Three investigations. Three institutions. One crossbow bolt.
The Crown's investigation was led by the Royal Guard's intelligence section — a small, competent unit that reported directly to King Aldren and that operated independently of the Ministry of Whispers. The Crown's investigation focused on *security failure*: how had an attacker pre-positioned equipment on a rooftop overlooking the Festival ground without being detected? The answer revealed a systemic gap — the Merchant Guild building's rooftop access was controlled by the Guild, not the Crown Guard, and the Festival's security perimeter had been set at ground level. Nobody had checked the rooftops because nobody's procedure included rooftop clearance.
"We sweep the ground," Colonel Jareth said, disgusted. "We check every alley, every basement, every sewer access. We do not check the sky. The attacker used the one vector we weren't monitoring."
