Chapter 27
Suddenly barging in through the door, the servants panicked as the eldest of the three spoke. "We heard screaming and…" Seeing Georg in the chair he fell silent as the young blonde haired boy ran up to Arthur.
"I-Is this person dead?" He stammered as he looked in horror at the body.
"Yes." The writer confirmed softly. "The blood lose from the wound in his chest was most likely fatal. I can't be certain because it's so dark but…"
Interrupting him, the servant man wiped his forehead as he asked the butler in a gruff voice. "Isn' it kinda hot in here?"
Looking over to the fireplace, the butler also pondered. "Yes, I heated up the room before hand, but maybe he got cold."
"What's all the racket?" The drowsy young Earl asked as he entered the room as well with an elderly man in a butler's uniform. Then, seeing the German man's body he gasped, "Lord Siemens…"
"A-Anyway, we shouldn't move anything until the yard arriv-"
"No." The male servant interrupted him as he folded his arms. "I can't say it any nicer then this: meat rots faster than you think. Even if we turn off the fire now, time will be up before you know it if he stays next to the hearth."
"R-Rot?" Irene blanched as she stumbled, almost fainting at the thought.
Nodding regrettably, Arthur agreed, "It's as he says. I also think it'd be best if we move the body to a cool, dark place until an expert can look at it."
"Well, then, let's move him until the yard gets here. Finny, bring a stretcher." The butler addressed the young blonde boy as the youth ran out the door immediately.
T-T-T-T-T-T-T
As Finny and the gruff voiced servant left with the body, Lau sighed while looking out the window. "But, I'd think the Yard won't be showing up for a while. Seeing as there's quite a storm." Pulling back the curtain, the Chinese man showed as the storm had only grown worse over time.
"So you mean we can't leave here?!" Carl Woodley, the man with the man jewels on his hands, panicked.
"Why do you ask that now? It's fine, right? Everyone was meant to stay the night anyway." The Chinese man shrugged, obviously not bothered by the incident.
"Like you can call this fine! I'm not staying in a place where a murder-"
"Indeed." Lau interrupted the flustered man as he finally took the matter more seriously. "We surely are on the shores of a deserted island right now. So there's also a good chance that the killer is still in the mansion."
There was a small moment of silence as everyone thought over his words.
"Now that you mention it," the young man with the white hair, Earl Grey, broke the silence. "If you think about it logically, wouldn't the killer be one of us?"
"Why us? This isn't a joke!" Grimsby blurted in frustration as Woodley agreed with him.
Clearing his throat Arthur tried to explain the situation but was cut off as Irene gave a gasp, an idea coming into mind.
"When we first arrived, the door was locked, right?" She turned to the red-haired maid for clarification.
"Now that you mention it, I do believe it was."
"So wouldn't it be likely that someone broke it through the window, locked the door to leave time for an escape and leave through the window again?" She suggested as she thought the processes through.
Pulling on the large glass window, Earl Grey disproved her theory. "But if you came in through the window in this kind of weather, wouldn't you leave foot prints? Not to mention that this room is on the second floor."
"So someone must have locked it from the hallway after all…" Grimsby began to ponder as well.
"That's unlikely." The butler clad in black shook his head. "The keys in this mansion all go with the original ward from when this mansion was first built. They are complex pieces, so it is unlikely that someone other than a craftsman would be able to imitate them. Furthermore, all of these keys are locked away in a safe. The only copy that can open this safe is with me, the butler." Pulling out the key from his pocket he verified his statement. "Therefore, the keys stored there cannot be taken."
"Also, in order for it to simply be locked from the inside, other than the ward lock there is also a latch on the door. In a situation where the key cannot be taken out of the safe, there is the possibility of locking the door from the inside."
"In other words," Lau's sharp eyes scanned the room. "This is a locked room murder."
"Preposterous! We're not in some cheap novel!" Woodley barked in agitation.
"Indeed." Ciel Phantomhive yawned. "If anyone published this kind of crude locked room drama they'd surely get complaints. Isn't that right, Mr. Wordsmith?"
After a moment, Arthur gave a gasp in understanding as he pondered. "That's right, surely if you used those…"
"What's that?" Lau asked for everyone.
