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Chapter 4 - Discord In Monte d'Or Part 2
Seminar Room
"Bloom the floor's yours," grumbled Sheffield as he took a seat to the side, next to the podium. Grosky and Bloom stood at the front before the entire seminar room.
At Sheffield's words, Edgar woke up with a start and looked around the room, 'Huh, that was a longer nap then I was expecting,' he thought before focusing on the Scotland Yard Detective.
"Please, if I can have your attention then perhaps I can assist you in capturing the Masked Gentlemen," Bloom said, Edgar hearing some annoyed muttering from the police behind him, "Since you have proven yourself astoundingly ineffective thus far we've brought in some extra brainpower to expose the truth behind these malicious tricks," he waved his hand at two officers to signify that they should turn off the lights and switch on the projector. The projector showed images of the Masked Gentlemen's miracles with several notes surrounding them, "The masked buffoon has made four appearances. We will now dissect each one carefully. By demystifying the Masked Gentlemen's crimes, we aim to learn his methods and use that knowledge to track him down. We have a special guest here. His skills of observation are unparalleled in this room. Professor Layton, if you would," Bloom said, nodding towards Layton.
"Ah, er...of course," Layton uttered, not preparing to be called on, "Where would you like to start?"
"Let's start with the most straightforward case: the people who turned into horses," Bloom said.
"The case of the meta-horsephosis," Edgar interrupted with a smirk, much to Bloom's and Layton's confusion, "You know, like metamorphosis, but with horses. Gave it a more snappier name."
"Is that really necessary," Emmy scolded from.
"You're not necessary," Edgar mumbled jokingly.
Emmy elbowed him sharply in the arm, causing Edgar to chuckle.
Layton gave them a weary look before making his way to the front next to the projector screen.
"Yes, I haven't been able to gather much evidence on that case. However, I understand that there were witnesses?" Layton asked Bloom.
"Indeed," Bloom confirmed, "allow me to fill you in with what we already know according to the witness statements at the scene."
Shopping District
Three Weeks Ago
It was a normal evening in Monte d'Or and as usual the parade was in full swing with people dressed in elaborate costumes and bright float drifting down the tourist filled street. Nobody noticed that figure walking across the roofs of the buildings above, nor did they see him stop and overlook the parade in malice.
The Masked Gentleman chuckled in delight before he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly the lights illuminating the parade flashed brightly, blinding everybody there. Once the lights had returned to normal and the people got their sight back, the people in the crowd looked around in confusion, wondering what on earth just happened.
Nothing happened at first until a loud cry of surprise came from the crowds. People turned and saw, much to their horror, that where a man's hands should be were replaced by hooves. He grew taller and saw that his legs had became brown, furry and they too ended in hooves. The man's cries became whinnies as his mouth extended in a long snout and brown fur covered his face and body. Soon, to the onlookers, shock the man had became a large brown stallion still wearing some of his clothes. Another cry and another and another came from the crowd as people turned into horses, bucking and charging in panic. This, of course, made the crowds panic as well as they tried to get away from Celebration Boulevard.
The Masked Gentleman could only laugh as he watched the carnage unfurled before him. Feeling joyful for the chaos he created.
Seminar Room
"I see," Layton hummed as Bloom caught him up to speed, "Please allow me to confirm a couple of points before we continue," he requested.
Puzzle Start
Bloom nodded in agreement and Layton asked his first question.
"Does the parade start at the same time every evening?"
"In a manner of speaking, I suppose," Bloom answered, "It always starts just after sunset."
"Have you been able to confirm the identities of the people who were meta-horsephosised- I mean - who were turned into horses?"
"No. Oddly enough, none of their belongings left behind at the scene contained any IDs and no missing person reports have been filed."
Layton hummed thoughtfully, "I see. Thank you, Detective."
"Looking at the evidence," Bloom said, gesturing to the screen, "The Masked Gentleman obviously tricked witnesses into believing some people had been turned into horses. There was one essential atmospheric to his charade."
'I can suggest three elements he could have used,' Edgar thought.
A - The colours of the parade.
'I know it gets pretty bright at the celebrations, but I doubt it's enough to trick everybody there.'
B - The weather.
'It was a clear night otherwise they probably wouldn't have held the parade in the first place. So it's highly unlikely.
C - The time of day.
'That's certainly the most plausible since it was night out. The crowds must have not noticed because it was too dark.'
Answer = C
Layton thought the same.
"It was already dark at the start of the parade, so it would be easy to miss things even before the blinding light."
"My thoughts exactly, Professor," Bloom confirmed.
"And, of course, it's much easier to trick the eyes with bright lights when it's dark all around," Layton continued.
Bloom hummed in agreement, "Several witnesses claimed they actually saw tourists transform into horses. I, however, do not believe in magic."
'I can name three possible reasons why the witnesses have seen the tourists transform,' Edgar suggested in his head.
A- Their eyes were closed.
'Quite simple, but it makes sense since they was a bright light.'
B - There were no tourists.
'If there is one thing that we have established is that there is a ton of tourists in Monte d'Or, so nope.'
C - The witnesses ran away.
'That doesn't make sense otherwise they wouldn't be tourists in the first place. The heat must be getting to me.'
Answer = A
"When the horses appeared, the people's eyes must have been closed," Layton said, confirming what Edgar was thinking.
"Right," Bloom said, "At night, their eyes would have been extremely sensitive to bright light. They couldn't have seen anything."
"In other words, the Masked Gentleman temporarily blinded onlookers to cover up the trick."
Bloom hummed and looked at the screen once again, "Our so-called tourists swiftly left, and horses were set loose in the street. Which leaves just one thing left to explain. Where were the horses hidden?"
'Where were they hidden?' Edgar pondered.
A - In the sewers.
'Really? The question is not how they got the horses out of the sewers, but rather how they got them in.'
B- In the art gallery.
'This is starting to get ridiculous. Did anybody just not notice the several large equines in the art gallery or did they just assume that somebody was just a fan of George Stubbs?'
C - In the alleys nearby.
'I suppose that's the most plausible. We did ride down those alleyways on horses last night.'
Answer = C
"The small, dark alleys giving on to the high streets," Layton said, "One could hide horses in those and release them all at once."
"It would seem you have it all worked out, Professor," Bloom said with a small smile, "Would you care to elaborate for everybody."
Layton nodded, "Certainly. First it seems that the key to this miracle is in its location," he said, pointing to the screen which displayed a map of the crime scene, "the Shopping District is full of little alleys and that particular area is isolated by a bend in the road, "just before the incident, everyone was absorbed in the parade. No one paid attention to the dark alleys," he said pointing to the alleys coming off on either side of the road, "A bright light appeared suddenly, blinding the crowd and horses were released from the alleys. At the same time, people disguised as tourists dropped some props and went to hide in the alleys. So by the time the witnesses could see clearly again, all they beheld were the horses."
The Monte d'Or police hummed and chattered behind Edgar and Emmy.
