Steadying the pot with both hands, Erzsébet poured out three portions of camomile tea into dainty china cups. A young lady had come to her in distress, and her solution was tea and sympathy. It made her feel about a hundred years old— like a grandmother, or the wise woman of a village.

Lilli accepted her cup with shaking hands. "I—I'm so sorry that I've left it this late, I wasn't sure who to come to," she said, "I didn't want to tell the police, and I don't know anyone in the area. But then I remembered the Fireball Circus and how kind you two were to me, and I thought… I decided…"

Luca gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "Well I think you're being awfully brave."

"He's right," Erzsébet said, "This must be very hard for you, and you've shown a lot of courage just by coming here. Feel free to speak at your own pace, dear."

Lilli nodded and sipped at her tea. "As I said, I don't live in Bavaria. My brother and I grew up in a small town in Switzerland, right on the three-way border with Austria and Liechtenstein. After our parents died three years ago, my brother became my legal guardian, and we recently moved to Vienna for his work. For a while, he seemed happier there than I'd ever seen him before. Then, about two months ago, everything changed. He was suddenly so angry all the time, always snapping and shouting and losing his temper. Sometimes I'd even find him alone in the bathroom, crying or bashing his head against the wall. I returned home from school one day to find two suitcases packed. He didn't explain anything; he put me in the car and said that we were going on a trip to Bavaria. I kept on asking and asking why we were going so suddenly, but he just said that… that he had some important b—businesses to attend to, and that we might be gone for s—some time…"

"My word, what a scoundrel!" exclaimed Luca, flicking his fringe to one side.

Erzsébet nodded slowly, taking the information in. "So, that explains how you came here… I agree that it sounds very suspicious. Are you able to talk about what happened afterwards?"

"I—I think so…"

Luca watched her for a moment, and then gingerly stretched his arm around her shoulder. Lilli gave a start, but couldn't hold back a grateful smile.

"You're explaining very well so far," Luca said, flicking his fringe, "Keep going— I know you can do it!"

Lilli's demure smile widened ever so slightly. She cleared her throat to continue, "We drove for almost five hours straight before stopping at a hotel in this town. A couple of days later, my brother told me he had tickets for the Fireball Circus. I thought there was something strange about that. He always hated these social occasions and performances with lots of people around. But we went together and… and…Vash left his seat after the third performance. He said that he was going to the toilet and that it wouldn't take a moment but he only returned after the shot had been fired. He absolutely refused to tell me where he went, even when we learnt about… w—what happened. I didn't want to believe it, but… I couldn't imagine another possibility."

Erzsébet thought back over what she knew of Vash Zwingli. She remembered seeing him sneaking off during the show. She remembered his elusive exchange with Lilli in the supermarket… as well as all the pellet ammunition he bought. She remembered Alfred's words of warning: "He's a freakin' good shot." Silently, she cursed herself for overlooking it until now. "Lilli, sweetie," she said slowly, "Does your brother own many guns?"

Lilli nodded glumly. "That was what I was going to tell you about next. My brother has always been an incredible shooter. I think he could even have done it in the Olympics if he'd put the effort in."

"So, if he managed to steal Alfred's gun when you were visiting the Circus grounds earlier…" Erzsébet said, but Lilli finished her sentence for her.

"Yes. Vash would not have had any problem using it."

Erzsébet took following silence as an opportunity to sip her tea, thinking. Grumpy Vash. Mysterious Vash. Expert gunman Vash. It all seemed to fit together so well and so obviously that it was almost unreal.

"So that would be Feliks' murder," said Luca, "But what about Gilbert's? Do you know if Vash went to Oktoberfest?"

Lilli sat up straighter in her chair. "When I heard that the festival was going on in Munich while we were visiting, I was really excited. I'd never been before and I was looking forward to it so much… but my brother said I wasn't allowed to come. He told me that I was too young and that it was unsafe, even though I'm sixteen years old!"

"Join the club," Luca muttered, flicking his fringe.

"Vash told me that he was planning to visit Oktoberfest alone," Lilli continued, "This time, I knew that something must be wrong. He's always said that the beer is far too expensive there and he doesn't even like people very much. I didn't want him to go, but it was just the same as before— nothing was going to get in the way of him and his… business."