"A needle and thread." The boy explained. "It works like this: first you jab the needle into the door somewhere to hold the latch in place. Then you pull the thread down under the door and go outside of the room. Finally, if you pull the thread carefully to avoid breaking it and manage to pull the out needle the latch will close and you'll be able to lock it! Afterwards it's easy enough to pull both the needle and thread under the door."
"That sure does explain the locked room murder but…" Lau began as he replayed the explanation over in his head.
"It also means that anyone could be the killer…" Arthur finished his sentence as everyone's eyes shifted around the room in suspicion.
Suddenly blurting out, Grimsby grabbed Irene and held her protectively as he panicked. "It defiantly wasn't us! It has to be someone else!" Pointing aimlessly, his finger fell upon Woodley.
"It wasn't me either!" Woodley also began to panic as everyone's eyes shot to him. "Amongst us all, aren't you the most suspicious?! You had a fight with Lord Siemens at the buffet didn't you?!"
"Don't make false accusations you old man! Like I'd kill someone over that!" Grimbsy roared furiously as Irene vainly tried to calm him down. "Overall, you're the one that-"
"Enough!" Elora's voice suddenly thundered as she slammed her hand down on a small desk next to her.
Everyone froze at the power of her voice as she held her ground unwavering. Even Arthur couldn't help but stare stupidly at her. She'd been so quiet until now, where on earth had she gotten such strength from?
"That is enough from all of you! We will get nothing accomplished by running around like scared sheep. The real enemy right now is not the killer but ourselves, if we can not cooperate and keep a cool head we'll only tear ourselves apart!" Taking a deep breath she steadied her voice as she spoke calmly. "Now, let's take a moment and listen to everyone's alibis. As long as you have an alibi and someone to confirm it you should be fine."
Grimsby was the first to speak, "Irene and I were in the Billiards room."
"I was in there too." Earl Grey raised his hand as he nodded. "So was Mr. Phelps."
"I was close by the billiards room with Elora. You four saw us in the hall right?" Arthur also provided his alibi as he knelt down to check on the fainted Phelps.
"Yes, we did." Irene nodded meekly.
"What were you guys doing?" The Phantomhive boy asked as he turned to Lau and Ran-Mao.
"We were in the lounge drinking with Mr. Woodley."
"That's right. We were together the entire time before the commotion started. If I remember correctly, after midnight the alcohol ran out and we had the butler fetch some." Woodley nodded his head while quickly providing more information for the alibi.
"Yes, I brought it to you around 12:10." The butler confirmed as the servants also gave their alibis.
"First and foremost, none of us even knew what room Siemens was staying in. To find him in such a large mansion would take quite some time, right?" Grimbsy reasoned as he began to calm down and think more clearly.
"Which means that…" Earl Grey's eyes shifted over to the Young Earl Phantomhive as everyone waited for his alibi.
"Excuse me for asking, but what were you doing at the time?" Lau bravely asked the youth, who gritted his teeth.
"Certainly, I am the only one who doesn't have an alibi. But I have no reason to kill Lord Siemens."
"Oh, is that so?" Earl Grey gave a smirk while crossing his arms.
"What?"
"Well, you wouldn't say there was no reason at all would you?" Lau also began to speculate against the young Earl. "Most of the reasons for someone to kill another person are inconceivable to other people. It doesn't matter how man times a genius scientist studies it, the physiology of another person is something that can't be comprehended by other people."
"Besides, your company has a branch in Germany does it not?" He reasoned. "There could have been some memos outside of the official books with a major bank executive like him in Germany. That's something we don't know anything about."
"You're suggesting that my Funtum Company has some kind of horrible debt? That's absurd!"
Shrugging defensively, Lau sighed. "It's not an unrealistic story, right? No matter how big a company is, there are times where all of it can vanish overnight."
"W-Wait a minute!" Finny suddenly blurted with teary eyes. "I don't get all of the complicated stuff, b-but the Young Master wouldn't-"
"Finny, that's enough." Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, Elora silenced the young lad as he hung his head.
"Ah, but the Earl isn't alone, there's also another person of interest in the room." Earl Grey's eyes found Elora.
"You've already confirmed Elora's alibi and mine, how could she possibly be under suspicion?" Arthur quickly defended her.