"Precisely," Bloom confirmed, "But there's no evidence that the Masked Gentleman had accomplices planted among the tourists."
"True. But isn't it suspicious that the belongs found at the scene contained no forms of identification? Besides, if these people had been geunine tourists, their families would surely have reported them missing.
Bloom nodded and smiled, "Very good, Professor. That was my conclusion, as well."
Puzzle Solved
'So there are accomplices now,' Edgar thought suspiciously, 'this just keeps getting more and more interesting.'
"What!? So the Masked Gentlemen's miracles were just a bunch of tricks," Sheffield shouted from his seat.
"Yes, Chief Inspector," Bloom confirmed, "Smoke and mirrors, so to speak. Only in this case, it was bright lights and dark alleys."
"Bah!" Sheffield cried as he stood up to the front, "let's move on to the next case. The one with the paintings coming to life."
"Ahem," Edgar coughed, leaning forwards, "The case of the animated portraits," he said with a small smirk.
Sheffield grumbled and rolled his eyes in reply.
"If you don't mind, Professor," Emmy said, standing to her feet, "I would like to solve this one."
"Of course," Layton said as he sat in his seat and Emmy went to the front.
Emmy smiled confidently and nodded at Sheffield, "Right. What can you tell me, Chief."
"Not a lot," Sheffield said, looking at the screen, "The short of it was that some characters popped out of paintings at the art gallery and ran riot."
Art Gallery
Two Weeks Ago
The gallery was a beautifully designed building with blue polished marble floors, red walls and sandstone domed ceilings. It displayed an ecliptic number of art from oil paintings to great statues. It was quite busy with tourists shuffling around and staring at the art pieces in wonder, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb everyone else.
A man in a blue business suit stood before the red rope and observed the painting of a blond woman for a while. He was about to make his way to the next one when something usual caught his eye.
The blond woman moved.
The man swore that woman turned her head slightly and stared at her with a more critical eye. Just as he was about to write it off as a trick of the light, he gasped when the woman fully turned to him and smiled mischievously. He stepped back in fear when her hand gripped the edge of the painting and she lifted herself out of the canvas and onto the gallery floor.
But it wasn't just that painting.
The one beside the man was looking, showing a knight riding a white horse, disappeared for a moment before the horse leaped out of the painting with the knight swinging his lance at the tourists. The visitors screamed and shouted as more and more paintings came to life. In one a Renaissance swordsman jumped out, brandishing his rapier. In another a flock of bats swarmed out into the gallery. In another a 14th century lady jumped out with an ermin in her arms with the weasel-like creature hissing at everybody.
The visitors ran out in panic of the gallery with the former occupants of the portraits chasing after them. Standing upon the pediment of the gallery, watching the fiasco was the Masked Gentleman. With his hand on his cane, he chuckled evilly in amusement as he observed the second miracle he had perfomred.
Puzzle Start
Seminar Room
After Sheffield was done, Emmy hummed and glanced at the screen which now displayed the gallery.
"I see. So what did they do?" she asked.
"Charging around, breaking stuff. But when the sun went down they all disappeared," Sheffield said."
"And did anybody see them step out of the paintings?"
"No, but all the witness reports suggested that it happened. The gallery was actually closed when it occurred."
Emmy frowned, "Then why did the witnesses say that they jumped out of the paintings?"
"Well," Sheffield grumbled, "apparently, they look just like some characters in paintings down to the fine details. And when checked the art gallery, we saw that the paintings were...empty."
"Empty?"
"Gone. The only thing left was the backgrounds."
"Then the key to this mystery must be paintings themselves," Emmy firmly deduced, "Let's see then-"
"Emmy, ask if the paintings came from a common sauce," Edgar whispered, earning an annoyed look from her.
"I was about to. Don't interrupt me," she hissed at him before turning back to Sheffield, "well, did the come from a common sauce?"
"As a matter of fact, they did," Sheffield confirmed, "According to the curator, they were all donated earlier that day. It was a collection of replicas and the donor wanted to remain anonymous. All the paintings we're investigating came from that collection."
Emmy smiled, "That cannot be a coincidence. Whoever donated these paintings must be an accomplice," she decided.
"Agreed," Sheffield grumbled, "we looked into it, but nobody has a clue who this mysterious donor is. We questioned the whole staff of the gallery, but they came out clean as a whistle. Blooming waste of time."
'How was that a waste of time? It's your job,' Edgar thought critically.
Emmy hummed, tapped her finger on her chin and look at the screen once again, "Let's move on to how the illusion was made. Were these paintings...strangely wrapped?" She inquired.
"The curator did say that the paintings were vacuum-sealed," Sheffield answered, "He said this was usually reserved for rare items."
"Perfect," Emmy chirped, "That must be relevant."
"The portraits were sealed when they arrived, and the frames came in thick, metal cases," Sheffield explained, pointing at the screen showing the frames, "The gallery staff were pretty surprised that replicas were given such secure packaging. We didn't really think much of it."
'Clearly,' Edgar, Layton and Emmy thought to their chagrin.
"Still," Emmy sighed, "the donation must have included specific display instructions. Did they specify when to display them?"
"Yes, actually, they were!" Sheffield said in surprise, "How did you know that, Miss Altava?"
"Call it detective's intuition," Emmy said proudly with a dazzling smile.
Edgar leaned over to Layton, "Should we mention that Emmy's detective's intuition involves simply looking at the screen?" he whispered in slight irritation, keeping his eyes focused on the instructions clearly stating when to hang up the paintings that are now displayed on the screen.
"I...wouldn't recommended it," Layton hesitantly whispered back.
Sheffield continued, "The crates arrived in the morning, but the instructions from the donor said to display them precisely at noon."
"And thus, the trick reveals itself," Emmy happily said, "The illusion was created by vanishing paint."
"Vanishing paint," Edgar repeated sceptically, earning a glare from Emmy, "Sounds like something from a Nancy Drew novel."
"Well it isn't," she told him sharply, "the portraits were treated with a special paint that disappears when exposed to air. I'm sure it's possible to make something like it, I mean, we have all observed how sunlight causes a painting to fade. In a similar way, it's possible to create chemically reactive paint that turns transparent when exposed to air."
Sheffield hummed in consideration as the other officers muttered between themselves, "Of course! With paint like that, you could make anything disappear from a painting."
'For somebody with such a large head, Sheffield is astoundingly slow,' Edgar thought, 'he must rent out the empty parts that his brain doesn't fill in.'
"Correct," Emmy confirmed, "Naturally, it would take some time for the paint to turn transparent, so the timing must be precise. The seals were removed so the paint disappearing would coincide with the appearance of the rioters. The Masked Gentleman had these rioters dress up exactly like the individuals in the portraits. Am I correct, Professor."
Layton nodded with a small smile, "I believe that you are, Emmy."
"It's better then my hallucinogenic gas theory," Edgar admitted with a shrug, causing Emmy to smile happily as they agreed with her.
