Rose and Charlie woke up to a knocking on their door. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Charlie got up to open the door. The moment she opened it, Scorpius, Al, and Fred walked through.
"Have you seen the Doctor?" asked Scorpius.
"No," yawned Charlie. "We just woke up."
"Are you sure?" pressed Albus.
"Yes," snapped Rose. "Now leave us alone." She grabbed her wand and cast a spell, presumably to shut out everyone's voices.
Scorpius ignored her. "He didn't come back to our room last night."
"So?" asked Charlie. "He probably slept in the TARDIS."
"That's what we thought," said Albus, "So we went outside to find it."
Charlie realized where this was going. "And it wasn't there?"
"Bingo," said Albus dryly.
Pulling out her wand, Charlie cast the counterspell at Rose. "You'll want to hear this."
They quickly filled Rose in who looked shocked. "So he just left us here?"
"He's a nutter," muttered Fred. He winced at the sound of his voice and shut his eyes. Charlie couldn't help but smirk.
"Little bit too much to drink last night?" inquired Rose, also smirking.
"Fuck off," growled Fred.
"What did I say about vulgarity?" said Lady Mary imperiously as she entered the room.
Fred stammered, trying to reply, but Lady Mary merely ignored him and addressed the others. "The Doctor left me a note. He says that had an urgent engagement and we should continue without him."
"Continue what?" asked Rose.
"We - that is you - are going to question everyone to find out where everyone was between five and six o'clock last night. The Doctor was very insistent that this time frame is is when she died," said Lady Mary. "I cannot assist you in this task, for fear of arousing suspicion."
"Simple enough," said Al. "Shall we do it in groups? Myself, Charlie, and Scorp?'
Fred put his arm around Rose. "Looks like it's just me and my favorite cousin in the whole wide world!"
Albus punched him lightly on the shoulder before turning to Lady Mary. "Did the Doctor say anything else?"
Lady Mary nodded. "Yes. He said that the substance he found was 'morphic residue.' According to him, 'morphic residue' is secreted when a creature changes shape or form."
"The murderer's an alien?" sighed Charlie.
Smiling slightly, Lady Mary nodded. "Of course it is. And it's a shapeshifter."
"Shit," groaned Fred. "How the fuck are we supposed to find a shapeshifting alien?
The others looked to Lady Mary to see how she would react. She merely shook her head and left the room, rolling her eyes dramatically.
"Where were you between five and six o'clock?" questioned Rose.
"This is preposterous," grumbled Mr. Carson who was sitting in front of her. "I cannot believe that I am actually under investigation for this egregious crime."
"Why so defensive?" pressed Rose. "Are you hiding something?"
"I never -" he started, before collecting himself. "I will answer your questions, but under protest."
"Duly noted," she said sarcastically. She turned to Fred who was standing next to her, looking bored. "Take notes."
"Why?"
"Because I bloody well said so!" she snarled. Fred gave her a lengthy look before grabbing a paper and pen. He began scribbling away furiously.
Mr. Carson looked between the feisty ginger glaring at him and the other ginger writing angrily. "I was all over the place yesterday afternoon, trying to get ready for the dinner party. I believe at five o'clock, I was down in my pantry preparing some paperwork. And then, I went up to the library to meet with the family for some last minute planning and I was there until a quarter of six. Lord and Lady Grantham were there, along with Lady Mary and Lady Edith. They can corroborate my presence. I then went into the dining room to inspect the china and I was there until six. James and Michael were there with me."
"Did you get that?" asked Rose of Fred. He nodded and she turned back to Mr. Carson. "That'll be all, Mr. Carson. You may leave."
Mr. Carson got up and left, grumbling to himself about the moral decay of society. As soon as he was out of earshot, Rose spun on her heel towards Fred. "Our good cop, bad cop routine seemed to work."
"I think we frightened him," agreed Fred.
"Say," said Rose, changing the subject. "Where's that Thomas bloke? I haven't seen him at all today."
"I dunno," replied Fred. "I asked one of the maids and she said that he left before everyone woke up."
"Without telling anyone?" asked Rose skeptically. "Listen Fred, I know that you're soft -"
"I know that makes him a suspect," said Fred. He looked away from Rose. "Who's next on the list?"
Rose pulled a crumpled paper out of her pocket. "You and I just have to do Lord Grantham. He should be down here shortly."
In precisely two minutes, Lord Grantham arrived and Rose and Fred stood up. Fred got behind a chair and motioned for him to sit there. When he sat down, Rose and Fred turned away from him and began whispering furiously, occasionally glancing towards Lord Grantham.
Lord Grantham started fidgeting slightly, as his situation was very nerve racking. Fortunately, Rose and Fred turned to him soon enough. "You are free to go Lord Grantham."
"I beg your pardon?" he barked. "You make me sit here, in humiliation, as you confer and then you tell me to go? The nerve!"
Rose peered at him. "Why are you getting so worked up about this? Do you have something you'd wish to tell us?"
"Of course not!" said Lord Grantham.
"Then you may go," said Fred, his brow furrowed. "We have no questions for you."
"But that's unthorough - I could be the murderer and I'm just lying," said Lord Grantham.
"Are you the murderer?" asked Fred sharply, jotting something down on his paper.
"What are you writing down?
"Notes."
"Did you just write down that I'm the murderer? That's preposterous! Why would I kill my own servant?"
"That's the question isn't it?" said Rose eagerly. "We do need to establish motive."
Lord Grantham looked between Rose and Fred. "You two are mad men."
"Insults… When… Under… Pressure… Recommended… Action… Send… To… Siberia…" muttered Fred aloud as he wrote down on his paper.
"I'm leaving," snapped Lord Grantham. "If you will not take this seriously, I will conduct my own investigation."
He got up and started to walk toward the exit. When he reached the threshold, Rose called out. "Wait, Lord Grantham! I have a question!"
Lord Grantham threw up his arms in protest and turned around exasperatedly. "What, pray tell?"
"Where were you between five and six yesterday evening?" asked Rose.
"In the library with Lady Grantham. And Ladies Mary and Edith."
Fred nodded. "Thank you Lord Grantham. We'll let you know when we find out more."
Lord Grantham simply waved a tired hand and left the room. The two waited patiently for the next person to enter the room. It was Mr. Bates.
Rose looked meaningfully at Fred, indicating that there was something special about this man. Fred cleared his throat and attacked the problem head on. "So it says here that you were arrested for the murder of your wife?"
"Ex wife," said Mr. Bates sharply. "I was not married to that woman."
"Noted," nodded Fred. "And you are now married to Anna Bates?"
"That is correct."
"Were you familiar with the deceased?" asked Rose.
Mr. Bates shook his head. "Lisa and I never interacted much. I'm his lordship's valet and she was a kitchen maid. Our paths never crossed much during the day and at dinner, we sat at opposite ends. Anna was friendly with her. But she's friendly with everyone."
"And where were you at the time of the murder?" questioned Rose.
"I'd say I was in the servant's hall. His lordship was already dressed for the evening, so I didn't have much to do," explained Mr. Bates. "I had off until everyone retired for the evening."
"Thank you Mr. Bates," said Fred. "You may leave now."
He stood up and made for the door. Before he opened it, he turned to the two cousins. "Catch the son of the bitch who did this."
Rose nodded solemnly. "We will."
He left and Fred and Rose leaned closer together and started to examine the notes they had taken. Rose gasped when she noticed something and jumped up. She grabbed Fred's arm tightly. "I need to speak with the others immediately!"