"Yes, but there was also a long period of time where she was unchecked. I believe that she has not been seen by anyone since the banquet, am I right?" Grey quickly spoke, "For all we know she could have been waiting in the room that entire time. She surely had enough time to find it."
Giving a sigh the young woman folded her arms as she shook her head. "I will admit that I have no alibi for that period of time." She began, "But I would have never been able to find this room with the information I have. For, as I'm sure you already know, I'm at a disadvantage."
Weaving her fingers through her long bangs Elora pushed them back as she revealed the blindfold. "I am not a servant in this house and am treated just as the rest of you are; as a guest. So, information on where anyone would be staying is not shared with me." Letting her bangs fall back into place she continued. "Besides my alibi with Arthur, wouldn't there be at least some evidence on me? By the sounds of everything I can assume things were very messy."
Holding up her gloved hands she showed the clean cloth that clung to her skin. "My room is on the other side of the mansion, so there is no way that I would have been able to run there and back without raising at least some suspicion, right?" After a moment she gave a respectful smile and nod. "With this I am sound, am I not?"
"No, you are not sound." Lau suddenly spoke as something came to mind. "It almost escaped me, but after saying that, you've reminded me of something."
"What could that possibly?" She furrowed her brow, troubled as she couldn't think of anything that could go against her.
"You might be treated as a guest, but that doesn't mean that you couldn't get the information of where the room was. Your hearing is better than anyone's in this room as it makes up for your lack of sight. So, you could have easily overheard the servants conversing days before the party. Since you would have had multiple days, you could easily spend that time looking for the room and remembering how to get there."
Elora stood with her mouth hanging open, dumbstruck. She herself had forgotten this very important piece of information, for, it was a trait so familiar to her as sight was to them. "But why would I want to kill him? I've never met this man before today!"
"But your father knew him." Grey smiled deviously as all of the guests but Arthur exchanged serious looks with each other.
"My father's affairs died with him." Elora pursed her lips as she clenched her fists.
"But that doesn't mean that the feelings still don't linger. If I remember correctly, your father was quite the entrepreneur, and also did some business with Siemens. Yet, was later betrayed by him as he almost left your family bankrupt during the persecution. Am I not right?" His eyes narrowed as his smile turned into a sly grin.
Looking back to Elora, Arthur noticed as her cheeks turned pink. Whether it was out of frustration or anger, he couldn't tell. Yet, as he glanced over to the other guests, he could feel goosebumps form on his skin as he recognized the cold stares of the men aimed at the young girl.
"Your father was a very proud man. So proud that it is easy to tell that the legacy can easily be passed on. That kind of humiliation must be hard to live with, even if he is dead, as long as a member of the family lives, the sting still remains."
Clenching her jaw, she tightened her fists. "Yes, that is true. But the screaming was heard on the other side of the door. So, that could only mean that Lord Siemens was alive while the door was closed, right? You said so yourself that you saw me in the hall with Arthur. We were only there for a very short period of time, so neither of us couldn't have done anything in that time." She clenched her even tighter. "I am sound."
"I'd still like some insurance that we'll be getting out of here alive." Grey ended the conversation, even though there was still suspicion.
"What do you mean by that?" Irene asked cautiously as her intuition already began to tell her the answer.
"Well, the mansion is currently under the control of a killer, right? And we still can't get out until this storm settles down." Grey explained while looking out the window for a moment. "What if we were all 'gagged' before the storm settles?"
"Well then, let's confine him!" Lau suggested brightly as the three servants all objected to the thought.
After a moment of hesitation, the young Earl gave a sigh while agreeing. "If that makes you feel better, go ahead."
"If we're going to confine him, it can't be in his own room. Nobles' rooms typically have some type of secret escape route built in." Grey explained while he began forming a plan for where the Earl would be kept.
"Well, then, we'll keep an eye on him while attending to his-"
"That won't do." Lau interrupted the butler, "Seeing as you might help him escape, right?"
"So, in other words, one of the guests has to watch him. Any volunteers?" Grey smiled as everyone quickly turned down the offer.
Suddenly feeling a hand clap onto his shoulder Arthur jumped as Lau beamed, "Then it's up to you, Mr. Wordsmith. We're putting our faith in you, so please don't disappoint us."
T-T-T-T-T-T-T
Holding his head in his hands Arthur sat on the other side of the bed as the butler helped the boy dress for bed on the other side.