Puzzle Solved
"However," Sheffield said, "there is no proof that that is the case."
"No proof!?" Edgar exclaimed exasperation at Sheffield, "half an hour ago, you thought that people climbed out of the paintings and you're dismissing her theory because there isn't any proof."
"Watch your tone, criminal," Grosky called out from the far side of the room, "Otherwise, I'll throw you out of the seminar room."
Edgar was about to reply with some colourful language, but Layton placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head to tell him that it was not a good idea. Edgar merely snarled at Grosky and Sheffield before leaning back in his chair.
Layton cleared his throat, "Well, I doubt such paint would just disappear without a trace. If you examine the canvas for chemical substances, you'll find the residual outlines where the paint turned transparent."
Sheffield grumbled, "I'll order the analysis. Let's move on to the last case. Grosky, you're up next."
As Grosky set up for the last case that they were going to cover, Emmy sat down in the chair next to Edgar and gave him a happy smile.
"Thanks for the support," she said gratefully, "You looked like you were going to bite the chief's head off."
Edgar gave a shrug in response, "You were right. These waste of taxpayer's money shouldn't be doubting you," he said, making Emmy's smile widened slightly, "Besides if you were wrong then I would have mocked you relentlessly until you got it right."
Emmy sighed, "That's the best I'm going to get from you, isn't it?"
"Yep," he cheerily replied before frowning slightly, "So the Masked Gentleman has accomplices. How many do you think there are?"
"Hard to tell," Emmy admitted, "If I were to estimate...about fifty. That's probably enough to carry out the miracles."
Edgar hummed thoughtfully, "Fifty people. Must be expensive to hire all of them."
"Perhaps the Masked Gentleman is wealthy."
"Or he has a sponsor," Edgar suggested, earning a hum from Emmy, "Anyway, it's not as if we're going to find out anytime soon, especially the way things are going on in this seminar room."
"What was that!?" Grosky exclaimed, having overheard what he said, "I have you know, criminal, that police work is about meticulous analysis, attention to detail and a lot of patience. Something a criminal like yourself would never understand."
Emmy smirked mischievously, "And have you been any of those things, Inspector? Or do you want this seminar to end so you can run all over the place like a headless chicken like usual?" she questioned, causing Grosky to flinch slightly.
"I wouldn't say like a headless chicken," he muttered before glaring at Edgar, "Perhaps you would like to propose the solution for the last case."
"Gladly," Edgar said as he stood up before the seminar room and addressing the entire room, "Alright everyone, since none of you can do your jobs properly," he declared, earning annoyed muttering from the audience. The only people who weren't annoyed by what Edgar said was Layton and Emmy, who looked on with worry, and strangely enough, Bloom, who seemed rather amused by what Edgar had said, "I will be the one to solve... what's this case about?"
"It involved people being engulfed in flames," Grosky answered through gritted teeth.
Edgar's eyes widened, "Wait what!? Nobody said anything about a murder."
"They are all found safe," Bloom reassured from his seat, "That is the miracle that we shall be discussing."
"Oh okay. As long as they're alright," Edgar shrugged before frowning in concentration, "Nope, can't think of a good name for it. Ah well, let's call it case number three."
"Can we get on with it?" Grosky grumbled.
"I'm waiting for you to explain what happened. Please don't tell me you're already lost," he quipped with a smirk.
Grosky sighed and explained the last miracle.
A Week Ago
Gallery Plaza
Under the shadow of the marquee, there stood a round green and white podium holding up a metal frame about two meters tall. Upon the podium stood a few people that looked and acted like ordinary citizens looking around in confusion. Judging by how they looked, the crowd gathered around the podium could tell that there were just as baffled as they were.
On top of the circus tent marquee, the Masked Gentleman leered down at the crowd before lifting his cane before him. Suddenly, from out of his cane came a jet of fire that lit up the afternoon sky, shocking everybody. The flames got bigger and bigger until the flames made the shape of a grinning face which bore resemblance to the one the Gentleman wore.
That's when the flames came down upon the podium, enveloping the poor people on the podium. The crowd screamed and gasped and stepped back away from the inferno unleashed upon the innocents. It was only for a few seconds before the flames dispersed and the people on the podium were gone without a single trace.
As the crowd stared in confusion and horror, the Masked Gentleman laughed as, once again, he performed another of his miracles.
Puzzle Start
'Huh, that is a weird one,' Edgar thought as soon as Grosky explained what happened, "Do we know why those people were on the podium?"
Grosky nodded and pointed to the screen displaying a hand written letter, "The morning of the incident, thirteen citizens received an ominous letter. Naturally, it was from that dastardly villain, the Masked Gentleman."
Edgar looked closely at the letter. It read:
'Esteemed citizen, I cordially invite you to a special afternoon showing of my latest miracle.
Come to the gallery plaza at 1pm sharp. I must insist you attend - unless you wish to forfeit your life, that is.'
"He also advertised the event in the papers," Grosky continued, "'Miracle en Rouge - a modern piece by the Masked Gentleman'."
Edgar hummed as he looked at the advertisement also displayed, "I assume thousands turned up," he said, earning a grunt from Grosky in confirmation.
"We also have a transcript that witness reportedly heard the Masked Gentleman said when they turned up to the plaza," he said, pointing to the next piece of evidence.
It read:
'Citizens of Monte d'Or, welcome!
I am the Masked Gentleman, your host for today's event.
Also with us this afternoon are 13 guests, here at my personal behest.'
"The crook's voice could be heard, but there was no sign of him, only an odd tent in the plaza. Then, just before 1 pm, the canvas fell to reveal a stage with the 13 invitees standing on it. Then when the clock struck 1pm...well you know the rest. Later on, they were found at their homes without a scratch. They were just as confused as everybody else. They went to the plaza, and that's all they remember."
"What about the podium?" Edgar questioned, "Is there space underneath it? Also what was it made of?"
Grosky shook his head, "There were no trap doors and even if they were one the blaze submerged the whole podium. There was no way they could have survived it. The podium was made out of stainless steel. That's both the stage and the frame."
"Interesting," Edgar muttered as he observed the photo of the podium, "Can I see the letters the Masked Gentlemen sent them," Grosky waved at one of the officers to retrieve the evidence from storage, "and who was the investigating officer to this case?"
One police officer in one of the middle rows stood up in attention and cleared his thought, "I was. I took the statements from the witness and interrogated all 13 individuals involved, sir."
'Good, I should probably ask them about the victims. But what?' he thought.
A - Should I ask if they were accomplices?
'No, I doubt that the Masked Gentleman would allow his accomplices to be interviewed. Especially since they did a fine job disappearing in the other two cases.'
B - Did they know each other?
'That makes sense. We need to find a connection between all of them.'
C - Were they magicians?
'Now that would be a twist! But I don't have time for jokes.'
Answer = B
"Did the victims know each other?" Edgar asked the police officer who nodded in reply.
"Yes...well I think so. They all members of the same squash club."
