Scene II: M&M Are on the Case

After Roxton had left, Malone and Marguerite quickly got down to business. Whatever differences they had in the past were forgotten as they both focused on the task of exonerating their friend.

They had a time limit and every moment was crucial.

"The first thing we need to do is find the real place Rani was killed," Marguerite suggested.

"I thought we were going to try to find Roxton's gun?" Malone asked. "We agreed that if we found out who was hiding it we'd find the killer."

"Yes, but be realistic. The murderer has had plenty of time to ditch the revolver if he hasn't already. Besides, even if he hasn't, once he realizes what we are looking for it won't hold onto it. We have seen he is smart enough to frame Roxton, I doubt he is stupid enough to make the mistake of holding onto something that can be used against him. And the gun is small enough to be concealed anywhere. Also, if we find out where Rani was killed we might be able to provide Roxton with an alibi."

Malone nodded. "I suppose you're right. Where do you suggest we start?"

"Well, I've been thinking about this," Marguerite began. "We both heard only one shot yet we know that there had to have been two. One where the real murder took place and the one we heard coming from the direction of Roxton's cabin. So what does that suggest to you?"

"Well, either the murderer managed to muffle the shot or that he put enough distance between himself and anyone who might be able to hear a gunshot."

"Yes, exactly. I'm more inclined to believe the second option. We already searched inside and found nothing. He did not drag Rani's body inside, the tracks would be obvious. Chances are he did not carry him the entire way. Let's spread out and see if we find anything. If Rani's body was really moved here, we should find some evidence."

Malone and Marguerite split up and started searching the immediate area surrounding Roxton's cabin. There had been a lot of activity there that morning after the gunshot so any footprints in the immediate vicinity would be useless to them. Widening their search, they spread out using Roxton's cabin as the center of their search.

"Here," Malone shouted, "I've got some staggered foot prints that look fairly recent. They don't seem like a normal set of tracks to me."

Hearing Malone's findings, Marguerite ran over to join him. "Excellent! He must have come through here carrying Rani. Probably thought it would attract less attention than dragging him. Let's follow and see where the trail leads."

It wasn't a very difficult trail to follow. Apparently the murderer didn't find it necessary to cover his tracks. Only a few minutes of following the trail, they saw a change. "Look," Marguerite said pointing at the ground, "those are drag marks. They're coming from outside of town. He must have dragged Rani's body up until this point and then carried him from here the rest of the way because he was getting closer into town and didn't want to risk being seen."

Malone nodded in agreement as he continued walking. They both continued to follow the drag marks until they reached the outer wall of town. They were both surprised to see that the tracks led right to the gates of town and right past the guards on duty. It was no surprise that no one had heard a gunshot. The killer had made sure that he had killed Rani outside town and then brought his body back in. But how could he have brought the body through the gates without anyone noticing? Someone would have noticed a man covered in blood carrying Rani's body, so how did he manage to get by so far without being caught?

"Excuse me," Marguerite began as she approached one of the guards on duty, "are these gates closed at night?"

The guard shook his head, "No madame, the gates are only closed in times of attack. The doors are too large and heavy to continually open and shut everyday. However, the town is well protected, and at night the guards are doubled to make sure people do not enter undetected."

"And no one left or entered the town last night?"

"No madame," the guard replied.

"I see, thank you." Marguerite nodded her head and was about to walk away before Malone stopped her.

"Just a second." He turned back to the guard, "Did anything unusual happen early this morning? Out of the ordinary?"

The guard shook his head. "We had to fight off two or three raptors but that is not unusual. When they get desperate for food they sometimes venture too close to town and we have to scare them away."

"Thanks."

The guard returned back to his post as Marguerite and Malone continued to follow the tracks away from town.

"The only thing I can think of," Malone began, "is that he used the raptors as a diversion to get Rani's body into town while the guards were distracted."

"I don't know, raptors? It seems the more we learn, the more unlikely…" Marguerite let her words trail off as the pair finally came across the end of the tracks. They could only hope that the killer's first mistake of leaving tracks to follow would be followed by more. He had been smart up until that point, but as well as his plan had worked up until that point, it had to have been thrown together at the last minute in order to take advantage of Roxton's presence. That gave Malone and Marguerite an advantage.

"All right," Malone said, "this has to be the place. Let's take a look around."

It only took them a few moments of searching to find what they were looking for. They found fresh blood on the ground and not more than a few feet away they found the missing cartridge casing.

