Here's the next chapter guys. This week I'm going to an anime convention for two days, yay I get to meet the voice actors for Full metal Alchemist! Squee! I'm so happy, hopefully I don't freeze up, and just stay smiling like an idiot again, that was a sad first anime convention.
'If you see this. It's Arthur's narration.'
Chapter 19
~ASC~
Everyone was already seated as they stared at the food; no one was in the mood to eat, except for Grey and probably Ran Mao who sniffed at the foreign food. Matthew held the chair out for Arthur, and stood behind him.
Tanaka started placing the side dishes and Ciel grabbed his napkin. "He really saved us by preparing all this properly." They stared at him, Arthur unable to smile as he looked at Ciel. "This smells good! I'm gonna dig in! I'm really hungry since I didn't get to eat this morning." Grey said as he wielded a knife and fork. He started eating and the others started doing so as well, everyone but Irene, who looked sick to her stomach.
"What's wrong Irene? You didn't even touch your food." Keane asked, concerned for his opera singer. "I'm not very hungry..." She covered her mouth, trying to stop the smell of food from making her sick. Grey stared at her, all his food gone and he asked, "Hey, since there's some left is it ok if I have it?" He twirled the fork around and Irene grabbed her plate, "Yes, feel free to-"
"Not that." Grey interrupted, "I didn't mean yours. The one next to you." He pointed with his fork and Irene looked to her left. There was a plate of food next to her.
"Oh my...indeed there's one too many. Perhaps the chef got the numbers wrong."
Ciel stared at her, "The one who prepared breakfast was Sebastian. He wouldn't mix up the numbers." Arthur looked to Matthew, and the blonde-haired boy glared at him, giving him a look that said, 'He-doesn't-make-a-mistake.'
"Huh? Then whose is it?"
"We're all-"
"Mr. Phelps is missing." Matthew said, everyone stared at him and they checked around the table. "Ahh, since he's always so inconspicuous I didn't notice. Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him all morning. Looks like he overslept too much." Woodley laughed. Matthew stared at the empty seat, and Arthur's hands clenched as he thought of something. He stood up, the chair screeching and he spoke, "Excuse me! Shouldn't we go have a look...in the Earl's bedroom?" Everyone stared at him as they got his meaning.
"I'll take you there." Ciel said as he stood up, Matthew looked at everyone and saw Lau's eyes opened, staring at Ciel, and Woodley's pale face. Everyone stood up and started running, Arthur and Matthew ahead of them. "It's over there to the right!" Arthur reached the door and stared pounding on the door, "Mr. Phelps! Mr. Phelps, if you are in there, please answer me!" He shouted, not hearing an answer he grabbed the door handle and jiggled it, "Huh! It's locked! Earl! Where's the key?" Arthur asked, growing more panicked by the seconded.
"I don't know." Ciel said.
"What!"
"Sebastian took care of the key to my room; no one knows where he kept it except for him. Since he's dead, even I don't know where...unless." He looked to Matthew and he shocked his head, "That is the only key that can't be copied."
Finny frowned and walked up, "Please get back Young master! I'll-"
"Get out of the way." Grey said as he slashed straight at the two.
Matthew grabbed them out of the way and the door was sliced into several pieces. Everyone stared at him in shock, a fork sticking out of his mouth and he said, "We need to be quick seeing as there's still dessert."
Everyone ran into the room and opened the inside door that lead to Ciel's room. "Mr. Phelps!" Arthur shouted, there was a squishing sound and Matthew looked down. "Wait!" Matthew grabbed the back of Arthur's shirt and the novelist looked down, his foot touching Phelps's hand.
"Mr. Phelps!" Arthur went to the ground as he checked the man's vitals. Matthew looked around the room and felt something watching them, a feeling he got in his own room. He looked around the room and started walking around, Where is it, there's something supernatural here, causing all of this...
~ASC~
The white owl was released from its cage and it flew into the rain, it didn't even make it far as something attacked it, and it fell to the ground dead.
~ASC~
I searched under the bed, and around the room, making sure I didn't touch anything important, incase I'd find something.
"Why." Ciel said as he stared in shock.
I looked back, wondering if Ciel was going to crack again and noticed the shock expression on Grey's face, then again everyone was shocked, but it surprised me that he was human like the others.
"Rigor mortis is already setting in. So he's been dead for a while." Arthur frowned at this, another person has died, and we were too late to prevent it.
"Are we having some kind of nightmare?" Keane asked, scared out of his mind as Irene clutched his back.
Arthur gently turned Phelps's body, examining it for any kind of wounds, "He doesn't have any external injuries like the other two though..." He spotted something on the neck and his eyes widened, "There's a wound on his neck like he was stabbed by something!" I turned around and rushed over to see, the skin around the wound was discolored, reddish and if you look closely there was some strange fluid around the edges, "It might be from a needle like object that was used to inject a poison."
"Needle?" Ciel said, I knew where he was getting at, and I noticed his eye twitching in annoyance. "Wo-w the Earl sure lives in a nice room~" Lau went through Ciel's wardrobe; Ran Mao was by his side, wearing Ciel's top hat. "Don't just search people's rooms as you please!" Ciel screamed. Lau pulled out a Chinese outfit, looking more of a girl's than a boy's and he laughed, "You held on to the clothes I gave you~ Did you wear them?"
"Listen when people are talking!" Ciel shouted his huffed in annoyance and stared at Lau, a memory appearing in his mind of Lau holding two large needles. "It also resembles a kind of bite mark but..." Arthur stared at me, and Sebastian's bite seemed to feel warm under my clothes.
"A bite mark in the neck...it sounds just like Carmella." Irene spoke out.
"By Carmella you mean Le Fanu's 'The Vampire Carmella?" Ciel said.
"Yes. Do you know it?" She asked.
"You're saying this guy's been killed by a vampire? Don't be ridiculous!" Woodley shouted at her. Arthur ignored their chattering, and he looked around the room, and spotted a broken lampshade and Ciel's clock. "You can't say that kind of occult and unscientific nonsense in the 19th century!"
"Unscientific huh...I guess you could say that." Ciel looked to me and noticed my eyebrows furrowed as I looked at Arthur.
"2:38." Arthur announced, everyone stared at him and I walked over to see it. The clock's face was smashed, its hands positioned in the exact time Arthur stated. "That's the clock I keep at my bedside isn't it." Ciel said.
"I guess it probably fell down when he was writhing in pain, it's broken." I muttered as I looked around that area. Arthur set the clock back on to the nightstand and Ciel crossed his arms as he stared at it. "So in other words, died around 2:38?"
"Yes."
Ciel tapped his fingers on his elbows and he turned to look at Lau and Ran Mao, "Hey. Rather than discussing this while standing here, why don't we sort out the situation while sitting down? We'll drink some tea as well." Lau suggested.
"Indeed. Tanaka, please escort everyone to the drawing room."
"Certainly."
~ASC~
We were at the living room, some have eaten their deserts, Lau, Maylene, Ciel, and Grey, but the rest could not think about eating in these times. Though I, myself have not eaten, but I wasn't hungry, the only thing fueling my body was anger, and worry for Ciel's life. I looked down at Arthur, and saw him scribbling something in some journal, it looked like a chart.
"Well then, we've eaten dessert, so let's sort things out." Grey said as he munched on the last piece of his food, "First of all, Lord Siemens. His death was around 10 past 1 this morning. The only one who doesn't have an alibi is Earl Phantomhive and the Concierge." He rubbed his hands together, getting rid of the crumbs and drank some milk, "Next is the butler...his time of death is unknown. Finally, his time of death was 38 minutes past 2 this morning...am I correct?" The way Grey said all that, something didn't seem right, but I couldn't figure it out. "No, the butler's corpse was found first, but who was actually killed first is still unknown." Something clicked in my mind and I stared down at Arthur's list.