"Really!?" Grosky exclaimed, "That's news to me. Tell me more about this club."
"It's a club to play squash at. What more do you need?" Edgar asked in a deadpanned tone, before turning back to the office, "Why wasn't this notified? This could be essential to the investigation."
The officer blushed in embarrassment, "It's quite a popular club, you see. I thought it was just a coincidence."
...
...
...
"...A coincidence?" Edgar asked after a few moments of stunned silence, "You thought that the only link these thirteen victims had was just a coincidence," the office nodded his head, "Bloody hell, I should have come here to steal things. I would have made a fortune," he muttered.
"What was that?" Grosky growled.
"Nothing," he briskly answered before thinking to himself, 'I should also ask about the witnesses.'
A - Did the witnesses see the victims go on the stage?
'Huh, good question. I keep that question in mind.
B - Did the witnesses see the Masked Gentleman?
'Well, no. Grosky already said that they only heard his voice.'
C - Did the witnesses see any of the 13 hide?
'Obviously not, because we wouldn't be standing around talking about it.'
Answer = A
"Did anyone see the 13 go onto the stage?" Edgar asked.
"No, sir. No one was seen entering the tent or leaving," he answered.
"Right," Edgar hummed, "One last question. What about the clothes they were wearing. When you found them in their homes later, were they wearing different clothing?"
The officer frowned slightly, "I don't know, sir. Should I check?"
"Please do," Edgar said, allowing the officer to leave the seminar room. As he left, the officer, who went to fetch the letters, arrived and handed the evidence to Edgar, "thanks," he said as he looked at the letters and began to think to himself, 'Let's see. The handwriting is the same as the one used in the letters the Masked Gentleman has sent,' he flipped them over and inspected the backs, 'Nothing usua- wait, hold on. What's this?'
On one of the back of the letters there a small ink stain. It was small and Edgar had almost missed it.
'An ink stain. Possible from when it hadn't dried yet. However, how did it get there. Each letter was folded in half when placed in the envelope and there was nothing else in there with it...unless," Edgar realised, a smile starting to form on his face.
That was when the officer from before ran in to the room, "How did you know? You were right they were wearing different clothes."
Edgar smirked, "That confirms it. I know how this miracle happened," he declared, earning proud smiles from Layton and Emmy.
"Oh really," Grosky grumbled in doubt.
"Yes. First of all," Edgar said before pointing to the screen displaying the podium after the event, "I'm going to tell you how this miracle was, in fact, impossible. Hands up if anybody notices anything odd about this photo?"
Layton, Bloom, Emmy observed the picture before they realised what Edgar was talking about and raised their hands.
"I was kind of hoping for an answer from the boys in blue," Edgar told them, making the three nod in understanding.
Edgar looked up at the room full of police officers and sighed when not a single one raised their hand.
"Really? Nobody? Fine, maybe science is not your strong suit. Does anybody know what a flash point is?"
A few raised their hands.
"It is not a place where people expose themselves," he added.
All of them lowered their hands.
"For God's sake," Edgar muttered, "It's the lowest temperature at which a combustible object will burn. For example, the flashpoint of wood is 300 Celsius (572 Fahrenheit) meaning if I want to set a piece of wood on fire then I would have to expose it to temperatures of 300 degrees or above."
"How do you know that?" Emmy asked in curiosity.
Edgar his hand dismissively at her, "Don't worry about it."
"I feel like I should be worried."
"Anyway, the average temperature of fire ranges between 600°C - 1650°C (112F-3000F), however, as we see, the fire was hot enough to turn our victims into nothing but ash. However, that is impossible because the steel frame is still there. The melting point of bones 1670°C (3038F) however the melting point of steel is only 1375 – 1530°C (2500-2785°F)."
"Again, how do you know all of this?" Emmy questioned.
"Again, don't worry about it," Edgar replied, which did nothing to calm her down, "the fact that the steel remains must suggested that the fire was cooler than 1375°C meaning it was impossible for the victims to be completely incinerated."
"So, what does that mean?" Grosky asked.
"It proves that it was all a trick," Edgar deduced, holding up the letter, "I know because of this. There is an ink stain on the back of one the letters where it hadn't completely dry. How did it get there if there was nothing else in the envelope. I propose that there was a second letter in the envelope. One to tell them to stay away from the event while the other is to show the police. If the first letter is any indication then I bet the second letter was just as threatening."
"But the victims were seen on the podium," Grosky pointed out.
"Were they?" Edgar questioned, "Or did it just look like they were there. The crowd were at a significant distance away from the podium and they only revealed the victims a few seconds before they were burned. Furthermore, you said that whole thing happened quickly, but bones require 1670°C of heat to melt and even then the whole cremation process takes at least four hours to complete."
"Seriously, Edgar! How do you know that!?" Emmy shouted with a sweat drop.
He ignored her, "I suggest that the 'people' were merely mannequins wearing the victims clothes."
The investigating officer raised his hand, "I did notice that some of the victims of the squash club have reported that some items of clothing have been stolen."
"You see," Edgar said, "The crowd had already seen the Masked Gentleman's 'miracles' and so it all it took was a bit of pyrotechnics."
"Preposterous," Grosky declared.
"Wait," the officer who retrieved the letters earlier said, "I did find something in the unsorted evidence bags," he declared, taking out another letter from his pocket and giving it to Edgar.
He looked over it, smiled victoriously and showed Grosky the paper, "The second letter. Quod erat demonstrandum," he declared before giving the officer a sharp look, "Of course, this would have been useful a few minuets ago."
Puzzled Solved
"Well, if that's that," grumbled Sheffield as he switched the lights back on, "then you are all dismissed to go back to your regular patrols."
The officers stood up and briskly made for the door, thankful that the meeting was now over. Layton and Emmy came over to Edgar as he gave the evidence to the officer from before.
"Very impressive, Edgar," Layton said.
Edgar shrugged with a small smirk, "Could of added more dazzle to my presentation, but ah well."
"You're not doing a performance, Pig," Emmy lightly scolded.
"You were all very impressive," Bloom said as he, Sheffield and Grosky came over to them, "We're still investigating the petrifaction incident, but once we have more to go on, I would appreciate your input. Who knows? Now that we're on to the Masked Gentlemen's methods, perhaps we can solve this one ourselves."
"I have faith in your team," Layton told him.
"No time to dillydally!" Grosky declared, "I have a criminal to catch! FOR THE YARD!"
At his proclamation, Grosky ran to the door...
SMASH!
...he ran through the door, smashing it to splinters, and out of the hallway, leaving behind a bemused group and slightly irritated Bloom.
"No offence, but I don't have as much faith in your team," Edgar told the detective.
"No offence taken, mr Cipher," Bloom muttered.
"He could have least opened the door," Sheffield murmured, "We won't be beaten by this little toad and his fancy circus tricks. We will stop this Masked Gentleman, I tell you." he said before heading out the...hole in the wall and started ordering officers to fix the door.
