Chapter 2:
The tale of an incredibly sadistic mad scientist who destroyed a friendship and
a detective who needs to face her demons in this town
Marianne awoke
Alice in the morning, saying “Hanamura and Wendy are back in town, and there’s
someone here that... Wanted
to see you.” Alice sighed.
“Tell whoever it is to wait, I’ll get changed.”
So Alice sat at
the table in the inn’s restaurant, face-to-face with a
handsome young man.
“Hello, Miss Kerning, I’m Edward Nicolson.” He said, almost shyly, and Alice
studied him. ‘Whoa, he’s cute.’ She thought, and almost blushed. “Right, you
know who I am. I’m Alice Mackenzie Kerning, call me what you wish.” Alice
replied, surprised to find the tone of her voice become shy. But the man – no –
the boy seemed not to notice and said “I was Marilyn’s lover. I just wanted to
thank you for taking up this seemingly impossible case, for Marilyn. I mean I
was the one who found her, because, well, she left something at my place and I
wanted to return it at around… three or four? Weird hour to want to return
something, but I just did. I don’t know what made me want to return it to her
then, but I took it to her place anyway.” Alice then leaned forwards and asked
“What was her house like, after you found it?” Edward then sighed. He looked
out of the window, and looked older than he truly was. ‘He can’t be more than
twenty.’ Alice thought, and then he began to speak.
“It was dark,
and in ruins, almost as though an animal ripped it apart. That’s what I thought
at first. Worried I decided to go see where she was to make sure she was
alright, but then, laying right in front of me in her living room was Marilyn.”
Edward then sighed again, seemingly to hold back his own tears, but Detective
Mackenzie was not known for being merciful. “Living room you say? But the
report says she was found in her bedroom.” Edward, agitated, stood up. “I found
her in her living room! Then I got hit on the back of my head before I could
think and the next thing I know I was in the hospital, nobody would believe me
when I said she was in the living room because the police found her in her
bedroom! Who would you believe a delirious man who had just lost the love of
his life or a group of policemen and a detective who have been working with –
with that all their lives?” Alice
stood up too, and taking hold of his shoulders she sat him back down. “Calm
yourself Edward, I believe you. I have never relied on newspaper reports, and I
believe the culprit moved her body, cleaned up the area so that no one can
figure out what truly went down. That’s why no blood or anything was found,
because the body was moved. And the culprit knew no one would believe you
either. But the fault in that plan is that I
believe you. I’ll investigate it, for your sake and your sanity.” Edward took a
deep breath, and then he placed his hands on Alice’s and gently removed them
from his shoulders. “Thank you.” He said simply, with a bitter smile. Alice,
realizing that her face felt hot she made to leave, with a muttered word of
farewell; he said “I loved her.” Without turning back, she took in the words
and left the restaurant.
Alice and Kirin
made their way to Wendy’s, who had just returned to town. “What do you think so
far, Kirin?” Alice said rather than asked, and Kirin shrugged. “I investigated
the crime scene, and it was like what the news report said. The area around
Marilyn was clean.” Alice looked at her strangely “They haven’t cleared it out
yet?” She asked, as though stupid. Kirin seemed a little exasperated. “No, I
mean I investigated it when the police asked me to help. The murder happened
the day before. She was in her bedroom, no doubt. No attempt was made to make
it look like a suicide. Oh, and the blood hasn’t dried out yet when I checked
her, so I think when Edward found her, she had just died.” She explained, and
Alice nodded. But something occurred to her and she stopped in her tracks. “She
was in her bedroom? Edward told me he found her in her living room. Then he was
knocked out by someone, probably the perpetrator, and the next thing he knew he
was in the hospital.” Alice said, looking at Kirin directly. Kirin only
laughed, and then she said quite matter-of-factly “Edward was in shock. He
couldn’t possibly have remembered it that clearly; he had a concussion, if he
really was hit at the back of his head.” Alice merely nodded, and went the rest
of the way without so much so as a word.
***
They sat in
Wendy’s sitting room, as Alice casually sipped her tea and nibbled on some
biscuits like it was an ordinary house visit. Kirin, on the other hand, seemed
uneasy at the silence. “We’ve been sitting here for ten minutes without
talking. Are we…. Are we going to start the questioning soon?” She said, then
as an afterthought as though she forgot something “Detective… Alice?” Alice
continued to smile serenely and Wendy seemed unaffected by the awkward silence
hanging before them. “We have plenty of time. Get yourself comfortable, Miss
Carroll, you won’t be able to do a proper job of questioning if you’re tense.”
Kirin straightened up at her words, and managed to stammer out a “Y-Yes Ma’am!”
before she decided to have a biscuit. “Ah, so that was what that was all about.
