Murder in Mineral Town
By: Gomamon

Chapter 2 – Basil

Jack woke up at six o'clock, just like he did in every typical morning. There were chickens to be fed, crops to be watered and livestock to be taken care of. He never once complained about the loads of work that he was expected to do though. He loved his job, he really did. One might expect a farmer's life to be dull and repetitive with all its daily routines, but Jack has been living in his farm long enough to realize about the many surprises that came along with his job.

So it didn't faze him at all to see Harris standing by his house this morning, looking very weathered and exhausted. He could only be here for one reason only, and it wasn't a happy occasion. Yesterday, Anna's body was found in the Town Square, with a vicious bullet wound through her chest. The murderer escaped from justice, so all of the villagers are still possible suspects. Even though Jack wasn't particularly close with Anna, he definitely didn't wish death upon anybody in this village.

"Good morning, Jack." Harris said, stifling a loud yawn as he spoke. "I'm just here to ask you and your wife a few questions, you know."

Jack nodded his head quietly in response. Harris took out his tiny notepad from his breast pocket, scribbling something in its pages.

"Okay. Where were you during the time of 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm yesterday?" Harris asked.

"I was at my farm for the entire day with Ann," replied Jack hastily. "We were at the fields, harvesting some eggplants."

Harris paused and scribbled something in his notepad.

"Did you see anybody or anything suspicious while on the farm?"

"Well, I don't think we saw anybody on the farm…" Jack said slowly, trying to remember the weary events that occurred yesterday. He was so transfixed in the process that he didn't even notice the door to his house was opened, and Ann was stumbling towards him.

"Good morning, Ann." Harris said, saluting her. "How's the baby?"

Ann smiled, gently patting her round stomach. "Great! But I'm feeling quite sick from constantly puking and sleeping all the time."

Finally noticing his wife's presence, Jack immediately rushed over to assist her with the walking. Harris couldn't help but smile enviously at the affectionate newlywed couple. Judging from his compassion and care towards each of his animals, it was no surprise that Jack would make a loving husband, and eventually a fantastic husband as well.

But of course, that was what they all said about Basil when he first moved into town…

"I saw Gray yesterday," said Ann. Harris immediately picked up his pen and messily scrawled in his notebook. "Early yesterday morning, I saw him crossing this farm to reach to the mine. I remember offering him an eggplant for breakfast, but he refused."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about seeing him, looking shady with his hoe and ore basket" said Jack, smacking his forehead lightly.

Harris didn't reply back immediately, finishing his sentence in his notebook before looking up at Jack and Ann again. He managed to flash a forceful smile at them. "So that's about it. Thanks for your help."

"Harris!" Jack suddenly asked as the police officer walked towards the exit. "Is Basil…alright? I heard from Manna that he got arrested."

"Yes, Basil was released just this morning." Harris replied, sounding slightly disappointed with his answer. "It turns out that he was sheltering with Gotz in the mountains for the whole time. Barley found the two men drunk and passed out when he told them about the news of Anna's death."

Ann frowned, lowering her voice to a miserable mumble. "It's so sad. I remember Anna and Basil being such a loving couple so long ago. Oh Jack, I can't imagine how Mary must feel right now. She must be devastated."

Jack nodded his head quietly, wrapping his arms tightly around the pregnant Ann. It was not an easy time for anybody, having to adjust to a recent death in this close-knitted village. After learning about the dying relationship between Basil and Anna, Jack promised himself that he would unconditionally love Ann and their future son.

- - -

It felt out of the ordinary for Cliff to be sitting around a proper dining table, eating a delicious homemade meal that he hadn't had for years ago. He didn't normally stay at the Aja Winery after work, but both Duke and Manna insisted he stay for dinner tonight, a gesture so kind that Cliff simply couldn't refuse. Ever since the death of Anna, they felt the need to tighten their bonds together with family.

He left his home at an early age, wandering aimlessly until he arrived in Mineral Village. He was welcomed warmly by the affectionate villagers, offered a job and even considered as family by his employers. And until yesterday, Cliff thought that Mineral Village was the perfect setting to spend the rest of his life in.

"You know what I heard today?" Manna asked, sounding intrigued with her own question. As usual, she immediately answered her own question, not waiting for a response from the men. "Basil was released this morning! Sasha told me!"

Duke grumbled irritably, playing around with his fork in the plate. "I don't see how you women can still gossip at a time like this."

"I really thought Basil was the one who…you know, did the deed. But apparently, that's not the case at all! He had a proper alibi, supported by both Gotz and Barley," said Manna, completely ignoring her husband's fractious grumbling.

"I didn't think Basil could kill his own wife." Cliff said quietly. "I sometimes see him at the inn, and he doesn't look like that type of man. He was always a family man."

"Oh no, Basil was far from the family-oriented husband you all pictured him to be. He was not the perfect husband with a trophy wife and a scholarly gifted daughter!" Manna laughed bitterly and rolled her eyes. "You should've seen Anna when I visited her house yesterday morning."

Duke was sipping some tea before he immediately spitted it back in his cup. He had to clear his throat several times before regaining the ability to speak again.

"You visited Anna hours before she was murdered?" Duke asked in astonishment.

