Memories of Murder:
Chapter 10:
It had to have been Ciel and someone else. He tried to think of a way to ask and to give a clear description of Ciel.
"Was one of them about this height?" he put his hand level with Ciel's head and checked the colour of his hair."Did he have bluish grey hair?"
Edgar looked momentarily lost and Sebastian realised that remembering a detail like that from six years ago would be hard for a normal person.
"One of them was. I only remember because I thought he looked perfect for the lead role in the production we were doing that year," he said. "I asked him if he wanted to audition and he gave me the dirtiest look I have ever seen."
Based on past experience Sebastian could imagine the scene very well.
"What was the play that year?"
"Alice in Wonderland," Edgar said innocently. "I thought he would be a good Alice."
Sebastian observed Ciel's reaction. His face showed a combination of embarrassment and annoyance.
"How could he be Alice if he was a boy?" Finny asked and Ciel nodded eagerly.
"I was eleven at the time..." Edgar shrugged. "He was more adorable than any of the girls that auditioned."
"Did you ever see him again?"
Edgar shook his head. "I never saw him again. I happened to see the mystery club once grouped outside their clubroom in the new building. I remember the other boy that visited being there, but the cute one wasn't. I assumed he had left halfway through the year and forgot about it until now."
It was a shame that he had never asked about Ciel after that, but he had provided some useful information. He wanted to ask one more question before he left though.
"Do have any ideas who stole the mask and used it to scare people?"
Edgar frowned. "I always envisioned it as being a teacher. The door to this room is locked and we did have an inventory of props. A member of the drama club would have removed it off the inventory to avoid detection. Someone outside the club wouldn't know about it so I think it was a teacher. Probably a member of the Weston Six."
"What is the Weston Six?" Finny asked.
Edgar looked around suspiciously as if to check for eavesdroppers.
"The Weston Six are the original six teachers that have always been here- it's what the older students used to call them. I don't actually know who they are- everyone just used to say how eccentric and scary they were."
Sebastian was willing to bet that the teacher Angela Blanc who had pushed William was one of the Weston Six. She was certainly old and creepy enough to fit the category.
"So that conversation was all to see if the 'face at the window' story from the Seven Mysteries was true?" Finny questioned eagerly once they had left the drama club.
"It's sort of like that. I have an idea that something is hidden in the old mystery clubroom. I found that photo there."
Finny's eyes sparkled in excitement. "Really? You are doing such a good job. I feel more excited than scared about tonight now."
Personally Sebastian was of the opinion that it was right to feel slightly scared about trespassing. They would have to be very discreet and quiet tonight.
"Do you know where the cherry blossom tree is?" Finny asked suddenly. "They all look like cherry blossom trees."
"Cie- I mean, I do know where it is," Sebastian stumbled over his words slightly. "There is not anything strange about it. The only strange thing is that there is only one. The rest are peach blossom trees."
"Perhaps peach blossom trees were cheaper to plant."
The ghost was in a grumpy mood on the way back home due to the knowledge that he had been offered the role of Alice. Sebastian enjoyed watching him pout and huff so he let him stew in silence for a while.
"At least we found out about the mask and the Weston Six," he paused. "Even if it was the cost of your manliness."
Ciel shot him a sour look and then dropped the matter in favour of juicer one.
"What do you think is in that envelope Will gave you?"
Sebastian felt his bag to check that there was still something A4 shaped in there. Losing it would be a very frustrating matter. He couldn't image William giving him another copy either. After taking his shoes off, Sebastian hurried to his room and locked the door. He didn't want his mother to suddenly walk in and ask what he was doing. He drew out the envelope and carefully pulled out all of the contents. The first page was covered with neat handwriting.
I suppose a brief history of the school would be relevant. The school is owned by the former owner and CEO of Tatra Chemicals which traded in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I do not know his name though. The logo of that company is the sword which the statue outside the old building holds.
That explained why it had looked so familiar- it was like less intricate upside down version of the medical symbol.
The company suddenly shut down in 2001. It was actually sold to a larger corporation which currently trades as Fudo Pharmaceuticals. The headmaster sits on the board of Fudo Pharmaceuticals. As you have guessed my family supply them. Without that major customer, the family business would probably collapse.