"What happened when he came back?" Erzsébet asked gently.

"Vash returned earlier than I'd expected, and— and… I've never seen him looking so satisfied. He told me that his business was almost complete, and that we'd be able to go home soon." Lilli shuddered. "I should have been pleased, but I felt so afraid that I couldn't sleep at all. And when I heard the announcement on the news the next day, all my suspicions were confirmed. My big brother really is… a—a murderer."

She whispered the last word, and it rose from her lips like a phantom. Her body was still and unwavering beneath Luca's reassuring arm, but her lower lip quivered incessantly. Then, a single elegant teardrop escaped from the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek.

Luca stiffened in alarm. "Lilli? Please don't cry, Lilli! Please!"

"The worst part about it is that I have n—no idea why he did it," Lilli said, still speaking in the ghostly whisper, "My brother has his enemies, but I didn't realise he even knew anyone at the Circus, let alone hated them enough to—to warrant…" She trailed off. A scattering of tears leaked out to join the first.

Luca patted her on the back awkwardly. "There, there," he said.

Erzsébet chewed her lip. As far as it seemed, Vash's motive was the only blind spot that remained in this case. She remembered Feliciano's translation of the red writing: "In the place…" A murder for a cause. What was Vash Zwingli's cause? Where was the elusive place in this mystery?

"Don't worry about those questions for now, dear. I'm sure they will be answered later," she told her, "Would you like some more tea?"

She was about to pour out another cup when Lilli opened her eyes. They were glistening, and as startled as a rabbit's. "Later?" she said, "Do you mean you're going to…?"

Erzsébet lowered the teapot. "Lilli, I know you care for your brother very deeply, but you must understand that we have to tell the Kriminalpolizei about this. These aren't just any crimes. It wasn't a car that Vash stole, or an item from a shop, but two very real human lives."

"Besides, he might be planning to do it again," Luca said, flicking his fringe.

Lilli sank on the spot. Her expression was crushed, distraught, and oddly accepting. "I knew it was going to come to this," she said, "P—perhaps that's the reason why I felt so reluctant to tell anyone. It's so selfish of me, isn't it?"

"Not in the slightest," Luca said, shaking his head firmly, "Doing the right thing is never the easy option, and only the most courageous can. Don't you feel better knowing that?"

"I thought I would," said Lilli, "But now that I've come here, now that I've said it for real… I don't feel better at all."

Erzsébet and Luca exchanged helpless glances. What sort of reassurance could they provide in answer to that? Perhaps it was for the best that, just then, light footsteps pattered outside. Erzsébet's breath caught at the familiar sound, but the anticipated call of her name did not follow. Instead, Roderich Edelstein burst straight into the tent.

"Erzsébet, I apologise for this appalling breach of etiquette, but I cannot bear—" Roderich stopped hastily as he noticed Erzsébet's visitors. He glanced at them, and then did a double take. "…Miss Zwingli?" he said.

There was a very frightened pause. Lilli's expression told Erzsébet that she was every bit as baffled by this as her. Eventually, she managed to stand up and incline her head towards him. "Er, good evening, Sir?"

"You mean that you don't…? He didn't…? Good Lord…" Roderich muttered. He shook his head incredulously. "You have no idea who I am, do you? You don't even know my name."

At this, Lilli looked positively terrified. "Should I? I'm sorry if I've forgotten something important."

"More to the point, how on Earth do you know hers?" Luca asked. His fringe was out of place again, but he did not flick it back.

"It doesn't matter now, we're wasting time," Erzsébet said. She snatched her iPhone from the top of a box reserved for Free! doujinshi, "Right now, we need to call the Kriminalpolizei. We need to tell them to detain Mr Zwingli as soon as possible on suspicion of murder."

"Excuse me? Surely you cannot mean…?" Roderich's gaze flicked between Erzsébet holding the phone and Lilli's tear-tracked face. Realisation dawned on him. "You mean to tell me that you are all under the impression that Vash committed the murders?"

"You know my brother too?" Lilli squeaked.

Roderich pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, I happen to know your brother. And I also happen to know that he is completely innocent of these crimes which you attribute to him."

