CHAPTER 13

Vash Zwingli was not happy to see Alice.

He lived in one of the poshest parts of London and had a perfect stiff-upper lip to match.

And he wasn't even British.

His condo was so clean it looked like it came out of a magazine. Too clean. There wasn't a speck of dust, a blemish on the white sofas or one dull tile in that place.

Newly bought. But why? He was a Mafia member, so it was doubtful that he was running away from anybody. A small trace of lavender. A lady's perfume. Maybe a house maid?

"Your home is very clean, Mr. Zwingli." Alice duly noted, trying to ignore how...bleached everything looked. "Have you just moved?"

"Ja." Was all the man muttered in front of her. His hair was blonde and cut in a weird, choppy way at the nape of his neck. Dark green eyes glared at her, obviously not pleased that she was in his home.

Alice doubted his mind would change even if he knew that she had connections with Lovino. "Would you mind if I asked you some questions?"

Vash didn't say anything.

Alice continued. "Where were you, on the night of Tuesday, two weeks ago?"

"Here." Vash said, "Reading."

That was fast. "And what were you reading?" Neither Vash nor Alice were the type of people for small talk, but if she got straight to the point, Alice was sure that he'd shut down and refuse to say anything.

"Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1."

"Which story?" Alice asked.

"A Study in Scarlet." Vash huffed. "Frau, vhat zhe hell do you want?"

"Have you ever met a girl called Olivia Forester?" Alice prodded. "Maybe an Isabelle Blackwater?"

Vash flinched. Oh, ho. "Nein."

"Really?" Alice asked, "I know two people who say that you did know them. Where were you Tuesday night?"

"Get out." Vash hissed, eyes sizzling. "Die fuck aus meinem Haus!"

Alice stood, seeing a gun positioned at his waist. "I'm leaving. All right? I'm leaving." She carefully walked backwards from Vash, keeping an eye on the gun.

"And don't come back!" The door slammed in her face.

XXX

"He kicked you out!" Alfred exclaimed on the phone. "Dude, that was like a total jerk-ass move!"

Alice decided not to mention the gun. She didn't need the American busting into Vash's house, screaming about freedom and justice and whatnot. "It's fine. I've got someone bringing me footage from the Fox and Goblin. If he's in it and talking to the girls, we can officially bring him in for questioning."

"Yo, dude, how'd you do that?"

"Connections, Alfred. Connections." She looked across her desk, at Kiku. "I got to go, see you tomorrow." She hung up the phone. "So?" Alice asked the Japanese man. "What did you find?"

"This." Kiku pulled out a bisected Camera-spider. The golden gears whirred and clinked. After wheezing for a moment, an old hologram appeared.

Vash made his way across the pub, a woman hanging off from his arm. Pink hair: Olivia Forester.

They met another woman. Blonde hair, rich clothing: Isabelle Blackwater.

"What day was this?" Alice watched as the three of them started laughing and talking to each other.

"The Sunday before Isaberre was kirred." Kiku said. "There is no recorded footage of any of the three on Monday, however, they seemed to be arguing among themserves on Tuesday night."

Alice frowned. "Do they all leave the bar together?"

"Hai." Kiku nodded, "It's possibre then that Vash-san and Olivia-san kirred Isaberre that night and then Vash-san kirred Olivia-san to keep her quiet?"

"It's possible, especially since his alibi was that he was reading in his home on Tuesday night." And he lied, Alice continued. "But it would be too easy. For example, maybe they were fighting about something and that caused them to do...that. So then, why did Vash kill Olivia so viciously? And what the bloody hell were they fighting about?"

Kiku shrugged and gave her the camera-spider. "Watashi wa shirimasen. But at reast you can formarry bring him in now, hai?"

Alice nodded. "You wouldn't know anything about this would you?" She slipped him the letter with strange writings on it.

"Īe." Kiku shook his head. "But I have seen this handwriting before. He died a few years ago, though."

"That's what Elizabeta said." Alice continued, "That he died in a gunfight. Is there any way that he could've survived?"

"Īe, I was the one who kirred him." Kiku muttered. "And besides, he didn't have a set of these knives. He wasn't part of Rovino's Mafia."

"So, either it's a coincidence or someone's good at faking someone else's handwriting?" Alice deflated. "I'll go the library tomorrow and see what can find."

Translations:

Ja = Yes.

Frau = Woman.

Nein = No.

Die fuck aus meinem Haus! = Get the fuck out of my house!

Hai = Yes.

Watashi wa shirimasen = I don't know.

Ie = No.