His eyes flickered.
Arthur sat up slowly, groaning as he lifted himself from the bed. He felt tempted to fall back into slumber, but he forcefully stretched out his legs and arms, and he felt his energy being restored back in his limbs.
He yawned as he slipped out of bed, feeling somewhat refreshed. As he dusted himself, he glanced at the wall clock.
It was six in the evening.
Arthur looked out of the window which overlooked the eerily empty street. The sun was still high in the sky and the day was still bright but it wasn't shining as much as it was in the afternoon. Arthur shook his head, sighing as he rubbed his forehead wearily. He couldn't believe he had slept the entire afternoon away.
Suddenly, he felt his stomach growl softly. Then it occurred to him that he did not have lunch and his last meal was hours ago. Dinner sounded appealing. But he wondered how he was going to get dinner. After all, most of the shops seemed closed and maybe he won't be able to find a place to eat. Shaking off that thought, he decided to just take his time to take a look around. He opened his suitcase and took out a clean shirt, a pair of jeans and a towel. He stepped out of his room and went into the bathroom.
Once he was undressed, he stepped under the showerhead and turned on the water. As droplets pelted on his bare body, he began to think. Victoria Louis and Aloysius were the only people he had met, and he was sure he would meet more people soon. After all, it was a small town. Soon enough he would know everyone in this town and start checking up on them, gathering information until he found the murderer, the mastermind. But something else was pulling at his thoughts.
How long will he survive?
The last detective stationed here, his colleague who went under the alias Kent White, lasted 12 days. His body was found on an empty street, eyes white and skin pale. There was a large, dark, open hole in his chest, where his heart was. The state of his corpse screamed an instantaneous death. He had lain in a pool of his own blood and near his head were two characters carved in sand, 'A' and '1'. When Arthur had seen the photos, he knew that it was a clue, a possible lead. Aside from these two characters, there was no other evidence. No weapon was found, although the object which had stabbed Kent White was identified as a knife. The people interrogated had alibis to prove their innocence.
After taking a shower, Arthur dried himself and pulled on his clothes and brought his soiled clothes back to his room. He would have to find a dry cleaner somewhere. After grabbing his bag and double-checking that he had brought his wallet, Arthur went downstairs and he saw Victoria reading a book behind the desk. Upon sensing his presence, Victoria looked up.
"Going out?" she asked as she put down the book, which Arthur identified as an ancient copy of The Catcher in the Rye.
Arthur nodded. "Do you know where there's a place to eat? And is there a dry cleaner as well?"
Victoria nodded. "The dry cleaner is just down the road. There's only one in the whole town. And as for a place to eat…" Victoria looked thoughtful as she tapped her chin with her index finger. "I usually buy things from the next town and fix my own meals. I think the closest thing to a restaurant here would be the pub. There's a convenience store too with ready-made sandwiches and things like that." Victoria looked at Arthur. "If you want to, I can make you dinner…"
"No need to!" Arthur gave a friendly smile as he declined the kind offer. "I think I'll just check the convenience store. Where is it?"
Victoria leaned forward and gestured outside. "Go straight, turn right over there and then go straight again. After that turn left at the chapel. That's where the convenience store would be."
Arthur mentally recited the directions in his head. "Alright, got it. Thank you!"
Arthur left the Bed and Breakfast and headed down to the convenience store. The walk to the convenience store didn't take more than 10 minutes.
The convenience store was lit up and fortunately amply air-conditioned. Arthur had been dreading a dingy open-air store, and he was glad the convenience store was the opposite of his thoughts. Shelves were lined with biscuits, snacks and ready-made food. A fridge was stored with cold drinks. A cold air rushed past Arthur as he stepped in. He went over to a shelf and contemplated on what to buy. He spotted a ready-made chicken and cabbage sandwich and reached out for it. As he did, his arm bumped into another person's.
"Oh sorry," Arthur murmured an apology in instinct.
"Ve! Sorry!" the man next to him apologised at the same time.
Arthur looked at the man.
The man looked around the same age as him, with hanging light brown hair. The man straightened his faded blue dress shirt nervously and he looked apologetic as he tilted his head to one side.
"No, it's alright," Arthur gave a small smile.
"Ve… I'm glad," the other man replied as a broad grin stretched across his face, replacing his earlier glum reaction. "I've never seen you around before. Did you move here?"
"No, I'm just staying," Arthur answered. He drew out his arm. "I'm Leon Parker, nice to meet you."
"Feliciano Vargas," the man replied in his light, cheery voice as he shook Arthur's hand over-enthusiastically. "Piacere di conoscerti!"
The man's name, accent and greeting rang in Arthur's head. There was unique curl to his voice. His language and voice told Arthur that he was Italian.
"You're Italian, aren't you?" Arthur faked his suspicion with a smile as he took down the sandwich. "Have you lived here long?"
