickly grew close. Our situation wasn't ideal, but we were always there for each other, covering for the other when one of us was feeling sick." Jane looked to the distance, with a sad smile, obviously reminiscing.
"And Fernando?"
"He came about a half year ago. At first, he was like any other client, wanting a different one of us every time, wasting his wages on cheap wine and warm company. But after he was with Amber for a night, he always asked after her every time he was here. Me and the other girls asked Amber what she had done to him to make him want her so badly. She said that she had simply connected with him, staying up all night and talking. We had laughed at that, but she kept insisting that she had found her soul mate."
Jane suddenly looked up at Benson.
"I remember being so jealous of her. I only had regular clients who wanted a quick lay, and she was saying to anyone who cared to listen that she and Ferdinand planned on running away together, starting a life someplace far away. It spread through the other girls like wildfire. Many talked of finding their soul mate as well and leaving the life of whoring behind. But I knew, I knew!"
Tears started rolling down Jane's cheeks.
"That what Amber and Fernandohad was unique. None of us would find what they found, even if we were to leave. I told her she shouldn't spread false hope, but she did it anyway. I resented her for it, but I never wanted her to die!" Jane was truly sobbing now.
Benson took the cue and stood up.
"Thank you for your time, Jane. I hope you will feel better soon." He left the room, leaving Jane to her grief.
Benson closed the door behind him as he left for the exit. He stepped out of the whorehouse and turned left to walk back to the guardhouse. The sun was starting to rise over the buildings of the city. Benson quietly contemplated the deaths of Amber and Ferdinand. Something didn't quite sit right with him.
Benson halted in his tracks as it hit him.
He picked up his pace, quickly making his way to the guardhouse. When he entered, he immediately went to the office of the guard commander to make his report. The commander was just hanging up his coat after coming in when Benson burst through his door, panting from the exertion.
"Benson, what is the matter man?" the commander asked, confused.
"I just came from the house of a thousand moans" Benson said, between breaths.
"Ah, right. The murder, I heard from one of the boys downstairs."
"Actually, there are two deaths, one of the courtesans there and one of the clients. The matron claims the client killed the courtesan before he took the knife to himself." Benson explained.
"A murder-suicide? We haven't had one of those in a while."
"Actually, I don't think it was suicide at all." Benson said.
Later in the morning, after Benson had explained to the commander what he suspected, an entire platoon of guardsmen went to the house of a thousand moans and shut it down. Everybody inside was interrogated and arrests were made.
Edit: Solution to the case is below
Madame Sofia's story didn't make any sense. After all, how could Amber have screamed if the drugs in the wine would have caused her to go limp immediately after she took them? Moreover, the room is soundproofed as well, so even if she had screamed, there was no way for anyone to hear it. This, coupled with the fact that the drug was in both glasses so that both Amber and Fernando got a dose, makes it impossible for the deaths to have happened in the way that Madame Sofia has described.
However, Madame Sofia herself had a motivation for getting rid of both Amber and Fernando. They were spreading the idea of leaving the brothel with each other amongst the other courtesans after all. This would have been very bad for business for Madame Sofia.
Madame Sofia also had plenty of opportunity to have the murders done, with the brothel supplying the wine and her and her guards having keys to the room. She must have had the drug put in the wine and, once both Amber and Fernando were under, she would have killed them herself or she could have had one of the guards do it without any resistance.
