章 45: Who and what they want?

Chantel closed the door behind her, weeping. She turned back and started walking again. Her lips curl up to a crooked grin. She swayed her hair, being proud of her performance.

Walking out of the inn in pride, she glanced around to see if someone was watching her. She snapped her fingers and retrieved a parchment out of thin air. She stared at it and scribbled a few lines.

'It's done. Remember the deal.'

She snapped once more, causing the parchment to catch fire and burn to ashes.

*****

"Where to find this man?" Evelyn asked, looking at the picture which Chantel had sent.

The man in the photograph had an unpleasant grin on his face. His eyes were green and his hair was light brown. There was a scar on his fair complexion. The scar appeared to be a cut mark from a sharp item.

Not getting enough sleep because of investigating Chantel, her eyes were itchy. She yawned and felt tired as they searched for the man, roaming around every street.

"Why didn't you sleep last night?" Elric questioned her back, ignoring her previous question.

"I wasn't sleepy," she stated.

"But you are now. Getting enough sleep is a need of the human body. Sleep deprivation can have a negative impact on your performance." He explained everything to her as if she were a child.

"You didn't sleep either," she said.

"I'm used to it," a firm reply came back.

She looked at him, wondering what he did before joining the council. At that moment she realised he never spoke about himself nor did she ask. She made a point mentally to ask him about himself.

As she thought, she bumped into a man.

"Not again," she murmured, feeling already embarrassed about bumping into Elric again.

"It's alright dear,"

She furrowed her brows when she realised the voice wasn't Elric's. When she raised her head, she noticed the green eyes and a cut scar on his cheek. Her eyes widened when she recognised the man.

She murmured, "Alderman Hall."

The man's face screwed up as he looked bewilderedly at her.

Evelyn glanced around to search Elric. When she found him, she called him loudly, "Elric! He is here!"

The man's eyes widened. In fright, he pushed Evelyn to the ground, causing her to tumble to the ground, and then fled. Elric swiftly approached her and assisted her in standing up. An arm caught her as she was about to rush after the man, preventing her from moving.

She turned around to see Elric stopping her to go behind. He held a calm face as he looked at him run away whereas her's was panic-stricken as the culprit was so close to her yet she failed to catch him.

"Why did you stop me?" With a frown on her face, she questioned.

"He is not the murderer."

She gave him a puzzled look and continued, "He is Alderman Hall."

"He isn't," Elric said, "and it's not worth rushing after him either." Looking at her baffled expression he added, "Return back to the inn. There, I'll explain everything to you."

Evelyn nodded at him and strolled towards the inn.

"What's the matter?" She asked as she sat on the bed. She had a solemn expression on her face as she looked at him.

Elric began, "Don't you feel everything is going too smooth and easy for a murder investigation?"

She stared at him blankly, trying to contemplate what he meant in her brain.

"Don't you think their responses were pre-planned as if someone had given them the dialogues back in the Zenira empire, from the coachman to the man from the inn here, in Limemere, and of course Chantel?" he asked.

She recalled all events. She paid close attention to their responses and realised that they all seemed suspicious as Elric suspected.

"They replied what they were informed and for the rest, it was the same from all, 'I don't know,'" Evelyn said, looking at him.

"Indeed," he nodded, agreeing with her and added, "someone is trying to keep us away from the council."

"Who might be he?" She inquired, her eyes were wide in astonishment.

Seeing him shaking his head, she continued, "Chantel was lying as well? Her tears, on the other hand, appeared to be genuine."

"Well, she is a theatre artist. What else can you expect from her."

She gave a nod of understanding. Her mind was on haywire. Everything appeared to be clear but was completely vague. The situation was a mess, so were her thoughts. One after another the questions popped in her head.

"How did you know that she was lying?" She asked.

"I had my suspicions from the beginning, back in Zenira. The direction in which the case was flowing felt strange. It didn't have any initial investigations by the magistrate and was ordered to stay away from the crime scene, the body went missing and were then sent away with the excuse of a case."

Evelyn let out a heavy sigh. She heard him continue. "David Drake" She looked at him with a perplexed look as she hadn't heard this name.

"The real name of Alderman Hall. He is a pick-pocketer," Elric revealed.

Evelyn's eyes broadened in shock. She never would have suspected it.

He continued to say, "I spotted his image pinned to the village cop's office on the first day when I went alone for investigation while you were sleeping. Everything became evident after Chantel sent the picture. It was all a lie."

"Was the murder also a lie?" She asked.

"The murder was real. Someone did die. Who, however, remains a mystery."

"Albert Hall?"

"There was none who identified the body. We can't come to the conclusion that Albert Hall is dead," he explained.

"Why did you agree to come this far if you knew something was wrong?" She asked.

He replied, "To know who they were and what they wanted."

"What do they want?"

"Yet to figure out." After pausing for a brief moment he continued, "Council is safe under Mr Wilkin. It was advisable to do what they wanted."

"Who are they?" She continued to ask one question after another, fully oblivious to the situation.

"Don't know"

Evelyn nodded and asked, "What is our next step?"

"Back to Zenira," he replied.