Chapter Two: Caritas - Avaritia
It wasn't until morning when Kai's status as a fugitive finally sunk in for him. Even so, he wasn't sure exactly how he was supposed to feel other than frustrated and annoyed. His room covered in purple and gold was very luxurious, but it was a cage none the less. Perhaps it was the elegance which delayed desperation. He shuddered at thinking that he could be trapped for a long time in a much different room in jail if he got caught before he could prove his innocence, or if Clair sold him out to the police.
He had woken up early as it had become his habit. On a normal day he was supposed to cook breakfast early. Upon rubbing the sleep from his eyes and focusing on the room, the events of the previous night had rushed back to him. He had showered and dressed in one of the uniforms Claire provided him with the previous night, finding that it did indeed fit him well. Then he tried the door and realized that he was locked in. The rest of his time in the room was spent pacing around.
Kai jumped as he heard the click of a lock and the door was opened. He stood there staring at the woman standing just outside the room. She was wearing a fuzzy lavender bath robe, her hair still damp as if she had just washed it and dried it only with a towel. She wasn't holding her gun, but Kai had a feeling she had it hidden somewhere in her long bath robe. "You didn't think I would let you stay here just like that, did you? You're a chef, so it's up to you to make breakfast."
"Yes, of course," Kai nodded and followed Clair out of the room and down the halls lined with paintings. They arrived at the main entrance after going down some stairs that he must have climbed so automatically the previous night he didn't even remember them.
Upon crossing the main entrance hall in broad daylight, Kai noticed one of the paintings. It was a large painting that hung in a small balcony in the middle of two flights of stairs that crossed over each other in the shape of an X facing the front entrance. The staircase was truly grand in its white marble and golden details, but Kai's attention had been stolen by the painting.
The large canvas depicted a field with a small house in the distance. The land was planted with various spring crops. It was a picture of a random farm, most would say. However, Kai knew that place, he had visited it before. It was the farm of Jack Harvest. Why would Clair have such a painting, why did she get so upset upon hearing of his death if she supposedly didn't care about her cousin? Why would the death of Karen's new husband rattle her so much?
Kai's eyes traveled to the center of the large canvas. There was a big stain on it that, had he seen it before, it would make him think of blood. At least he had enough sense to notice it was a stain of red wine, further emphasize by the tiny shards of glass that stuck to the thick canvas. Someone had thrown a bottle of wine at the painting. In comparison to the disturbing ruined room with the bullet holes, this was nothing, yet it was further proof that Clair was... disturbed.
Clair cleared her throat noisily in annoyance. She was already at the bottom of the stairs while Kai had lagged behind to stare at the painting. The young man quickly made his way down the stairs, wisely deciding not to inquire about the painting. Instead he followed Clair to the large kitchen in silence.
The kitchen was so white it was almost blinding. It lacked the golden details of the rest of the house that gave it a strangely ironic heavenly look. The kitchen was just bright and empty. While Clair stood at the entrance, Kai wondered in feeling as if he was wandering into nothingness, walking off the edge of the world.
"I'll leave you to your job, I trust you will behave. Make some breakfast for yourself too, you'll need the energy," without waiting for a reply, Clair left.
She didn't hear the, "sure," Kai mumbled under his breath. She didn't request something specific for her breakfast and it was when he thought about it that her statement sunk in. He would need the energy; that could only mean that she intended to put him to work as more than just a chef.
The mansion was empty; he wouldn't be surprised if he ended up stuck cleaning the whole place from top to bottom on his own. Then it impacted on him full force that he was a fugitive being hidden away. The streets outside down which he walked without a worry in the world on the very afternoon of the previous day should be crawling with police officers waiting to arrest him.
While Kai tried to focus his mind on preparing an omelet, Clair returned. She wore a crimson blouse made of silk with three quarters of a sleeve ideal to go out in the somewhat chilly, but not freezing day. Her pants were white with a red belt that matched her red boots. Her blond hair had been properly dried and slightly curled, falling in waves on her shoulders. She wore light makeup for the most part, though her soft red lips stood out, albeit not excessively.
"An omelet, is it?" Clair approached Kai from behind; he had only glanced at her before turning his attention back to the food. It was amazing how different she looked from the previous night.