A questioning is it? You may ask whatever you wish, I promise to answer
honestly, which is saying something because I can’t tell a lie. As a matter of
fact, I can be quite brutal when I answer people.” Alice chuckled, and nodded.
“I’ll be asking you to repeat your statement, is that alright with you?” Before
Wendy could respond, Kirin interrupted them. “Isn’t it a waste of time, Detective Alice?” Alice chose to ignore her, but Wendy could not seem to hold
herself back and lashed out at Kirin “And who are you to question her ways? If
you’re so good, why not you do it yourself?” Kirin then replied sharply “I
would if I could! What about you, cooping yourself up in this dingy old shack
you call a house, my my I thought your dear Marilyn
would have gotten you a better place.” Color rose in Wendy’s face, and she
stood up. “Marilyn was an honorable person! And so am I, I earned the money
myself and bought it with my own hard-earned dough through sweat and toil. And
what does my house have anything to do with it?” She squeaked in her
indignation.
Alice seemed to
have ignored it all up to that point, and made no attempt to stop them until
Kirin began to yell. “It has everything to do with it! You know what I’m
talking about Strauss! This house stinks, you know that fully well!” Wendy
slammed a fist onto the coffee table, but before she replied, Alice was
suddenly standing, and she sat them both down. “Calm down, both of you, the
house has nothing to do with anything as of right now. Have some tea and calm
down.” The two indeed sat down, but continued to glare at each other. But Alice
seemed not to notice and began to organise her notes. “Now, Miss Strauss, do
you have a criminal record?” Kirin answered before Wendy did. “She does. For
murder. It’s so long it’ll scare a serial killer.” Wendy shot daggers at Kirin,
but answered Alice casually. “Yes, for murder, it’s a rather long record.”
Alice nodded and looked down at her cup, and realising that it was empty she
refilled it. Swirling the orange liquid, she asked “And why were you caught so
many times?” And she took another sip, muttering “Darn it has gone stale.”
Wendy seemed to consider the question, and then she answered simply “I can’t
tell a lie. So I fess up real quick.” Alice nodded as though she understood,
and she continued. “Then why do you murder if you know you are that honest?”
Wendy’s eyes seemed to light up, but there was a little regret hidden in the
excitement. “I love to experiment, you know, with the dead. I can’t dig graves,
so I usually kill them first, research, and then report myself. I don’t get the
death sentence; my experiments have brought about excellent results and helped
in the development of medicine.” She described with a whimsical and dreamy
expression. Alice nodded, seemingly with interest. “Keep going.” She said, with
anticipation. Wendy, with a newfound excitement, and a little madness, began to
elaborate. “I tend to find my targets first, and then kill them. Of course,
that would be back in my hometown before I moved here. And I’m pretty sure I’ve
only killed three from this town so far.” Kirin, with her voice dripping with a
cold sort of tone, said “Only a madman will ever think it was fascinating to
kill people for experiments, my dear
Wendy.” Alice seemed to ignore her, and she continued questioning Wendy.
“Now how do you
do that?” Wendy seemed more intrigued, and her eyes flashed a kind of sadistic
madness and excitement. “First off I’ll hit them on the back of their heads to
black em’ out, and then I’ll strap them to a chair while they’re unconscious
and experiment! If they wake up, I knock them out again! And again! And again!
Oh what results I get! All kinds of blood samples, all kinds of people of all
ages! Children bring the most intriguing results,
teenagers are boring but they bring very exciting
reactions, and anything above the level of being adults are the best. Aged to absolute perfection, and then you get to
watch that entire die with their blood spilling everywhere! It brings the most beautiful and glorious form of despair! If they die, I’ll experiment some more!
I’ll test this and that until there’s nothing left to do!” She announced, her
eyes running wild and with a crazed expression. Alice sat up with a jolt. “What
is it?” Kirin asked, while Wendy began to calm down. “It’s… too similar… too
similar. Don’t tell me…” Alice, with a trembling voice, turned to look at Kirin
shakily. “Don’t tell me that…. That…” She murmured, her head recalling the most
traumatic memory she ever had in her life. Then she shook herself. “I’m
alright,” she said, regaining her composure. “Alright, now Miss Strauss, may I
know if you were in town during the time of the murder?” And then Wendy, as
though she had no recollection of her previous outburst, said “Oh, at home. I
was polishing my furniture, as you can see from the surprisingly shiny
table-legs. I usually don’t sleep until four o’clock in the morning, since my
shop doesn’t open till seven in the evening.” Alice looked up, surprised. “Oh?
But the exit log said you were away.” Then, sheepishly Wendy chuckled. “I wrote
the wrong date.”
As they walked
back, Kirin seemed to have a question, but before
she could ask, Alice said
“Let’s go to my hotel room before we start anything.” Then, in a surprised and
hasty voice, Kirin said “S-sure!” Then the two walked back, in awkward silence.
