Ohai, oh patient readers of this slowly updated story~ I wanted to thank all of you for the reviews, alerts and favorites. And apologize for the late update. I had some issues and family troubles to deal with~ But oh well. Up with the story.
Also, I would like to ask if anyone would be ready to beta this fiction. Someone who is rather good with grammar, because mine isn't that good as you probably noticed ^^;
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji in any fashion or way. Though, I do enjoy daydreaming about me owning it...
Chapter 5:The Grace of being informed about the details of the torture
1889, January, London is thrown in fear again by another serial killer, named "The Sniffer". Opium could be used in many ways, but some clients loved to sniff it, like you'd sniff tabac. The name had been given to the killer because of the small bags of opium that had been found on the chests of the victims.
The killer's methods were simple yet cruel some. He'd drug his victims first, then slice their throats, but not enough to kill them directly. He'd also cut off the fingers and tongue to finally pierce his heart with a long kitchen knife. In the end, the whole killing would take around thirty minutes and the victim would suffer for at least half of the time.
John still couldn't understand Grace's interest in dead bodies and about how they were cut. It was creepy, coming from such a small piece of human. What was even stranger, was how well she got along with the Undertaker, an informant of the Earl Phantomhive.
The Undertaker was quite a strange man, without age, without visible eyes, without any apparent sanity. He sold his information for a "fresh laugh" aka, a good joke and refused any money that came form the Queen, harboring clearly a great dislike for her. Since Grace was incapable of coming up with a twisted enough joke, John took care of the mission, making sure that she couldn't see him doing so. His Little Mistress wouldn't have survived it with her grave asthma. It reminded him that once they were done with this mission, he would look for a house at the country side for her; a sickly soul was nothing good to eat after all and what wouldn't be any better for an asthmatic child than being able to leave the smoky regions of London?
"Don't peak, Little Mistress. It'll be done in a moment." he warned her after having shoved her out of the Undertaker's shop and preparing to close the door behind him.
The little red head simply nodded, trusting her brown haired butler from the deepest parts of her soul and waited obediently at the door. When Ciel and Sebastian arrived, they gave a surprised look at the small blue wearing figure that was waiting outside and the tall brown one enter the house again, from which screaming, laughing and screeches came from. Ciel stopped right beside Grace, glancing up to her.
"What's going on?"
"John's helping me out with making the Undertaker laugh." she answered smiling.
Ciel nodded and waited patiently next to her, with his butler right behind them.
John opened the door and gestured to his Lady to come in. But when Ciel tried to step in, he closed the door in front of his nose.
"If you need information from the Undertaker, get it by your own ways." he told the small Earl with a smirk.
Grace stiffened a laugh while walking towards a coffin on which she planned to take a seat, imagining her friend on the point of exploding behind the door and Sebastian grin. When Ciel started to bang on the door, the girl made a sign to John to let her friend come in along with his right hand, while she came look over to their host, who was bending over one of his dark colored coffins, trying to catch his breath back and tears still running down his cheeks, wetting his bangs.
"I hope John didn't give you a heart attack."
"Huhu~ N-No, he gave me to heart's content~" was the answer she got from the black wearing man.
"Good." she stated with a warm smile.
Ciel glared at John several times, while plopping down on a coffin without asking permission and went directly to business.
"So, tell us what you promised to tell Grace."
"Ah, yes, yes, sit down, sit down. Anyone wants some tea?"
Undertaker seemed suddenly very busy to find his bone shaped cookies and some tea which he had made at some point which no one knew of, and served it in some random recipients. Ciel, Sebastian and John refused politely, not feeling like drinking from something in which organs could have been placed to be preserved for who knew how long. Grace just took her drink and glared at the three men, with a look that clearly said "He cleans his medical material, so stop being so childish". John complied to his Mistress silent orders and finally agreed to have some tea after all, while Ciel ignored her look.
Once their host was comfortably installed on a coffin too, the discussion finally began.
"What do you know about the Sniffer?"
"Nothing much~"
"You mean that we're losing our time here?" replied the boy irritatedly.
"I didn't say that either~ Stop being so impulsive, Earl. It's bad for your health~"
"Yes, Ciel. Patience is a virtue, you told me that yourself." Grace slipped into the conversation.
A glare concluded the subject of the little Master's health and lack of patience and the gray haired man went to the real subject.
"He's not working alone~"
Grace blinked and Ciel scowled.
"What do you mean? The murderer could have inflicted the wounds on his own."
"Indeed~ It could have been a single person, if there weren't those hand traces on the ankles of the victims or on the wrists~"
Sebastian and John glanced at each other and the red eyed man spoke up.
"Indeed, it's impossible for a man to hold the ankles or wrists of a person while cutting him into several pieces."
"Hmhm~ And those men are all missing some parts~"
"We know that." snapped Ciel. "That was stated in the Queen's rapport. But we don't kn-"
"Do you mean that the fingers and tongue haven't been found back?"
"Ooooh~ She's pretty smart."
"What the hell would people do with tongues and fingers?" asked Ciel.
"The Scotland Yard is using a new identification system, with finger prints. It is merely starting to be used and most likely to be refused. The tongue seems to be a simple mutilation affair, but without the fingers, the police can't identify the victims, who were all suspected to be implicated criminals working with the chinese mafia." stated John.
"Cutting the fingers off was just a ritual to make sure the victims wouldn't be recognized? But why not also mutilate their faces?"
"All those men were notable people in society. They wanted to be sure they'd be recognized to give a warning to their future victims, but also make sure they wouldn't ever be officially implicated in the criminal actions, which would probably give them troubles." answered Sebastian.
"You made a small mistake, there, butler~"
"Oh?"
The Undertaker had their full attention.
"Women have also been murdered."
"Women?"
"Chinese women to be precise. And~...I'll let you guess the rest~"
"Lau." stated the boy. "We're off. Thanks for the help, Undertaker."
"You're welcome~"
And Ciel left along with Sebastian, who made sure to close the door properly behind his little master. The stuffy and rather dark workplace of the Undertaker fell silent for a moment, letting the little red head things for a while after blinking at the sudden leave of her friend. John for his part waited with a smile till she decided to leave too.
"No potential suspects?" was the only question Grace asked then.
"My clients never talk to me, Missy~ But you could try to talk to Grell Sutcliff or William T. Spears~ Now, shoo shoo, I need to prepare a client of mine today."
And the next second, Grace and John were outside. Grace blinked, having grown silent again and holding her butler's arm again.
"That was...interesting." stated John.
"Hmhm." nodded Grace.
"Well then, Mistress, shall we leave this place for a warmer one?"
He picked the girl up and helped her in the carriage that had been waiting for them. Ciel was gone since long ago, leaving the two alone. John sat down in next to his mistress to keep her warm and made a sign to the cab man to make the carriage move on to Ciel's house in London.
After having explained about the potential eye witnesses, Grace was surprised by how white Ciel and Sebastian turned when she mentioned the names of Grell Sutcliff and William T. Spears.
"What the hell...? Why should we ask those two morons for information?" finally exclaimed the little Earl, disbelief and disgust all written over his face.
Sebastian gave John a very clear look that said that he was never going to accept to see the two men that the Undertaker had told them about. John tried to ask him why but got interrupted before he could by Ciel who continued to storm and rage from behind his desk.
"Grace!"
"Yes, Ciel?"
"I forbid you to meet those two...creeps."
"Then John could meet them?" asked the girl.
"He'll go with Sebastian."
The black butler felt like strangulating his young mater at that precise moment.