"Ah. That's right."
"From their condition we know that a few hours had passed between them being killed and our finding them. At this stage, I and the Earl who were chained to the bed till morning have an alibi." Arthur said. Grey huffed and leaned in to his seat; Ciel took a sip of his tea and looked at Arthur. "Mr. Wordsmith and I got into bed and were chained to it at around 2 o'clock. Just before then, Sebastian said he had already guided to his room. And was killed at 2:38..."
"So who saw Mr. Butler last?" My hand went through my hair, touching the feather on the chain as I tried to connect the lines, something was still off though. The trio looked at each other, and Maylene stepped up, "That would probably be us, but...not only was it dark, but the clock was rather far away so I can't tell you the exact time..."
"Ah!" Finny raised his hand, "We saw Mr. Sebastian in the middle of the night! M...me too!"
"At what time was it?" Arthur asked.
"Mm I'm certain it was around 2:50." Finny answered, hoping he remembered right.
"So this means...Sebastian was killed last. What did he want?"
"He came to me to confirm the food stock...and he gave this guy instruction on cleaning the hearths." Bard said.
"He asked me to...take care of a delivery...owl." Maylene responded.
"An owl?" Ciel said.
"As opposed to pigeons, owls can fly through a storm. It's just like him to think of everything." Bard answered.
"What was in the letter?" Grey asked.
"I didn't see."
I tapped my fingers on the couch and started to think about the time of murder, was I the last one to see Sebastian? No, I had a short time of sleeping, and I'm sure I was attacked first, so Sebastian was killed after...but what time was it?
"He might have sent a letter to the police." Arthur told them.
"Telephone wouldn't work in this weather, it could be likely." Grey stared at me and I continued back to my thinking, ignoring the annoying man. "However, if Sebastian was the last to be killed, the story becomes a lot more complex. The only ones who could lock the Earl's room would be Mr. Phelps himself, who was in the room, Sebastian who had the key, which means that Sebastian being the killer is the most likely scenarios...and Matthew who owned the keys, but seeing as he was cuffed and locked, it would be more Sebastian then...but, Sebastian was killed." Arthur frowned at this, getting confused, and Lau smirked and picked up his cup, "So maybe...the butler joined up with someone and together they committed the murders, but then, afterwards, they quarreled over the rewards the job would bring and finally he was silenced?"
"It's not unthinkable. In that case, the probability of the killer being someone who would gain from their deaths seems high." Lau chuckled at Ciel's answer and turned to me, "So it would seem money makes the world go round."
"I would disagree on that. But money does help push it along it seems." I answered as I took a sip of Arthur's tea, seeing as he wasn't really drinking it. Woodley looked at Lau, he looked like he was sweating and I watched this in interest, what could be making him so nervous? "Mr. Phelps was the heir to Blue Star Line, a major company in the Marine transportation business." I said as I set the tea down, "He was a little weak-willed, but had enough skill to be entrusted with the foreign trade branch and recently even expanded business to the Asian Region." I looked to Lau and he smirked at this, "Sebastian trained you well."
"Lau," Ciel pointed to him, "He was your business rival, wasn't he."
Lau looked at him and smirked as he took a sip, "Well, I guess that's true."
"Furthermore you walk around carrying a needle in those dragging sleeves of yours do you not?"
"What?" Everyone shouted, Arthur suddenly looked nervous being near Lau. Lau smiled and had his hands in his sleeve, "Yes, I am carrying one. It's used in oriental medicine though." He pulled out a large needle and Arthur screamed and grabbed me, trying to get away. I dropped him on the couch and took the needle, studying it.
"Y...you killed Phelps!" Irene screamed.
"Oh my~ Aren't you being a bit to rash about this?"
"You bastard! You searched the Earl's room just now didn't you! Are you sure you weren't just destroying evidence?" Keane shouted
Lau started to laugh and looked to the two, "How do you think I could make a locked room murder from that far off walk-in closet? There's no door going outside there and even though we're Chinese, it's not like we can just pass through ventilation shafts or something. And I have an alibi for the time Lord Siemens was murdered anyway."
"He couldn't have done it, died of poisoning right?" Arthur nodded and I stabbed my hand with the needle, "Oh my!" Irene shouted as she covered her mouth in shock.
"Good god man! What are you doing?" Woodley shouted.
"He had two punctured holes on his neck, there was poison around the wound, if Lau did kill him, then the poison should still be on the murder weapons, as in," I held up the blood needle to them, "This needle. Sometimes poison cannot be washed off, so if I do die, then it was Lau, but I know it wasn't." I tossed him the needle back and he smirked at me, "At least someone believes in me."
"I don't, but your style of fighting is more acupuncture, not poison, though you do have the necessary qualifications."
Lau smile grew, his black eyes staring straight at me, "Well, either way, as I said before I have an alibi, but," He stared at Ciel, "Awe the Earl is such a bully~ You don't need to take revenge on me now you know?" Ciel glared at him, "Do I really need to hear that from you, who suggested my confinement?" Lau shrugged and Ciel brought the teacup to his lips and took a sip, "Well, in any case, there's no one who could have killed all three even if they teamed up with Sebastian. I was just teasing you."
"That's true!" Arthur announced.
"What are you talking about?"
Arthur stared completing his chart, adding O's and X's to them, "If I put it in a simple chart...It'd look like this." My name was at the bottom of the list, along with the others of Phantomhive workers, there was several O's on some of the people's names, 3 0's on mine for Sebastian, Georg, and Phelps.
"The only one who could have killed Lord Siemens at 10 past 1 was Earl Phantomhive or Matthew. The only one who could have killed at 2:38 was Sebastian and Matthew. And anyone but I or the Earl could have killed Sebastian at 10 to 3. But, Matthew was locked up in a room with his hand cuffs, so he couldn't have done Sebastian in either." He crossed out two of the O's, only Georg's remained untouched, and he stared at the chart. He held out the chart and they stared at it, "So…even if they worked with Sebastian...it's impossible that a single person could have caused this string of murders!"
I cleared my throats, already everyone was assuming it was me, and I said, "Sebastian and Maylene were right next to me when they heard the bell ringing, I went the opposite way, and they went straight to the room. It'd be impossible for me to back track all the way to the room in a different direction, kill Mr. Georg, and even leave without a trace. Even last night, my keys were taken from me, and the door was locked. I couldn't, even if I tried, to scale the outside wall, because my hands were cuffed." They stared at me, and Arthur slapped his forehead, "Right, I should have thought of that."
Everyone focused hard as they tried to think and Woodley tsk'ed in anger, "If it's impossible to do alone then the people who came as a pair is the criminals!" Woodley shouted as he stared at Keane and Irene.
"Are you kidding me?" Keane stood up and Irene grabbed his waist, trying to pull him down, "On top of being trapped in here, I'm being treated as a criminal!"
"Grimsby, calm down!" Irene begged.
Arthur stood up and held his hands out in defense, "Yes, please calm down! Also, I'm not saying it all comes down to two people, it's not as simple as tha-"
"Simple or not, I don't care." Woodley slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "I've had enough! Like I'd stay in this place anyway!" He stood up and started walking.
"Where are you going? Under these circumstances I'd like you to refrain from acting on your own." Ciel said calmly.
"You're saying that to me? You're the one that's..." He shut his mouth and Ciel looked up at him boredly, "I'm what?" Woodley shook with rage and pointed at Ciel, "I-I know! It was really you who planned this all along wasn't it!"
"I'm not sure what you're trying to say, but please calm down."
"You wanted to finish us off from the beginning and gather us here to do so right! You're the Queen's dog!"