To think it would turn into something like this… He couldn't help but think as Ciel sighed, "What an annoying turn of events."
"Y-Yeah…" Also giving a sigh, Arthur looked at the long chain on his hand that would connect him to the Earl.
"By the way, the room that I prepared for Mr. Phelps was next to Lord Siemens. He refused to sleep in there though." The butler reported to his little master as he buttoned the shirt on the child. "Because of the short notice I was unable to assign him a room and thus forced to give him yours, please forgive me."
Stretching upward and giving a yawn Ciel shrugged, "It can't be helped." Pausing for a moment he looked over to the fireplace as he sat down on the bed. "It should be cold tonight. So don't let the coke run out in the other rooms. Even if I am not able to be around, please give our guests perfect service."
"Yes, my Lord." The dashing butler bowed humbly, "Well, then, please excuse me." kneeling down he clasped the chain around the Earl's tiny wrist.
"Let's go to sleep then, Mr. Wordsmith."
"O-Of course." Arthur nodded his head softly as Ciel tucked himself under the covers.
"Good night, Young Master." The servant bowed once more, blew out the candles, and left.
Awkwardly laying in the darkness, Arthur stared at the ceiling as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.
"Mr. Wordsmith?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry to have caused you all of this trouble. It must be hard to sleep when you are lying next to a killer, right?" Ciel looked at him as he turned over on his side, his bangs shifting as it revealed the pirate eye patch had been replaced with that of a medical one.
"N-nothing of the sort…" Arthur also turned on his side as he looked at the eye patch. "You don't take off your eye patch when you are sleeping, Earl?" He asked, puzzled.
"Hm? No, I don't. Why do you ask?"
"Maybe I'm being pushy, but I think you should let it get some air while you sleep at the very least. It'll heal sooner that way too." The young writer advised while slowly reaching out a hand.
Suddenly, as if becoming a different person, the Earl shot up as he slapped Arthur's hand away. His eyes burning wildly like a rabid animal, Arthur thought the boy would really kill him for a moment. Yet, he quickly calmed down as he somberly touched the medical patch. "Forgive me…" he began meekly, "This wound is something I received when I lost my parents. I don't really want to show it to anyone."
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know!" The author panicked as he was overcome with guilt.
"That's ok. Now that I think about it, it's bee quite some time since I've lasted shared a bed with someone." Laying back down, the boy rested his head on the pillow. "I think the last time was when I was little and on a stormy night like this, I'd been frightened by the thunder. So, I'd crawled into my parents' bed for comfort." Squeezing the bed sheets lightly, he closed his eyes, "Now there's no one to run to…"
Out of pure instinct, Arthur couldn't help but reach out and pat the boys head comfortingly.
"M-Mr. Wordsmith?"
Snapping back into reality, he quickly withdrew his hand as he stammered an apology. "B-Because I have ten siblings and a little brother around the Earl's I age I just-" Flustering even more, the writer failed finish his sentence in fear of anymore misunderstandings. "I didn't mean to make a fool out of you…"
Giving a slight chuckle in understanding, Ciel laid back down as he gave a soft smile. "Good night, Mr. Wordsmith."
After a sigh of relief, Arthur also laid down as he closed his eyes. "Good night, Earl."
T-T-T-T-T-T-T
Suddenly startling, Arthur woke as the Earl rolled over on his side. After taking a second look at the boy, he couldn't help but chuckle. "He's so intimidating when he's awake, but the second he falls asleep he looks as defenseless as a kitten."
"Indeed, he's a lot cuter when he's asleep." The butler's velvety voice sighed from behind the young writer.
Jumping, he couldn't help but gasp as his eyes strained to make out the butler's blurry figure in the darkness.
"You're late, Sebastian."
His cheeks turning warm, Arthur couldn't help but stutter in surprise. "E-Earl, you were awake? D-Did you hear-"
"Give me my pillow already." The Earl interrupted him as he reached out to the butler.
Arthur's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Pillow?"
"I believe this is what'd you'd call the Young Master's security blanket." The butler explained while switching out the pillows.
"None sense, I just like this pillow." Ciel scoffed while flopping back down on the mattress.
"Should I call Elora and have her sing you a lullaby?" Chuckling lightly, the young butler brought a knuckle to his lips as if trying to hide his sarcasm.