"Innocent?" said Luca, "But how can you…?"

"The reason I say this," Roderich said impatiently, almost like he was fighting with himself, "Is because at the exact times when both of the murders were committed… Vash Zwingli was searching for me."

Nobody said a word in response. The candles flickered— pinpricks of light against the steadily looming shadows. Erzsébet stopped dialling the number and put her phone down shakily. There was a very queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that had nothing to do with the scented incense sticks.

"I think you had better sit down," she told Roderich, "You've got a lot of explaining to do."

Roderich drummed his fingernails restlessly against the oak table. There was not a lot of room with the four of them squashed around it, and his arm brushed against Erzsébet's with every movement. Erzsébet busied herself pouring another round of camomile tea, trying to ignore the scent of his cologne, the way the candles cast light upon his bare neck, the heat burning under her skin whenever they touched.

"The first time I met your brother, Miss Zwingli, you had not yet been born," Roderich said, "I lived in a town not far from yours in my early childhood— just over the Austrian border. I was no more macho or athletic then than I am now, and whenever the local boys picked on me, Vash was the only one to step in. We used to play in the woods, swim in the rivers, and spend almost every day together. When I grew tired, he would carry me home upon his back without a single complaint. Sometimes I wonder whether he loved me even then."

Erzsébet jerked at his use of the word 'loved'. If Roderich noticed, he ignored it. "My family moved to Vienna when I was six," he continued, "I told Vash that we would keep in contact, that I would write to him and that he could visit any time he pleased. But I must confess, I had forgotten about him within two years. Forgotten about him in a way that he never forgot about me."

"So when we moved to Vienna a few years ago," Lilli said slowly, "Did you and Vash find each other again?"

Roderich nodded. "As it happens, it was a coincidence. I was playing the piano at Cafe Schwartzenberg— an evening job of mine. Schubert's sonata number 20 in A minor. Vash simply walked in and recognised me immediately. And once again, we were friends. For six months, we picked off from where we left off as if nothing had changed. Yet I could sense something… different about Vash in this time. I noticed his smiles, how easily his gaze wandered, how his hands lingered for a little too long when we touched. I quickly began to suspect that he was looking for… something else. Then, after one drunk night out frequenting the Viennese bars together, we were more than friends."

The final sentence was like a jolt of electricity through Erzsébet's veins. She found herself bombarded with conflicting feelings— shock, fascination, stabbing jealousy, and an unfathomable twinge between her legs. She could have reacted in a hundred different ways, yet all she managed to stutter out was the most obvious question of all. "I… didn't know that you liked men."

Roderich sighed and swept one hand through his hair. "And that was just the problem. I don't."

Luca set down his teacup with a scandalised air. "You mean that you knowingly entered into a relationship with someone against your preferences?"

"It was not like that," Roderich snapped, "I'll have you know that I was very much on the… bicurious side. And at first, it seemed as though the chance I took with Vash paid off. I enjoyed our time together; the social side, the romantic side, even aspects of the… other side." He coughed lightly. "It did not last, however. As I stayed with Vash for longer, not only did my initial passion for him fade, but the things I did with him began to feel inherently peculiar too. I knew I had to call it off, the sooner the better. The only issue was with another revelation about our relationship."

"What was that?" asked Lilli.

"Your brother had not at any point seen me as an experiment," Roderich fingers started drumming again, faster and faster, "This is why I was so surprised that he had not mentioned me, Miss Zwingli. For Vash, it was serious. For Vash, it was love. And for me not to have realised or clarified this sooner was both utterly irresponsible and the biggest mistake of my life."

Erzsébet did not know whether to feel relieved on horrified. She had a feeling that the end of the tale would not be pleasant, but prompted him to continue. "Go on. What happened?"

"I suppose it was the watch that finally did it," said Roderich, "Vash worked from Rolex, and for our first anniversary he gave me one of their most extravagant models— a watch made from pure gold, and studded with diamonds. I ought to have been delighted, yet it sickened me to the core. Vash detested wasting money on anything unnecessary, and here he was giving such an intricate and expensive object to a man who did not truly love him. I felt like such a fraud, a charlatan. And so…" Roderich's knuckles whitened. "So I did something which I am not proud of at all. I fled."