"Thank you again, Professor," Bloom said, "We will contact you just as soon as we've finished."
"I look forward to it. We'll follow our own leads in the meantime," Layton said, "Good bye, detective."
"I bid you farewell," Bloom politely said as the three headed out. But before Edgar could leave Bloom called out to him again, "It was nice to finally meet you, mr Cipher," he calmly said.
Edgar looked back at him with an odd look, 'What does he mean by that?' he thought as he stared at the man who had a small smile on his face.
He merely nodded before exiting the room, leaving the detective behind.
Outside The Town Hall
Layton and Emmy waited on the steps of the town hall and looked up when Edgar came out of the doors.
"What kept you?" Emmy inquired.
"Err..." Edgar hummed, looking back at the Town Hall, "...no reason. Where are we heading next, Prof?"
Layton smiled gently, "The mayor informed us that since the case is closed, they can open the gallery. Emmy suggested that we visit."
Edgar raised an eyebrow, "Already. I thought most of the art was taken as evidence."
"Apparently, someone has donated some pieces to the gallery," Emmy said as they began to walk away from the Town Hall, "I thought we could investigate for any clues about...oh no. What's she's doing here?"
Layton and Edgar followed her line sight and saw the subject of Emmy's annoyance. Standing not too far away with her hands clasped together and love hearts appearing around her was Hannah, Grosky's number 1 fanatic. They had met her properly in Misthallery and has an rather unhealthy obsession with the inspector that Edgar couldn't work out why.
Hannah sighed a pond twirled around with love hearts in her eyes, "Ohhhh, Grosky! How well the neon lights of Monte d'Or emphasise your resolute jaw! And the way the desert sun brings the flush of sweat to your bare arms... Mmmm, it's almost too much to bear," she declared in a lovesick manner.
The three stared at her uncomfortably.
"Looks like I'm having nightmares tonight," Emmy muttered in disgust.
Hannah was brought out of her imagination and noticed them standing nearby, "Oh sorry. Didn't see you there! I'm Hannah, president and sole member of the Clampettes. Would you like to join?"
"We know who you are," Edgar reminded, "And we really don't want to join."
Hannah blinked as she focused on him, "Oh, of course, Edgar Cipher. You're Grosky's greatest adversary. It's lovely to meet you again."
Edgar raised his eyebrows in surprise, "I thought you would be...not so happy to see me. Considering, I've been giving Grosky the run around for all these years."
"Oh dear no," Hannah giggled, "You are very important to my dear sweet Grosky."
"Oh really?"
"Indeed. You inspire him to perform his daring feats. You're the dragon to his knight in shining armour, the Moriarty to his Sherlock Holmes, the yang to his ying. You are criminal that Grosky shall forever peruse, encouraging him to become greater and stronger," she declared as love hearts appeared in her eyes once more.
Edgar was less then pleased with how she portrayed him. He slumped forward and bowed his head in misery.
"Looks like I'm also having nightmares," he muttered distastefully as Emmy tried to stop herself from laughing.
"I presume you are here, because of Inspector Grosky," Layton said, patting Edgar comforting on the shoulder,
"Where Clamp goes, I will always follow," Hannah firmly said, "I've barely seen him, though. He's always busy with police work the whole time."
Emmy gave her sympathetic look, "Sorry you had to come all this way for nothing."
"Nothing? It's my duty and pleasure to chronicle Grosky's every move. He's a legend, simply unbelievable."
"That's one way to describe him," Emmy muttered.
"Hannah, have you by chance 'chronicled' the Inspector while he investigated any of the supposed miracles?" Layton questioned.
"Should we really be encouraging her?" Edgar grumbled, still slumped forwards.
"Of course!" Hannah boldly declared, taking out a notebook from her pocket, "I've been on his trail ever since he left London! He's been scouring the whole city for clues. And I was actually there last night when those people got turned to stone. I nearly got trampled! And where was my her!?" she asked excitedly, sighing in longing, "Why, he was too busy chasing down the villain to think of me, but how could I dislike that fiery, unbridled passion?"
Layton, Emmy and Edgar sweat dropped. It has gotten to the point that they were honestly worried about her.
"Oh that's right," Hanna suddenly remembered, "I happened to overhear a couple of officers talking about a curious set of carriage tracks. Next time I see Grosky, I'm going to tell him about the tracks. He works so hard, he may not have heard about them yet!"
That caught their attention.
'Carriage tracks?' Edgar repeated in his head.
"What am I doing? I don't have time to mope around! I'm the president of the Clampettes after all."
That's when she turned and ran off in a random direction. The three watched her go in a mixture of confusion and worry.
"Does Grosky even know she exist?" Edgar asked.
"I rather doubt it," Layton replied.
Monte d'Or's Art Gallery
News must travel fast in the city of miracles as the gallery was already flocked with tourists by the time they arrived.
Tourists and locals who haven't been to the gallery since its closure, walked across the marble floors and admired the art pieces that the building held. Edgar could tell which art pieces were recently donated by how many people crowded around them, trying to take a peek. The trio were just as captivated as the rest of visitors at both the art and the ornate building itself, but eventually they found the gallery's curator, Mr Beaufort.
Beaufort was a short, heavyset middle aged man with short bluish hair, a large, round nose and small beady eyes. He wore a fancy grey suit with a red tie and seemed to constantly wipe his sweat away from his brow and neck with his handkerchief. Probably a nervous tick he had developed after the miracle.
"I cannot tell you how satisfying it is to share our gift of fine art with the people again," Beaufort told them after they introduced themselves, "I'm told we have you to thank for our grand reopening."
"Indeed so are we, Mr Beaufort," Layton said, "However would you mind if we asked you about the recent miracle?"
Beaufort wiped his brow, "Not at all, but I'm afraid you may be disappointed. I didn't see anyone or anything suspicious. We'll be inspecting anonymous donations much more carefully from now on, though."
"So, who donated the pieces for your grand reopening?" Edgar asked.
"That would be Mr Ledour," he answered, much to their surprise.
"Oh? Henry helped you?" Layton said.
"Yes, that's right. He kindly donated a selection of pieces to replace those the police confiscated. So many, in fact, that we're even having to store some on the top floor for now. Exquisite sculptures, masterful watercolours, it's quite a collection."
"Really," Edgar said in a slightly suspicious tone, "that's...nice of him," he said before thinking, 'A bunch of art gets confiscated and instantly he donates more then enough. I mean it could be generosity, but it seems that wherever the Masked Gentleman has been, Henry is somehow involved. This is too much of coincidence.'
Layton gave a worried look at Edgar's questioning remark but decided to not comment.
"You know, I'm not much for small talk. If you really want information, you should pay a visit at the costume boutique. She has lived in Monte d'Or for a long time and she knows everything about everyone," Beaufort recommended.
'He must be talking about Ludmilla,' Edgar thought.
