A/N: Eric is amazing. No one can disagree with me on that.
The Undiscovered Details
Blair smiled as she gingerly stepped out of the limo. The house that loomed before her was absolutely stunning and the well-kept garden to the side of the house was breathtaking as well. She drew in a deep breath as she approached the door. It was time to pay Eric and Jonathan a visit.
She rang the doorbell twice, patiently waiting for either one of them to answer the door. When neither of them did, she raised her arm to make her presence known again. However, a single carving near the doorknob stopped her, capturing her attention. She knew a hydrangea when she saw one. It had been intricately carved into the door though she wondered as to why it was there.
"Blair Waldorf," Eric acknowledged, interrupting her thoughts. "What can I do for you?"
He casually leaned against the door frame waiting for her answer.
"You can invite me in," Blair stated, a smile consistently painted across her plump lips.
It was evident that Eric had no choice in the matter. It was a transparent order. He smirked at her command and Blair recognized it almost immediately. She supposed there was a smug smirk gene running through the Bass blood that had somehow spared the rest of the families on the Upper East Side. He swung the door wide open, motioning for Blair to step inside. He closed the door behind her and gestured for her to follow him into the living room. She seemed to have interrupted a serious study session as evident by the number of textbooks carelessly strewn across the carpeted floor. Jonathan frowned slightly at her disruption.
"We can skip over the introductions and excuses Blair because Jenny called a moment ago and blew your cover. I also know you know that Jonathan is my boyfriend, so we can skip over the awkwardness of all of that as well," Eric explained as he took a seat among the endless sea of reading material.
Blair glanced over at Jonathan who merely confirmed what his boyfriend was saying. Who Eric chose to date was his business, but she was going to have to have a word with Jenny about her blatant betrayal.
Eric laughed out loud knowing full well that Blair was most likely concocting a plan inside her head right now to get back at Jenny for betraying her.
"Jenny was just trying to help, so please don't torture her for no reason. She asked us to cooperate with you because you've been having a rough couple of days and apparently my dear brother isn't making it any easier."
Blair could only nod in response. All thoughts of her revenge on Jenny had evaporated from her mind. Why did Eric have to bring him up of all people? And to think she had successfully refrained from thinking about him at all the entire trip over. She hated that she was so weak sometimes.
"Well, your brother is nothing less than charming in case you haven't noticed," Blair responded, sarcasm dripping from her every word.
Eric was quick to defend his brother. "Don't judge him Blair. I know he may seem irritating and smug to you, especially since he initially framed you as a suspect, but you have to understand that sometimes we are who we are because of the dark corners of our pasts."
Blair was taken aback by the sudden seriousness in his voice. Eric had always been wise beyond his years. He read people like they were open books. She hadn't had much contact with Chuck, but she had chatted with Eric on occasion. At times, he was like the little brother she never had. She never quite understood why Eric was always happy and carefree, while Chuck seemed to hold a certain disdain for everything around him. It didn't matter though. Eric was right. She was in no place to judge him or either of them for that matter. She knew how the past could scar a person, but she shook her head, refusing to dig up the old memories of her past. Her parents' divorce and her resulting condition was the last thing she wanted to think about.
"Sorry about that Eric. I didn't mean to..."
Eric smiled again and disregarded her apology with a wave of his hand. "Don't be. The accident was a long time ago. Besides, I know what my brother is like. I have to live with him on a daily basis after all. So what do you want to ask me and Jonathan?"
Blair's curiosity only heightened at the mention of an accident and she wanted to pry if only a little bit into Chuck's past. Eric did have a point. You could really get to know a person by understanding their past first because the past is really what brings people to the present and into the impending future. Of course, her purpose for coming here was to find Pete's killer and this was simply irrelevant at the moment. Luckily, her misdirected thoughts were cut short by Jonathan's voice.
"I have nothing to hide. You can ask whatever you would like to ask me. I'll answer them if I can, but I make no promises of course."
Blair made a mental note to thank Jenny later. Perhaps the blond had really helped in making this easier for her. Convincing Eric to cooperate was one thing, but to convince Jonathan to cooperate was probably a whole other ball game. A promotion from her measly internship position was definitely in order.
"Let's get straight to the point then. Did you or did you not kill Pete Fairmont?"
There was no need to start with the pointless and petty questions first. Blair Waldorf had a distaste for beating around the bush and this was exactly one of the many things that she wanted to know. She wanted to find out the juicy details regarding Pete's secret blackmailing operations as well, but eliminating Jonathan as a suspect first was probably the way to go.
"No," he replied, his eyes slamming shut at the very idea.
It was as if even the idea of him killing Pete was nothing short of horrific. Blair was careful to read his seemingly pained expression, but he seemed to be telling the truth. Eric also nodded to confirm the statement, so she did not press the issue further. She knew that Eric would never lie to her and he was an upright individual. He would have given up his own boyfriend to the authorities if Jonathan was indeed the culprit.