"Ve… so you noticed?" Feliciano said. "Yes, I came here with my grandpa and brother when I was 13!"
13… "And how old are you now?" Arthur enquired.
"20!" Feliciano beamed. "My birthday was just last month, you know! I love celebrating my birthday because my brother Lovi will help me make pasta! By the way when's your birthday?"
Seven years ago… Long before the chain murders happened. Arthur jammed his free hand in his pocket. "April…"
"Oh no! I can't believe so much time has already passed already!" Feliciano suddenly exclaimed. "I've stayed here for too long! Lovi's going to scold me!" Feliciano wailed. "Sorry but I have to go already! See you around! Ciao!"
Arthur waved as Feliciano rushed to the counter, nearly tripping up in the process. As Arthur watched the young man nearly fall on the customer in front of him, a question had popped up in Arthur's head.
What about Feliciano's grandfather?
Once Arthur returned to the B and B, he immediately went to his bedroom, locked the door and took out his laptop. As he waited patiently for his Hewlett-Packard laptop to boot up, he ripped away the plastic from his sandwich and began eating. Once he was logged in to his account, he opened up his Skype application and called Toris. It wasn't long before Toris picked up.
"Mr Kirkland?"
Arthur didn't beat around the bush. "Give me information on Aloysius, Victoria Louis and Feliciano Vargas."
"O-oh… Right away!" Toris answered hastily. Arthur heard paper flipping and pens being scattered across the table. Arthur chewed his sandwich impatiently.
"Do you want me to tell you verbally or send you the information?" Toris asked.
"Just tell me," Arthur answered. "Starting with Aloysius."
"Alright," Toris cleared his throat. "Official name is Aloysius Lee Wen Dong. He is a Singaporean citizen who moved here three years ago. He is 19 years old and has one sibling, an elder, Malaysian-born brother who lives with him. Aloysius used to study in the local school on Syndevale before it shut down with the disappearance of one of its students. Aloysius is also a trained first-aider, but he doesn't belong to the British Red Cross or the St John's Ambulance Brigade, although he is said to have certificates and badges."
Trained first aider. That meant that the bag Arthur saw Aloysius carrying could be a first-aid kit. But Aloysius didn't belong to any recognised first-aid organisation but still had badges and certificates. And about his sibling… Arthur would leave that until later.
"How about Victoria?" Arthur asked.
"Victoria Louis, aged 20, is of Seychellois heritage. Both of her parents were born in Seychelles. She moved here about four years ago, about half a year before the chain murders happened. She actually moved here to further her education. Her mother died seven years ago, and her father is in prison for theft and kidnapping. She receives financial support from her cousin, Nicholas Dubois, who is 25 years old and is working in Paris. She started her own Bed and Breakfast once she moved to Syndevale and she was earning quite a steady income until the chain murders happened."
Arthur nodded slowly. He knew that he would have to consider Victoria a suspect, although it was quite illogical. If she was the murderer, it would affect her business, and no sensible person would commit murder knowing it would affect business. But she had financial support from her cousin, and that meant that it was still a possibility that she was the murderer.
"Is Nicholas Dubois still financially assisting Victoria?" Arthur asked.
"Um… I'm not so sure. I'll try to call him tomorrow and report to you when I get the results, Mr Kirkland," Toris said. "And…" Arthur could hear the Toris' rapid typing. "Feliciano Vargas. Italian citizen, aged 20 and moved into Syndevale seven years ago with his elder twin brother Lovino Vargas and grandfather Claudius Vargas. Claudius Vargas died of heart failure five years ago. Feliciano and Lovino's father walked out on their family and their mother died in a fatal car accident. Claudius then volunteered to look after them and he raised them. Currently, Feliciano and Lovino are living together but neither of them could last the interrogation session for the last murder due to Feliciano being too traumatised."
Arthur finished the last of his sandwich and balled up the plastic wrapping before tossing it into the bin with outstanding accuracy. So the Vargas twins escaped interrogation due to trauma. Arthur leaned his chin on his palm.
"How about the previous cases for the chain murders? Did they sit for the interrogation sessions?" Arthur asked.
"They were unable to sit for a about a few sessions because…" Toris paused as he began searching up the information in the database. "For one of the earlier murders, both were not interrogated because Lovino had an asthma attack. And for another murder, Feliciano fell down the stairs on his way out of the house and hit his head, leading to a temporary memory loss."
"I see," Arthur murmured. He leaned back. He could feel as if there was something more than just finding out who the murderer was. He closed his eyes and thought hard. There was an awkward silence with occasional crackling from Toris' side. Then Arthur remembered something.
"Give me information on Aloysius' sibling," Arthur said.
Arthur heard Toris hitting the keyboard furiously as he entered the name in the database. Finally, a reply came in a solemn voice.
"Aloysius' sibling," Arthur could hear Toris' steady breathing. "is Sazali Johan bin Muhammed. "