A/N: Hello all :)
Chapter 4 is finally up, and it's rather short. This time, the chapter's from the point of view of the mysterious girl Layton saw running through the crowd…
March 13, 1962 8:15 A.M.
The girl was stopped just outside the door to her flat, doubled over, gasping for breath. She had just run (non-stop) from the center of town to the flat, which were about 2 ½ miles from each other. She had gone to town for two different reasons: to complete a task and to do something she herself wanted to do… during this process, however, she had gotten a little banged up…
Once her breathing had slowed to a small pant, she stood up, causing the black hood from her sweatshirt to fall of her head and let her long, brown hair fall over her shoulders and down her back. She reached into her pocket, took her key and opened the door, rushing to the bathroom as soon as she got inside the flat.
She brushed her bangs back and sighed: sure enough, there was a fairly big cut on her forehead that was still bleeding just a bit. She had been helping in a local soup kitchen when two men began to fight. The girl had rushed to stop them, and in the process, one of the fighting men had whacked her with the edge of a spoon handle, causing the cut to appear. The girl knew she had to find some way to hide the cut before her mistress came home. She hated it when the girl tried to help other people, said it was just a waste of time and energy that should be saved for more important things. But the girl couldn't help it, she adored being charitable and giving to the community, it was part of her nature.
Suddenly, she heard the door creak open and a voice call, "Dear, are you home?"
"Yes! I'll be right out!" the girl called, grabbing a towel, dipping it in the water and scrubbing at the wound until the blood was washed away. Then she re-adjusted her bangs over the cut and stepped out of the bathroom. "Hello!" she said, smiling as if nothing were wrong.
"Hello, my dear, home so soon? You finished that task I gave you quickly!"
"Yes, I was clutching the note you gave me hard enough for some of the ink to fade off the paper and onto my hand, but that will just confuse him even more, isn't that correct Mrs—"
"Darling, please," the woman said to the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You've lived with me for 3 years already, don't you think it's time for you to call me 'mother'?"
"O-of course, if that's what you want me to call you Mrs—I mean, mother."
"Good, now we just sit back, relax, and wait for Layton to pick up the note and ponder it a bit."
"But, um, mother…isn't the hidden message a bit, obvious?"
"Yes, dear, good observation," the woman said, brushing under the girls chin, "But you see, although he doesn't show it, Layton's mind is reeling inside."
"What does that have to do with the note?"
"It has everything to do with the note! You see, the first letter I sent him started to get the gears in his head turning, and seeing all the suspect pictures, which I assume Layton's already done, probably made them turn even more, and finding a mysterious note dropped by a mysterious girl was enough to send them into overdrive. That's what I love about the human mind: small things like letters and pictures-no matter how un-threatening they seem- can be enough to send a person over the edge. Now, with his brain in a slight panic-mode, Hershel Layton will try every possible method to find the hidden message in the note while ignoring the obvious solution I've placed right in front of his eyes."
"I see…very clever, mother!" the girl nodded approvingly, her chocolate brown eyes shining with admiration towards the woman.
"Thank you my dear, but it's simply part of the plan. I'm counting on Layton to be one of the most fun opponents I've had in a while. I do love seeing such kindly gentleman like him snap when push comes to shove, and when he does…well, then he's mine."
With that she got up and began to walk out, but before she left, she turned towards the girl, "My dear, why don't I cover that cut for you?"
"But, how did you see it?"
"Ohoho, that's a secret I won't be sharing, I'm afraid. All I can tell you, darling, is that your mother knows best, whether knowing best applies to healing wounds or eliminating certain people to make a better tomorrow." And with that, the woman and the girl walked to the bathroom together, leaving all their talk about Layton behind.
A/N: what does this woman have against Layton, and who's the girl she's using to do all her evil chores? I guess you'll just have to stick around to find out ;D
See you guys next chapter, goodbye!
~rAwrXdiNo3 (Lizz)