Ciel glared at him and Arthur stared at Woodley in shock. "Is there something you've done, to be so worried about my master, and what he can do to you, if say, you killed a few people?" I glared at him, daring him to continue speaking like that to Ciel. He backed off a bit; my eyes must be scaring him since they were probably narrowing into slits again. He backed away further as I took a small step forward, scaring him even more, and he pointed at Ciel, "I'm going home! Like I'd let myself be killed!"
"Please wait!" Arthur stood up and went to Woodley, "It's impossible in this storm! You should stay here to avoid suspicion as-" Woodley spun around and smacked Arthur a crossed the face, "I don't take orders from a mere doctor!" Arthur went backwards and hit the table hard, I went to him and helped him up, checking if there was any trauma to his head.
"Woodley." Ciel said coldly, "The one who's telling you to sit down is me. So sit down already."
"D..." Woodley glared at Ciel and the cold touch of steel slithered down my forearm and into my hand, "Don't order me around!" Woodley rushed at Ciel, fist raised and Arthur shouted, "Earl!"
In a flash, there was two black blurs, first was me, I kicked his feet under him, and then Tanaka grabbed his arm and he flipped him to his back, holding his arm in a tight grip, he then flipped him again until Woodley was on his stomach, and my knife under his neck, waiting for Ciel's order to slit his neck open.
Everyone gasped in shock as they stared at us, I didn't knew Tanaka still had it in him to fight, and I was very impressed, but more pissed off than anything at Woodley. "Please excuse us, Master Woodley. If someone means any harm against the Young master in this mansion..." Tanaka placed pressure on Woodley's arm and the man groaned in pain, "No matter who they are. These servants will not have mercy on them." I looked to the trio, they were glaring at Woodley, Maylene with her hand inching to her guns, Finny who's fist were tight, and Bard who's mouth was clenched on his cigarette, plotting how to kill Woodley. I nodded to them and they stood down and Tanaka smiled at Woodley, "Please understand."
"What the hell is with this place? Damnit..." Woodley flinched as my knife touched his neck in warning.
Arthur stared at us, amazed at what we did, "Wha-what was that just now...I didn't see them move at all!"
Lao looked at Tanaka, "If I'm not mistaken, it's Japan's Bartitsu."
"Ba-baritsu?" Arthur grabbed his notebook and rushed over to Lau's, forgetting about the current situation, "Sorry, but please tell me about this baritsu in more detail-"
"Tanaka, Matthew." We looked to our master, and Ciel sipped his tea calmly, "You can leave it at that." I frowned and both Tanaka and I stood up, letting Woodley go, "Mister Woodley. You'll obey our orders then?" The man tsked in anger, refusing to respond. Ciel laid his cup down and crossed his legs, "Well then. Currently the only one who really couldn't have been the criminal is Mr. Wordsmith. I think it'd be safest and fairest to put in charge of deciding our actions from now on."
"Me?" Arthur exclaimed, surprised at Ciel's decision.
"Yes. I don't really want a criminal prowling around in my manor..."
"I feel the same but..." Arthur scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say.
"Well..." Irene looked to Keane and he nodded, "Yes, us too...right?"
"Matthew?" Ciel looked to me and I just blinked, "Well? I've always asked for your opinion when it comes to people, and you've hardly ever let me down. What do you think?" I slipped the knife into my sleeve and ran a hand through my hair, tucking a lock of it behind my ear. "I don't trust anyone but the people of this manor. But..." I stared at Arthur and looked back at Ciel, "He's the only one that knows what he is doing."
Ciel smirked at that and looked up to Arthur, eyes brimmed with child-like happiness, "Then it's decided. There's plenty of time until the storm dies down anyway. Let's thoroughly corner this criminal." Ciel gave Arthur a wide smile, true happiness in his eyes and I started to wonder why he was suddenly feeling like this. "Right...Wordsmith?" I looked to Arthur and saw his eyes widen as he stared at Ciel, I could only begin to imagine what was running through his mind as Ciel smiled to him, waiting for his answer.
In this castle haunted by the eerie presence of a killer, he smiled so innocently, like a child. I don't think I'll ever forget that face. Because with that cruel and beautiful smile he looked like he was simply enjoying a game, like an imp that had branched from a demon...
~ASC~
We all gathered around for Arthur, he had been writing in his notebook, coming up with an idea. The trio was with me, they too wanted to find out Arthur's plan, especially after he made every one of us talk about where we were, what we did, and who we were with, I had to make sure I didn't say I was with Sebastian that night, or else I would be to blamed, and the killer will run free. He stopped writing and looked to everyone, "As a result of my conversations with everyone many things have become clear, however...The thing I'm most stuck on is the whereabouts of the key to the Earl's room."
"According to the original scenario, the only one that could have been able to kill was Sebastian. But if we consider that the key could have been passed onto a third party, it becomes a whole different situation." I felt almost every eye on me, and I just kept my eyes straight at Arthur's notebook.
"So in that scenario, I would be right in thinking that the person who currently holds the key and killed Sebastian is the criminal?" Ciel asked.
"Yes."
"How are we sure that it wasn't Matthew?" Lau said a huge smile on his face. "Yes, he did have the keys before, and was 'attacked', if anything he was very close to Sebastian from what I could see."
"I doubt you can see much with your eyes always shut. I didn't murder him; Mr. Grey was the one who searched me if I had anything on me. And he even handed the keys to Sebastian." Grey nodded at this and snapped his fingers as a thought came to his head, "Did we ever see where he put the keys?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Grey tapped his chin and said, "Well, first let's confirm whether or not the butler is carrying the key himself. Even though it would mean our theory ends there." It made sense why does that make me angry though? Oh right it's because it's coming from his mouth.
"You're right. Also from now on, whenever we move, I'd like us to move as a group." I can see several flaws with Arthur's plan to move together, especially since we are an odd number group, and we almost all hate each other, except for the servants and Ciel.
"Since it would be difficult asking a woman to accompany us to the corpse storage room, I'd like Miss Irene to stay here with Keane."
"Yes." Keane nodded to Arthur.
"Also..." Arthur stared at Woodley, the pain from his cheek suddenly throbbing, "I'd like to stay too..." The man hm'ed as he placed an ice pack on his sore neck.
"I'd like you to allow me and Ran Mao to enjoy some tea over here." Lau asked.
"Since I'll have nothing to do here, I'll just tag along~" Great, just peachy, Grey is coming.
"Please excuse me Earl, but would you mind guiding us through the manor?" Arthur asked.
"Not at all. But...the servants are more familiar with the bottom floor though, so let's have them guide us instead. Is that okay with you guys?"
"Yes, Young master." Bard, Finny, and I said in unison.
"Tanaka and Maylene can stay behind and take care of the guests." They bowed to Ciel and he stood up, "Then let's get going."
We walked down the stairs; I was way ahead of them, half my body in the shadows, and half in the light of Bard's lantern. "This place has the kind of atmosphere where one might expect a ghost to pop up at any moment doesn't it." Arthur said allowed as he looked at the walls.
"Will you cut that out!" Grey shouted, "There's no way there'd be a ghost! I only believe in things I can cut with my sword!" He clutched Ciel's arm, looking ridiculous since he was a grown man holding on to a little boy.
"So can you please walk on your own then?" Ciel asked, his eyebrow twitching.
"I thought you might be scared, I was being so kind as to-"
"We're here, folks." Bard said, interrupting Grey's rant.
I opened the door, wondering why everyone was expecting someone to pop out. There was no one there...well except for those three. I stared at the three bodies, looking at Sebastian's black shoes that stuck out of the blanket.
"Put these gloves on when you touch the corpses, will ya." Bard handed some to Arthur and Ciel, "You're well prepared! That saves us some trouble." I looked to Finny, he was shaking as he stared at the bodies and I went to him.