Edgar had met Ludmilla yesterday evening in her boutique. She was a warm, cherry woman in her mid thirties. She has brown hair tied up in a bun, fair skin and a sharp nose. She's often seen in a dark blue dress with an orange bow tied around her waist. She was awfully keen to get him to buy one of her costumes, but he firmly denied her which was hard considering that she was rather pretty.
"We'll ask her, thank you," Layton said as they took their leave.
As they left the gallery, Edgar saw a few Steller Circus performers handing out flyers and frowned thoughtfully, 'Maybe it would be best to check out the Stellar circus as well. I can't help but get a feeling that they were involved somehow.'
As soon as they descended the steps and headed right to the Shopping District, Edgar turned to face his companions, "You know how we proved that the Masked Gentleman had accomplices."
"That is likely the case, yes," Layton said.
"Well, what about them," Edgar said nodding towards the clowns in the crowd.
Emmy raised an eyebrow, "The Steller Circus performers?"
"Think about it," Edgar said, "A troupe of individuals for hire, who come from out of town, and have plenty of resources and knowledge on how to perform tricks. Not only that, but they are hidden in plain sight where nobody will question why they are there and they can observe the inns and outs of the city. I don't want to accuse them or anything but..." he trailed off.
"I see what you mean," Layton hummed in consideration, "Perhaps we should investigate after we visit the boutique."
"Or we can split up and I can check it out," Edgar suggested, "It's almost dark soon and we need to get back here before...you know who turns up."
Layton frowned slightly. It wasn't as if it was a terrible idea, in fact, it could help a lot. However, he wasn't very sure about Edgar's...interrogation tactics. While he prefers the gentler approach, Edgar likes to antagonise the interviewer into slipping up. This wouldn't be a problem usually as he trust him enough to not take it too far, but after what happened in the seminar room, Layton was afraid that he won't be as tactful. Luckily, Emmy was able to come to his aid.
"I'll go too," she decided, "I'll be sure to keep eye on him," she reassure Layton, earning a light glare from Edgar.
"Thank you, Emmy. Alright, let us spilt up," Layton agreed.
Stellar Circus
The circus was not too far from the hotel they were staying at. A large blue and white tent dominated the area which was surrounded by various smaller attractions and colourful booths. The entire area was enclosed by a plain wooden fence which entryway that faced the road, presumably to prevent people sneaking in without a ticket.
Luckily, for Edgar and Emmy, there was no vendor at the entrance and so they walked in and through the flap to go into the large tent. The interior of the tent was spacious with a high ceiling so trapeze performers can do their act. Around the edge was the bleachers which overlooked the centre ring. Dead in the centre was round red and white podium which was cluttered with an assortment of things you would find at a circus. Rings, giant balls, bowling pins, chairs, everything.
They looked around for anybody, but it seemed like the who place was deserted at the moment except for a large white tiger wearing a blue cap sitting in a cage on the other side of the ring. Emmy instantly ran to the cage and awed at the feline who regarded her with some interest.
"Wow, a ferocious tiger," she gasped, looking up at the plaque which read 'Hannibal', "You name is Hannibal, huh. You're very pretty."
Edgar rolled his eyes and made his way to her, "Emmy, leave the poor thing alo- Oh my God! Are those rabbits!" he suddenly yelled, running over to the cages nearby which indeed held two rabbits, one brown with their ears sticking up and the other white with its ears hanging down by its head.
"They are so adorable," he cooed as he stroked their fur through the cages, "I'm going to name you Marple and Poirot."
"They already have names," Emmy said, pointing out the plaque on their cages.
"And now they have different ones," Edgar firmly replied, "Can you imagine taking care of them and training them to do tricks. It would be the best minigame ever!"
Emmy gave him an odd look, "What are you talking about?"
Suddenly the flap to the tent opened a short, fat middle aged man. He had short brown hair, fair skin, a button nose and large moustache and goatee. He wore a brown hat, which seemed too small for him, a white shirt under a black vest and red bow tie. He regarded the two with surprise before frowning irritably.
"We're closed at the moment. I have to tell you two to leave," he said firmly.
"Oh sorry," Emmy apologised, "We just wanted to ask you a few questions."
"I don't have time for that," he said with a huff, "Come back when we're open to the public."
"But we-" Edgar tried, but the man just pointed at the tent flap.
"Out!" he ordered.
Emmy and Edgar shared a look before heading to the door. But as they were about to pass the man out of the tent, Edgar said loud enough for him to hear.
"I suppose we have to mark you down for that."
Emmy and the man looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean?" he asked.
Edgar adopted an innocent expression and turned to the man, "Oh weren't you informed? Are you not the Ringmaster," the man nodded his head, "We're are from the organisation known as the Society for the Protection of Animal Welfare in Entertainment. We were just reviewing how you treat your animals," he said before turning back to flap with a sigh, "However, since you won't answer our questions, we have to just shut you down until further notice."
"What!?" the man cried, "You have to be kidding me!?"
"Unfortunately not," Emmy said, taking out her library card and briefly showing the Ringmaster so he wouldn't see past their lie, "I must say I was quite disappointed. We had high hopes for this circus. Didn't we?"
"Very high hopes," Edgar answered, "Ah well. Ta ta for now."
"But you don't look old enough to be part of a society," the Ringmaster pointed out.
"I've been told I've have a youthful appearance."
"He uses a punishing face cream," Emmy added.
"And moisturiser now. Bye bye"
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" the man said, getting in front of them before they could turn and leave, "We treat our animals very well here. Please don't shut us down. I'll answer all of your questions."
Edgar and Emmy gave each other a secret smirk before they started with the first question.
"Right, what can you tell us about the Masked Gentleman?" Edgar asked.
"...What does that have to with animal welfare?"
"We will be asking the questions, thank you," Emmy stoically told him.
"Err...well nothing much. I know he has been causing trouble all over town and everythin'."
"You have not been in contact at all with him?" Emmy asked.
"You're kidding me, right?" the Ringmaster muttered, "Why would I or any of our troupe associate with him? That weirdo is bad for business. People would rather go and watch his miracles then come see our show. I even had to close up today, because I was told that he'll show up again. No point putting on a show when everyone's gathered in the plaza."
'He does have a point. Still, if they are being paid to assisted the Masked Gentleman then maybe his covering for them,' Edgar thought, "And where is your troupe right now?"
The Ringmaster pointed to the other side of the tent, "They're out back, having a rest."
Emmy nodded at Edgar to say that she'll check on the rest of troupe, leaving him behind with the Ringmaster.
"Look, we haven't done anything wrong," he told Edgar, "Ask Mr Dalston. He can vouch for our care of the animals."
"Mr Dalston? As in Alphonse Dalton?"
"Yes, he invests a lot in our circus. He especially enjoys meeting Hannibal, over there," the Ringmaster said nodding to the tiger, "He never misses a show. Even last night when the tourists turned into stone," he said, surprising Edgar.
"You had a show on last night at the time of the miracle," he said before sighing, "And I bet you have a couple hundred audience members who could testify to that."
