Enjoy!
The man's dark eyes seemingly showed no obvious reaction upon finding a disheveled detective on his doorstep, clutching a vase with a large pink orchid in one hand while trying to somewhat fix his windswept hair the other.
"Mister Zwingli, I expect?" Was the only thing he said, nodding slightly. "My name is Honda Kiku, or Kiku Honda in Western order. I am pleased to finally meet you." He then proceeded to make a full bow.
"The pleasure is mine, mister Honda." Vash wheezed, struggling to bow while a particularly sharp end of the orchid was poking into his lower stomach.
"I thoroughly apologize for any inconveniences you may have had,mister Zwingli, by having to abandon your case in order to travel tot his part of the town. Please come in." Kiku stated rather flatly, bowing again.
"It's fine, really." Vash assured him, quickly stepping inside. "A colleague of mine is on his way to the HetaBallet right now, we won't let anyone or anything go unnoticed."
"I'm very glad to hear that." Kiku said curtly. "Miss Bonnefoy is doing well, she is currently learning how to deal with the loss of her brother, step by step. She is in the living room, please follow me."
They found her curled up on a large, white designer couch, probably the most impractical piece of furniture Vash had ever seen, arms wrapped around her knees as she watched the pouring rain trickle down the windows. She looked pretty fine, face well rested, dark brown hair cascading in shiny waves down her back, but still too thin. As soon as she noticed him, she gave a small wave.
"Monsieur Zwingli."
"Miss Bonnefoy. I, ah, I brought a plant." Vash said awkwardly, nodding to the obvious orchid in his arms. "It's not mine." He quickly said upon seeing her raised eyebrows."Your colleagues wanted me to give this to you."
She laughed. "That's so sweet of them."
"Ja."
The room fell silent, except for the sounds of raindrops ticking against the window and a cheesy French chanson which was playing softly in the background.
"So..what can I get you mister Zwingli? Tea? Coffee? Wine? Sake?" Kiku said after a while, breaking the uncomfortable atmosphere.
"Tea, bitte." Vash said and Kiku shuffled out of the room, his kimono preventing him from taking any large steps.
"So..How are you doing, miss Bonnefoy?" Vash said after a while, sitting down on the chair that looked the least expensive to compensate,would he accidentally spill his drink on it or damage it in any other way, putting the vase on the coffee table before him.
She looked up at him through long dark lashes, fumbling with the large sleeves of the oversized, fish-patterned, pink pyjamas she was wearing, exposing the healing cigarette burn for a moment. "I'm doing..better now. It's still hard to accept Fran is dead, but I will get there, eventually." She said hoarsely.
Vash nodded. "Well, miss Bonnefoy, I must tell you that I am not only here to check up on you and your therapy with mister Honda, I am also here because I want to ask you a few questions."
She gave him a weak smile. "I already expected that. Ask away, I've got nothing to hide. It's hard to believe I would do something which would put me in such a state, isn't it?" Sesel said gloomily, avoiding Vash's eyes, looking at what appeared to be a picture of Francis, surrounded by a few red and pink candles which were lit, covering the room in a heavy, flowery scent.
"Everything is possible, miss Bonnefoy." Vash pondered. "Now…could you please tell me what happened during the last rehearsal before Francis Bonnefoy was murdered?"
"Well..It would be our first real rehearsal, with all the costumes and stuff, so you'd think everybody would be excited. But non, everything went terrible. Everyone was gloomy and upset, because we all overheard Lizzy and Roderich's fight, but Lizzy, my brother and Arthur were by far the worst. Elizaveta was very bossy and snappy, which was kind of offputting because she usually treats everyone with kindness and respect. The only person she still was relatively kind to was Francis. She constantly tried to pick fights with Roderich, who didn't even bother to pay attention. My brother looked upset, and was behaving very strange. He refused to wear his costume and suddenly struggled to dance with Roderich, mumbling something about how 'he wasn't worth it'. Arthur was just plain agressive, he kept hissing insults at Francis until it escalated into a screaming match. Elizaveta then decided to stop rehearsing, my brother and Arthur both stormed off. I saw the look at Fran's face, he was obviously deeply hurt. So I went to find Arthur, to tell him that he had to behave himself. I found him on the balcony…
"Shut up! SHUT UP KIRKLAND! Leave Francis alone, you jealous cunt!"
"Your brother.." Arthur roared, eyes wide, throwing his cigarette in her direction. "Your brother is a bloody whore who ruined my fucking life!"
