Chapter 16-Unexpected Occurrences

Toadiko walked into the room, making everyone quiet down about there conversation. They all glanced nervously around at each other; even if they had eliminated Toadiko from the list of possible suspects, she still seemed very…untrustworthy…

"That was Hamma…" She said, ever-so-normally. She didn't seem nervous or jumpy one bit. Maybe she truly wasn't the murderer after all? But then why had she been so threatening to Mario during their private conversation? "He wants two of you to go to his house. He said that you knew where he lives…and he wanted the other two to get some file from Detective Goom's house, not office. I'm not sure what he wants with the file, but I figured it'd be best not to ask him…"

"Oh…" Mario said, raising his eyebrows curiously. A file? How was Mario supposed to know which file? How was Mario supposed to know where the file was? This all seemed very…peculiar…

"A file?" Peach asked, watching Toadiko disappear out of the room, "Mario, I think that you better get the file, because I have no idea where it could be…"

"Well, I don't either…" Mario reasoned, watching Peach shift around uncomfortably. It almost seemed that Peach just didn't want to go to Detective Goom's house…not because of the file. Ah well, that's no problem, "But I'll go anyway…"

"Yeah, I think I better go with Peach…" Luigi said, then glancing at Peach, who looked at him in a funny way. Geez, did Luigi like Peach, or something? What was with him? Well, either that or he'd have to go with his brother…which would probably end in a fist fight…

"Okay…then I guess Daisy and I will get the file…" Mario said, looking at Daisy, who nodded. Mario didn't nod, or even smile, however. Again, his strange dislike for Daisy was returning. He didn't know why he didn't really like her…but he just didn't. Sure, he didn't hate her or anything, but she certainly would not be the first person e would pick to do something with. Maybe it was because he never really got a chance to know her? He does see her a lot, but never did he really get a good chance just to sit down and talk to her…, "Daisy, can I speak with you for a moment?"

Daisy stood up as soon as she saw Mario motion for her to follow him. Mario pushed open the door into the kitchen and shut it behind them. He then made sure all of the other doors were closed, and that no one else was in the room. Geez, did he want to propose to her, or something? Why keep it so private?

"Daisy, I still don't trust Toadiko…"

"Okay…"

Mario looked at her, but was glaring at her, internally. What was 'okay' supposed to mean? He had suspected a 'I agree', or a 'neither do I', or something, but not 'okay'. "What I mean is…that, well, I think that we should just be cautious of going…you know what I mean?"

"Oh, sure, sure…"

"So…just be careful, alright?"

Daisy nodded, but didn't say anything. She watched as Mario walked around her and opened the door back into the dining room. She heard him say, "We just had a little chat, and I think we're ready to go as soon as we're done eating…"

Mario and Daisy were currently taking a walk to Detective Goom's house; it was within walking distance. Both were curious as to about the whole 'get the file' deal, but, nonetheless, Toadiko might be telling the truth…

The duo hardly talked at all on the way there. Every several seconds, Daisy would glance over at Mario, who would be completely oblivious of her. To her, it merely seemed that Mario just wasn't in a talking mood, but Mario truly knew that wasn't the case. Sure he really didn't see her when she would look at him, but he still wouldn't want to talk to her even if he did know…

"So…" Daisy said, almost as though she's been wanted to talk for a long time now, "It's a nice day out…"

"Uh huh," Mario said, not even turning his head towards her to show that he had any interest in what she was saying. Did he really dislike Daisy that much? It was quite hard to believe so, but by the way he acted towards her, it was like he despised her. Very interesting…

They turned down the next road and walked up to Detective Goom's house. It appeared to be a small, nice place…a nice place that Detective Goom would no longer get to be in again…

"The door's unlocked?" Daisy noted, looking at Mario suspiciously. She had certainly suspected it to be locked, but nonetheless, that wasn't the case, and she wasn't going to go around wondering about the matter…

"So, ya think maybe those two will get along better now?" Luigi looked at Princess Peach as the duo was walking towards Hamma's house.

"Who? Mario and Dasiy? Well, I certainly hope so, because I, too, have noticed that their not exactly best friends…"

"I wonder why that is…" Silence settled over the conversation as they both began thinking about the matter. Neither of them could come to a legitimate answer, though…not even close to a legitimate answer. It just didn't make sense…

"Why, here we are!" Peach said rather excitedly. She wasn't entirely sure why her spirits had risen drastically about the fact that they were going to talk about murder. Maybe she was just pleased to stop thinking about the Mario and Daisy problem? Or…could it have something to do with Hamma…?

"Welcome, welcome!" Hamma exclaimed, leading the two of them into his house. Like Detective Goom's, his home was very nice and pleasant looking. Peach had almost preferred this kind of atmosphere, rather than the extravagance and enormousness of her castle. Sure a castle was - how Peach once put it – awesome, but it would be nice for a change of pace once in a while.

Hamma glanced at them awkwardly. By the way he looked at them, one might suggest that Hamma had never met them in his entire life. Was something wrong with their presence? This was all so confusing…

"Hamma?" Peach asked warily, "Is something wrong?"

"Well, no…not exactly…" He said, pausing for a moment, "It's just that…well, where's Mario and Daisy?"

"Oh, well we just decided to come here without them while they got the file. That way, we could talk about the mystery here while they are on their way back, and then they'll give you the file and we can catch them up on what they missed…"

Hamma stared at her blankly. It was the kind of expression one might make when someone tells a joke that makes no sense, whatsoever. "What…are you talking about?! What file?!"

"You know…the one that you told us to get? File? Ring a bell?" Peach was shocked as much as Hamma was. They each suspected 'the other one is going mad', while Luigi watched the conversation with confusion.

"I didn't tell you to get me a file…" Hamma ensured, shaking his head so Peach would finally understand what he was talking about. She still didn't, however, and the immense confusion she was receiving was beginning to make her head spin.

"I…I don't understand…" Peach stammered, looking at Hamma warily. He returned the glance, but not for the same reason. He understood what was going on, but feared the outcome…they had all been duped, and now Mario and Daisy were in big trouble…