"Are you ok?" I whispered. He shook his head as he clutched my arm, it was alright I suppose, he was still hurting from seeing Sebastian dead. Arthur walked over to Sebastian's corpse and grabbed the blanket, "Well, please excuse me..." He pulled the blanket off and we gasped as water dripped down his face, "He's wet!" Bard and I stared up, "Looks like a leak in the roof caused it." I didn't see any water spot, nor did I see a hole in the ceiling where Sebastian would be lying under, then again my vision was starting to blur. Finny clutched my arm tighter, the bone straining under his super strength and he shouted, "Poor Mr. Sebastian! Please move him!"
"We should, if he's wet, his body will decay faster as well."
Finny froze as he stared at Sebastian, "De...cay..?" He released my arm as his eyes widen in shock. "We need to investigate him but since he's still suffering from rigor mortis it'll be hard to take off his clothes. Well, first let's turn him on his back and-" Finny shook his head and shouted, "Stop it!" He rushed over and got between Arthur and Sebastian, "Don't treat Mr. Sebastian like a mere object! Mr. Sebastian is very dear to us, right Ma-"
"Finny." Ciel said, "If you're just going to have this pointless conversation, leave. It's a nuisance."
"But..." I placed a hand on Finny's shoulder and lead him away from them. "You can move him later; let's search for the key first." Ciel said and he pulled out a chain, "It isn't attached to the Albert." An Albert, Sebastian had told me, was for anchoring a pocket watch to your waistcoat.
"He doesn't have it tied around his neck?" Grey said.
"Let's have a look." Bard walked over to Finny and patted his shoulder as the boy had tears in his eyes. "Matthew...why aren't you upset?" He whimpered softly.
"I've given up Finny." He stared at me in shock, "You don't mean that." He said, "You can't, you lo-"
"He's dead Finny. Just like all the others." He stayed quiet, his fist shaking as he tried to control himself from crying, and I could feel Bard staring at me, whether he was angry or not, I don't know. As they checked his body, a sudden wave of dizziness struck me and I clutched Finny for support. Finny's eyes widen and he looked up at me, "Ma-"
"Shh." I patted his head and gave him a weak smile, "Don't make Ciel worry anymore. I'll be fine...just let me lean on you for a bit." He nodded and stood still as I leaned my weight on him, the blood was dripping from the wound on my arm, luckily the black clothing disguised it. My attention went back to the others, and I watched as they continued to check Sebastian's pocket and they started to strip his shoes and coat off, "It's not here huh." Ciel said as Arthur started to unbutton Sebastian's shirt.
"Couldn't it be in his bedroom?" Arthur said.
"Let's go look."
We left Sebastian's body and went straight to Sebastian's bedroom. It was the first time I have ever be in here, and I couldn't help but shake my head at how clean everything was...except, I spotted something that didn't belong in the room.
"This is Sebastian's bedroom." Arthur stared at it in awe.
I walked passed everyone and went to his desk, picking up my old snow globe, I had forgotten this, it's been so long and all it did was collect dust in my room. Sebastian must have took it and kept it in this room. "It's pretty spacious." Arthur said.
"It's because he's a senior servant." I wasn't and yet had my own room. Perhaps it was because I was first a guest before I worked. I saw Finny looking down, still frowning and I went to him, "Here" I placed the snow globe in his hands, "Be careful, it's very fragile. It had belonged to me, and Sebastian then took care of it. Now he is gone, and all this holds is memories of my past that I never want back." He stared at it and his fingers gently wrapped around the orb. I ruffled his hair and Ciel looked around the room before addressing us, "Can't you guys think of a place where he might have hidden it?"
Bard scratched the back of his head, "Actually, it's our first time in here..."
"I've only been in here twice since I gave him this room as well." Ciel said.
"In any case, let's search in places one might keep valuables."
They started to search the room, and I helped by checking the fireplace with Bard.
Ciel went through Sebastian's desk, rifling through papers in one of the small drawers and he turned his head. He spotted Sebastian's armoire and went to it. He opened the door and his eyes widen in shock, he suddenly yelled as the door busted open, a white cat jumping out, while dozens of others followed, "What's wro- Cats!" Arthur shouted. I felt a headache coming forward and I was in a corner smacking my head on the wall.
"Wah~ These kitties are so cute~" Finny said as he picked on up.
"That bastard! He hid these from me!" Ciel pressed his back to the armoire, trying to shoo the cats away, "Don't let any of these critters set foot out of this room! Haaa aaah, HATCHOO!"
"Young master!" Finny rushed over to him, still holding the cat and Ciel shouted, "Finny! Don't come while carrying one of those things! My allergies are...HAATCHOO!"
We moved the cats to Sebastian's bed, they seemed to willingly follow me, must have been my eyes. Grey continued to search through Sebastian's stuff, "He really doesn't seem to have any personal belongings." He took out a cattail and spun it around in boredom, "Wouldn't it be nicer to have at least some things from your original home. Where did he come here from?"
Bard shrugged as he stuck a cigarette into his mouth, "Who knows...none of the servants know where he's from. Or even what he does on his days off. The only thing we know it that he was ridiculously good at his job, the perfect butler."
"Perhaps the Young master knows something but-"
"I don't know either." Ciel said, disrupting Finny. He rubbed a handkerchief over his nose, trying to calm his allergies, and said, "Where he came from...what master he served before or what he had been doing in the past...I never had any interest in it, it was fine with me." Ciel's mind went back to the day he met him, black knee high stiletto boots were in his vision as black shadows wrapped around a body till the form was complete, and a hand with black long nails wiped away his tears, "Back then, anyone was fine. As long as they would be devoted to me and grant my wishes. Anyone."
"Back then?" Grey said, wondering what he meant.
Ciel stared at him not answering and he looked to me, "You must know something?" Ciel said. I shook my head, "I never asked about where he came from, or what he use to do. He did the same for me." Arthur sighed and rolled his shoulders, "If we can't find it after all this, it's probably not here." He walked over to us and the one of the cats called at us, while the others were sleeping together. "Then how about we check everyone's luggage?" Grey said.
"Naturally, don't you think they'll refuse that?" Arthur sweat dropped, Grey's plan was stupid after all.
"I have more public authority than the yard, so if they don't want to show me, it will be okay for me to force them~ Come on, let's get going!" Grey demanded. I rolled my eyes as I scratched on of the cat's ears.
~ASC~
We were in front of the others and Arthur was explaining what we planned to do. "Thus, we would like to view your rooms and belongings..."
Grey sighed as he whispered, "I'm hungry."
"The women's luggage will be checked by another woman, so we won't see it. Is that okay?" He asked Irene.
"I understand."
"Go ahead." Keane said.
"Do as you please." Woodley said.
Arthur blinked in surprise by their response, Huh? That went unexpectedly well.
~ASC~
We searched the men rooms, and Ciel, Lau, and Arthur were staring into a vase that belonged to Lau. "Hmm was it in there?" Lau asked.
"It wasn't."
"Well, that more or less takes care of the male side." I looked to Bard as he picked up a panda plush and wondered what it was. "Let's wait for the women's side to finish up." I said, Ciel nodded and Arthur said, "Yes."
~ASC~
Maylene searched the room, Ran Mao playing with Irene's clothes, while the opera singer stayed in one side of the room. Maylene checked her closet and saw three picture frames; only one side was filled with a picture of Irene and Grimsby together.
"Oh no, I left that out..." Irene blushed as she stared at the picture in embarrassment. Maylene smiled at the picture, "I hadn't heard you two were lovers, so I was surprised yesterday." Maylene said, Irene shook her head and gave her another embarrassed smile, "I'm sorry, I don't really talk about it publicly or anything. I and Grimsby have been separated for twelve years already, so it's kind of embarrassing to tell people..."
