The Imperial Detective Examination (2)

At seven o'clock in the morning, Riley opened the door to Lilly's bedroom.

"Up, sleepyhead! It's exam day!" he said, as Lilly rubbed sleep from her eyes. Her bedspread was still strewn with letters from her classmates.

As Riley got dressed, Lilly scanned her closet and thought about what kind of outfit to wear. She finally decided on a navy blue and white sailor dress that she often wore to church, along with knee socks and black Mary Janes. Instead of her usual pigtails, Lilly brushed her hair out and tied a navy blue ribbon around her head. It made her look very grown up and professional, and the new winter coat that the Franklins had given her would complete the look.

After a quick breakfast, the two of them walked down to the bus stop and boarded the bus to the train station. Lilly clutched Riley's hand tightly and nervously.

"You feeling better?" Riley asked.

"Yeah...kinda," Lilly said. "I'm just thinking about what sort of questions they're going to ask me about in the interview."

"As long as you answer them honestly, you'll be fine," Riley said. "Don't try to make yourself into something that you're not. Be true to yourself."

A few minutes later, the two of them arrived at the train station. "What'll you do while I'm at the exam?" Lilly asked.

"Well, I'm going to do a little bit of browsing at the central library, and maybe a little shopping. Don't worry, I'll be waiting for you when you're done."

Riley purchased a newspaper from the newsstand, and sat down with Lilly on a bench to wait for the train to come in. If everything was on schedule—which usually was in the city of Veritas—they'd get to the Central District with time to spare. As Riley read, Lilly gazed around the train station. She tried to deduce people from how they looked and what they were wearing.

An old man on the platform across from them, waiting for the train that would take him outside the city, was wearing an old and shabby black trench coat, sturdy boots and a wide-brimmed hat. He must be a farmer on the way back from selling his crops, Lilly thought. There was a woman with a flower-trimmed hat and a small boy in a sailor suit that were seated on a bench further down from them. A little rich boy and his nanny, Lilly thought. In the other direction was a man sitting on a bench that was wearing greasy looking overalls, a threadbare plaid shirt and shabby looking work boots with patched toes. He had an open paper bag next to him, and was reaching inside and eating donuts from it. He's probably a laborer, and he doesn't make much money for what he does, Lilly thought.

There was a whistle in the distance, and a low rumbling. The train for Central District pulled into the station. "Here's our train. Let's go," Riley said, as he urged Lilly forward. Now that it was actually happening, Lilly felt a wave of nervousness crash over her once again.

The two of them climbed into the train carriage and took their seats. Riley opened his wallet as the conductor came by, and gave him the money for one full and one half round-trip fare. "Going into the city today, I see," the conductor said. "Doing anything fun?"

"I'm going to become a detective!" Lilly said emphatically, and a little too loudly. Everyone in the carriage turned and looked as Riley blushed, hanging his head.

"Oh, sorry...was I too loud?"

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Veritas was divided into five sections. West Side, where Riley and Lilly lived, was primarily residential. It had its share of fine houses, as well as its share of shabby houses where Lilly's school friend Nina had lived. North Side was considered to be the richest part of town. Titans of industry had their estates there, as well as great museums and performance halls where one could see plays and operas. East Side and South Side were primarily dedicated to industry. South Side was home of the port, where Veritas met the ocean, and East Side featured various factories and the rail yards. In the center of the city was the Central District, which was the home of the governmental and imperial offices. The Emperor's residence, whenever he decided to visit Veritas, was situated there, as well as the various regional imperial cabinet offices. The Magistrate's building, where Thomas Franklin worked, was also situated there, and it was where Lilly would be taking her exam.

It took about forty-five minutes for the train to arrive at the Central District station. The station was the largest in the city of Veritas, and was the stepping off point for travel all over the Empire. It was fairly quiet now, since it was early on a Saturday morning, but it would soon become bustling. In fact, it would be very busy by the time Lilly finished with her exam.

