Chapter 8: Further Discussion
Tonight on MLB: Murder in Lyon...
The walk home from the Basilica was fairly silent. Adrien and Marinette were still deep in thought: their encounter with the night watchman's widow and children still played in their minds. They felt bad for the family's plight, and that gave them some more resolve to bring the killer to justice. Question was, who was the killer?
That night, the hotel was buzzing. Downstairs, holidaymakers had capitalised on the pool; in Room 422, Sabrina was giving Chloe a pedicure; in Room 423, Lila was telling the class about how she'd apparently gone to dinner with Tony Blair and the Queen ("I even got to pet Her Majesty's corgis - they were too cute!")
However, three students had stepped out of 423 for some fresh night-time air.
"Don't you think it's strange, Marinette? That people would suspect You-Know-Who of killing someone?" squeaked Tikki, as she rode along in her friend's pocket along the garden path - no-one seemed to be in this area.
"The thing is, Tikki, they don't know I'm You-Know-Who. My identity is a secret."
"Oops, I forgot about that. I guess thinking about this mystery is making me muddled up," giggled the little red kwami.
"And I can hardly blame you," said Marinette. "But who could have killed the guy? And why?"
"Whoever who killed the poor bugger must have had a reason for it," said Plagg, as he rode along in Adrien's pocket past the gymnasium.
"Who knows? Maybe the guard had tried to attack the killer and they'd fought back in self-defence. Either that or the guard had walked in on the killer in the middle of a crime. If that was the case, the killer would have murdered the guard to stop him from blabbing," reasoned Adrien.
"But why would people suspect you?" asked Plagg.
"I wasn't there at the time of the killing, remember? We were fighting Oliver. And no-one knows about... well, y'know," said Adrien.
Just then, he felt someone bump into him from ahead. It was Marinette, again.
"Marinette, I'm seriously beginning to wonder if you have been stalking me," joked Adrien.
"Have some sympathy for a poor girl who needs some fresh air," said Marinette good-naturedly.
Adrien helped Marinette up, then gave her a pat on the head. Marinette blushed.
"What's up? You look kinda pensive," she said.
"I was just thinking about the murder," replied Adrien.
"Really? came a third voice from behind. "Join the club."
"Nate," said Adrien, "fancy seeing you of all people out here."
"A Class Representative needs a break too," said Nathaniel. "Want to walk with me?"
So Adrien and Marinette joined Nathaniel as they strolled around the hotel.
"It's insane," said Nathaniel bluntly. "That's what it is. You read about these, and watch these on telly - and it's all fun and games until it happens in real life."
"Agreed," said Adrien. "And we were wondering why the perp killed the guard in the first place."
"I'll tell you how to find out: track the killer down, tie them up, hold them at knife-point and scare the truth out of them," added Nathaniel, with a grim tone.
"And guess who we ran into at the basilica?" butted in Marinette. "Someone we think is the guard's widow."
"You reckon she was the guard's widow?" said Nathaniel. "Why's that?"
Adrien and Marinette told the Class Representative about the children, and what the lady had told them.
"Perhaps it was," said Nathaniel. "I mean, not many guards could have been murder on the same night in the same town, now could they?"
"That's what I thought," said Marinette. "And what she might tell the police would lead to the killer."
"One thing, though - wouldn't the hotel be closed down? And wouldn't everyone be sent home? Isn't that the normal procedure?" wondered Adrien aloud.
"That's right," said Nathaniel. "Why wouldn't they do that?"
Just then, as the three friends approached the lobby, they heard a phone call - and angry voices were on both ends! And guess who was on their end? The principal, Mr Damocles!
"I think this might be our answer," said Marinette. So she, Adrien and Nathaniel ducked and hid behind the wall.
"You incompetent imbecile, don't you realise? You're putting my son in danger!" snarled the voice on the other end.
"Father?" gasped Adrien.
"Shhh," said Marinette. "Let's hear more."
"Mr Agreste, I assure you that your son is safe in my hands," said Damocles.
"Mr Damocles, please reconsider this," came a woman's firm, but calm voice. "The kids must be sent home. It's not safe for them over there."
"Mrs Dupain," interrupted Damocles, "the children must learn as much as they can in Lyon. We cannot afford to bow to the demands of overly concerned parents! It's important that your sons and daughters' education comes first."
There was a mixture of voices shouting and protesting as Damocles hung up. Marinette was sure that her mother's voice wasn't one of them - she was a woman of action rather than words.
Damocles got up and walked off, luckily in the opposite direction. The trio decided to go back to their room.
"Mr Damocles is keeping us here? So that's what was up," said Adrien.
"No-one seems to be particularly afraid of the surroundings, though," pondered Nathaniel.
"Must be all the exhilaration of the mystery," said Marinette. "They must have been wanting to experience it for themselves."
It wasn't long before the three friends reached the hotel room, which was now quiet. After getting ready for bed, Adrien and Nathaniel hit the sack. Marinette was about to do so too, when her phone rang.
Stay tuned for Chapter 9. Updates four times a week.