"Of course...wait. How is that relevant?"
Edgar saw Emmy appear at the circus flap and mentally groaned when she confirmed that the entire troupe was there, 'Another dead end,' he thought, before turning back to the Ringmaster, "Well everything seems to be in order. You're off the hook for now."
"So we're not in trouble?" the Ringmaster said as Edgar began walking to the exit.
"Nah. You passed with flying colours. Look out for a certificate in the post or whatever," Edgar said over his shoulder before leaving the tent.
It had suddenly gotten dark when they were in the tent. The dark cloudless sky was lit up with neon and bright spotlights and already Edgar could hear some sort of festivity going on in the city. With his hands in his pockets, Edgar and Emmy walked to the circus main entrance and out onto the road. Emmy frowned slightly at his miserable expression, knowing full well what was wrong.
"I'm sorry, Edgar."
He sighed, "It was worth a shot. Anyway, it wasn't a complete waste of time. I did find out some valuable information."
"I suppose," Emmy softly said before a smirk spread across her face, "Although, you have to try harder if you want to win our bet. Unless, you're completely stumped. Then you can let me win."
Edgar chuckled, "No chance, Princess."
She laughed as well, happy to get him out of his gloominess. They spotted Layton waiting for them outside the Camel's Hump Hotel and made their way to him. Layton looked up and smiled gently.
"Hello you two. Have you had any luck with your interviewing?" Layton greeted.
"Nothing but a dead end. As far as we can tell, the Stellar Circus is not at all involved. Although, I did find out that Dalston has an alibi...oh and they have two adorable bunnies."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Layton said after Edgar's explanation, "I can't say I have had much luck on my end either. Ms Ludmila did inform me that the most of Monte d'Or's residents do not have faith in their own police force. It would seem the police are not experienced enough to tackle real crime."
"I'm not surprised," Emmy remarked, "Especially after witnessing the negligence at the meeting earlier. Oh! We should probably head to the plaza. The Masked Gentlemen will appear at any any moment."
"Right, of course," Layton said, "Let's us head to the plaza immediately."
Edgar groaned as they began to walk again, "Please let this be the last time we walk anywhere today. My feet are knackered," he complained.
Gallery Plaza
The plaza was already crowded by the time they arrived and this revealed two things to Edgar.
The first was that the miracles that the Masked Gentleman had performed were unexpected events, nobody had intended to see him, but rather he appeared and created chaos. This shows that, despite the obvious danger, tourists were willing to risk their own safety in order to see the miracles. Of course, you could argue that people knew of the burning people miracle, but they were invited to see. Which brings us to the second revelation: how did they know that the Masked Gentleman was going to turn up?
Between the first and second revelations, Edgar wasn't quite sure which was more alarming.
They saw some familiar faces in the crowd. Dalston was standing around looking bored, Grosky was being his usual self with Hannah not too far away, but what was surprising to see was Angela. She looked around in distress as if the anticipation was too much for her. Naturally, the trio instantly went up to her, all the while Edgar couldn't get a nagging feeling out of his head.
'Is it me or was she not as attractive as she was last night,' he thought in confusion.
"Angela," Layton said, catching the woman's attention, "I didn't expect to see you here."
Angela bowed her head and rested a hand on her face, "I had to come, Hershel. I'm worried about the town."
"But it's dangerous here. The Masked Gentleman could appear any minute now."
"Yes, we received a letter, too," Angela informed, "It said that Henry and I had to come tonight. So you see, we have no choice," she looked around in worry, "But why are all these tourists here? Don't they realise they're in danger?"
"You would think it's something the police would dissuade," Emmy commented.
Edgar looked around with a frown, "Where are the bill, anyway? There should be at least a squadron around."
Layton hummed, "You make a good point Edgar," he mused.
The teen was about to make another point when he spotted something in the corner of his eye. He looked back and up and his eyes widened.
"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, alerting the others around to what he was looking at.
People gasped in shock as they saw the Masked Gentleman twirling his cane in his right hand...whilst walking in mid-air. He must have been forty meters high above their heads, walking casually from the marquee to the centre of the plaza. They couldn't see any strings or pulleys holding him aloft, convincing the crowd that he was defying gravity.
"5,6,7,8... No one can escape their fate," he proclaimed.
"How's is that possible?" Emmy questioned as she watched him continue to the centre.
Dalston, from nearby, took a few steps back in fear, "What in the world!? It can't be!"
"What is he doing?" Layton murmured to himself, as Angela held her hands to her mouth in disbelief.
Once he reached the centre, the Masked Gentleman spun around and addressed the crowd with open arms, "Ladies and gentlemen! Your eyes do not deceive you! Leave the deception to your local leaders," he lowered his arms and tilted his head down menacingly, "Time to wake up. Monte d'Or," he said as he raised one hand above his head, positioning his fingers in order to snap them, "and get enlightenment!"
He snapped his fingers, the sound echoing across the crowded plaza. Somebody, a man in his forties, gasped as he began to float up and above everyone's heads. Another startled scream came from somewhere, a young woman this time, she too started to float into the air, much to everyone's shock. Up and up they went into the inky night sky, until they disappeared before they eyes.
Understandably, the people started to panic as more and more people started to float up into the sky, causing a stampeded out of the plaza. Edgar lost count at how many people were taken up into the skies, but there was a lot of them. Very soon the entire plaza was abandoned with the only people left were Edgar, Layton, Emmy, Angela, Grosky and Dalston. They watched in horror at the pandemonium that unfurled before them. The perpetrator of the chaos still stood in the air, looking down at them in amusement.
"I hope you enjoyed tonight's miracle. I strive to please. Monte d'Or is not long for this world. Those who prosper by the mask must also wither by it," the Masked Gentleman proclaimed before giving a bow, "I do hope you'll be at my next show tomorrow. Stop by Tingly Town...if you have the time."
"Tingly Town?" Emmy repeated questioningly, "That's the amusement park here, right?"
"There's an amusement park here?" Edgar asked, "What doesn't this city have?"
"I believe it's north west of here," Layton informed, frowning at the Masked Gentleman, "An advance warning of the Masked Gentleman's next move."
The Masked Gentleman turned his hidden face towards Angela who flinched slightly at the attention, "Ah! And look, it's the beautiful wife of the richest man in town!" he proclaimed, "Say hello to Mrs Angela Ledour! Mrs Ledore, place grace us with your presence tomorrow. I suppose you can bring Mr Ledour if you must."
"How does he know me?" Angela softly asked herself.
"Oh and don't forget to tell the tourists that the town is cursed. Sorry I didn't mention that earlier. Those who stay jeopardise their lives. But those who leave risk missing the greatest show ever! My curse can be lifted if someone brings forth something to oppose my power..." he waved his hand causally, "Perhaps another mask? But the Mask of Order is another tale of woe, isn't it?"
'Mask of Order?' Edgar thought.
"Until we meet again," the Masked Gentleman said with another dramatic bow.