"Central Station!" yelled the conductor as the train slowly glided to a stop at the platform. Riley and Lilly got up, and with Lilly clutching her brother's hand tightly, the two of them made their way off the train towards the station's exit. Signs in various languages guided them to the various governmental and imperial offices. The Magistrate's building was a ten minute walk away, but the streets were relatively calm and there wasn't a whole lot of traffic at the various crossings.

The Magistrate's building was huge and imposing. It was like a huge Gothic cathedral had been mixed with a prison, complete with gargoyles perched on the roof and armed soldiers patrolling the halls. Lilly looked up at it, her eyes widened. She felt a shiver run through her body.

"It's kind of scary, isn't it?" Riley said. "I remember the first time I went here with my father. He needed to present some cases to the Magistrate and he had me come along to watch the process...I had nightmares about those gargoyles." He looked down at his sister. "You still nervous?"

"No...I just can't imagine why Thomas has to work in such an ugly building," Lilly said.

Riley smiled and laughed. He could sense that Lilly's tension had mostly melted away. "We've still got time before the building opens. Come on, let's see if we can find a place to eat lunch after we're done."

The two of them wandered up and down the street to see if they could find an eatery that would be open for the lunch hour, and decided on a small hole-in-the-wall diner that offered soup and sandwiches for a low price. Then they made their way back to the Magistrate's building to discover that another few people were waiting at the front steps for the doors to open.

"They must be here to take the exam, too," Riley said, as he surveyed the crowd. There were two young men about Riley's age, an older woman who looked to be in her forties, and then an older man who had a ball-topped cane by his side and was leaning against the stone railing of the stairs. They noticed Lilly standing there with her brother, their eyes wide with wonder. Lilly suddenly felt three inches tall.
"Do you want me to wait with you until the doors open, or do you want me to leave you off here?" Riley asked.

"You can drop me off," Lilly said. "I'll be okay."

"All right, if you insist." Riley gave his younger sister a hug. "Good luck," he whispered. "And I'm sure your Papa's watching over you."

He let go of Lilly and waved goodbye. Lilly glanced over at the other people who were waiting for the exam. "Um, hi," she said. "My name's Lilly Rowley...I'm taking the licensing exam today. Are you taking it, too?"

"You look pretty young to be taking such a grown-up test," said the old man, with a chuckle. "How old are you, anyway?"

"I just turned ten," Lilly said.

"Ten!" The woman gasped. "That's amazing! How long have you studied for this, sweetie?"

"A couple months," Lilly said.

The old man chuckled. "You're a hard working little one, aren't you? This is my second try on the test. I've wanted to take this so I can get some extra money on the side. Retirement isn't all that it's cracked up to be."

"We're just out of college," said one of the two young men. "Took the special preparation program, too."

"Wow, there's a special program?" Lilly asked.

"Well, it's just something that our school offered," the other one said. "We're both hoping to get hired by the magistrate someday."

Lilly suddenly felt inadequate. She crouched down on one of the steps and sat there, arms wrapped around her knees. Even if she felt like she could pass the test, these were all immensely qualified people. What would the interviewers think of her?

There was a loud creak from behind her, and she looked back to see a pair of uniformed guards opening up the double doors of the magistrate's office. "All people who are waiting to take the Licensing Exam, please follow me," a voice from inside yelled.

Lilly and the others climbed the stairs and entered the building as the guards propped the doors open for the later arrivals. "Excuse me," she said to one of the guards nearby, "where is the ladies' room?"

"Go right down this hallway, and you'll see a sign to your left," the guard said. Lilly smiled and nodded in thanks, and took off down the hall.

Even the bathrooms in this building were ornate. Lilly found that she had to stand up on tiptoe to wash her hands. As she finished, she noticed a beautiful, tall woman enter. Her hair was jet black, and pulled up in a loose bun on the back of her head that reminded Lilly of a rose. She was wearing a deep red suit jacket and skirt that were trimmed with black piping, and black high heeled boots. She glanced into the mirror, pulled a lipstick from her purse, and refreshed her makeup.