"It doesn't look like that at all though!" Maylene shouted, surprised to hear that she was much older then she looked.
"My~ Thank you very much."
Actresses have some amazing anti-aging going on... Maylene thought as she went over to Irene's suitcase and noticed the mess Ran Mao left. Come on Ms. Ran Mao, you're supposed to tidy up and close things after you open them. She sorted through the mess and saw a bottle sticking out of the suitcase, Hm? What's this bottle? Huh! She stared at it in shock, the bottle's contents were red as blood and she couldn't help but think about what Ms. Irene said about Le Fanu's 'The Vampire Carmella.'
Could it be blood?
"Kya!" Maylene spun around when she heard Irene screamed and her mouth fell open in shock, "You shouldn't put that on your head!" Irene screeched as Ran Mao danced around with Irene's drawers on her head.
"Miss Ran Mao!" Maylene rushed over and tried to take them away from Ran Mao, forgetting the bottle in the suitcase.
~ASC~
Arthur sighed next to me and glumly said, "It wasn't here after all..."
Ciel sighed as well, slightly sweaty from searching and running around, "Even with all this, Sebastian could have hidden it somewhere else..." Lau smirked as he held Ran Mao close to him, "That, or he could have thrown it out the window. Since it's so small, if it was carried off or buried, in this storm, we aren't going to find it."
"Excuse me!" Finny shouted, "I'm going to search outside!"
"I...I'm going too!" Maylene said.
Ciel stared at them, slightly shock at their sudden words, "Certainly finding it would give us a clue towards the killer, but you don't have to go out of your..."
"I...want to solve this case!" Finny shouted, "Because I'm dumb, I can't find the killer by thinking it over like the Young master. But if it's a key I might be able to find it. If the key can lead to solving this even a little, I want to find it!" Finny looked to Maylene and they both nodded as they ran off, "Ah hey! You guys...I'm sorry, I'll go after them!" Bard said as he rushed after.
Ciel's hand stayed suspended, wanting to order them back, but a little late. He sighed and looked to me, "Matthew-"
"I know." I bowed to him and the others and went to the window, "What is he doing!" Irene shouted as I went to the ledge and jumped off, landing safely onto the ground.
"It's ok, though I only know Matthew for a year and a half now; he has hardly caused me any trouble." Ciel said.
~ASC~
The rain, a harsh winter one at that, washed over my body as I walked over to the others. Maylene had removed her glasses and she shouted, "I'll search in the garden!" Her voice sounded like a whisper as the rain and whooshing wind passed us. I walked over to the steps and waited as they continued, to try to move through the rain.
"Okay, I'll search over there!" Finny shouted.
Bard passed me and ran to them, "Wait up you guys!" He covered his eyes from the rain as he stomped over to them, "You can't do anything in this storm! Let's go back!"
"With this rain the key might drift off. If we don't start looking now..." Maylene paused and Bard shouted at her, "You don't even know if it's here!"
"Well it might be!"
They paused and stared at each other, "Go back! It's still March, you'll freeze to death."
"But... if it wasn't for him we wouldn't even be here." Finny's voice quivered, tears mixing with the rain, "I wouldn't have been able to stand here with the rain beating down on me, or even go outside at all..." They stared at him, my own eyes watching as he shivered in the rain, "We didn't have a thing. No home."
Maylene remembered when Sebastian had caught her trying to kill Ciel as part of her job.
"No friends."
Bard remembered holding one of his comrades in the war as he died in his arms, only to look up at Sebastian.
"No life."
My own thoughts went back to when I first met them, how badly I wished to die, and yet still I wished to join my family on the other side, the only reason I was still living was because of Sebastian, and my loyalty to Ciel since he had helped given me this new life, and I still haven't repaid him for it.
"No freedom." Finny touched the back of his neck; the number tattooed to his neck reminded him of when Ciel and Sebastian were there that night, saving him from the facility. "Every single thing was given to us by the Young master and Sebastian. Even so… Mr. Sebastian is...Mr. Sebastian is..." His tears fell faster, as the rain washed over his head.
"Finny! Don't you be crying now?" Maylene said, her own tears falling, "When you cry, Mr. Sebastian..." She couldn't finish as a sob came through and they both cried. Bard looked to me, my face impassive, staring up at the rain and he watched as they fell to their knees crying loudly into the rain, "Listen up you two." Bard said softly, they didn't listen as their cries grew louder. "Listen!" Bard shouted. They stared at him, tears still falling, "I'm the same as you, without that guy or the Young master, I wouldn't have those things now." He went down on his knees and held their shoulders tightly in his grip, "So why..." Finny choked out, "That's why! We shouldn't be overdoing it here! What's our job? To protect this house! To protect the Young master! Right? Remember the time when we just got here?"
The sniffled a bit and nodded, "Back then we couldn't do anything but kill, and yet, Maylene can do the washing without tearing anything apart now. Finny can see the difference between an herb and a weed, Matthew, who couldn't handle being around others, grew close enough to let us hold him when we need him, and I, who couldn't cook a thing can now make fried eggs at least."
I stared at Bard, his voice louder the rain as he spoke to all of us, "That superman who can do anything by himself. Why did he teach us all those things with such a strong determination? Even though we couldn't do anything and were such poor learners." They stared at him and he said, "It was so that, when the worst came to the worst and he wasn't around anymore, the mansion would still have protection right!" They nodded to him. "That's why there's only one thing we should be doing right now, right?"
The rain stopped falling over their heads, "Indeed there is." They looked up, as Tanaka was smiling at them while holding two umbrellas.
"Gramps..."
"Please go inside, I will pour you some hot tea." He said, "Also, it seems we have a bit of a problem." Tanaka said. They stared at him and said, "Huh?"
"I'll explain once we are inside. For now, let's not keep him waiting." They turned their heads and stared at me. I looked at them from the stairs and they walked over to me, stopping at the first step. "...We know you haven't been with us so long Matthew, and perhaps you don't feel as we-" I stopped Bard as I held my hand out to them. They stared at my hand and they grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. There wasn't much I could do for them, but I hoped that I could be their lightning rod and take away their pain, even if it breaks me and leaves me shattered, as long as they aren't suffering it would be worth it all.
I pulled out of their hold and led them back inside, Tanaka patiently following until we were at the kitchen. I handed them each a towel, none for myself, enjoying the coldness as it chilled me to the core. "The problem is, we don't have enough food supplies." We stared at the portions we had left, it was so few, not enough for everyone, "It seems the portion Sebastian prepared is not going to last us three days. Seeing as Master Grey eats quite a lot... He just ate a dinner's worth of curry because he was 'a little hungry,' as well."
Bard picked up the pot and his mouth fell open, "Wha, the pot's empty! You can't call this 'A little hungry!" He screamed. Tanaka sighed and looked at the pitiful excuse of food we had left, "Yes... it is troubling. I do not know when the storm will die down either..."
"At this rate, we'll run out of stock tomorrow or even today." Maylene said.
"The old merchant probably won't come in this storm either..." Finny rolled the snow globe in his hands, being careful not to drop it or break it. Bard scratched the back of his head and looked at us, "It's like a siege battle where the supply forces can't come...the worst."
"If Mr. Sebastian were here at a time like this..." Maylene hands turned to fists as she tried to make sure not to cry again.
"Please think about it. He is not here anymore, so we cannot rely on him forever. Did he not say this often? What would happen if a Phantomhive family servant couldn't even overcome a crisis?" Tanaka said.
"Yes sir!" They shouted and started to group together to come up with an idea.