Then, as if by magic, the Masked Gentleman disappeared into thin air. Not a single trace was left behind, causing the others to wonder if he was actually there in the first place. They stood there watching the space where he was for a few more seconds before they managed to convinced themselves that he was gone. Edgar looked back at Angela's worried face, her head bowed as she stared at the tiled ground.
"Angela, do you know what he was talking about?" he asked.
She shook her head, "I don't know. The Mask of Order. Is it some sort of compliment to the Mask of Chaos?"
Edgar looked towards Layton, "Do you know anything about a second mask?"
Layton was too wrapped up in his thoughts to answer him, so Emmy decided to answer, "It was mentioned briefly in Rutledge's book, but its exitance have never been verified."
"So," Edgar sighed, "He wants us to find a theoretical relic. Terrific," he muttered sarcastically as he got out his notebook.
New Mystery - The Mask of Order: Rutledge had written about a second mask which seems to be the only thing that matches the Mask of Chaos's power. The problem is that we don't know where it is or if it even exists.
New Mystery - The Levitation Miracle: Another of the Masked Gentleman's miracles. He lifted people into the air before making them vanish. If this miracle was like the other ones then I could only guess that the people taken up were accomplices. I should have grabbed one to interrogate.
Dalston, who had remained quiet since the Masked Gentleman first appeared, spoke to Layton, "What you you think, Hershel?"
But before the Professor could answer the sound of rapid marching caught their attention. To their astonishment, a squadron of police officers came stomping towards them. They were arranged into four groups of twenty officers organised in a line, two groups came from under the marquee, one group came from the Shopping District while the last one came from the games alley to the right of the gallery. The swiftly surrounded them to form two rings around them before stopping. The group was very shocked by these development, especially Grosky who had never dreamed of being on this side even once.
"Alphonse Dalston!" a voice boomed from being the officers. Stepping through the line of officers was Sheffield who glared at Dalston, "You are suspected of crimes against the city of Monte d'Or. We'd like you to come with us."
"What!?" Dalston cried, "You can't do this, Sheffield. I have my rights!"
The others were just as surprised as he was. Emmy turned to Edgar, "I can't believe thi-"
She stopped when she realised that he was no longer next to him. She and Layton looked around for a moment before they spotted him pushing his way into the ring again with a sheepish look.
"Sorry," he said as he walked over to them whilst rubbing the back of his head, "Saw the police and ran. Force of habit," he told them ad the two gave him an odd look.
Edgar lost the sheepish expression when he saw another figure behind the police lines. He was a skinny man in his mid thirties with brown hair, fair skin and a small goatee. His eyes were blue and they sharply glared at Dalston as if he was a dangerous criminal. He wore a navy blue blazer over a white shirt and a red tie as well as brown and red stripped trousers and black shoes. He had an air of importance surrounding him, but he looked as if wasn't used to public appearances. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Edgar had a terrible feeling that he shouldn't trust him at all.
"Henry," Layton gasped.
Edgar glanced back at him before looking back at the man, 'So, that's Henry Ledore. Finally you make an appearance.'
Daltson grasped his hands into fists when he saw Henry and pointed accusingly at him, "Henry, I knew it was you! You set me up with this stupid letter just to get me out of here because you're not man enough to face me yourself! Coward!" he yelled.
He took out the letter, folded into a ball and threw at Henry. The paper ball only landed at Henry's feet. He regarded it for a second before looking up at Dalston with a serious look.
"As long as I live, this city will not be harmed. The rest is irrelevant," he coldly said.
Grotsky snorted in irritation, "I'm not letting that masked miscreant get away. FOR THE YARD!" he declared before he ran head straight to the line of police officers.
The police instantly moved away so Grosky can get past, having seen what he did to a door, they really didn't want to be crushed.
"Now," Sheffield grumbled, "Dalston, enough playing around! I know you're behind all of this."
"Codswallop!" Dalston shouted before turning back to the group, "Layton, back me up here!"
Edgar stepped up, "I have an alibi for Dalston. It's impossible that he-"
"Enough out of you boy!" Sheffield shouted, "You have been interfering too much in this investigation already."
"You fucking-" Edgar began to shout before Emmy stopped before he could get arrested. Layton stepped up in support of Edgar.
"Chief inspector, if you please listen-"
"I'm not listening to anymore nonsense from members of the public," Sheffield stubbornly interrupted, "The truth is that Dalston is in love with Mrs Ledore. Has been for years. That's why he's trying to bring Henry down."
"Chief inspector, that's absurd," Layton told him.
"Utter bullshit!" Edgar added.
Sheffield ignored them and turned to angry Dalston, "If you've any respect for this town, you'll come with us voluntarily. Don't make me force you."
Dalston grunted in annoyance before taking a deep breath and calming down, "Alright. I don't have anything to hide anyway," he said as two police officers came up and snapped a pair handcuffs around his wrists, "I want to say something to Henry first. Will you grant me that at least?"
"Fine but make it quick," Sheffield grumbled.
Dalston looked over at Henry with a grimace, "You set me up. You won't be satisfied until you've ruined everyone's lives, will you?"
Henry didn't say anything but stare blankly at him.
"You sent Randall into those ruins 18 years ago. And what? Now I'm the one in your way? Accidents can be so convenient, eh? With Randall out of the way, you took all the treasure for yourself."
Henry still didn't say anthing.
"And as if you hadn't destroyed enough lives already, you forced Angela to marry you. Do you really think she loves you? After everything you've done? Angela may be your wife, but I know not a day goes by that she doesn't blame you for Randall's death. You stole the treasure. You stole Angela. You stole Rnadall's entire life!"
Henry's face lit up in fury, "You're wrong!"
"Am I?" Dalston asked, "Angela knows I'm right! Go on, ask her! Ask her who's behind the Masked Gentleman! Your own wife is sabotaging your City of Miracles! And she's doing it right under your nose!"
"Enough Dalston!" Sheffield shouted as a the officers led him back to the station, "We're leaving."
As he was taken away, Dalston looked over his shoulder back at Henry, "I'll prove my innocence, Henry! And as soon as I get out, you'll pay for this!" he shouted before he was led out of sight.
Henry glared at the direction he left as Angela nervously walked up behind him, "Henry, I..." she started.
"I know, Angela," Henry muttered, "Let's just go home."
He started to walk back to the Ledore manor as Angela briskly followed. She sent an apologetic look back at the Layton, Edgar and Emmy before turning back away.
As Henry and Angela disappeared from sight, Edgar glared at the back of Henry's head. He had hated everything about the man. His monopoly over Monte d'Or, his influence over the police, how he treats Angela. Edgar despised him. This and the fact he has strong connections to the Masked Gentleman proves that there is something that the man is hiding.
Edgar had no idea what it was, but he could conclusively say that Henry Ledour...
...was his prime suspect.
And done. That was a long one.
Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of 2022. How has everybody's new year?
Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.
Bye :)
