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The decor was simple, but breathtaking, gentle strokes of white, light brown and a pale shade of purple creating the illusion of a dune landscape, but at the same time looking like a pair of wings, spread out, ready to fly. At the left bottom corner of the stage stood Lovino Vargas, carefully applying the last strokes of white to the bottom of one of the gigantic wings. He moved the brush with tender, long movements, as if caressing the canvas. Another figure,which Vash could recognize as Bella Van Rijn ,with her slim waist and familiar black dress stood beside him, one hand placed on Lovino's shoulder, talking softly into his ear.
Vash scraped his throat loudly, stepping into the spotlights, causing the gentle line on the canvas to change into a big white stripe as both Lovino and Bella whirled around, paint splattering onto the floor.
Lovino let out a string of Italian curses, glaring at Vash while Bella gave him a wave and a wink, which Vash pointedly ignored.
"Bastardo! Look what you did to my painting!"
"Vash! How nice of you to come and see me!" Bella chirped, giving him what was supposed to be a kind smile but turned more into a grin.
Vash's eyebrow twitched. "Entschuldigung, Mister Vargas, Miss Van Rijn, to interrupt you, but I need to talk to Mister Vargas, now." He stated coolly, glaring at Bella, who cocked her head, giving him a calculating look.
"Oh? Are there any new developments in the cause, Vash?"
"It's Herr Zwingli for you, miss. Now, would you please be so kind to leave this room?"
The detective and the Belgian stared at eachother for a minute, her eyes twinkling, his eyes burning. Finally, she nodded, giving the painter, who was trying to cover up the stripe, muttering angrily to himself, a quick peck on the cheek. "Okay! See you later, Lovi!"
She left the theatre in a rush, the clicking of her high heels muffled by the thick, fancy ,red carpet. Vash turned towards Lovino, whose cheeks were bright red.
"Hello, my name is Vash Zwingli, private detective. I don't think we've met before." He said politely, extending his hand in the Italian's direction.
Lovino only glared at his hand before turning back to the canvas, causing Vash to forcefully extend his hand in front of Lovino's face, preventing him from continuing with his painting..
"In Switzerland, we shake peoples hand when we introduce ourselves!" He snapped, already fed up with this suspect.
Lovino raised a dark eyebrow, shaking Vash's hand weakly. "Yeah..alright. I'm Lovino Vargas. Why are you here? Is this an interrogation?"
Vash tried to conceal his surprised look and walked towards Lovino, hands stretched out in a calming gesture. "Calm down. I am just going to ask you a few questions. If you are innocent, there is no reason to be nervou-"
"I'm not nervous, you bastard!" Lovino snapped, eyebrows knitting together in a frown, stepping away from Vash.
"Alright. If you say so." Vash said, raising his eyebrows. "So..you are the decor painter here, huh? Forgive me if I am a bit blunt right now, but what is your opinion on Francis Bonnefoy?"
Lovino's eyes darkened and he spat on the ground, giving Vash a disapproving scowl. "Bonnefoy? Bastard. You know, he was one of those people!" He walked towards Vash, tossing his imaginary long tresses around.
"Like, adore me, love me because I am so gorgeous and amazing! I am the best! He charmed himself out of every fucking nasty situation and nobody could do anything about it because he had Elizaveta wrapped around his fucking little finger!"
He turned around, raising his paintbrush to the canvas again, dabbing into the white paint with furious, short strokes. Vash watched the back of his angry, dark haired head, scratching his chin.
"Thank you for your answer, Mister Vargas. Now, where were you when Francis Bonnefoy was murdered?"
Lovino whirled back to Vash immediately, giving him a panicked look. "I was in the ballroom! Why do you ask this? Do you suspect me?"
Vash narrowed his eyes, giving Lovino a suspicious look. "And..who were in the ballroom with you?"
"Antonio, Feliks, Bella, Yao, Elizaveta and..Feliciano."
Feliciano!?
"Excuse me?" Vash asked, confused.
Lovino shifted uncomfortably. "Feliciano. My brother."
"Your brother was there..in the ballroom..with you and Mister Carriedo, Mister Lukasiewicz, Miss Herdevary, Mister Wang and Miss Van Rijn?"
Lovino nodded. Vash grabbed his own hair in frustration. "Nein! Scheisse!"
Now it was the Italian's turn to look confused. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Vash growled, stomping around the stage, the wood creaking beneath his feet. "Scheisse! Now I have to interrogate everyone all over again and-GAH!"
He threw his notebook on the ground, seemingly forgetting that Lovino was still in the room. "Why can't anobody be fucking honest for once! I just-Argh! Nothing's right anymore! Everybody lied and nobody has a motive anymore and-I HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN!" He raged against himself, kicking his notebook of the stage.
