Investigation begins as we introduce a new character and his bumbling assistant. How will this turn out? Please read on to find out!

Don't own anything other than the made up characters.

CHAPTER TWO: THE INSPECTOR CHECKS IN

The next morning, a man and his clumsy assistant were making their way to the mansion. The man wore a blue jacket, had black hair and brown eyes. He had a serious look on him, because he had a reputation to uphold. The clumsy assistant had white hair, a mustache and blue eyes. The assistant tripped and dropped the man's suitcase.

"Watch it, you'll damage the goods inside," the man said.

"Sorry, sir," the assistant replied, "Uh, sir?"

"Yes?"

"Where are we heading anyway?"

The man pointed to the white mansion.

"Oh…that's where. What are we doing anyway?"

"What else? Solving another case, same as always."

"Are we looking for anyone, again? There better not be any elves there. Remember what happened the last time in the Ymir forest?"

"Yeah, I know. They threw us out with spears and swords when we went looking for Anita Bannister. That's wasn't too bad."

"Wasn't too bad? Sir, I still have the scars. They hurt every time I touch them!"

"Then don't touch them!" The man replied. "I can't stand your whining, I'm going up ahead." He dashed towards the mansion.

"Always the eager one," The assistant thought to himself. He caught up with him.

The man and his assistant approached the door, and knocked. A butler appeared. He had a brown mustache, beady little eyes, wore a black coat, and a red vest.

"May I help you?" The butler asked.

"Hi, I'm Inspector Charles C. Morris, and this is my assistant Jean Beaumont. We're investigating the murder of Kate Ashford."

"We've been expecting you," The butler replied. "Please, come in. The captain here wishes to speak to you."

Charles and Jean made their way inside. It was a bustle as people from Sybak and Meltokio were dusting for fingerprints, figuring out the time and date of death, you know, what they would normally do in CSI. People passed by carrying the body of Kate Ashford out in a body bag.

"Wait!" Charles exclaimed. "We need to examine the body!"

"We can't do that, sir," the man carrying the body said. "Just wait until the autopsy report comes in. You'll be the first one to see it."

They continued to walk out with the body. The captain approached them. He was a big man with red hair and a double-chin. His belt could go all the way around him so he had to put it over his shoulder.

"Greetings," he said. "My name is Barclay O'Connell. I'm guessing you're those fancying investigators from Meltokio, are you?"

"Yes, we are," Charles said. "I'm Charles and this is my assistant Jean. We have special orders from his majesty to carry out this investigation."

"How do you do," Jean said.

"Could you give us the particulars of what happened here last night Mr. O'Connell?"

Barclay prepared himself for a long explanation. "Everything was going smoothly last night until the closing ceremony. That's when it happened. The lights turned off and when they turned back on, Kate Ashford was found dead in her own pool of blood!"

"The lights just turned off?" Jean asked. "Could it be sabotage?"

"I doubt it," Barclay replied, "The fuse box was hit during a lightning storm that happened a few minutes before the ceremony. Back up power came up."

"Then who could have killed Kate off so quickly?" Charles asked.

"Those people with those exsphere thingies could have done it without a hitch."

"People with exspheres are here?" Jean asked.

"Yeah, Kate was killed with an object that cut through her like a hot knife through butter. Only a powerful thrust from someone with an exsphere could have killed Kate quickly enough."

"Where are these people now?" Jean asked.

"In the lounge, waiting for you two. Don't worry; some of my men are guarding the door so they won't escape."

There was an awkward silence. Finally, Charles said, "Thank you captain. We've learned a great deal from you."

"You're welcome," Barclay replied, turning to leave. "I'll leave you to your investigation." He walked out the door.

"Jean, see if you can find anything new in the party room."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to interview those suspects."

"Alright, then, have a good time."

Charles walked up the stairs and turned around to find about five or six guards blocking the door.

"Barclay wasn't kidding when he said he had men guarding the door," Charles said to himself. He walked over to the guards. "Hello, I'm investigating the murder."

"ID please," the guard replied.

Charles flashed his badge. He was given a clipboard with the names and descriptions of the suppose suspects and he was let through. Inside, he found Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Raine, Presea, Sheena, Regal and Zelos conversing with one another. The room was still when he walked in.

"Hello there," he said.

"Who are you?" Raine asked.

"Inspector Charles Morris, I'm investigation the murder."

"What do we do now?" Genis asked.

"I just need to ask all of you a few questions. Could I see a Lloyd Irving?"

Lloyd approached Charles. "That's me."

"Let's go to another room so we can talk in private."

"That's fine with me."

"Lloyd," a worried blond stood up. "Please…be careful…"

"Don't worry, Colette, I'll be just down the hall."

"……okay…"

"The rest of you, I need all of you to remain here." Charles led Lloyd out the door and closed the door behind him.

So now we enter the interrogations! Will someone confess to the crime? Please R&R this chapter and tell me what you think.