Marguerite heatedly cursed as she knelt down to pick up the important piece of evidence. "Look how close he was when he fired on him. The bastard must have surprised him. Rani was too smart to let someone with a weapon get so close to him."

Malone nodded. "Either that or Rani was expecting someone."

"You think he was meeting someone out here?"

Malone shrugged. "It's possible. Why else would he leave Burka in the middle of the night?"

"I suppose it is a possibility. I wonder how he got out here without the guards noticing him." Taking a final look around, Marguerite was satisfied they hadn't missed anything. They were making progress and hoped they would be able to free Roxton before long. "Let's head back to the town."

Walking back into the town, Marguerite and Malone were surprised to see Jun about to enter Roxton's cabin.

"Looking for something, Jun?" Marguerite questioned.

Jun, slightly startled, turned around to face Malone and Marguerite. "Yes, I came to speak to both of you. A group came to retrieve Rani's body. If you look you may see them making their way through the town. Aldaz and I both considered Rani as family so we have made the necessary preparations for his burial."

Sure enough, Marguerite and Malone could see the people of Burka gathered in the streets to pay their final respects as Rani made his final walk through the town.

"We're very sorry your loss, Jun. Rani was very special and even though we only knew him a short time, we know he will be missed." Marguerite nodded her agreement at Malone's softly spoken words.

Jun bowed his head in gratitude. "Indeed, Rani was very dear to all in Burka. His absence will be felt by all." He spoke calmly and quietly, but Jun still couldn't keep the emotion out of his voice. Silent for a few moments, he considered his words very carefully. "I have spoken to Aldaz and he has told me that he has given you two days to prove your friend is innocent."

"Yes," Marguerite said, "that's right." She sent a worried glance at Malone. Would he try to stop them? If he believed just as strongly in Roxton's guilt as Aldaz, then he might cause trouble.

Malone seemed to understand what was running through Marguerite's mind. "We know that you believe Roxton is guilty, but we know he isn't a killer. All we want is the chance to prove it to everyone else."

"On the contrary," said Jun calmly, "I believe in Roxton's innocence just as you both do."

"You do?" said the pair in unison. Out of everything Marguerite and Malone had learned that morning, Jun's revelation still shocked them.

"Why the sudden change of heart, Jun?" Marguerite asked.

"There are several reasons," Jun began. "Aldaz has related to me your previous discussion. There is also the fact that you are both still carrying your weapons but you have yet to use them. The moment you found your friend the both of you could have tried to take him and leave the town through force. Yet you both have not traveled down that path and are trying to use peaceful methods to setting your friend free.

"Now it is highly possible Roxton is guilty and is manipulating both of you, but I believe that you believe he is innocent. And that being the case, I would like to offer my assistance in anyway that may be of service to you both. If Roxton is truly guilty, then there will be no harm done. But if he is not, I will hate myself forever for not taking the opportunity to find the true killer and making sure Rani was avenged!"

"Well," Malone began as he looked at Marguerite who only shrugged in response, "I guess we could use another helping hand."

"Good. Have you learned anything new?"

Malone had just opened his mouth when Marguerite gave him a slight nudge with her elbow.

"No, not yet, but we are hopeful we will find something to clear Roxton's name." Marguerite answered.

"Indeed, I am hopeful as well. How may I help?"

Marguerite glanced at Malone just to make sure he understood what she was trying to do. "Well," he began, "you can begin by asking around the town to see if people have seen anything suspicious since last night. Anything that might help us find out who the real killer is. Anything else, Marguerite?" He asked glancing back at Marguerite.

She shook her head, "No, that's it for now. We will make our own inquiries and see what we can find out."

"Très bien. I will begin immediately. If you have need for anything, let me know."

Marguerite and Malone both thanked Jun and watched him walk away. "Let's go," Marguerite said as she walked into the town.

"Go where?" Malone asked.

"To the midday meal of course!" Seeing the look of confusion on Malone's face, Marguerite sighed. "This is the perfect opportunity to search for our murderer. If everyone at town is gathered in one place, we can ask around to see who would benefit the most from Rani's death or if there were people who wouldn't mind seeing him dead."

"The guy just died, Marguerite. I doubt anyone will volunteer that information, especially to a pair of strangers who are friends with the man they think is guilty of murder."

"One step at a time, Malone. That's why it's called investigating!" Rolling her eyes, Marguerite hooked her arm through Malone's and started to pull him in the right direction.

Arriving at the midday meal, Marguerite and Malone took a seat in the background. Not only because they were friends with the man the entire town thought was a murderer, but because it was a better place to observe everyone from. After chatting with a few people, Marguerite had to concede that Malone had made a good point previously. The way the people of Burka described Rani, he was a saintly young man that nobody had reason to kill. Obviously, this was not the case.