Lovino let out a frightened sound, causing Vash to turn around, panting heavily, glaring at Lovino, who had taken another few steps back. His green eyes widened.
"Unless-" He pointed a shaky hand in Lovino's direction. "Unless you're lying."
Lovino's expression became even more uncomfortable. Vash's lips curled into a smile and he let out a relieved cackle.
"You're lying! Your brother wasn't there in the ballroom with you!"
Lovino bit his lip and hung his head in guilt, causing Vash to relax.
"You're trying to protect him, why?"
Lovino shrugged, suddenly darting forward, grabbing Vash by the collar of his coat. "I lied! Scusi! Mi fratello doesn't have to do anything with it! I swear! He adored Francis! He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!"
"What do you mean by that?"
"He would never do such a thing! He just happened to be talking to Francis right before he died, I swear! He's innocent, please!"
Vash didn't reply, instead slapped Lovino's hands off him before jumping off the stage, looking for his notebook. This was some major progress. He didn't have to start all over again. He smiled, stuffing his notebook into his pocket, walking towards the exit.
"Potatobastard,wait!" Vash turned around to see Lovino running towards him. "Do you not want to know who I suspect?
Vash raised an eyebrow. "I heavily doubt that's necessary, Mister Vargas, as you just made your own brother one of the head suspects in the case. I think it is better for your sake if you'd just shut up otherwise you could make things worse for your brother by making up a theory on the spot."
"I didn't make this up on the spot! I suspect Kirkland! The teabastard!"
Vash let out a mocking laugh. "Yeah, sure. Just like your little girlfriend." Before Lovino could respond, he stalked out of the room, already taking his phone out of his pocket to inform Lukas of the new developments.
"Vash, I've got news for you."
"Well, isn't that a coincidence, I've got something I want to discuss with you too."
"Alright, we will talk about that soon. But this is very important for the bereaved of the victim, so if you please would be so kind to inform them as soon as possible."
"Alright, what is it?"
"The coroners are done with the investigation of the body. I will send you the results soon. The body is ready to be buried."
"That is fantastic news. I'll be sure to inform everyone here as soon as possible. Could you please ask Alfred to contact Sesel Bonnefoy, make sure she's at the funeral too."
"Sure. But..are you going to allow everybody else to attend the funeral?"
"Well..I'm pretty sure some of them want to pay their colleague their last respects, so I think we would have to break the do-not-leave-the-building-until-the-case-is-solved rule."
"I would keep a close eye on them if I were you."
"Don't worry Lucas. I will. I'm buried to deep inside of this case to let anything-"
"HERR ZWINGLI! HERR ZWINGLI!" Vash looked up, almost dropping his phone as he saw Elizaveta Herdevary hobbling towards him, tears in her eyes.
"You have to come, quick!" She panted. "Something terrible has happened!"
Zwingli Detectives
Vash Zwingli
Report: 7
Date: 4-4-2015
Crime: Murder
Place of crime: Building of the Hetaballet.
Victim: Francis Bonnefoy, 26, main role in "Wings"
Cause of death: Beaten to death with a heavy metal object.
Suspects: Profession: Notes:
Arthur Kirkland,Ballet dancer,Found on the crime scene, strong hatred towards victim.
Antonio Carriedo,Stylist, was in the ballroom (according to E.H)
Gilbert Beilschmidt,Stage technician Was in the theatre (according to R.E)
Ludwig Beilschmidt,Stage technician/builder
Lovino Vargas,Decor painter, was in the ballroom (according to E.H), made up an alibi for his brotherInterrogated
Feliciano Vargas,Ballet dancer, last one to talk to victim before he was murdered.
Sesel Bonnefoy,Ballet dancer,Sister of the victim, at home under supervision
Elizaveta Herdevary Ballet dancer/coach,Owner of HetaBallet. Broken ankle, not able to dance or work. was in the ballroom. Interrogated
Roderich Edelstein Ballet dancer, co-owner,Main role in "Wings", dislike towards victim, was in the theatre, Interrogated
Feliks Lukasiewicz Stylist, was in the ballroom (according to E.H) Interrogated
Bella Van Rijn Stylist,Was in the ballroom (according to E.H) claims to know something (crucial?) Interrogated
Natalia Braginski Ballet dancer
Ivan Braginski Ballet dancer, dislike towards victim
Yao Wang Ballet Coach,was in the ballroom (According to E.H) Interrogated
Task for now: Confirm Bella Van Rijn's alibi.
We're making major progress now! Sooo..a really exciting cliffhanger (not really -_-) and a mini-outburst from Vash. Poor dude, the complexity of the plot is getting to his head! As long as it doesn't get to my head we'll be fine! Thank you so much for reading! Reviews, Follows and Favorites are very much appreciated. Feedback and speculations are welcome too!
