Chapter Four: Insanity

"Did Ivan ever tell you?" Bel asked when he entered my room. It had been three days since the newest murder and my room had been turned into an exact replica of the detective room at the police station. There were things pinned up everywhere, a map of the city tacked up, and even a cup of coffee was sitting next to my humming computer. I don't drink coffee. I just wanted to get the feel of a real private investigator.

"Tell me what?" I asked, turning towards him. My disc jockey headset was hugging my neck and it was playing "Angel with a Shotgun" which was basically the song that told me to get stuff done.

"He hasn't told you yet? Not since Beyond died?" Belphegor asked.

"Tell me what? Bel, if you don't want to tell me, don't ask me stuff like that. If it's really bad and about you, I'd come straight to you. Now, what didn't he tell me?"

"Remember I was adopted on the same day as you were born?" Bel asked as he seated himself on a black, plastic chair. It had been piled with every article I could find on the three victims: Edward Twilight who was a writer/reporter for a tween magazine, Lomina Ingrend who was an immigrant from England, and Beyond Birthday, dearest older brother.

"Yeah. Best day of my life," I muttered, focusing back on the map and the three clues tacked onto the map.

"Knite, I've been enrolled into an asylum too," Bel said. I turned toward him, my eyes wide.

"I thought... But Beyond... He just...," I stuttered and then set my hand on my forehead, trying to concentrate. So, Belphegor had been locked into an insane asylum too, but what for?

"What did you do to be locked into an penitentiary?" I asked, looking into his hidden eyes.

"It wasn't a penitentiary!" Bel shouted but then muttered, "It was only an asylum..."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I might have killed one person. One," Bel said. He held up one slim, pianist worthy finger. It was hugged by a silver ring with the word "Ouji" on it. It meant something like "prince" in Japanese or some other Asian language.

"Bel!" I shouted at him. It made him jump because I almost never raise my voice at anyone. "Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"I didn't feel like it," he muttered, rubbing his neck.

I slammed my hand on a thick book on serial killers. My eyes were flared and I probably looked like I wanted to yell at him.

"Don't give me any of that! Belphegor Braginski, why did you not tell me?" I shouted once more and Ivan came knocking at the door.

"What's going on?" Ivan asked, in his strange pink apron.

"Belphegor was enrolled into an asylum. Why was I never told this?" I asked him sternly, crossing my arms. Ivan sighed. He dried his hands on the apron and sat down next to Bel.

"We thought it would have made your life better if you never knew. Beyond telling you was an accident. We just wanted you to seem normal," he said after a long pause. His voice was heavy and sad. Ivan really did try to protect me at times. I stared at my family and Beyond popped up behind them, looking tired and depressed.

"Normal family? Ivan, my family can't be normal. Bel and Beyond have been sent to insane asylums for the first few years of their live. Beyond was murdered by a serial killer. I'm working on the case. Ivan, are you going to say that you've been locked up before?" I asked.

"How did you figure that out?" he asked, amazed. My hands were thrown into the air and then I plopped myself onto a chair.

"Was I ever...?"

"No, Knite. You are the most sane out of all of us," Ivan said.

"Yeah. Sane huh?" I said, looking up and smiling. Beyond was rolling on the mattress, laughing hysterically. Bel was smiling his classic Cheshire cat smile and Ivan got up to finish dinner. I turned my attention back to the board, keeping to myself that I thought I probably belonged to an asylum too. I mean, who wants to volunteer to work on a serial killer case, knowing the fact that they could be the next victim themselves.

Only me. Well, only a Braginski.