But running through Alice’s head were questions. Why did Kirin react so
strongly? Why did she sound regretful when describing her record for the first
time? And was she telling the truth when she said that she wrote the wrong
date? Later on, in the hotel room where Marianne was waiting, Kirin and Alice
sat at the coffee table, and yet again Alice was sipping tea leisurely. “Is… is
she always like this?” Kirin asked nervously. Marianne giggled, and answered
her serenely “Alice may seem like this all the time, but she’s really serious
when a case starts.” Kirin simply nodded. Finally, Alice finished her tea and
she spoke. “Kirin, I have a question.” Kirin straightened up, and nodded. “What
happened between you and Wendy?” Kirin sighed. And it took a long time before
Kirin spoke at last, with resentment and a little bit of longing.
“We used to be
friends. Me, Marilyn, and Wendy, and then there was another girl named Cana.
Cana is the sweetest thing you’ll ever meet, and we were best friends.” Kirin
sighed, pleasantly remembering. Then her expression darkened. “Wendy killed
her. Cana was killed by Wendy for experimentations. Our group broke apart, for
a while Marilyn and I were the only ones before Wendy came in, begging for
forgiveness and claiming that she was sick, and of course I was not a fool, I
didn’t believe her. But that idiotic girl Marilyn did and they were best
friends. Me and Marilyn remained as close friends before that Edward came in. I
loved him more than I loved anyone before, but he went and fell for Marilyn.
What was that he said, ‘I’m sorry but I love her’? I know he was lying, he
loves me, and me only. Marilyn was just a cover, I’m sure. He thinks I don’t
love him and was just trying to make me jealous, I still believe that. But now,
Marilyn went and got herself killed, perhaps he’ll come to me.” Kirin sighed in
anticipation. Alice simply nodded and refilled her cup. “I think Wendy isn’t
telling the whole truth about writing the wrong date.” She said, sipping the
tea again. Kirin seemed agitated, and she stood up a little. “W-what do you
mean?” She stammered, and calmly, Alice replied. “Someone tried to cover up for
her, but she didn’t know it until I mentioned it. I can tell from her eyes,
it’s a rather foolish thing to do, since she can’t lie. Why didn’t you pick
that up, Kirin?” The black-haired detective sat back down, and said quite hotly
“Her lying skills improved over the years.” And then she stood up again, turned
round and left without another word. Alice only leaned back and laughed.
“Alice, don’t
you find this… this case a little… familiar?” Marianne asked, cautiously.
“Yeah,” Alice answered simply. “It does. It reminds me of dad’s last case. Ah,
I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since then.” She said, casually, but sorrow
was hidden within her words. “He’s… really a horrible father. He had to go and
get himself killed, didn’t he? I am only sixteen and he died on me. Ah, what a
horrible father he is.” Marianne stood up, and said quite agitatedly “No! He
isn’t! It isn’t his fault you know, that’s the risk of being a detective! That…
that sort of thing… it…” Alice leaned back onto the bed, and while she stared
at the ceiling, said “I’m just kidding. Just… a joke, that’s all.” Then she
closed her eyes, letting her demons free to roam her mind.
***Flashback***
It was raining,
and her dad was one step away from solving his case. But a masked man had her
hostage, a flash of light, a bullet, and before she knew it her father fell
dead at her feet. And she was sixteen.
The next day, a
man in his late thirties was caught for murder of two. Turns out he was the
culprit her father was looking for. A funeral, tears, and before she knew it,
she realised her father really was dead.
A will was read
the next day. It seemed so unreal, so fictional. The man announced that she
will inherit all her father’s wealth and his company. Some applause, a smile
from someone she didn't know, and that was when she realised she was not a
little girl anymore.
A few days later she read the case file he left
behind, his very last case. The culprit was a jealous man, someone she didn't know, but resented. A rip, shredded remains, and the case file was torn in
half.
“Why was Wendy
regretful, when she told you about her record?” Marianne asked, after Alice
explained the day. Alice turned over in her bed. “She killed her best friend
and destroyed their friendship. Deep down, she wishes Kirin to return and let
them be friends again, even though she hates – well not really hate, but I believe
it’s a little more than resentment – Kirin for not believing her. You were
listening, weren't you?” Alice explained quite matter-of-factly. To which,
Marianne only laughed sheepishly.
From that day
she found that the town she once thought as quaint and quiet was a lot darker
than it truly was. And she knew, with a case that was almost exactly the same
as her father’s, she had to face her deepest and darkest monsters.
[A/N] Whoa that was a rather emotional roller-coaster for our detective Alice. I hope it was the same for you too. So again, I hope you will review this, constructive criticism will be very much appreciated.
Thank you so much for reading!
~ Kyo