Lilli twitched. "Fled?"

"Yes. My mind was whirling and spinning with guilt. I did not know what to do. So I abandoned everything— my home, my family, my half-completed music course— and ran away to join the circus."

Luca gave a low whistle. "Talk about extreme measures!"

"I realise now that what I did was extremely cowardly, but at the time it did not seem so. I told myself that I was taking the only option to ensure that nobody got hurt." He chuckled softly, humourlessly. "But of course, it was never going to work like that, was it? I think I realised deep down that Vash would always find me in the end. And I didn't have to wait long until this came to pass."

Erzsébet took a deep gulp of tea. It was as if Roderich's words were dismantling her carefully constructed jigsaw, turning the parts upside down and fitting them together into a new picture. And Erzsébet knew that she had the next piece in the puzzle. "So on the night of our last performance…?"

Roderich nodded crisply. "Vash had located my whereabouts and was waiting for me in one of the dressing rooms. Even though I had been expecting this outcome, I must say that I was surprised at the sheer speed in which he managed it. It spoke again of how very devoted he was to me, to us, and I realised how much he deserved an honest answer. So I told him everything."

"And?"

"Vash… did not take the news well. I had never seen him as uncontrollably infuriated as he was that night," Roderich said. He was back to drumming on the table, his nimble fingers dancing. "He went into a rage, flinging my belongings at the walls, screaming at me through his tears, shouting about how I'd deceived him, how I'd toyed with his emotions without thinking twice. It only lasted a couple of minutes, but it felt to me as if it was going on for eternity. Eventually, he stormed out, telling me that he never wanted to see my face ever again."

"But… he must have done," Erzsébet said. Her mind was whirring like a set of cogs. "You saw him again at Oktoberfest, didn't you?"

"How very astute you are today. Yes, Vash texted me while I was there and requested a meeting. I thought he was going to try to rekindle the relationship, and braced myself to let him down once more. But in the end, it turned out that he only wanted the watch back." He snorted. "I don't know why I was even surprised. He hasn't changed a hair."

"So that's… it?" Lilli asked, "This trip to Bavaria, everything my brother did… it was all over a relationship?"

Luca scratched his chin, flicked his fringe. "It does sound rather far-fetched. How are we to know that this isn't a ploy to conceal the fact that you've been working alongside Vash all along?"

Roderich shrugged. "It is true that you only have my word on this matter. All I can ask of you is to believe me."

Erzsébet could understand Lilli and Luca's reservations. It seemed unthinkable that such suspicious behaviour was all a coincidence, explained away with an innocent justification. Yet at the same time, Roderich's account shed light on so many mysteries that had vexed her mind over the past few weeks. There was the inexplicably expensive watch, for one, as well as its disappearance; his hasty departure from the box seat; his perturbation during Oktoberfest; Gilbert's words from about lifetime ago, "If your prissy piano training was going so well, why did you cut it short?". And most importantly of all, why Roderich had been so eager to conceal his whereabouts from her the whole way through.

"Believe him," she said to Lilli and Luca, "His story does seem unlikely but it fits in every way possible. It has to be the truth."

Lilli gasped and put both hands to her chest. "So, my brother… my brother…?"

"No. He didn't murder those people after all."

"Oh, wh—what a relief." She turned to Roderich, her eyes shining. "I have a lot to thank you for, Sir."

Roderich smiled bitterly. "You have nothing to thank me for. On the contrary, I ought to be apologising for putting the two of you through such terrible hardships. I am the man who broke your brother's heart, Miss Zwingli. Can you ever forgive me for that?"

"Of course I can forgive you." Lilli said. She fiddled with the collar of her dress and looked down. "But I don't think I'm the person whose forgiveness you need."

"No," said Roderich, "No, I don't suppose you are."

The conversation lapsed into silence. Erzsébet gazed into the creeping semi-light of the candles, clinging to the one, incredible revelation that she could not get off her mind. Roderich was innocent. He had not killed Feliks, he had not killed Gilbert, he had not contributed to their murders whatsoever. He had not even lied to her at any point. She repeated the thought over and over to let it sink in. Innocent, innocent, innocent. Three days ago, she would have given almost anything to hear that. Now, it registered with a numb sense of uncertainty, a sense of 'what now?' If Roderich was innocent, where did this leave the two of them?