"Honestly, I would never have the guts to do it. He'd probably come back from the dead and haunt me. He had a vast array of networks if you know what I mean. I'd find the killer soon Blair. Can I call you Blair?"
She consented to his request.
"So, yeah Blair. If you don't find the killer soon, I'm sure one of his devoted followers will. You mess with one of us; you mess with all of us. I'm not naming names here, but one of them has plans of avenging his death."
Blair wrinkled her nose in confusion. "Why would any of his followers be this loyal to him? No offense, but Pete was a walking drug store and he was quite the drug addict as well. He was openly rude to everyone and we all know he bribed people and blackmailed them to entertain himself. He had a lot of deranged hobbies. Now, why would anyone be devoted to him enough to want to avenge his death?"
Eric shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the reality of the conversation began to set in. He had never approved of Jonathan joining Pete's gang, although the sugar-coated word had been secret society. He had argued with him over and over that it would be dangerous, but when Jonathan had told him that he owed Pete his life, he had caved. Apparently Pete had rescued Jonathan from his abusive parents and had taken him under his wing after that. Eric had always known that Pete was like a brother to Jonathan. He had been living with him for crying out loud, but he always hoped that Pete wouldn't drag Jonathan into all of his nonsense when the time came for him to join the gang.
"That's what people saw when they looked at him. That was what people chose to see, but for those of us who really knew Pete, he was a more than decent guy. He always had my back and he never once judged me," Jonathan explained in a quiet voice.
Blair could see the tears well up in the younger boy's eyes and she didn't have the heart to push him any further on the subject of Pete's character or his obviously close relationship with the victim.
"Jonathan, I know you can't name names, but is there someone else who would be able to?"
Eric flashed him a warning glance knowing that Jonathan was about to give that someone else away.
"Don't give me that look Eric. She's your friend. I didn't even want to go through with this questioning session until she convinced you to convince me."
"Jenny? What does she have to do with this?" Blair asked, genuinely shocked at the revelation.
Eric sighed. "Jenny was...the love of Pete's life."
Blair's mouth gaped open at the news and Eric took her silence as a cue to expand on his statement.
"Pete fell for her back in high school and when he graduated, he promised he would come back for her. He wasn't always like this you know with the blackmailing and the drugs. Even after he had changed for the worse though, he still loved her."
"Go on," Blair urged, shaking slightly at the anticipation of hearing more.
This investigation was getting more and more exciting. It wasn't a good thing that a classmate of hers had been murdered, but she wouldn't deny that unravelling the secrets of the Upper East Side was nothing less than a thrill ride. I mean, she had been the Queen B. She lived and breathed gossip.
"So, in the midst of his downward spiral, he would often go to her when he genuinely needed help."
Jonathan interrupted Eric to clarify what Eric had meant by help. "What Eric means is not the kind of help you think. He had the secret society to back him up when he was in real trouble. What we mean is that Jenny was his emotional support system. I may know about his inner workings and secret operations, but if he ever spilled anything really important, it would have been to Jenny."
"Was Jenny interested him then? Did she love him back?"
This was becoming more and more like a twisted soap opera rather than a suspenseful murder investigation.
Eric took control of the conversation again. "No. She only secretly dated Pete to fill a certain...hole in her heart."
"Nate," Blair uttered knowingly.
Jenny had confessed her love for Nate to Blair after she had gotten completely drunk at one of Blair's many high school parties. Blair had never breathed a word to anyone about her confession though.
Jonathan flipped to another page in the textbook before him. "Yeah, so you're better off asking her about this."
"No," Eric said firmly. "Blair, please don't dig up these old wounds for Jenny. You know finding out who's avenging Pete's death isn't really that important to the case. After all, you would both be after finding out who the killer is, right? You have no idea how shaken she is by his death already."
Blair could tell that Eric was sincerely begging her not to drag Jenny into this.
"Besides, you're not supposed to be investigating this case. I bet you weren't even that interested in solving the murder until my brother had gotten on your case about being a suspect. Knowing him, he probably unofficially challenged you to finding the killer before him by saying something rash like you not possibly being able to handle such a case. Am I right?"
Damn! Eric was still so perceptive. She decided to gear the conversation back towards Jenny.
"I understand Eric. I suppose even knowing this follower's identity won't help me track down the killer," she reasoned. "Let me ask you something else then Jonathan. What do you know about Pete blackmailing Serena as well as Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey?"
"I can't help you there Blair. Pete would only tell me who he was blackmailing. He would never go into the details because even though I was part of the gang, he never truly wanted me to get involved with anything too serious, you know?"
Blair sighed in frustration, tucking a strand of hair that had gone astray behind her ear. They weren't really getting anywhere with this conversation.
Jonathan leaned forward. "I can tell you though that Serena seems like more of a suspect to me. You see, I also know who paid their dues and who didn't if you catch my drift. Pete was happy with the sum that Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey had paid him. I know that much. That also happened about a month ago, so why wouldn't they have killed him earlier? Why wait until now, right?"
