Chapter Seven: Investigation Begins

"Victoria? Victoria, my dear, wake up. It's time to go."

I was awoke by the soft whispers of the Professor. I opened my eyes to see him sat on the edge of the bed, gently nudging my shoulder to wake me. I sat up, then rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, getting off the bed, "One can sometimes find it difficult to slumber when in a new environment."

"Oh, yeah thanks, Professor," I said, my voice croaky with morning, "Did I sleep in? Sorry, I don't have a watch, and-"

"It's quite alright, my dear," he assured me, "It's a quarter past nine, so as soon as you're up and ready, well make our way to St. Mystere."

He smiled, then left the room, leaving me to get ready.

The Laytonmobile pulled up alongside the drawbridge at St. Mystere. I stepped out of the vehicle and inhaled the morning air.

"Plan of action, Professor?" I asked. I wasn't sure whether I was nervous or excited about this, but by the by, I knew it felt right.

"Ah yes, Miss Belladonna," the Professor replied, "I'm going to head towards the Reinhold Manor, and I'm going to begin the post-mortem on poor Miss Flora right away."

He then took out a small note-pad and pencil from his coat pocket.

"And these are for you," he continued, passing the items to me, "I want you to make your way around the village, and ask the residents of St. Mystere whether they have any information on Flora, that be her arrival yesterday morning to her death. Have you got all that, Victoria?"

"Gather information from the villagers about Flora, got it, Professor," I said, putting the note-pad in my back trouser pocket, and tucking the pencil behind my ear.

"Very well, young miss," answered the Professor, "You have your duties, now don't let me down."

He gave a side-ways smile, winked, then made his way to the Manor. I felt my face getting hot, then turned around quickly. A goofy, embarrassed smile came to my lips.

Eiiii! Whoa, he winked at me. Wow, oh my God. . .

I then stood up straight, wiped the stupid smile off my face, and a look of annoyance entered my eyes.

For Heaven's sake, you have really got to get a grip. 'Ooo, he winked at me.' Yeah, so? A wink is a gesture that everyone does, just calm yourself.

Agreeing with my last thought of conscience, I decided to make my way towards the village. Contary to yesterday, when it was rather morbid, the village was bustling today. I looked around and recognised many of the residents. The first one I spotted was Stachenscarfen. He didn't seem to be doing a lot, so I decided to ask him first.

Remember, don't actually call him Stachenscarfen. In this world, you don't actually know each other.

"Erm, excuse me, sir?" I asked, gently tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around to face me. He was a lot shorter in the flesh.

"Sir? I ain't no sir!" he exclaimed, "I'm Stachenscarfen, but call me Stachen, everybody does."

"Oh, alright, Stachen," I answered, "I wonder if you could help me. I'm Victoria Belladonna, and I've just travelled here with Professor Layton to investigate Flora Reinhold's death."

"Oh I see, you're the Professor little helper, eh?"

"Err, something like that. Anyway, could you maybe give me some information about Flora, possibly before she died?"

"Hmm," Stachen mused, "Well, maybe I can, and maybe I can't. It depends. How good are you at solving puzzles?"

Oh great. . .

"Solve this puzzle, and the info is yours."

"Fine, what's the puzzle then?"

"It has a mouth but no face. It runs, but has no legs. And it has a bed, but it doesn't sleep. What is it?"

Haha, I've heard this one before. Surprisingly easy if you think about it.

"Stachen, I believe the answer is, a river," I said boldly.

"Correct. Anyway, as promised, here's some info."

I grabbed the note-pad and pencil ready.

"As soon as she arrived yesterday, I knew something wasn't right," Stachen began, "She wasn't walking right, she seemed, I dunno, sorta stiff. And her eyes. They weren't all sparkly like they used to be. They looked all dull and void. But that's all I know. After that, she went straight towards the manor."

I scribbled down Stachen's words.

"Thank you, you've been a real help," I praised, "I must press on, thanks again."

I left Stachen, then headed towards Crouton's Cafe. I had a feeling that Ramon would have more information, and I knew he usually hanged around near there. I approached the cafe, and as I suspected, Ramon was there, just about to leave.

I ran up to him.

"Excuse me, sir, I wonder if you could help me."

It's Ramon, dear, and I'll be happy to help. I heard from the other villagers you were helping Layton."

"Oh, good."

"I remember Flora arriving. This dark coloured vehicle pulled up outside the village, near the woodland area. I remember seeing a lot of smoke, as if someone was trying to conceal the car. Anyway, then the door opened, and poor Miss Reinhold was pushed out. As soon as she hit the ground, the car sped off without a trace. Now, I've had some bad taxi services in my time, but that was just weird."

"Oo, thanks very much," I said, writing down Ramon's description, "I've got to run." And again, I left to find more information. I gathered that Matthew would be the most help, so I made my way towards the manor.

Hmm, I wonder how the Professor's doing.

I found Matthew wandering about the manor grounds. He seemed disturbed, as he was yesterday, and looked like he was trying to clear his mind.

"Matthew," I greeted, "Nice to see you again."

"And you, Miss. . .Victoria, was it?"

"It was," I smiled, "I understand if you would rather not talk about it, but if you could tell me anything about Flora's death, it would be very helpful for the Professor's investigation."

Matthew sighed, then wiped his brow.

"Indeed, I would rather wallow instead of speak, however, I would like to know how young Miss Reinhold passed away," he began, "As I said yesterday, she was happily cooking away in the kitchen, then she went all limp and keeled over. It was weird though, as soon as the clock said it was eleven fourty seven, I heard a very quiet, sort of click sound, and then she went. . ."

With that, Matthew walked away from me, continuing his lonesome walk. I read over my notes from the villagers.

Strange dark car, that drove right away when Flora got out. Stiff movement. Lifeless eyes. She clicked when she died. . .

Then it hit me.

"Professor!" I called, then ran inside the manor.