Valkyrie Cain walked on to the scene of the murder, shocked and angry. Her head was bent down, her long, dark hair falling into her face. She refused to let anyone see her eyes, for they were red-rimmed and filled with tears. How could anyone have done this? Why would anyone want to do this?
Her tears were caused by the fear she felt, not so much the sadness. That didn't change the fact that she was sad about it, but if he could die, what would happen to the rest of them? If someone had murdered this man, the man now staring blankly into the early dawn sky, then the rest of the world stood no chance. And the worst part: there were no visible signs of a struggle. It was as if he had simply…died. Just like her Uncle Gordon. But Gordon hadn't died of natural causes, even though that's what normal doctors said. He had been murdered by Serpine.
"Thoughts?"
Valkyrie sniffed hard and turned around slowly, still staring at the gravel under her booted feet. She slowly shook her head. She refused to look up. Not even for him. She sniffed again and held back a fresh wave of tears. She couldn't remember ever crying this hard.
And when she felt Skulduggery Pleasant wrap his thin, strong arms around her, she broke down. She sobbed into his coat shoulder. He didn't say anything- he just held her shaking form. When she had finally calmed down was when he resumed speaking.
"Valkyrie, I know this is hard. It's hard for all of us. But I need you to stay focused. Please."
Valkyrie sniffed again and pulled away from his body, looking up for the first time since she got the news. Her watery eyes took in his face. She would die if something happened to him.
He was right off course- when was he not?- she had to stay focused. If the killer had so easily made his first murder, it would be no trouble at all to take out the whole country. In fact, as the sun was rising, all of Ireland was in chaos. The murder hadn't even happened 3 hours ago, and yet it still had already turned the world upside down.
She had known him for awhile, but they hadn't really talked much. He was like family to her, but she was afraid of him. Everyone was scared of him. But knowing that he wouldn't be at the Sanctuary anymore…
"I'm sorry," she began. "I'm just in shock. Do you have any idea how this could have happened?"
"Not one clue- yet. But I'm full of ideas- I'll figure it out," Skulduggery said. Valkyrie coughed, giving him a death glare.
"I, erm, mean WE will figure it out," he corrected quickly. Valkyrie grinned.
"What was he even doing out here? I mean, who comes out to the middle of nowhere?"
Skulduggery shook his head. "If only I knew. I suggest we head back to the Sanctuary. I suppose we could also ask China. She's bound to have heard rumors or know of some information that could clear this up. Let's go before we lose too much time. The Cleavers will deal with his body."
So Valkyrie and Skulduggery walked away from the crime scene, side by side, leaving the dead man in the grass. The Cleavers had already arrived to take away his body.
Valkyrie paused as her hand grazed he handle of the Bentley. She felt as if she were missing something important. Something very important.
"Skulduggery," Valkyrie exclaimed suddenly. "I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?" he yelled after her, but she ignored him. He sighed as he watched her form retreat back to where they had been five minutes ago. When would she ever learn to listen to him?
Valkyrie scanned the ground near the body for ten minutes. She walked in circles around it, slowly making the circle bigger each time. Her eyes darted across the ground before finally picking up on what she was looking for. Sure enough, thousands of little cracks scarred the earth.
Excited by her discovery, she ran back to the Bentley, ready to share her discovery. Skulduggery could sense her excitement, but before he could even ask what she had found, she was already blurting it out.
"Sanguine was here!"
"That doesn't explain how he managed to execute the perfect murder, though," Skulduggery pointed out.
"Well then, let's get to China's!" Valkyrie exclaimed, hopping into the Bentley, slamming the door. Skulduggery clenched his fists and sighed.
"How many times have I told you not to slam the door?"
"Countless," she responded. "But does that stop me? No it does not. So get your bony ass into the driver's seat and let's get out of her!"
Skulduggery sighed, but did as he was instructed too. And as he turned the key and began to drive away from the crime scene, Valkyrie managed to get one last look at the limp form that used to be Mr. Bliss.