Suddenly springing up, the child bellowed in frustration. "No way! As if that foul tempered woman would ever sing for me! Your sense of humor suck!" Then once again flopping back down he have a humph. "Go back to your room already. I'm going to sleep!"
"Then please excuse me. I shall return to my work." The servant sighed while shaking his head, his small smile not fading as he tucked the boy into bed.
Thus, almost immediately, Ciel had fallen asleep as his breaths became deep and soft.
Elora? A bad tempered person? Arthur couldn't even imagine the thought of her being in any way.
"I'm sorry to have troubled you. Mr. Wordsmith." The butler bowed politely as he apologized.
"Not at all."
"The Young Master stands firm as the Phantomhive Family's head, but he's still thirteen. He's still a child." The man's expression quickly changed as he seemed to go deeper into thought.
"That's right." Arthur sighed. "It's only for him to be uneasy when he's been caught up in this kind of incident."
"You don't believe the Young Master did it?" Raising his eyebrows, the butler was obviously surprised.
"Yes. I don't believe he did it." Arthur's eyes were clear and steady as they held the butler's.
After a short pause, the servant gave a relieved sigh as he bowed and turned to leave. "Thank you… I'm relieved that you were the one chosen to watch over him." Squeezing the pillow tightly against his chest, he looked back somberly. "I'm leaving the Young Master in your hands."
"What? W-wait!"
But it was too late, the butler had disappeared in the darkness.
I can't imagine him being the killer… Arthur thought as he looked back at the sleeping Earl. Are some of the others lying? And if so, who? Elora and I weren't that far from the billiards room. So we would have noticed if anyone had left the room. So that would mean that it's either one of the servants or the three that were in the lounge.
Sitting on the edge of the bed now, he hunched over as the rested his chin on his entwined knuckles.
But we saw them come out of lounge, so even if they are suspicious they are nonetheless most suspicious people would be the two servants who found the body. If they were able to perform the locked room maneuver before everyone came running from the scream… but what would their motive be? A butler's life is entirely dedicated to his master. So he has to give up everything, even marriage unless he receives his master's approval.
Staring into the fireplace, he continued to ponder.
Could he and the maid possibly share a forbidden love? It's not impossible, when you stop in think about it it could easily work. He was also unusually calm when Lord Siemens died as well. Is that because he's the killer?
Suddenly letting his head fall into his hands he shook his head.
What am I doing, I'm not in one of my mystery novels!
Laying back down in the bed, he looked back up to the ceiling once more as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
No matter how much I think about it, nothing adds up. It's impossible for anyone to perform the needle and threat trick and hide the murder weapon in such a short amount of time. I don't get it…
Who would do such a thing…
And why…
…why?
T-T-T-T-T-T-T
"Mr. Wordsmith. Mr. Wordsmith, please wake up!" Ciel shook Arthur awake..
"G-Good morning, Earl!"
"Something is wrong."
"Huh?" Arthur furrowed his brow as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Even though it's quite past the time Sebastian comes to wake me up, he still hasn't come."
"Sebastian?"
"Yes, he's the butler from last night."
Arthur snapped awake as his mind raced once again with the Romeo and Juliet theory he'd come up with last night. Had he really run off?!
There was suddenly a knock at the door as they both quickly looked to the entrance. Both sitting in suspense, they waited to see Sebastian come through the door.
"Please excuse me. I am sorry to be this late." The elderly man stepped forward as he bowed.
"Tanaka…" The Earl blanched. "Where is Sebastian?"
No words came from Tanaka as he simply walked over and freed them of their iron bindings.
Immediately after the chains had been removed, Ciel was out the door and running down the hall as both Arthur and Tanaka followed after him.
It did not take long for them to find the room where everyone else was already gathered, their low voice coming into hearing. Yet, before they could even step foot into the room, both Arthur and Ciel froze as they looked at the body laying motionless in front of the entrance.
It was Elora.
(Line break that doesn't work)
Dun. Dun. DDDDUUUUUUHHHHH!
Well, here it is, yet another chapter! I had a lot of fun writing this one and I hope I delivered well for you guys! My birthday is going to be coming up in a few days, so I decided to at least get this out before then. ;) Makes it a little special when I think about it.
Read and Comment~ :D
