Actually, he was killed by Halwyn Norry, who had just received Asmo's grossly exagerated invoice for his services as Bard at a little tea party thrown by Lord Gaebril a few months ago. He had spent most of the evening drunk dead in a bath on the second floor, with two young ladies whose names are better left unsaid.

Rumour has it five caterers, two puffed-up gleemen, fifteen jewellers, three hard candy makers, ten seamstresses, three silk merchants, one lace maker from Lugard and no less than 25 employees of "Foaming Fun - scents, salts and other essential bath accessories, the best of the Inner City" have mysteriously vanished in the last ten years at the palace.

More recently, rumour has it "guests" who've asked for a second serving at supper have also mysteriously vanished, as well as three clerks who had the bad habit of chewing their pens.

But fear not, Renee Harfor is on the case. She might manage to puzzle it some of it out before the serial killer dies of old age, if she applies herself really hard. She's a bit put back and at a loss, because for sevenyears she had been tracking "Lini the bloody old cow" as her main suspect, and as Lini has now disappeared, she suspects she may actually have been a victim of the killer. But she hasn't ruled out a suicide just yet, though.