"Is that okay?" Kai asked as casually as he could.
"It smells good," Clair commented, before walking over to the refrigerator and retrieving a covered blue glass bowl. "Add some of this when it's done," she lifted the bowl's cap and smelled the contents, her nose scrunching up in disgust. "On second thought, the cheeses and hams are enough..." She retrieved a spoon from a drawer and dumped the contents of the bowl in the trash, scraping what was left in the bowl with the spoon. She placed the bowl and spoon on the sink, Kai knew it would be up to him to wash them.
"Was that caviar?" He had only caught a quick curious glimpse of the substance in the bowl.
"Yes, but its gone bad. I bought too much..." just to bother her cousin when they didn't have enough left for her to buy and she had to go far out of her way to find some, if she even did. "It does wonders for the gardens, or so I heard. I suppose the season isn't favorable," she shrugged, "we'll see."
Kai froze in the act of serving the omelets, and he thought the hams and cheeses were expensive. He was feeling bad about following Clair's instructions and making enough for himself at the expense of her ingredients. Not anymore though, if she had enough money to throw away like fertilizer, it wouldn't hurt her wallet if he did eat some of her food, he should have known.
While they sat on the table eating breakfast, Clair looked up for a moment and commented, "you don't look anything like him," though she didn't specify who, Kai guessed she must have meant her past butler to whom those uniforms used to belong. "That's a good thing," she clarified.
"Thanks..." Kai honestly wasn't sure how to respond to her statement and decided to try to at least stay somewhat positive and take it as a compliment.
"I'll be going out today so you'll be by yourself," Clair announced with the same air of superiority that always surrounded her. "I'll assign some tasks for you to do while I'm gone," that much was already expected. "You don't need anything, do you? My past butler got some really bad migraines now and then; he was helpless without his prescribed pain killers."
"I don't need anything," the realization hit Kai once again with that little reminder. If he needed something from outside the mansion, Clair would have to get it for him. He couldn't just walk outside freely, he was no longer a free man, he was an outlaw, he was a fugitive. Kai finished setting up the table for breakfast, saying nothing more.
A long moment of silence passed between Clair and Kai as they ate. Finally, Clair spoke once again, "tell me the details." Though her words were not harsh, there was something about her superior tone that made her sound like an unquestionable authority.
Kai had to pause at the sudden request, the sudden demand. She could only be referring to one thing, the day Jack Harvest died. "It was a day like any other, sunny and nice, not too hot, not too cool. A soft breeze blew, not strong enough to be called wind. I went out that afternoon to buy a few groceries. When I returned to the mansion everything seemed normal enough. I got started on dinner as usual. That day it was lasagna."
Following a small pause, Kai continued, "after dinner, Jack started feeling sick. He went to rest, but there seemed to be unease in the atmosphere. He got worse that night and they called a doctor. Karen's mother, Sasha, was especially upset, angry and impatient even. She wanted some tea to relax so I went to make it. Then the next thing I know Karen is screaming and the police arrive. Jack was dead, the cause was poison and I was the prime suspect. They all blamed me without a second thought, all except Popuri."
'Not that a simple maid's opinion would count for much,' Clair mentally added with a small huff escaping her.
Kai took her expression as doubt, "it's the truth," he insisted.
"I said I would give you the benefit of the doubt, didn't I?" Clair thought quietly for a moment, her rhetorical question had only received a quiet nod from Kai. She then turned her attention to the rest of her breakfast and finished eating. She placed the utensils on the plate and rose from her seat wordlessly exiting the kitchen.
Kai tried to finish eating, despite his sudden lack of appetite. Every time Clair was out of sight he kept suspecting that she was calling the police. He knew that such stressful thoughts wouldn't do him any good. He had no choice but to count on her sanctuary. Out there, it was only a matter of time, and not a very long time, before he got caught. He finished what he could of his breakfast and cleared the table, setting the dishes on the sink. He took off his blazer, placing it on the back of a chair and rolled up his sleeves before getting started on washing the dishes.
"Kai!" He was only half done with the dishes when Clair's voice called.