After a moment, Lilli finished her tea and spoke again, "Excuse me, Miss Héderváry? I don't mean to be rude, but would it be possible for me to go home? I'm so exhausted and my brother doesn't even know I'm out and— and," She covered her face with her hands. "Oh goodness I'm going to have to explain it to him…"

"Shhh, shhhh." Luca rubbed her back and paused before pressing a very light, very tentative kiss into her hair. "How about I walk you home, yes? We'll go straight back now, and I'll help you explain."

"No! Vash wouldn't like that at all, he—he wouldn't want a boy to—"

"Or how about you call your brother, dear, and tell him to come to the tent," Erzsébet said, "Then, we can all explain together."

Erzsébet was half-expecting Vash Zwingli to arrive dressed in a soldier's outfit and to hold them all at gunpoint while demanding to have Lilli back. In reality, it was nothing like that. He wore a faded grey shirt and his hands were crammed into the pockets of his baggy trousers, held up by a pair of braces. For once, he did not have the white beret, and his choppy dirty-blond hair looked all the more lopsided for it. He scanned over the tent sullenly with keen eyes. Nobody had to say a word. It was clear just what had happened from the way in which they were all sitting so solemnly, and it was clear from the way in which Vash's eyes narrowed that he understood.

"Edelstein," he said, "I never thought I'd say this again, but I need a word with you. Come on, get out now."

Roderich complied without a word of protest.

Their conversation seemed to go on forever. Erzsébet waited inside the tent like a hostage, unable to think properly, unable to listen to any of Lilli and Luca's casual conversation. One of the candles was coming to the end of its wick. She watched as the hot, red wax dripped onto the table and the smoke drifted towards the ceiling, not taking any of it in. Outside, Roderich and Vash were talking, and all her senses were overpowered by the uproarious drumming in her heart. She only managed to distract herself by asking Lilli and Luca to pose holding hands, and taking their picture.

When Vash returned, Roderich was not with him. Erzsébet rose from her chair instinctively, her hands clenched into fists. Vash took one look at her and snorted. "If you still think I'm capable of killing someone, you haven't got the measure of me at all. I don't fight any battles that I don't have to. The two-faced bastard is safe and running back to his own tent with his tail between his legs."

"Vash…" Lilli approached him cautiously, twisting her hands behind her back. "Vash, I'm so sorry that I thought—"

"No. I'm sorry," Vash said gruffly, "I'm sorry for letting you believe that. For giving you a reason to believe that. It will never happen again."

He pulled her into a fierce hug and Lilli rested her forehead on his shoulder. Luca took an awkward step backwards.

"Er, Mr Zwingli?" he said after they broke apart.

"Yes? What do you want?"

"Well, I was wondering… since Lilli and I missed Oktoberfest… I was wondering whether she'd like to come out drinking with me instead. Just around the bars in town!"

Vash's eyes were as sharp as slits. "No."

"Oh— oh please, brother." Lilli tugged at his shirt, her cheeks tickled pink. "It would just be one time, before we leave. Please let me go with him, it would make me so happy!"

"Luca's quite the gentleman," Erzsébet put in, "You couldn't find a more responsible young man if you tried to."

Vash considered the matter. "Fine, you can go. Although understand this, Luca, if Lilli isn't back by midnight in the exact state in which she left, I really will be committing a murder. And a very painful one at that." He waited a moment for the words to sink in before adding, "Also, you'd better be paying."

"All understood, Sir," Luca said, flicking his fringe, "So, Lilli, how about eight pm on Thursday?"

"That sounds wonderful!"

"Then it's a date!" He recoiled under Vash's fierce glare and stepped backwards again, accidentally hitting the table. "Er, I mean a—a date as in an appointment. Of course!"

"How fun," Vash said sarcastically.

Lilli looked up at him. "Are we going home now?"

"Soon. There's just one more thing I need to see to before we leave…" He locked eyes with Erzsébet and jerked his head toward the entrance. "You. Erzsébet, isn't it. We need to talk."