"You guys, don't prepare me any meals." I said as I stood up, the a few drops of water still falling from my clothing. "But Matthew-"
"I've lost my appetite with all the deaths, besides food is that last thing on my mind... Tanaka I wish to speak to you alone please." He nodded and we walked out of the kitchen and headed to an empty hallway.
"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" I looked around, making sure no one was hearing and whispered, "The tension is too high with the guests, if this continues someone may snap. And...I feel as if there is someone else in the mansion beside us." Tanaka's eyes widen, and then he stared seriously into mine, "Is this a hunch?"
"It's a forewarning is all I can tell you. Something isn't right...and I feel as if there are two murderers. Not one."
"What do you mean?"
I stayed silent and touched my chest, remembering the horrible pain from last night, "Can you keep a secret?"
"It depends..." He said, unsure if he should or shouldn't, "I trust you...Sebastian, he..." I paused a bit and took a deep breath, "I saw Sebastian last night. Whether I was the last one to see him last or at least somewhere in the middle, I saw him. He stayed with me for quite a while, and an hour after he left me I was attacked. I couldn't...feel the killer's presence, but when I went to Ciel's room, I felt someone else in the room."
He stared off into the distance, and I waited silently, wondering his thoughts.
"I will not ask what you and Sebastian talked about, but when you were attack was there anything strange you've notice about the assailant?"
"Well," I thought for a second and my eyes hurt slightly, still haven't been healed completely, "Fast. Extremely fast, and there's not many here with that amazing speed. But...I doubt there is only one."
"But, if what you say is true, then we should tell the master." Tanaka made a move to go forward and I grabbed his arm, "Maybe when he is more alone." He nodded to my suggestion and we went back to the kitchen.
~ASC~
Everyone stayed quiet as they stared at each other; the silence was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Ciel stared out the window and Keane cleared his throat to get his attention. "Hey, it's a little suffocating to stay quiet like this, why don't we play a game of cards?" He stood up and said, "I brought some cards so I'll go get them from my room."
Arthur stopped him with his hand, "Please wait, if you're going we should all go."
"I'll be right back." Keane said, thinking Arthur was going a little overboard.
"It's safest to move in groups since we still don't know who the killer is and more importantly, I don't want to see any more victims made." Arthur quickly explained.
Lau inhaled deeply from his pipe and slowly exhaled the smoke, "That'd be the best action if the killer is amongst us. Though only if he is."
"What are you getting at?" Keane narrowed his eyes at him.
"Nothing in particular. It's just my opinion."
Grey tapped his fingers on his chair, "If he's not amongst us, where is he?"
"You mean the killer arrived before the storm but is hiding himself outside...or something?" Irene asked.
"Even so, isn't it unlikely he would be able to wander around the mansion and into a locked room without leaving footprints if he had been out in that storm before?"
"Wouldn't your 'unlikely' become likely with the existence of a 13th person?" Lau said.
"How foolish! There's definitely no chance of that happening!" Woodley exclaimed.
"Definitely? The one thing that doesn't exist in this world is 'Definite.' If you reverse 'definite' then anything could be lurking in this castle. If he's lying in wait for a chance to attack, aiming for our lives...he might not be that far off anymore..."
We stood around in the kitchen, looking at the food that was prepared. "I suppose it's better than nothing." I mumbled as I walked to the other side of the room.
Bang
We jumped as we stared at the door, there was another bang on the door and my knife was in my hand, with the other I signaled Tanaka to come over to my side, and for the others to stand by. Tanaka grabbed the door handle gently and-
"The 13th person that shouldn't exist..." Lau said.
"Hmph, I'm telling you, it's unreal for such a person to be..." Woodley said.
The door flew opened as Bard, Finny, and Maylene busted into the room, "Young master! We caught some suspicious looking guy!" They shouted in unison. "Come on, get in already!" Bard shouted as I pushed the man forward, my hands tightly gripping the rope that bound the man.
Everyone stared in shock at the man before them, "Wha-he was real! Where on Earth was he hiding?" Grey shouted.
"...You're..." Ciel stared in shock at him.
"So you mean...this is the killer?" Woodley said.
Lau smirked as he removed the pipe from his mouth, "To think the 13th guest would show up this soon... even I am a little surprised." Lau stood up and walked over to the man, he patted his shoulder and said, "So who're you again?"
I slapped my forehead; Lau can be too much sometimes.
"This again?" Ciel said in annoyance.
"My name?" The man said as he looked at Ciel.
"It's been a while...Jeremy." Ciel said.
"Earl is this old guy a friend of yours?" Lau asked.
"Old guy?" The man said, "Yes, old." I said as I kicked the man forward, disgusted that I had to touch him.
"Y...yeah." Ciel walked over and cleared his throat, "This man is Father Jeremy Rathbone. He's a popular advisor to the local church and somewhat of a famous person."
"Please just call me Jeremy." The man said.
"A...father?" Arthur asked.
"Like I'd trust a suspicious looking guy like you!" Woodley shouted, "The only one who could have committed the murders is the 13th person without an alibi...no matter how you look at it, it has to be this guy!"
"Actually, your reasoning is utter nonsense, Mister Woodley."
Woodley gasped and said, "How did you know my name!"
Jeremy smirked and his face went a little too close to Woodley's face, "Looking at your ring, it's actually quite obvious. The only place you'd be able to mine a large diamond like that would be South Africa. Furthermore, the only way you'd be able to get the special round brilliant cut this diamond has, is with the latest polishing machinery recently developed by the Woodley Company. I've also heard that the London jeweler Daniel Anderson has been holding sales talks with women, saying it's a rare item that hasn't really appeared on the market yet." He backed up a little bit, smirk still in place, "If you consider that one of the people invited to the Earl's evening party is wearing such a rare ring, it is most likely the director of the Woodley company...in other words, you mister. Am I wrong?"
"Urgh..." Woodley said.
We stared at him in shock and Arthur shook his head, "More importantly, how in the world...no, why and since when have you been here?" The man huffed, "Sheesh, nothing but questions. Hey you, would you mind opening my bag?" He said to Bard who was holding a large medical bag. He came forward and opened the bag, "Whoa! This is Mr. Sebastian's owl!" Finny shouted.
"I-is it dead?" Maylene asked.
"No, but since it resisted, I put it to sleep for a while with some medicine. It will wake up soon." My eyebrow twitched in anger and I took Irwin out of the bag, I had raised the owl, and this psycho freaking almost killed him!
"Wha- just because it resisted a bit! How cruel!" Finny shouted. He ignored Finny's rants and said, "Please look at the letter at its claw." I brought Irwin to Ciel and he took the letter off of his foot.
"Young master! What did Mr. Sebastian say?" Maylene asked.
Ciel stared at the paper and crumpled it in his hand, "It seems that he anticipated that he would be killed and sent a letter to Jeremy." Ciel tucked the paper into his pocket and Maylene covered her mouth, "Oh my...Mr. Sebastian..." My heart felt even more hollow as I remembered last night, and wondered if that was the reason he did all of that. My hand shook, and I dug my nails into my palm.
"But you can't prove he isn't the killer with just a piece of paper! If he came from outside, he could just as well have committed last night's murder!" Keane shouted.
"Actually, I have a simple solution to your lack of evidence. In my coat pocket." Finny looked to me and I nodded, he went to the man and reached into his pocket, he blinked for a bit and said out loud, "A ticket...is it? For a play..."
"What's the date?" Jeremy said.
"Yesterday..." He squinted at it, Finny never got around to practicing his reading, "It's for the evening show of March 12th. The place and program are...umm...the..L...A...D..."
"Split the words apart in your mind, and then say it all together in a sentence." I whispered to him. He concentrated harder and smiled, "The Lady of the Lake at the Lyceum Theatre!" I patted his head and he beamed happily at me.