"Of course, we get together every Saturday morning to share recipes." Manna said, quickly dismissing her husband once again. "Anyway, imagine my surprise to find Anna bawling her eyes out yesterday morning. I was basically her crying shoulder for hours, listening to how she said her marriage with Basil was a total mistake! They had a huge row the night before that, did you know?"

Duke raised his eyebrows and muttered, "Wow, I didn't know Anna was unhappy like that…do you think it's possible she might've killed herself? You know, since she was so miserable and everything?"

"No, no, no. You've got it all wrong." Manna said rapidly, clearly enjoying the gossip fest with her husband. "They couldn't find a gun by Anna's body or anywhere else at all. Sasha was there and saw everything. She found the body, after all."

"Anna was shot by a gun?" Cliff asked, in an astounded tone.

"To be more precise, a gunshot right in the chest." Manna shivered, wrapping her arms around her body.

"A gun, are you sure it was a gun?" Cliff repeated his question.

"I'm certain." Manna said, "What a horrible way to die."

"So wait a second…" Duke asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at his wife. "You said you were with Anna hours before she died. Then where did you go after that?"

"I went to the Poultry Farm to chat with Lillia. After a few hours of crying, Anna suddenly said she needed to go somewhere. I didn't follow her though, since I respected her privacy," said Manna.

Duke chuckled at the word 'privacy', but the laughter quickly faded when Manna shot her husband a dirty glare.

"But you know…" Manna's loud and confident voice suddenly lowered down to a soft and nervous whisper. "I wished I was right there with her…so I'd know who the killer was!"

"Are you crazy, Manna?" Duke quickly interjected, slamming his fist on the table. "You might've been killed too if you were with her!"

Judging from her rare moment of speechlessness, it was clear that this was the first time Manna realized how uncomfortably close she was to getting murdered as well.

- - -

Night time at the inn felt unusually desolate and bleak, since none of the villagers felt safe traveling after dark anymore. Since he frequently visited the inn to catch a few beers with the local men, Basil thought the inn was lacking a bit of magic and flare tonight. Without the activities and the people feeding the atmosphere, he realized for the first time how lonely and vacant the inn truly was.

But Basil was here at the inn for a different reason. Harris was searching their house for evidence, forcing him and his daughter to shelter at the inn for the time being. Uneasy with this idea at first, Basil decided that it might be best for them not to return to their house right now. He didn't know if his fragile daughter Mary had the strength to live in her mother's memories that haunted their house…

"This'll be your room for as long as you want," said Doug, standing in front of a large unoccupied room at the inn. He handed Basil a small key to unlock the room, and then stood awkwardly in front of Basil and Mary, with consoling words failing to emerge out of his mouth. Finally, he patted Basil sympathetically on the shoulders and left.

Mary cast a crestfallen glance at the two single beds in the room, triggering yet another painful reminder of her mother's absence. She buried her face in her hands, wishing everything that had happened was just a bad dream came true. Basil frowned and embraced his weepy daughter in a silent hug.

"Mary, everything is going to be fine." Basil said at last. "I'm sure your mother is resting peacefully in heaven right now."

"Y-you think so?" Mary asked timidly, slowly pulling herself away from her father.

Basil nodded, staring into her eyes seriously. "She was a great mother and you know it. She raised a strong family and always put us ahead of herself. You know she loved you."

Mary sniffled softly, wiping a few silent tears that rolled down her cheeks. The only thing that would comfort her right now was the belief that her mother's soul rested peacefully in heaven, for all of the good that she has contributed to her family.

An abrupt knock at the door interrupted the heartfelt exchange between his father and daughter. Basil opened the door cautiously, but groaned with dissatisfaction when he saw Harris instead of Doug. He has not been in the best of terms with the police officer ever since Basil got arrested yesterday.

An equally discontented Harris grunted in response, marching inside the room without permission. Strangely enough, he was holding a large drawer that looked as if it was taken directly out of a cupboard. Basil glared vaguely at the item in the police officer's hands, noting in his head that the cupboard drawer looked oddly familiar…

"What do you want?" Basil grumpily asked, using a tone to indicate that Harris was not welcomed.

"I just want to know if you wrote these letters to Anna," said Harris. Picking up several neatly folded pieces of paper, Harris handed them over to Basil to read. Each letter was folded in the shape of a heart and written in crimson red ink.

After a few quick seconds of skimming through the letters, Basil told Harris that he had never seen these letters before.

"Unfortunately, that's what I thought…" Harris sighed heavily.

"Are those letters important?" Mary asked timidly, eyeing the papers with keen interest.

Harris sighed again, sounding a lot more exasperated this time. He stared at Mary with a look of uncertainty, almost as if he was debating whether he should be truthful or not.

"These are passionate love letters found inside your mother Anna's drawer. They were addressed to your mother, and since your father didn't write them…" Harris mumbled unconfidently, watching Mary's face changing by every word. He turned his head away, for he didn't have the courage to look Mary in the eyes as he uttered the last sentence.

"I think your mother was having an affair with another man…"

To Be Continued

Author's Note: Anyway, the story is finally picking up some pace. Is the murderer's motive introduced, or was that just a tossed bone to throw you off track? You decide. It's also very discouraging to see a lack of reviews for this story! It'd be nice to drop a review and let me know what you think of the story… :( Please and thank you!