Marguerite sighed and shook her head. "We're not making very much progress. We need to narrow this down to a specific group of suspects. The entire town of Burka is too big to eliminate one by one. I think we need to start focusing on the people who actually knew Rani. What do you think, Malone?"

Malone shrugged. "Could be. In books the killer is always the last person you'd expect. You know, the best friend kills the victim over a woman, money, or power, something like that."

"Tell me something," Marguerite said as she leaned over towards him, "how does this feel?"

"Ow!" Malone grabbed his arm and rubbed the spot where Marguerite had just pinched him. "What'd you do that for?"

"Good! I wanted to make sure you were awake and in the real world, Malone. This isn't one of your dime novels. There are hundreds of people if not more in Burka. Let's get some more facts before we finger people based on stories that aren't worth any more than the paper they are printed on."

Marguerite had been using their time to observe Aku. She had noticed he hadn't come to eat. Instead he was weaving his way in and out of groups, talking to them briefly and moving on. In and of itself, this behavior would not have struck her odd but she remembered what Rani had told them all on the day they first met Aku. Rani described him as an outcast, not one very likely to be very sociable. She also remembered his behavior on the previous night at the party and decided to keep an eye on him. Marguerite looked away as she noticed Malone standing up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go talk to some of the people and see what I can find out, then find Aldaz to let him know what we've found so far. Maybe I can get him to be more sympathetic to our side."

Marguerite nodded. "All right."

Once Malone left, Marguerite turned back to her observations. However, in that short amount of time she was distracted by Malone, she had missed Aku leaving. She barely caught a glimpse of his back as he turned the corner into one of Burka's streets.

Marguerite quickly glanced through the people trying to find Malone but met with no luck. She knew she should find him first, but the more time she wasted the more time Aku had to himself doing who knew what. Resolving herself, Marguerite quickly left the town center and followed the same path Aku had taken.

She realized from the direction they were going that they were traveling towards the outskirts of the town.

Towards the area where their own cabins were.

Where Roxton's cabin was.

Quickening her pace, Marguerite thought she heard footsteps behind her.

Turning around, the only thing she saw was a glimpse of the hand that rendered her unconscious.

XOXOXOXO

Sitting in a cell by himself, Roxton had nothing to do but stare at the walls and think. He wished he could be doing something more to find the person who murdered Rani and had him locked up, but it was out of his hands. All he could do was rely on Marguerite and Malone to free him. He trusted them to do their best but so far the situation was looking grim. All they had was pure speculation and that wasn't going to be enough to save his life.

Hearing a commotion outside, Roxton rose to his feet and raced towards the window. He could only see a large crowd go by but couldn't find out what was happening. Turning away from the window he saw the guard who had been assigned to watch him rush outside. He returned in a few minutes.

"What's happened?" Roxton asked.

The guard sat down and was quiet for a few moments. He seemed to be contemplating whether or not to say anything. Roxton's heart jumped into his throat as he gripped the bars of his cell tightly. "Please," he heard himself croak.

"Tu amiga was found unconscious in the street. They are taking her to the healer."

"Marguerite! Is she all right? Is she hurt?"

The guard shrugged his shoulders as he continued his impassive silence.

Roxton curled his fists in frustration and paced in his cell. "If you are not going to find out how my friend is, I demand to see her myself!"

The guard shook his head. "You are not permitted to leave."

"Then I want to talk to Aldaz! I cannot just sit here not knowing how she is. Please!"

The guard met Roxton's eyes for a few moments before he rose to his feet. "Very well." He returned within a few minutes and once again sat in his chair. "I have sent your message."

Roxton nodded his head in gratitude and then began pacing in his cell. He absentmindedly rubbed his shoulder as he was lost in thought. The sling Marguerite had made for him lay forgotten on the bed in his cell where he had thrown it in his frustration. Already his friends were in danger. He had warned them to be careful but everyone in this town was a potential murderer and there was no way they could guard themselves continually. Until they could figure out the guilty party, Marguerite and Malone both had the chance of ending up just like Rani. It was not going to happen if Roxton had a chance to prevent it. He had already resolved to confess to the murder himself if it meant Marguerite and Malone getting out of town safely.

End Scene II

A/N: I just wanted to say thank you for those of you who have reviews so far, I appreciate it. Some of you have made some guesses, but all I can say is it's very early and you might be surprised by the end!

Look for the next part on Monday!