It was nothing that Sebastian hadn't already suspected. It was clear that the headmaster had a hold over William. The major question he had was why had the company shut down so suddenly.
The reasons for closure are unknown, however there is a rumour that a drug they were testing did not go to plan and caused the deaths of the volunteers in the trial. I cannot vouch for that story's validity as no dead bodies have turned up until we saw the skull in the well. That is what made me suspect the rumour is true and the Seven Mysteries exist to scare people away from looking closely at anything.
It was almost certain that William was on the right track. It was all starting to add up now. There were definitely some missing puzzle pieces, but the picture was starting to become clearer. The company had covered up deaths before and had continued the trend with Ciel nine years later.
Along with the CEO and owner being the headmaster, there were other staff members who became teachers. It is clear they are keeping an eye on the mystery club. Be careful.
Sebastian considered that to be the kindest thing William had ever been. He almost wanted to see the other member's reactions to it. The next page was a rough floor plan for the building. Sebastian appreciated it as he had not had the opportunity to explore all of it. Ciel leaned over his shoulder to have a look.
He pointed at the ground floor layout. "There is room 23."
Sebastian remembered the past Ciel's clue under the desk and realised it should have been obvious what it had referred to.
"It should be a science lab. They were all checked by William, Bardroy and Mey-Rin. What was significant about it might not be there anymore."
"They were not looking for the same thing as us though," Ciel pointed out. "You have proven yourself to be moderately intelligent- you can do a better job than them."
Sebastian tried not to preen at the compliment and changed the subject by turning to the next page.
"There is something else here."
Regarding the old school building, there was something strange about its closure. As I mentioned before it was only used for clubs and the labs and that was supposed to continue until the summer holidays. In mid April it unexpectedly closed down, the trees were planted outside and all science lessons became theory based. It was rumoured that someone died in an accident there and the school did not want anyone to know. I did not believe it myself until we found that skull.
"You must have died in April," Sebastian commented. "They must have really cared about covering up your death."
"That does not make me feel important or flattered," Ciel griped. "Or feel any better about being dead."
There has to be something hidden in there. If you cannot find it, you are a disappointment to the club so find some evidence and do something. If you get caught, do not mention I told you anything.
Sebastian sighed. "Charmingly rude as always."
Spurred on by the new information Sebastian and Ciel sneaked out and made their way to the school at around midnight. None of the other club members were there yet so Sebastian made a point of standing in the shadows instead of under a streetlight like they had last time. After they had all gone over the wall he rearranged the flowerbed they had landed in. They could not afford to leave traces.
"Sebastian says there is something important in the old mystery clubroom," Finny announced to the rest of them as they stood around waiting for Sebastian to unlock the padlock.
"That's cool," Bardroy said. "But how does he know?"
"He has put the most effort in," Mey-Rin answered. "With Will gone there is no one to disagree with him either."
Bardroy crossed his arms. "I don't know who he thinks he is, but Finny is the president of the club and not him."
Ciel rolled his eyes. "Someone is undermining your authority."
Sebastian sighed. "Where would they be without me?"
He pulled off the padlock and pocketed it for safety. If someone found it had been unlocked whilst they were in there and locked it; they would be stuck inside without any escape. He informed the others it was open and they all switched their torches on.
Mindful of danger Sebastian looked around for signs that anything had changed since their last visits. There was still lots of dust swirling in the air and it smelled musty signalling that the air had not been disturbed. If it wasn't for Tanaka he wouldn't have the key so their visits to the building must be outside the headmaster's predictions.
He led the procession up to the top floor and the combined light from all of their torches made it much easier to see. The clubroom looked very different with better light. Sebastian's eyes immediately locked on the Sherlock Holmes poster.
"It's a lot bigger than our room," Mey-Rin observed. "The posters are a nice touch too."
"Sebastian, what do you think is hidden here?" Finny asked.
Sebastian put down his torch and strode over to the poster and slowly pulled it away from the wall. He knew there was something there when the others gasped.
Hidden by the poster was a filled in rectangular shape of plaster with cracks running down it that wasn't painted yellow like the rest of the wall. Sebastian tapped it experimentally and found that it sounded hollow.
"There is something behind here."