Elleyne only had time to think frantically how her life was ending, before landing in a disgruntled heap on top of Gilderoy, who had apparently been trying to catch her.
"Ughhh…" she groaned, shifting her weight off of him. "Sorry, Roy."
"Thazallright," Gilderoy mumbled into the ground. Together they got up, dusted themselves off, and stared at their surroundings.
Vanessa Reid's basement was nothing out of the ordinary. Just a place to store anything she didn't need. From the looks of the place, she hadn't been living here very long before her death, for there wasn't much piled up.
Gilderoy searched for stairs, and soon found a set leading up from behind a stack of boxes, on top of which rested an old set of Exploding Snap cards.
"C'mon, Elleyne," he said, beckoning for her to come up with him.
"What exactly are you looking for, Roy?" Elleyne asked, stepping over a bottle with a mysterious liquid spilling out of it onto the floor.
Gilderoy looked for a second like he might not answer, standing with his head turned toward the top of the steps, breathing slowly into the musty air. Then he said silently, "Proof. Clarification."
He didn't say anything more, just turned and continued upwards. Elleyne stood for a moment, then followed.
The first floor of the apartment, which had seemed to be two floors and an attic from the outside, was small and simple, a kitchen and a living room, both lacking in space and comfort. Elleyne wondered what kind of money Vanessa had had, and what she had spent it on if it was a decent amount.
Something about this house in general was making Elleyne feel as if Vanessa must've led a rather lonely life, perhaps based solely around whatever she did for a living….a life not unlike her own.
A mewing sounded from beneath her, and Elleyne looked down to find a large, gray cat twining itself around her ankles. She reached down and petted its soft fur while watching Gilderoy survey the pictures on the mantelpiece. She could see him pick up one of a considerably pretty woman with wavy brown hair and green eyes. Elleyne stared at it, trying to imagine the woman as a girl, and Gilderoy as a boy, trying to see in her mind what could have been a lost past of the man in front of her.
It was Elleyne who found the next set of stairs, and Gilderoy pushed forward in a way that could be described as both eager and hesitant at once. His face was determinedly calm, but something in it told her he had been affected by the picture in some way. The gray cat followed them upstairs.
The top floor was a bedroom, lined with two tall bookcases on one wall, and the bed on the other. Unlike the rest of the house, this room held a bit of character. It lit up dimly when they entered, and Elleyne noticed a small writing desk on the wall to the left of her. Going over to it, she unfolded the writing surface and ran a hand over the wood. She could see various bits of paper and notes in the many cubby holes of the desk, and stretched out an arm for one of the before feeling shameful for her intrusion, and closing the desk again. The writing on the notes had all been neat and rounded, like writing had never become a chore to the woman who had lived here. She wished she had the newspaper article which had reported the death, so she might glean some information on what it was Ms. Reid had done for a living.
Gilderoy looked like he had swallowed his tongue. He was regarding the bookcase with the same demeanor as Elleyne had seen earlier, in the downstairs of the house. This time, however, she was able to label it as faint unease, rising steadily. Gilderoy turned toward her for a second, and Elleyne was sure for that moment that he would ask to leave, and to forget the whole thing. She didn't know why the feeling had come upon her, and a second later, when Gilderoy turned away again and began to peruse the bookshelves, she felt silly for thinking it.
Elleyne went to sit down on the bed, and watched as Gilderoy took a book from behind the others and opened it, flipping through it and reading the occasional part. The gray cat leapt up beside her and lay down, and still Elleyne watched, stroking it idly.
Gilderoy had found the equivalent of a diary. While he read it, he also listened to the sounds Elleyne's moving about behind him made, and was vaguely comforted for a bit. Then he got to the last three entries of the five that the book contained, and a quick change came over him.
From her position on the bed, Elleyne saw Gilderoy's back tense, and his arms lowered the book he had been reading. He stood like this for several minutes, and Elleyne didn't know whether she should speak to him or not. She was about to get up and go over to him when she he spoke.
"I know…"
Elleyne walked over to Gilderoy and stood behind him. "What do you mean? Have you…figured…I mean, do you know what you wanted to know?"
Gilderoy turned to face her, and his face was agonized. She was surprised at how it scared her to see him like this.
"I've done a very bad thing…" Gilderoy whispered.
The book made a hard, wooden sound as it slid out of his hands and hit the floor.