Blair's interest in the conversation was successfully restored. "And Serena? When did Pete start blackmailing her?"
"The morning before Pete was murdered," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Did Serena pay him off?" Blair asked.
She didn't want to believe that her best friend was the murderer, but truthfully, she hadn't really known Serena for a long time. People changed. She did. That was for sure.
Jonathan laughed at her question. "Pay him off? No, not exactly. Pete didn't ask her for money. He asked to spend one night with her. I don't think you want me to expand on that statement," he finished, sending a wink in her direction.
"You mean..." Blair trailed off, shivering at the very thought.
She knew she would have to get a hold of Serena as soon as possible to sort this all out. Blair was certain that Serena wouldn't have resorted to murdering Pete. Then again, it was Pete. Hell! She would have murdered him before sleeping with the sleaze bag.
"You might want to leave now Blair," Eric suggested, interjecting her thoughts again. "Chuck should be home soon and I don't think he would be too happy to know you were questioning us, since he hasn't even thought of questioning the two of us yet."
Blair smirked. "Thanks Eric. So, I was one step ahead of him then? You have no idea how happy that makes me."
She stood up to leave and Eric walked her to the door.
"By the way Blair, I'd keep tabs on Bart Fairmont. Chuck has him down as a primary suspect."
Blair turned back to look at Eric in shock. "Why are you telling me this?"
Eric shrugged. "Deep down, I know my brother is thrilled to be racing against you in discovering the identity of the murderer. Just promise me one thing Blair. Feel free to bruise his ego in the process, but don't break his heart."
And with that, the door clicked into place, leaving Blair standing on the steps as a tiny smile formed upon her face.
"I asked what you were doing here Serena," he repeated, taking in her never waning beauty.
"Nate! I have a perfectly good explanation as to why I'm here," she stuttered.
Nate laughed at her nervousness. "No need to go all jitterbug on me. I'm not Chuck. I don't automatically label everyone as a suspect, you know. So, how are you Serena?"
Serena let out a huge sigh of relief when she realized that Nate was only joking around with her.
"I'm fine. I'm just looking for my phone. Last night, Pete and I...I mean, Pete stole my phone, so I've been looking for it. I wouldn't want the police to find it, you know..." she mentioned, trailing off when she realized that Nate was a detective.
Serena's eyes grew wide at her erroneous slip to which Nate laughed again in response.
"Relax Serena and you'll be happy to know I found your phone last night in the lobby. I kept it for you lest Chuck find it and put you on his suspect list," he explained.
"Thanks Nate! You're a lifesaver!" she cried a little too loudly.
She pulled him into a friendly embrace and Nate blushed at the contact. They had spoken to each other in high school, but they had never had any physical contact. Embarrassed with her impulsive action, Serena stepped back from him abruptly and apologized.
"Sorry about that," she mumbled.
At that moment, Nate had the sudden urge to ask her out right then and there, but his inner voice stopped him. It was probably a bad idea to even ask her at all to consider dating him. After all, she had been the most popular girl in high school along with Blair and he was well...close to nothing. The Chuck inside his head, however, was trying to suppress the opposing voice of reason inside his head. Do it Nate! You haven't told me how much you like her yet, which you should soon because I'm your best friend, but if you had told me, I would have told you to ask the blond out. Come on! She's hot stuff! Besides, you're a hot shot detective now! Be a man Nate! Be a man!
"I can't just ask her to go out with me!" he blurted out.
"What?" Serena asked. "Were you talking to yourself or were you talking to me?"
Nate blushed when he realized that that had been his outside voice. Serena found it endearing and she already knew that she was the subject of the conversation going on inside his head anyway. Moreover, it would be good to have Nate by her side in case Chuck came around to questioning her. She had a feeling that Nate was more than infatuated with her and he would probably do anything to protect her. Yes, it would definitely be a good idea to have Nate on her side.
"Sorry Serena. I was just...uh...I was just..." Nate muttered as he tried to cover up for his outburst.
Serena smiled. "What are you doing tonight?"
Blair couldn't wipe the stupid smile off of her face as she walked away from the Bass house and towards her waiting limo. She heard someone cough behind her, causing her to spin around to address the noise. She immediately reverted to defense mode upon seeing the perpetrator of her happy thoughts.
Chuck smirked as he witnessed the horror on her face. She had probably been questioning Jonathan and Eric. He had thought to question them himself, but it was currently an insignificant pebble on his road to finding the cold-blooded killer. He would pretend he had never thought of it though and give her the satisfaction of being one step ahead of him. He admired her determination. Besides, who could possibly pass up such a great opportunity to get on her nerves? Irritating Blair had definitely become his favorite pastime. Watching her squirm her way out of this situation would be even more entertaining and rewarding.
"Miss Waldorf, there better be a really good reason as to why you're here or I'm afraid some...punishments...may be in order. Nothing kinky I assure you…unless you want them to be."