"Coming!" Kai hastily dried his hands and picked up his blazer on the way out, adjusting his sleeves and putting it on. He had a feeling Clair would be annoyed if he didn't look presentable. He missed his old job where he could wear whatever he wanted, which usually consisted of jeans, a tshirt and sneakers, but he knew better than to annoy someone who was taking such a risk for him. Sure she could be a little more polite, but he sensed that Jack's death had disturbed her much more than she let on, not that she wasn't clearly already disturbed.
Clair appeared, making her way down a hall near Kai's path, she went through another door and Kai followed. They found themselves in an elegant sitting room with roses as the main theme. However, all the roses on the vases were terribly wilted, though their sweet scent somehow lingered. Clair sat down in an ivory couch with detailed red roses edged on it, "sit," she murmured, her attention on a white notepad with golden lining which she held. She twisted a golden pen around her fingers which, judging by the names on the sheet of paper, produced red ink.
Kai sat down on the couch beside her, sinking into the soft material and taking in the appearance of the room further. He could imagine Clair with a rose on her hair, if they weren't so wilted and brown, ready to turn to dust. The walls seemed to fade from white to rosy pink to red at the very bottom, with a plush carpet that was a darker shade of red. Ivory bases were scattered through the room holding the wilted roses, dust collected in their surfaces.
Aside from the elegant couches and seats, all which shared the same design as the one they sat upon, there was a dark red wood table in the center of the sitting area, with a layer of dust upon its surface. It was bittersweet, perhaps predominantly bitter, a strange mix of beauty and sadness. The room was very much like Clair, but Kai didn't feel in any position to make such an assessment so soon.
"All of these people are suspects," Clair finally spoke, holding the notepad at an angle from which Kai could easily read it.
His name was there too, heading the list no less, but the benefit of the doubt didn't mean he was instantly absolved. "Let's start with Karen's mother, Sasha. Though she was generally accepting of the situation, I happen to know she wished Karen would marry a man of high society."
"Yes, she would always speak of helping Jack 'adapt' as if he had to change to fit into his role as Karen's husband," Kai recalled, "but to kill him..."
"We'll have to go through a process of elimination investigating each suspect. Even if they are found innocent, their alibis may be clues in disguise that will lead us to the real culprit. Before we find the key piece to this mystery, we might have to examine the other pieces to try to get a clearer picture. If we know why one could not have been the murderer, we might realize why another could have been," Clair explained.
Kai nodded and was a second away from commenting when another voice interrupted. "Lady Clair!" The man's voice was dissolved by distance and sounded off quite faint, despite the caller straining his throat to shout, "Lady Clair!" Kai looked at Clair questioningly, as if silently asking if she was expecting visitors.
Clair got up, leaving her notepad on the table with a tiny cloud of dust flying and settling on the surface. She moved towards the window, parting the dusty ivory curtains adorned with red roses. "Officer Harris," she shook her head as she spotted the man standing at the other side of her mansion's front gates. It didn't look like he would give up on calling her any time soon. Giving one last glance out the window, Clair turned her gaze to Kai, "I'll take care of this."
He nodded; there was something in her tone that told him she wasn't lying. She had not secretly called the officer; she was not planning to turn him in. Kai realized that he simply couldn't picture Clair calling the police. It wasn't because of him, as they didn't really know each other well enough to be called friends. Furthermore, she didn't seem interested in being his friend and he had far more urgent matters in his mind. She just didn't seem like the type of person who would call the police or any kind of help for any reason.
Clair was a proud woman with the means and the courage to take justice into her own silver gun wielding hands, should she feel it necessary. It was at that point that Kai realize that maybe the police wasn't his biggest problem. If he didn't clear his name, his savior would become his most dangerous predator and she didn't take prisoners.
Kai discretely watched from the window as Clair made her way to the gates of her mansion with a set of golden keys in her hands. She walked at a luxurious pace as if she was a model walking slowly through a stage so that any pictures taken would not be blurred by sudden motions and everyone could get a chance to take a good look at the latest fashion. Kai could tell, even from that distance, that the officer, whom she had identified as Harris, was aggravated by her slow pace and nonchalant attitude.
Clair finally made it to the gates in front of her mansion and refused to look at the officer, instead occupying herself with the keys while humming a melody only she knew. She looked at each golden key the on the set, every one engraved with a different gem on the handle for identification. She finally paused on one with a pearl and held it between her thumb and index, her thumb caressing the surface of the pearl. Finally looking up at the man in the blue uniform at the other side of the tall gates she smiled with superiority and asked, "may I help you?"