Erzsébet did not ask how he knew her name. She followed Vash outside until they were a short distance away from the tent, out of earshot. The evening curfew had passed by this point, and the inky black sky was speckled with stars. Erzsébet stood in the semi-darkness, shivering from the cold, and waited for Vash to speak. She had a sneaking suspicion of what this conversation might be about, and the thought sloshed around queasily in her stomach. What was he going to do, fight her? She might stand a chance if he didn't have a weapon…

But when Vash reached into his pocket, he pulled out not the pistol that Erzsébet was expecting, but a packet of cigarettes. He tore it open, put one into his mouth, and offered the rest to her.

Erzsébet waved them away. "I don't smoke."

"You will soon enough. I give it two months." Vash chuckled bitterly and lit his cigarette. The brief spark of fire illuminated the tired lines between his eyebrows. "Erzsébet, do you know why I make my living buying and selling watches?"

"Why?"

"Because a watch is something you can always rely on. Even a broken watch is right two times per day." He took a drag on the cigarette and blew a spiral of smoke into the night air. "You're falling in love with Roderich Edelstein, aren't you?'

The sharp change in conversation was highly jarring. Erzsébet felt a spasm of panic. "I… I…" How did you answer that one? "…I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise," Vash growled, "I'm not talking to you to make you feel bad, I'm talking to you to give you a warning."

Erzsébet's stomach sank. "Thanks, but I don't need one."

"Just hear me out. It's for your own good."

Erzsébet could see that he was not going to take no for an answer. A part of her wanted to stuff her fingers in her ears. But at the same time, another part of her— a crueller, more self-destructive side— desperately wanted to listen. Vash continued smoking in silence. The fumes billowed around them with their foggy, suffocating stench. The tip of the cigarette gleamed like a beady red eye in the darkness.

"I've known Roderich for a very long time now," Vash said, "I understand him a lot better than I'd like to. And in this time, I've come to realise two main things about him. Number one…" He paused to exhale another mouthful of thick smoke. "He is without a doubt the most beautiful man that I have ever laid eyes on."

Erzsébet nodded. She had given up all her childish denial, given up her embarrassment, and simply accepted what seemed like the most natural and obvious fact in the world. "Believe me, I didn't need you to tell me that."

"Number two," Vash continued, ignoring her, "The only person in existence who he gives a shit about is himself. Oh, he might try to persuade you otherwise— he'll wine you and dine you, take you out waltzing, and you'll be convinced that he's seen something special in you. And then the next morning you'll learn that the food from that romantic dinner you shared was only his leftovers from the day before. I just wish I'd seen that as a sign…"

Vash's words brought on a swoop of sickening dismay, but the feeling was nowhere near as bad as the jeering 'I told you so' voice in the back of Erzsébet's mind. She opened her mouth to argue but the words refused to form. What sort of comeback based on a month of knowing Roderich could override everything Vash had been through?

"One thousand Euros, that watch cost me," Vash said, jabbing the air aggressively with his cigarette, "One thousand Euros! I don't like spending my money, but I was prepared to do it jut once. For— for him. And then he ran off, and it turned out that everything he'd ever told me was a lie. How fun!"

Erzsébet's heart was growing heavier by the minute. It had been easy enough to sympathise with Roderich when he had told the story, but now that she was hearing Vash's side, it made her feel ill. "So what are you suggesting? That I ignore Roderich at all costs?"

Vash shook his head. "No. By all means you can be friends with him. You can even casually date him if you're into that sort of thing." He gazed up at the stars and sighed. For a moment, Erzsébet was sure she could see tears forming in those startling green eyes. "But if you want your heart to stay intact, then whatever you do, don't ever allow yourself to fall in love."


To be continued next week...


So, not quite the big reveal that last chapter suggested. It seems I didn't fool many people with that! Well done to those of you who managed to guess that there was a connection between Vash and Roderich (although it has to be said that nobody worked out exactly how they were connected :P).

Also, I swear that the support for this story only seems to increase with every week. Thank you, lovely readers. Rest assured that I am eternally grateful for all the comments, faves, follows, and even all the views.