Chapter 29: The Past
The count led his guests and right-hand man (Rafael) outside the country house to where the scene of the crime—a garden—was located.
As he tapped his foot on the fertile patch, Monte Cristo announced, "My friends... we are here now, at this very spot, where I surmise that a crime has taken place. When my servants were refurbishing the local vegetation, they came across an iron chest which contained something disturbing."
The guests asked, "It contained what?"
"This chest below the dirt contained a skeleton of a new-born infant," replied the count, "Rafael!"
A very muscular man appeared before his superior. "Yes, Your Excellency?"
He motioned his valet to dig through the small garden. Luckily, the man restrained himself from expressing his emotions. The blonde American conveniently had a shovel in hand. The reason for this convenience was because the count and his lackey went over what was to be done for Saturday's dinner that evening.
It was only a minute's time when Rafael had dug up the chest. Upon seeing the object's mere existence, both Pegasus and Mai went pale with terror.
"Now, open it," said the master to his loyal servant.
Rafael nervously did so, but his master's guests seemed to take his (Rafael's) apparent trembling for an act. When the manservant opened the casket, a skeleton was found inside. It was quite a disgusting sight to behold, as maggots and worms were squirming all around. Whatever was left of the dead infant's flesh seemed to have been eaten away gradually.
Of the entire group of people who witnessed this horrific image, only two could stomach it—the Hakushaku and Seto Kaiba.
While Mai nearly fainted again, Pegasus regained his normal composure—it was as if he was somewhat relieved.
"Count, are you sure that this is where a crime has occurred?" asked the effeminate man.
"I am sure of it. Think of it, a new-born that was buried alive beneath a garden...?" exclaimed Monte Cristo, "Isn't infanticide a crime, Mr. Pegasus?!"
"Why, yes, it is. But, what if the child wasn't buried alive?"
"Mr. Pegasus... if the infant was dead, why would one bury it in this garden? A proper funeral would be more appropriate, wouldn't you agree?"
"I concur..."
The younger Colombo asked, "Isn't committing infanticide punishable by death here in Japan?"
Wheeler answered, "Yes, it is kid."
"Isn't that right, my honorable judge?" asked the count.
"Yes, Count. I believe that it is."
Realizing that he might have pushed his selected targets too far, the count decided to move on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if I may have your attention, we shall continue the evening's activities back inside."
While they were all walked into the building's interior, Pegasus whispered into his former lover's ear:
'We have to talk.'
'When and where?'
'Sometime tomorrow in my private office, where we would be safe to be seen together again.'
'Fine, I'll be there.'
As the night went on, some of the guests have left for their homes. The Colombos decided that it was time for them to return to their luxury suite back in Domino. When the two men were waiting for their ride, the elder forgot something and retreated to the country house of his 'old friend', the Count of Monte Cristo.
All of a sudden, he felt a hand over his shoulder. The young Italian-American turned around, expecting to see either his 'father' or his benefactor, Monte Cristo. Hell, even that greedy banker would do. For some reason, he noticed that Wheeler seemed to be very interested in him; was the banker into guys or was it because of his vast fortune?
But to his surprise, the bishonen found a familiar face that was not among the guests earlier that evening. Instead, it was a former acquaintance of his. The strange man had light blue hair that was shaped like some sort of beetle. And judging by his dirty stubble, the man hadn't shaved in quite some time.
Startled, the young man started back and asked, "Who are you, and what do you want from me?"
"Oh, nothing... (hic) I was just in this area, and (hic) realized that I was so drunk, (hic) that I don't know where I am...(hic). Would you spare me the trouble of walking all the way back to Domino, my dear friend? " said the stranger.
"Piss off! I'm not your friend. I don't give rides to bums like you."
The beggar made a familiar, yet annoying laughter.
"Oh, how the high and mighty forget!" exclaimed the crooked man, "And you're no exception, am I right, Benny the Devil? (A/N: Rhymes with Benedetto sort of... but kind of a lame nick name, right?)"
'Grrr... damn it! How could he have known about my new identity?!'
"What do you want, then, Weevil?" asked Benny, as he reverted to a less polite speech pattern.
"Why, money of course... but don't worry, I'll keep your secret, if I receive 100,000 ¥ (around $800) a month. You see, I can be reasonable, as I'm not asking for everything you have... and to make sure that you're not gonna do anything stupid... you'll personally hand me the money at this place."
Underwood took out a crumpled piece of paper and gave it to the young man. It had time and address information on it.
"And when we meet each other, we could reminisce the good 'ol days. Like your first murder, robbery, etc... Remember boy, I know where you live."
As he saw his 'father' return, Andre said, "I know..."
Weevil then disappeared into the shadows. "Who was that, kid?" asked the elder Colombo.
"Nothing, 'dad'."
The following day, Mai Valentine paid a visit to prominent judge, Maximillion Pegasus. As promised, the two former lovers met one another in Pegasus's private office.
The judge noticed that the woman seemed restless.
"Did you sleep at all?"
"No. I couldn't, because I had nightmares about OUR child!"
Pegasus immediately shushed Wheeler's wife. He whispered, "Quiet, woman!"
He continued, "Now, you remember what you saw in that iron chest?"
"Of course I did—it was mostly worn away because of decomposition."
"Correct, but the child should not be there in the first place."
"What are you saying?"
"It was never condemned to death by being buried alive. I can't verify it, but I felt as if I was being watched as I dug into the garden. Apparently, someone nearby thought that I'd buried some treasure. When I went back inside, I saw the figure holding that same trunk as he left the grounds."
"So, the child might still be alive?"
"Yes... and that is what I fear the most. If our secret was to come to light, it would ruin us both, as well as our families. Imagine the newspaper headline, 'World famous philanthropist fathers illegitimate child with underage mother'. Damn it all! I can't believe you were barely seventeen when we slept together all those times."
"Then what do we do? It's nearly impossible to find our baby some twenty-years after it was born!"
"I know, but this Count of Monte Cristo seems to know too much. There's just something about that man. Ever since he arrived in Domino a couple of weeks ago, there has always been a series of coincidences that he is seemingly involved with."
"You're not saying that you suspect Monte Cristo Hakushaku staged all those events...?"
"Well, actually, that is exactly what I'm saying. If he knows something about us, why can't we find out something about him?"
Pegasus continued, "In no more than a week's time, I shall know who this Count of Monte Cristo really is, where he comes from, his goals, and how much does he actually knows about our secret affair."
After that, Mai took her leave. Pegasus contacted one of his longtime associates.
"Is this Detective Boville?"
"Is that you, Pegasus?"
"Yes. Look, I have a job for you."
"What is it?"
"Use your agency's resources to learn everything you can about the Count of Monte Cristo. You need not to worry, for I shall see to it that you'll be paid well for this assignment."
And with that, he hung up.
'It's only a matter of time...' though Pegasus smugly.