[[Who's played Layton Brothers Mystery Room? If you haven't already, get that game right now. The gripping plot's sure to keep any Layton fans, or plain mystery solving fans, entertained. You won't be disappointed.
This little oneshot takes place sometime after Layton Brothers File No.002- The Bungled Burglary. Small spoiler warning, the identity of the killer in the Jack Potsby murder case will be included (but no spoilers following File No.002). And don't worry, if you haven't played File No.002 yet, the case will be explained enough to avoid confusion.]]
Ransom
"By 'eck, my head hurts..." Lucy Baker moaned. Her temples throbbed as if they'd been hit with a steam roller. She tried to open her eyes but her vision kept swimming in and out of focus. All she could gather at first was that it was dark.
This isn't t' Prof's office... or my house... The young constable thought groggily; she didn't recognise this place at all. Eventually Lucy also realized she was tied to an uncomfortable wooden chair. How she'd failed to notice this earlier was unbelievable. (Then again, she did have a nasty bump on the noggin, so maybe it wasn't down to her being a pure ditz.)
As her mind became clearer, panic began to claw at Lucy's insides. Her breathing quickened and her heart fluttered like a caged bird. Oh crickey, I must've been kidnapped!
Before she could start freaking out, her mentor's voice echoed through her mind: "Try to remain calm." Lucy exhaled, swallowing back her worry for the time being. Right now she needed to carefully examine her surroundings; drink in every detail as if she was inspecting a crime scene reconstruction. (That's what the Prof would do.) Maybe then she'd be able to find a way out. Lucy's red eyes trailed around the dank windowless room with dirty grey walls. She could distinguish the faint outline of a door...
There was a click and the door suddenly opened, interrupting her mental analysis.
Two beefy men entered the room. They seemed familiar. (Lucy briefly recalled a fishy duo tailing her home after work...)
A lady sashayed in behind Lucy's stalkers. She was a stunning beauty wearing a tight purple dress, a white fur coat, expensive jewellery and makeup. However, this beauty was tainted by the fierce scowl painted across her rouge lips and the malice that flashed in her eyes. Lucy remembered her instantly.
"It's YOU!" Lucy would've added a finger-point had her hands not been bound behind the chair.
Ms Goldie Potsby-Mahn. She'd been the perpetrator of a murder case that Lucy and Alfendi had recently solved. The evil woman literally stabbed Mr Potsby in the back and tried to pin the blame on a petty thief, all for her husband's life insurance. But the Mystery Room officers saw right through her lies and found evidence at Potsby's flat pointing to Goldie as the true criminal.
Goldie's scowl deepened. "Hello, l'il girl. I wish I could have the pleasure of not seeing you again."
"That's DC Baker to you," Lucy growled. "And you should be int prison right now!"
"Mah new men busted me out," Goldie explained, gesturing proudly to her pair of goons as if they were prized trophies.
Lucy spat "What happened to 'Bingo'?" She referred to the canine-like lover who had accompanied Goldie at Scotland Yard. Goldie had treated him like her pet— complete with a collar and a chain.
Goldie shrugged. "He had a...accident. Poor boy."
"I'll bet he did, just like your other husbands." (Goldie's current suitors exchanged a wary glance at this statement.)
"Well, I do declare!" the woman snapped. "Bing was mah best friend. I'd never do nuttin' to purposely hurt him."
"Not unless it lined your pockets," Lucy snorted.
Pain exploded across her Lucy's face, jarring her teeth and causing her to see stars. Goldie had just slapped her.
"There you go again, poking your nose into mah private affairs," Goldie hissed. "You and that snooping inspector had no right to convict me. Jack's pot of gold should've been mahn."
Lucy bit the inside of her cheek, tasting blood. That ruthless gold-digger made her sick. But losing her temper wasn't going to help her situation.
"So, you escaped from prison," Lucy sighed. (And after how hard me and t' Prof worked to make her confess...) "Shouldn't you be hiding from the police or summat at the moment?"
"Oh, I'll be off on a luxurious getaway as soon as your friend arrives."
The young constable gasped as she understood her captor's intentions. "You're using me to get to the Prof!"
"You're not as simple as you look," Goldie smirked and patted the girl's head (much to Lucy's disdain). "I promised him I wouldn't harm a hair on your pretty l'il head if he came here alone... with mah money, of course."
"He won't fall for it," Lucy snarled. "The Prof's too smart to be played by you."
Goldie purred "But he will. I could see the pride in his eyes whenever you uncovered a piece of evidence at mah flat. He obviously cares about his obnoxious rookie helper." With those last words, Goldie laughed and walked out of the room.