"Hello there," she said as she noticed Lilly. She smiled warmly. Lilly barely squeaked out a "hi" before she exited the bathroom. She found her way back to the hallway, but the guards that had opened the door and directed her were nowhere to be seen, and she had no idea which room to go in to take the exam.

An older gentleman with a bald head and a huge mole on his cheek came walking down the hall. He noticed Lilly and glared at her. "E-excuse me," Lilly said, as she approached him. "I'm here for the imperial detective licensing exam, and can you tell me where I need to go?"

"Who are you, some sort of genius kid?" the man growled.

Lilly could barely stammer in reply. "I have a recommendation--"

"Beat it. You're just here to be the feel good story of the year."

Lilly felt like she was about to cry. Who was this guy and what did he have against her? Lilly rummaged in her bag and tried to find the letter that had been written for her to be allowed to take the test, but the man merely chuckled. "As far as I'm concerned, a kid like you shouldn't even be allowed in here. You'll just get a free pass for being a cute little--"

"Excuse me?"

An angry woman's voice came from behind the two of them, and Lilly turned around to see the same beautiful woman who had been in the bathroom. She was glaring at the balding gentleman. "Mr. Marquette. This young lady has every right to be here as any citizen of Veritas."

"Miss Hale!" the older gentleman blurted, in surprise. "Why...Why are you doing this? She's barely out of elementary school, for crying out loud! How many people did you bump off the list?"

The woman named Miss Hale pulled out a paper from the leather folder she was carrying. "Do you see this? This is a copy of her recommendation. She is fully qualified to be sitting this examination. And if I hear one more peep of protest from you, I, personally, will have you PERMANENTLY re-assigned. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

Mr. Marquette turned bright crimson and walked away in disgust. Miss Hale looked down at Lilly and smiled. "Jealousy," she said. "You must be Lilly Rowley. I've heard a lot about you. My name's April Hale. I'm going to be one of the test proctors today."

"Can you show me where I have to go for the test?" Lilly asked. She realized her hands were shaking.

"Sure, just follow me. We're actually just about to begin. You're lucky that I ran into you." April Hale smiled as she continued down the hallway, with Lilly following her. "Just hang your coat outside this room, all right?" Lilly did so and entered the room.

It was set up to look like a classroom, except that instead of desks, people were seated at long tables. At the front of the room were three chairs. Two of them were occupied by men in tweed suits, and the other was empty. The room was mostly filled up with test takers, whose eyebrows raised as they saw Lilly enter and take a seat. Then April went up and stood in front of the empty chair.

"Ladies and gentlemen," April said, "welcome to the November session of the 1927 Imperial Detective Licensing Examination. My name is April Hale, and I will be one of your exam proctors. My fellow proctors today are George Hyatt and Dr. Charles Winters, who are both members of the licensing board. In a few minutes, we will pass our our exam booklets. Please be sure to answer every question to the best of your knowledge. You will have one hour to complete the written exam, and then we will call each of you individually into the next room for your interviews. If there are any questions, please ask them at this time." The room was silent. Lilly found herself staring at the desk, her mind swimming.

"Here, miss!"

Her arm was being poked by a small, blue paper bound notebook and a #2 pencil that were being passed to her by the middle aged gentleman that was seated beside her. As Lilly took them, the man smiled and winked. "Good luck, kiddo," he whispered.

Lilly picked up the pencil and wrote her full name neatly in cursive on the cover of the blue book: Lillian Marie Rowley. She then opened up the book to the first page, and accepted the test booklet from her middle aged neighbor.

"You may begin," April Hale said.

Lilly opened up the examination book. She started reading through the questions. They were mostly multiple choice, but there were some that required her to answer in the form of a short essay. The questions mostly dealt with specific laws, but there were also a few scenarios where Lilly would need to apply her personal knowledge and judgment to. She took a deep breath and started with Question 1.