"The Lady of the Lake is indeed playing at the Lyceum Theatre at the moment." Irene announced.
"Indeed, I went to the Lyceum Theatre in London last night. The play ended after 10pm. Even if I took a Hansom cab and threw him a sovereign it would still take over two hours to get here. Furthermore, in this rain the road would become so muddy it'd take at least twice as long as usual."
"A hansom cab in this rain?" Irene said.
"In this rain the river along the road would flood, there's no way you'd get over the bridge in a horse-drawn carriage!" Bard pointed out. He was right of course, it'd be impossible in this weather, and as I stared at the man's body, all I noticed was water dripping off of him, there was no trace of mud on his shoes, nor his pants.
"Of course there are countless other ways of getting here. Walking or swimming...though those are really ways I'd recommend for normal human beings. There are always as many ways of getting to a result as one can count the stars. But there is only one truth." No, there may be one truth, but there are a thousand ways to twist it.
"In other words," Arthur said, "You mean that you cannot be involved in the killing because you were in London last night...am I right?"
Jeremy smirked, "As expected of a master novelist, thank you for speeding up the conversation."
"Huh?"
He bent down and stared at Arthur, "You can find out a lot about people's jobs and the like from examining their looks and habits you know. First of all, you have a large callous on your right middle finger. It's different in shape from people who paint or draw so you must be writing a lot." Arthur stared at his hand, and sure enough there was a large callus on his middle finger. "Next, there are blue stains on your sleeve. This can happen when you wash things with dyed ink on them. Furthermore..." He stared into the cuff of Arthur's sleeve, "You wrote several pieces of materials you thought of on the inside of your cuffs with a pencil so you won't forget them. Pearl, India, Locked room, Sign. You have to be a novelist to do something like this right?" The man backed away and Arthur stared at him.
"Amazing..." He said, "He's like my teacher, Professor Bell. He also liked people watching."
The man smirked again and looked at me, "Well, now that your doubts should have lifted, would you mind getting this rope off of me? It seems that the air around this mansion is heavy with the smell of a crime that will rid me of my boredom." I glared at him and looked to Ciel, he nodded to me and I went forward, only to stop and stare at the ground.
"I'm sorry Ciel...but I still doubt this man very much." Said man raised his eyebrow at me, "I've already explained my alibi what more do you want?"
"First of all. Anyone can buy a ticket, say they went to the show, and say they were late on arriving. Second of all, there's no mud on your shoes, or pants, yet you're dripping with water. Third! You were at the back door of the mansion, at the servants' kitchen trying to get in, how would you know where it is? I don't know you, nor do I trust you, Sebastian made no mention of someone by the name of Jeremy coming here."
He stared at me for the longest time then smirked, "Then perhaps this Sebastian is not so perfect?"
"He was the best!" Finny shouted, Bard and Maylene both agreeing with him.
"Matthew that is enough, now untie him." Ciel said.
"No. I refuse, not unless this man can prove to me that he isn't the killer." I walked up to Grey and took his sword from him, "What are you doing?" He asked. "Shut it." I cut the ropes from the man and tossed him the sword. He caught it with an expert hand, making me even more suspicious.
"What do you plan to do?" Ciel said.
"Shut the lights." I ordered Finny. He stood still, hesitant for a second and Ciel just nodded, allowing me to test the man. "Everyone stay over there." I pointed to a corner and they rushed over. "This is ridiculous, what will this prove to fight me in the dark? I refuse to use violence to prove my innocence."
"I'm not giving you a choice, Father." He frowned at me and the lights went off. "Now we are both blind, how will this work?"
"Oh trust me, you'll know." There was a red flash coming from my direction and Basilisk came out. He hissed and rushed at Jeremy, I could see the man's dark shadow as he moved backwards, dodging Basilisk attacks. I rushed at him now and my knife went straight to his head, there was a clash of steel against steel, and sparks flew as I withdrew my knife and charged again. "What is going on?" I heard Irene shout as she screamed when she heard the clashing again.
Basilisk wrapped around Jeremy and my knife went straight at his head. He kicked my blade from my hand and he somehow slipped out of Basilisk grip and he tackled me to the ground, my arms behind my back and his knee pressed against my spine.
"Turn the lights on." He commanded.
"Redire!" I shouted at Basilisk and he, unwillingly, disappeared back to his own world. "I have to admit, Earl that your servant knows how to fight. But he lets his emotions control him too much. This Sebastian, he must be the butler, if this is how his servant acts, I would imagine the butler to be worse." My mind snapped and I somehow forced him off my back and in less than 2 seconds, my blade was at his neck, "Say it again. I dare you!"
"That's enough!" Ciel shouted.
Finny grabbed me and pulled me away from him, my eyes never left the man though, I hated him, and I wanted to kill him for saying that about Sebastian...but, he wasn't the killer, no matter how suspicious he is, it wasn't him. He stood up and dusted himself off, "Well is anyone going to explain what had happened." I pulled my arms away from Finny and straightened my clothes; Ciel looked to me and went back to his seat. "I'll explain everything." He said.
Ciel told Jeremy the entire situation, and all of it took no more than 30 minutes to say. The man had his hands together, almost mimicking a prayer pose and Ciel said, "That's all that happened from the time of the first murder up until the murder of the butler that called you here."
"I see...that's very interesting." He looked to Arthur and said, "Could I first see the bodies? They will eloquently tell me nothing but the truth." Arthur stood up and nodded to him, "Well then, let's go to the basement wine cellar together." Arthur said.
"Stop!" Arthur paused and I looked at the man, "I would like you to move each of the bodies to a separate room."
"But why?" Arthur asked.
"The scent might be a clue to the crime. If we put the bodies together their scents will interfere with each other. Also, the wine cellar will have a particularly strong scent of wine... on that note, can you lend me three rooms, Earl?"
"...That would be fine I guess." Ciel said, he looked to the trio and said, "You guys divide the bodies over three rooms."
"Certainly." They said and did as they were told.
"Earl, will you allow me to change my clothes in the meantime?" He asked, Ciel looked up to him and nodded, "Sure...the clothes of my predecessor might be a little too small. I'll lend you some clothes of the dead butler. I'll take you there." The thought of this man wearing Sebastian's clothes made me feel cold inside. Suddenly staying in this room, with these strangers suffocated me, so I left them and followed after the trio.
"What's up with that guy?" Bard said as he held the lantern up, I was walking behind them and they looked sad, angry, and in Bard's case, annoyed. "Showing up like that and acting all important! I wish you kicked his ass Matthew." I nodded to him, slightly agreeing with him as well.
"Even though he's a priest, he's more like a policeman. What a strange guy."
"Yeah...but." Finny stared at me and I looked at him, "I doubt he is a priest, how many priest do you know, can wield a rapier, let alone fight in the dark." They paused and looked at me, "Was he the one who attacked you?"
I looked down, "Regrettably...no. His style of fighting was different than the other one." Finny looked at me and then stared to the front, "I...I get the feeling that he will be able to do something about all of this for sure."
"Huh?" Bard said.
"How come?" Maylene asked.
"I don't really know why but...I feel we can trust that man." Finny said. I shook my head, refusing to listen to that, why should I trust a stranger, in the end, everyone will let you down, someday.
"Jeez," Bard said as he grabbed the door handle, "You'll get hurt if you trust people too much, you know."
"That's right." Maylene said, both looking at me.
Bard opened the door, a strange feeling washed over me, and said feeling was gone in an instant. We went inside and all three bodies were left where they were. Maylene and I walked over to Sebastian's body and pulled the blanket off of him, droplets still caressed his face, "Mr. Sebastian, we'll be moving you now." Maylene said softly as we took him away from the wine cellar.