She felt nothing except for burning anger, her vision becoming blurry. Her hand hit his cheek with an incredibly satisfying crack. "Fuck off, putain!" She shrieked, lighting another cigarette with her tingling fingers as Arthur Kirkland stumbled inside.
He was screaming like a madman, trying to fight Ludwig off, refusing to let go of the body that was lying in his arms, limps bent in impossible positions, bloody locks sprawled around the corpse's head like some cruel halo, staring at her with wide blue eyes, so unlike her own.
"Noooo! NOOO!" She screamed, because she couldn't so anything else. Her head was unable to form a singly thought anymore, everything was blurry, even the face of the person who was holding her back. Her whole world revolved around her brother's corpse on the floor before her.
Wide green eyes were looking straight at her. She stared at Arthur Kirkland's pale, bloody face, which had been twisted in a sneer just about 10 minutes ago, as he accused Francis, her brother, of being a whore. Francis, her dear adopted brother, who'd guided her through the roughest times in her life, always smiling, always hoping. Francis who was about to become a star. The corpse who was now lying on the ground with a broken neck. Her inner organs twisted and turned, something snapped, and she saw nothing but red. "YOU!" She screamed, pointing at Arthur with trembling fingers. "It was YOU!" She lost all control. She wanted nothing more than to hurt him, the murderer. "You KILLED him! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!"
Kiku placed the teacup on the table with a gentle thud. "Here you go, mister Zwingli."
"Thank you, mister Honda." Vash said. "And thank you for telling your story, miss Bonnefoy."
She gave him a small nod, curling up even further, hiding her face in her knees. "I was friends with Arthur once, I never thought he'd be able to do such a thing. He has always been the jealous type, very jealous even, but he didn't seem like a killer to me.."
"Well," Vash said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes, "Maybe he isn't the killer. Actually, it is very unlikely Arthur Kirkland killed Francis Bonnefoy, but you and a lot of your colleagues don't even seem to consider that possibility. Now, I was informed you and your brother lived here together?"
She briefly wiped her eyes before answering. "Oui..it's very quiet without him here."
"Could I please see his room?"
The room was large and light. Creamy white walls and a balcony. A kingsized bed in the middle of the room, soft silk sheets and fluffy pillows. Empty bottles on the nightstand. A huge wardrobe, doors opened. Clothes, paper and pieces of what appeared to be a shattered mirror scattered all over the wooden floor.
"He caused the mess himself, the night before he died." Sesel whispered softly.
"Was he an alcoholic?" Vash said, sniffing the empty bottles. Wine.
"Non, he never drank that much. He just locked himself in his room that night, refusing to talk to me."
"He must've been very upset, then." Vash stated, picking up a piece of the mirror, almost dropping it when he found himself faced with a pale face, bags and shadows underneath green cold eyes, framed by greasy blonde hair. Those late nights spent on flipping through records of the suspects surely weren't paying off.
His attention was drawn by a piece of clothing which was ripped in half, stained with wine. The fabric felt soft and smooth between his fingers.
"His favorite coat." Sesel said sadly, moving to stand beside him, stroking the fabric.
"Hmmm.." Vash said, inspecting some of the other clothes in the room. Gucci. Prada. Armani. All with wine splattered over them. "Your brother, surely did have a taste for designer clothing, didn't he?" He said, frowning when he picked up a pair of shiny shoes with red soles. Louboutin. He winced, thinking about the amount of money that must've been spent on all these designer clothes, bags and shoes.
"Yes.." Sesel sighed. "I always wondered how he was able to pay all of this. He refused to tell me. He just said that 'I had to enjoy my gift' whenever he brought home another pair of shoes for me."
"Alright..Miss Bonnefoy, I don't think I'll be able to find any clues in here, so I'll be going n-"
It was just a little piece of paper, sticking out from underneath the mattress. It's probably nothing, don't be desperate, Vash mentally told himself before he grabbed the paper, unfolding it.
Fran,
I am sorry we have to communicate like this, but you know there is a chance my phone will be checked. I've been thinking. About you, about my marriage, about our love and you know, I've sorted things out. You are the one for me. My marriage is failing, but you pulled me back up again. I love you, Francis. I want to spend my life with you. I am going to get a divorce, for you, for us. We are going to be happy together, I promise.
This will all end soon. When we are together, we can leave the HetaBallet if you want. Perhaps we could go back to Europe. Just hold on for a little bit. It won't be long anymore. If you need anything, clothes, money, just ask me.
