Chapter 4:

The Suspect

Over a month passed, and they were still no closer to catching the rapist. Elsa had every woman interviewed several times, trying to get any additional information that they might have overlooked. When the rapist struck again, this time it was during the day, long before the curfew started. This time however, the woman said the man talked to her a lot, while he was raping her. She said that he told her that he lived a boring life, and that this was the only way he got his thrills. Now armed with a motive for these terrible attacks, Elsa had men throughout the kingdom, brought in for questioning. Over a hundred men were questioned, but all of them had alibis for the night of each attack. It would seem as if the case would never be solved.

One evening, after the curfew started, two of the palace guards were walking the streets when they noticed a man out and about. Knowing that it was required for everyone in the village to be in their homes, the guards called out to the man.

"Hey you! What are you doing out this late? Don't you know there's a curfew?" one of the guards asked.

The man didn't reply, but instead kept walking. This arose suspicion in the two guards who walked up to the man to question him some more.

"Sir, didn't you hear me? What are you doing out this late?"

The man still didn't reply. It was as if he was in a drunken state, wobbling as he walked down the street. The man's lack of response was alarming enough for the palace guards. They suspected that he might be Arendelle Rapist. They placed him under arrest, and brought him back to the palace for questioning.

By the time they returned, Elsa was already asleep in her chambers, when she was awoken by Kai.

"Queen Elsa, I'm very sorry to disturb your slumber, but the guards have arrested a man, who might be the Arendelle Rapist?"

Normally Elsa would be annoyed at being woken up in the middle of the night, but upon hearing why the guards arrested the man, she instantly jumped into action.

"Where is he?" Take me to him!" she ordered to Kai.

Kai took Elsa down to the dungeons, where the two guards who had arrested the man, were questioning him. Upon entering the main chamber, she saw a middle-aged man with black hair, and a mustache, sitting on the bench in one of the cells. On the other end of the bench, one of the guards, Samuel, was asking him questions.

"Mr. Hawthorne, can you please explain what you were doing out so late at night, even though a curfew has been issued by Her Majesty?"

Mr. Hawthorne kept his head hung low, refusing to answer the question. When Samuel turned towards Elsa, he shook his head, sadly. Samuel, Elsa, and Kai, walked out of the cell, leaving Mr. Hawthorne alone with another guard.

"We've been questioning him for over an hour, and so far the only thing he's told us is his name, and his family. He's a stubborn man alright."

"Did you ask him about the rapes?" Elsa inquired.

"Yes, Your Majesty, but he denies any inovlement. However, he refuses to answer any other questions I have about the crimes."

"I see. Gentlemen, ask him if he would like anything to drink. I'm going to be in my study. Let me know if he says anything else."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the guards said at once.

Elsa went up to her study. A quick glance at the grandfather clock told her that it was 2:00 AM. As much as she wanted to sleep, she knew that she also had to be on alert. This man might be the culprit. Hopefully, his iron will would lesson in time.

As Elsa read over the crime reports of the previous rapes, a knock came at her door.

"Come in," she said. Elsa assumed it was Kai or one of the guards with information about the suspect for her.

Instead, she was surprised to see that it was Anna.

"Anna, what are you doing up so late?"

"I heard all the commotion, and I went to see what was going on. Kai told me that the guards had arrested someone. Is it true?"

"Yes, we believe he might be the Arendelle rapist," Elsa explained.

Anna's eyes widened. "Oh, my, has he said anything yet?"

"Not much. He's just told us his name, and a little bit about his family. From what the guards tell me, he's being stubborn. We haven't been able to get any more information out of him yet."

"What about if you talked to him, Elsa?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't you ask him the questions instead of the palace guards? Who knows, you might be the one to get something out of him," Anna suggested.

"Hmmm. I don't know if he'll say anything to me, but I guess it's worth a shot. Alright, I'll go down to the dungeons, and see if I can pry anything out of him."

Elsa quickly conjured up one of her ice dresses, and braided her hair, to look presentable for the suspect. Before heading to the dungeons, she got a glass of water from the kitchen. She figured that the suspect was very thirsty.

When she reentered the cell, she told the guards that they could step away for the time being. Kai was hesitant to leave Elsa alone with the suspect, but he knew that she could handle herself. After Kai and the guards were gone, Elsa sat down beside the suspect, and gave him the glass of water.

"I thought you might be thirsty," she said.

The suspect, who looked terrified, slowly picked up the glass, and brought it to his mouth. Elsa watched as he shook violently, while drinking.

"Do you know who I am?" Elsa asked.

The man nodded.

"Good. What's your name?"

"Fredrick Hawthorne," the man whispered.

"Ok, Fredrick I'm going to ask you some questions, alright?"

"I already told them, I don't know anything."

"I'm just going to ask you a few questions," Elsa repeated.

"Why…why won't you people listen?" Fredrick pleaded.

"Henry, we're just trying to figure things out. If you cooperate with me, you can go home. Alright?"

"I don't know anything!" Fredrick shouted.

Elsa took a deep breath. She could tell that this was going to be a long night.

A/N: If Elsa was so peaceful during the beginning of her interrogation with Henry, what made her snap? The answer will come soon. Everybody, including Elsa, has a breaking point.

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