~ASC~
I felt tired, slightly sick as Bard and I walked back to the living room, "Young master, we have finished transferring the bodies." Bard said.
"Ok." Ciel said.
Jeremy clapped his hands together, and he said "Well then! I'd like you to show me the bodies in the order that they were killed." He said. Arthur walked over to Ciel and Jeremy and said, "We'll start from Lord Siemens then."
"I'll come along too." Grey said. Bard and I stood side by side as we watched them walked down the hall, "Over here." Ciel said as he pointed to a door, two others were by the left of it, "The bodies of Siemens, Phelps, and Sebastian have been placed in order on this side of the hallway."
"That'll save some trouble." He said, to me it makes me feel as if he thinks the bodies walking around and scattered would make his life more difficult. He went into Siemen's room and started to examine the body, again, something I wouldn't expect a 'Father' to do.
"Hmm the only external trauma is the wound on his chest. A single stab with a sharp edged blade it seems." He took out a pocket watch from the corpse pocket and studied it, "He was quite the violent drinker during his lifetime wasn't he..."
"How do you know?" Grey asked.
"I knew as soon as I saw this. This is an expensive pocket watch, but the area around the winding key hole is full of scratches. You'd only do this if you were either a very crude person, or drunk right?" He sniffed the air, for a short second I am reminded of Sebastian and the hunting incident with Elizabeth's mother. "And this strong scent of alcohol is proof that he was gulping down strong liquor up until the moment before his death...hm?"
"What's wrong?" Ciel asked.
"There is a faint smell of the sea..."
"The sea?" I whispered softly in question.
"The sea?" Arthur said aloud. Grey looked at Jeremy, something strange in his eyes, "That's right doctor, do you happen to carry a handkerchief?"
"Ah, yes." Arthur rummaged into his pocket and pulled out the white cloth, handing it to Jeremy. "Here you are."
The man looked at it and then proceeded to stuff it down Siemen's throat, "Wha!" Arthur screamed, I really hope he doesn't plan on using it. Ever. At all.
"Hmm." He took out the cloth and stared at it and suddenly returned it into Arthur's hands. "Thank you very much. Well then...next was right?" I shivered in disgust and patted Arthur's back, "You might wanna burn that."
We moved onto the next room and he examined Phelps body, "He was the only one killed by different means form the other two." Arthur said, Tanaka and I had already told Ciel what we thought ahead of time, he seemed to consider the thought, but never gave us his opinion. "I thought it likely from the wounds on his neck that a poison might have been injected..." He stared at the wound and Arthur continued, "At the time of the murder the only exits and entrances were locked, making it a perfect locked room situation."
"I see..." The man said, "Can you show me the room he died in?"
"Yes, I'll take you there." Arthur said as we led him up the stairs. "Mr. Jeremy is sharp-eyed, so if we show it to him he might notice things we missed." I had no choice but to agree to that, the man seemed to notice things a lot faster than we ever did.
"Hm?" I heard Grey, "That old guy's not following you know." We stopped and Ciel looked down, "Jeremy?"
The man appeared, a handkerchief wiping away the sweat from his face, "I'm coming, I'm coming." He finally made it up to us and Arthur stared at him, a little ticked at the old man, "I'm sorry for being late. Let's go."
"This is why old guys are..." Grey didn't finish and Arthur muttered, "Moreover, aren't you carrying a handkerchief yourself there..."
"Let it go man." I said as we continued onward to Ciel's master bed room. He set to work on examining the bed, and I got the sense that someone was watching us again, but I didn't know where. "Hmm." He said, "It seems there are several killers in this crime." I snapped my fingers, I knew it, I freaking knew it.
"So there were multiple killers after all..." Ciel muttered.
"It will be simple to catch Georg's killer, but it will be quite troublesome to catch Phelps' killer. In order to avoid any further victims it'll be better if we make sure to catch this criminal soon." The rain hammered against the window and he continued, "No human will be able to get out in this storm, anyway."
"What do you mean?" Arthur said.
The man looked at him and he held up two fingers, "In order to catch Phelps' killer there are two requirements. One, is to wait for nightfall," He laid down one finger and his hand went to the next one, "The second is...your cooperation, Earl."
"My cooperation?" He asked.
"Yes, yours. I'll tell you everything when night has fallen." We stared at him, the suspense suddenly weighing on our mind.
"Well, next up is the butler, right?" And just like that Grey broke said suspense, "Let's go back." I didn't notice Jeremy and Ciel staring at each other, staying slightly longer in the room, until they joined us and we headed into Sebastian's room.
"I believe you told me that the butler was stabbed to death after being hit. Well then excuse me." He lifted the blanket it up, for some reason I felt anxious, what if the man found out something strange like Sebastian being a demon perhaps. "Urgh!" Ciel grunted, and I looked down at him.
"Earl!" Arthur shouted Ciel suddenly looked green and sick; I went down on one knee and looked at him, "What's wrong? Are you feeling ill?"
"Hm?" Grey said, looking at us.
"I'm sorry. Seeing Sebastian's corpse so many times...is just too much for me..." He clung to Arthur's arm and I rubbed his back, I never took account of Ciel's feelings.
"Are you okay? Why don't you take a break outside?" Arthur said, "Thank you ..."
"What?" Grey said, "Weren't you fine when you stripped the butler's corpse a while ago?"
"I see..." We looked back at Jeremy as he placed the blanket back on Sebastian, "It seems that the butler was actually killed very simply!"
"You're done already?" Grey asked.
"Yes. I've seen enough." A question ran through my mind and I wondered if I should ask the man, maybe it might make him more suspicious, last thing we needed really.
"It's almost dinner time; I'm hungry~ What's on the menu today?" Grey asked.
"Who knows...shall I ask the servants?" Ciel said.
"Nah," He turned around and started walking away, "It's fine, I'll be looking forward to it. I'm heading back." He said.
"Well, why don't we head back too? I have some preparations to look over for tonight so please go ahead." Jeremy said.
"Yes." Ciel said.
"Ciel..." He looked to me and I just tilted my head to the room, "I understand...be safe." I nodded to him and watched him leave. As I sighed to myself, I heard running footsteps and turned around seeing Grey rushing into the room, "Hey!" I ran after him and watched as he ripped the blanket off of Sebastian's body.. He stared at Sebastian and I watched him wearily, "...As if right. There's no way..." He looked at me and smirked, "Just another dead butler huh." He stomped on Sebastian's body, and my fist tightened.
I glared at him and he left the room. I stared down at Sebastian's body, he reminded of a doll, perfectly still, lifeless. My heart did something strange, it started to feel as if something was gripping it, and I fell to my knees, "That's enough..." I whimpered, trying to stop myself from crying, What good will it do. He is gone...
"I am all alone ...again." I stood up and went to Sebastian, my hand touched his cheek, he was so cold, yet his skin was soft, "I love you, Sebastian..." I kissed his forehead and left the room, I didn't want to be in this mansion any longer, but I wish to stay, if only for the reason that this place has become my home.
I went down to the servants quarters, I know we weren't supposed to be alone, but I didn't care, I've neglected Midnight for too long, and wished to see if the cat was still ok. My hand hovered over the door handle, and I felt it, the presence again, this time in my room. My mouth felt dry, and my hand shook, the fingertips almost grazing the bronze handle, Now or never. I grabbed the door handle and busted into the room, I looked around and walked into the room, not seeing anyone.
It was a stupid mistake as I heard the door close and something hard struck my head.
I fell forward and hit the ground with all my weight, there was black spots dancing around the edges of my eyes and I looked up at the assailant, "So it was...you." My hand grabbed his ankle; he easily pulled away and headed out the door, "Please stop." I called after, my vision failing, and my body feeling heavy as the darkness took me over.
Ciel...be safe...
Please review...