We'll be together soon.
Yours forever.
"Well miss Bonnefoy," Vash said dryly. "I think we now know how your brother was able to own so many pairs of shoes."
"I've always suspected he was doing something like that." Sesel mumbled, as Kiku handed Vash his coat. ".So I guess he caused Lizzy and Roderich to divorce, huh?"
"Most likely, yes." Vash said calmly. "I'm sorry you had to find this out like this, miss Bonnefoy."
She gave him a weak smile. "It's not your fault. Arthur knew about this?"
"Probably."
"I guess my dear brother really ruined lives." She said gloomily.
"You probably couldn't have done anything about it, miss Bonnefoy." Kiku said calmly.
"One last question."
"What is it, mister Zwingli?"
"The thing you said to me when I found you on the balcony. How did you know the stylists knew something?"
"The three of them were acting suspicious, Bella and Feliks were particularly eager to know why I suspected Arthur of murdering my brother. I didn't want to tell them so I just said I thought him clutching Francis' corpse was enough proof. Maybe it was nothing, though. Bella Van Rijn is known for sticking her nose in things that are none of her buisiness."
Sesel gave Vash a sad look. "Besides, it seems Arthur isn't the killer after all."
"Promise me, miss Bonnefoy, that you won't tell anyone about this." Vash said sternly.
"You have my word." She said. "Thanks for the orchid. Au revoir."
Was this it? Had he solved it? Every piece of the puzzle he had collected fit perfectly with this new one. But there were a lot of pieces missing. He still had to interrogate some other suspects. Nobody's alibi was completely confirmed. Who was the iduvidual who pretended he was Francis? Was it a joke to cause panic, or a serious threat?
Vash growled in annoyance, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. It was getting late and he wasn't able to see much due to the darkness and big drops of rain which splattered against the window. Almost there.
He arrived just in time to see his favorite parking spot was already taken by an ambulance.
Zwingli Detectives
Vash Zwingli
Report: 9
Date: 7-4-2015
Crime: Murder
Place of crime: Building of the Hetaballet.
Victim: Francis Bonnefoy, 26, main role in "Wings" (Caused Edelstein & Herdevary to break up/ end of HetaBallet.)
Cause of death: Beaten to death with a heavy metal object. Suspect probably used gloves.
Suspects: Profession: Notes:
Arthur Kirkland,Ballet dancer,Found on the crime scene, strong hatred towards victim. (Knocked out on the crime scene?) Interrogated
Antonio Carriedo,Stylist, was in the ballroom (according to E.H)
Gilbert Beilschmidt,Stage technician Was in the theatre (according to R.E)
Ludwig Beilschmidt,Stage technician/builder, was in F.V's dressing room (according to F.V), probably has contact with 'Francis'
Lovino Vargas,Decor painter, was in the ballroom (according to E.H), made up an alibi for his brother Interrogated
Feliciano Vargas,Ballet dancer, last one to talk to victim before he was murdered, was in his own dressing room (According to F.V)Interrogated
Sesel Bonnefoy,Ballet dancer,Sister of the victim, at home under supervision, was on the balcony (According to S.B) Interrogated
Elizaveta Herdevary Ballet dancer/coach,Owner of HetaBallet. Broken ankle, not able to dance or work. was in the ballroom. Interrogated
Roderich Edelstein Ballet dancer, co-owner,Main role in "Wings", dislike towards victim, was in the theatre, Interrogated
Feliks Lukasiewicz Stylist, was in the ballroom (according to E.H) Interrogated
Bella Van Rijn Stylist,Was in the ballroom (according to E.H) claims to know something (crucial?) Interrogated
Natalia Braginski Ballet dancer
Ivan Braginski Ballet dancer, dislike towards victim
Yao Wang Ballet Coach,was in the ballroom (According to E.H) Interrogated
Task for now: Confirm Bella Van Rijn's alibi.
Find out who wrote the letter (Quick!)
...Okay that's probably the worst cliffhanger I've written so far.
The pair of shoes Vash is holding are the Louboutin Dandelion Patent ( 625 Euro, about 682 dollar)
Yes people, I did my research. To me, those shiny shoes looked like something France would wear ;p
I know it all seems (seems being the keyword) fairly obvious now, but I hope I'll still be able to surprise you. I think there will be at least another 8 chapters if the story keeps up this pace. Please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter (if you disliked it that's fine too ;) ) Thank you for favoriting, following and reviewing!