Lucy put up an enduring struggle against her bindings; however, she only succeeded in giving herself wrist burns. Lucy hung her head on her chest, ashamed and exhausted. She'd failed as a detective constable; because of her the criminal was going to escape with a wad of cash. She'd failed the Mystery Room; this would be a bad mark on their reputation. She'd failed the Prof.
As these guilty thoughts swirled through Lucy's mind, her eyes began to droop. It probably wasn't wise to fall asleep— that blow to the temples might have given her a concussion. But a few minutes of shut-eye would be heaven right now...
Someone was shaking her, hard.
"Ee... Five more minutes..." Lucy mumbled.
There was an impatient grunt. "Wake up."
Lucy's eyes snapped open. Her limbs felt stiff... She tried to stretch, but immediately remembered she was strapped to a chair. Or at least she had been. Ms Goldie's grunts were untying her for some reason... Both of them holding her arms, they dragged her out of the room. They were definitely outside now, standing in some sort of dingy alleyway. Lucy suspected (and prayed) that they were still in London.
Lucy saw Goldie's figure a little further down the alley. The woman was talking to someone, goading...
Then Lucy noticed the person shift from the shadows, hands in their pockets. She heard his voice.
"PROF!" She should've kept quiet. If she hadn't drawn attention to herself, or sounded so desperate, he might have forgotten her and left. But she couldn't hide her relief that he was here.
"Lucy?" Alfendi stepped out of the shadows, head turning to study his assistant's condition.
"Pardon me, Inspector," Goldie folded her arms. "I do believe we were in the middle of a conversation."
Alfendi's brow furrowed as he frowned at her. "I assure you that I'm here alone. The police will no longer continue to search for you. Release Lucy now, please."
"Have you forgotten the other part of our bargain?" Goldie stalked over to the thrashing Lucy and her men.
"GET AWAY, PROF! DON'T DO NOWT SHE SAYS—"
The woman suddenly revealed a knife from her fur coat. This wasn't a homemade ice knife; it was a deadly silver blade one might find in hell's kitchen. She held the weapon to Lucy's neck. "I hope you have mah payment, Inspector. Double what I would've got from Jack's life insurance."
Lucy shut up, eyeing the knife at her throat warily. She slowly lifted her gaze to meet her mentor's. What Lucy saw filled her with horror.
Alfendi had pulled what was presumably Ms Goldie's bag of money out of his lab coat pocket. However, he had changed. His fingers twisted tightly around the bag. His burgundy hair seemed to turn blood red; dishevelled, it hung in his wild eyes. His calm voice took on dark undertone.
He was laughing.
This wasn't the first time it had happened. Florence had told Lucy that whenever he was in the presence of a criminal, the 'other side' of Alfendi Layton would rear his head.
But Lucy couldn't believe the Prof would change now, when her life was at stake. "P-please snap out of it, Prof..."
"I hardly see how this is funny," Goldie barked at him. "Give me mah money this instant or she dies."
"You'd get a kick out of that, wouldn't you, Goldie?" Alfendi giggled. "I can imagine your sick satisfaction as you slit her skinny little neck..."
"I will kill her, Inspector!" Goldie swore shrilly.
"You don't have the guts."
"Watch me."
Lucy's agonised scream ripped through Alfendi's consciousness, reverting him back to his stable mindset. He held his head in his hands for several seconds with a groan. "Urgh... L...Lucy? LUCY!"
The money bag fell from Alfendi's hand as he ran towards his assistant.
"GRAB IT, GRAB THE BAG AND LET'S GO!" Goldie shrieked at her men to leave their hostage. The three fled down the alley with the money. Alfendi didn't give a damn about the criminals. He crouched at his assistant's side and gathered her in his arms, examining the knife wound on her neck. Sticky, crimson blood gushed out.
What have I done? He thought.
Alfendi quickly removed his coat, pulling a walkie-talkie out of the pocket and wrapping the coat into a bundle. He pressed it to Lucy's throat, hoping the pressure would prevent the bleeding. The cut was quite deep. But she should survive, as long as she received immediate medical attention...
Static crackled on his walkie-talkie. "Al, come in. We've caught Potsby and her accomplices outside the alley."
Alfendi held down the "talk" button, answering "Thanks, Lawson. I've got Lucy. She has to get to the hospital immediately."
"Bring her out; I'm firing up the car as we speak."
Alfendi switched off the transceiver as Lucy quivered, releasing a weak whimper.
He gently picked her up, whispering "You're going to make it, DC Baker. The Mystery Room needs you."
[[Hopefully Alfendi and Lucy were more in-character than my previous story about them. Review please :D]]