Though she made a show of locating the correct key, which Harris was sure she could have found faster and more easily, Clair clearly had no intentions of opening the gates to her property unless it was necessary. Fortunately, Harris only needed to follow a protocol and ask her a few questions, then he could be on his way. Honestly, he couldn't stand this woman. His first visit to her cost him a suspension and almost his job, when she let herself be arrested on the alleged charges of illegal possession of a fire arm.
However, it turned out that her documents were in perfect order and she had a variety of up to date licenses for several fire arms. She allowed a little technicality to slip, for Harris to accidentally overstep his jurisdiction, skipping over a tiny step in the protocol and she didn't breathe a word until his head was under the metaphorical guillotine. Harris had certainly come to hate that cynical little smile Clair would often wear.
"I would just like to ask you a few questions," Harris tried to sound as calm as possible. He knew better than to pick a fight with someone who had more power in her pinky finger than the whole police department put together. Money made a big difference and she had that, combined with what he perceived to be a cruel nature. "There is a fugitive on the loose," he produced a picture out of his pocket. "This man," the picture Harris held was clearly of Kai, "have you seen him?"
Clair made a long paused examining her perfect pink manicure before her eyes gave the picture a dismissive look, "no."
Harris mentally counted to ten and elaborated, "he used to work as a chef in the Moon household."
"The chef here was much older," Clair knew Harris wasn't talking about her when he mentioned the Moon household, but she pretended to assume it anyway, with her usual air of importance. "He quit some time ago, I do not know where he went."
"My apologies Lady Clair," Harris tried hard not to snap, he knew she was pushing him to do so and it would cost him dearly. His first mistake when they met was to think he had a shred of authority over her; to think that he had the right to scold her for shooting up into the skies in broad daylight. The act was in fact illegal in that area, however, Harris didn't know that he was expected to politely beg her to stop rather than demand that she did. He hated the weak attitude the other officers took with her, but he too had bills to pay and a reputation to protect. Clair Moon, always won, yet, unknown to all, she also always lost. "To clarify, I was talking about the household of Jeff Moon and his family."
"Ah, them," Clair made it a point to stick up her nose and flip her long blond hair in dismissal over her shoulder, as if they were not important enough to be mentioned in her presence. "You cannot expect me to remember such unimportant details. Some of us have more... dignified things to do than pry."
Gritting his teeth, Harris forced himself to smile, "I'm sure you do." He pocketed the picture. He had heard Clair had briefly met Kai before, but he didn't put it past her to simply forget about him. Then came the part Harris dreaded, it brought back bitter memories, but he had to warn her as it was his duty. "The neighbors said they heard a loud noise last night, similar to a gunshot."
Clair laughed, her property was large, but something as loud as a gun being shot without a silencer could still be heard in the distance. She expected Harris to mention this and she had already concocted a plan. She made use of the pearl adorned golden key to open the gates to her property, parting them enough for Harris to fit through. "Follow me," she commanded, and without waiting for an answer she walked away.
Clair approached a small shed on the side of her mansion with Harris wordlessly following her. She entered the little shed while he stood by the door. Placing the keys in her pocket to free up her hands, she picked up a lighter and something akin to a stick of dynamite, which she kept in the shed. She lit the stick and threw it on the ground outside of the shed near Harris. The officer jumped back, his eyes going wide. The short fuse ended and the fire reached the red stick with a loud boom!
Harris' heart raced, he was alive, not blown to pieces. It was just some kind of big and loud firecracker, just a piece of pyrotechnic material, not dynamite, not a weapon. Then again, he had a feeling that anything in the hands of this woman could be a weapon. With a smug smile, Clair informed Harris, "that is what was heard."
Harris could only nod and follow her back to the gates. He forced himself to say, "I apologize for the inconvenience, thank you for your time," then quickly left without looking back.
Kai obviously couldn't hear any of their conversation from his position hidden near the window, but when he saw the officer leaving and Clair heading back inside the mansion, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. His sanctuary was free of suspicion; he had a safe haven, for as long as Clair's mercy lasted.
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own Harvest Moon.