章 171: Good Cop, Bad Cop
Jilly led them into the parlor of their home and let them make themselves comfortable. She politely asked her "butler" to prepare the good tea for them. The butler was just a man they hired to help around the house, rather than an actual butler though.
Jilly seemed quite proud of her display of wealth, but neither Perona nor Cabernet were impressed in the slightest. Perona was already accustomed to a much higher degree of luxury than what a lowly mayor's wife could produce from her time spent with Moria's crew. Cabernet was just a savage who didn't care about such frivolities.
"So what brings you to my home?" Asked Jilly.
"We're here investigating the recent murders in your village. Be grateful." Perona answered arrogantly.
"I see. I suppose you must be here because that mouthy bitch has been flapping her lips about my husband's affair with that floozy who got stabbed, then?" Jilly assumed.
"You don't seem to have a very good opinion of Olivia, did YOU kill her?" Perona pressed.
Jilly didn't budge an inch though. "What, should I pretend that I don't hate her just because she was murdered? No, I think that would only be more suspicious if you ask me. And of course I didn't kill her, or the other two for that matter."
"Do you have any ideas about how the victims might be connected? A common enemy perhaps?" Perona inquired.
"I don't know about any common enemies they might have had, but I think the old Constable was killed first out of necessity more than anything. He was a proper law man, not like his incompetent son who failed to inherit his father's mind for detective work. Though until now we've had a relatively quiet village so that hadn't been important." Jilly spoke.
The butler set down a tray of tea cups and some light snacks. Seconds later the snacks were gone, eaten by a hungry lunarian.
"I'll… bring more, I guess?" The butler scurried away, a tiny bit frightened by how quickly the snacks had vanished.
Jilly picked a teacup up and sipped at it, savoring the flavor. She looked around at the doors and windows before leaning in.
"By the way, you're pretty strong, right? Would you mind doing me a favor?" Jilly asked quietly, as if worried someone might overhear.
"We don't do assassinations." Perona stated bluntly, a bit too loud for Jilly's liking.
"I didn't mean that!" Jilly hissed. "Truth be told, my husband is far from an honest man. I'm pretty certain he's been siphoning funds from the taxes for his own use. If you could retrieve the village account books from his safe and bring them to me, I could finally be rid of him for good!"
"You seem to dislike him a great deal. Why do you care so much about the affair he had if you want to kick him to the curb?" Perona interrogated.
"Of course I care, it's my reputation that he's sullying too. But with proof of his corruption, I can expose him and go from being the bitter housewife of the beloved mayor to being the village hero. I might even get elected mayor myself afterwards." Jilly said, seeming quite proud of her plan.
"We'll think about it, after the murder case is resolved of course." Perona said noncommittally.
They finished their tea and second round of snacks before moving on to the mayor himself.
"Okay, Cabby, we're going to play good cop bad cop. You'll be the good cop, okay?" Perona said.
Cabernet didn't really get what she was referencing, so she did what she usually does when she doesn't understand something and nodded along.
"Great!" Perona said.
They entered the mayor's office without knocking which caused the man's eyebrow to imperceivable twitch in annoyance even as he put on his fake smile.
"I see you've finished speaking to my wife. Where are my manners? I haven't formally introduced myself yet. I am Mayor Brock of Fungwood. What can I do for you ladies, then? Immigration forms, perhaps?" Mayor Brack said with practiced eloquence.
"Ew, no. We know you're the killer, Brack. Your wife told us all about it, just surrender yourself quietly!" Perona declared.
"W-what?! What lies has that ungrateful bitch been telling?!" Mayor Brack shouted in outrage.
'Good cop, good cop, what would a good cop say?' Cabernet wondered silently.
"Don't worry Mayor Brack. We'll make sure the villagers execute you painlessly. You only have to confess." Cabernet nodded solemnly with a gentle smile.
'Nailed it.' Cabernet thought.
'You messed it up, but you're so cute so I forgive you.' Thought Perona.
"Huh?" Mayor Brack squeaked, suddenly aware of his own mortality.
"She's just joking, don't take it so seriously, dirtbag! Tell us everything!" Perona tried to salvage the situation.
"I-I didn't do anything, I swear! If anything, it'd be my wife! She hated Olympia!" Mayor Brack pleaded.
"You got any proof of that claim, Brack?" Perona pressed.
"It isn't a claim, just a suspicion! I didn't do anything so there won't be any proof that it was me either!" Mayor Brack reasoned.
"What do you think, partner? Does he seem like a liar to you?" Perona asked Cabernet.
"Yes." Cabernet said, Mayor Brack paled. "But it doesn't seem like he's lying this time to me, just that he's a liar in general."
Mayor Brack heaved a sigh of relief.
"We'll be keeping an eye on you, Brack! No funny business with that silver tongue or we'll break your kneecaps!" Perona threatened.
"We'll make you some crutches so you can still get around, though." Cabernet added in her brilliant rendition of the 'good cop'.
"Oh, Jilly didn't accuse you of being the killer, by the way. We made that up to pressure you." Perona waved goodbye as they left the house.
Mayor Brock briefly considered turning the villagers against them for this humiliation, but he decided against it on account of the fact that he wasn't sure they could actually beat them. They might also have other strong companions that would make it even more dangerous for him.
'Should I call the marines, then?' He considered.
They wouldn't be able to safely enter Fungwood, but they could arrest them when they leave.
…
The other hunters weren't very helpful, not even in regards to Patrick as the hunters generally hunt alone.
However, they did mention that Constable Ricky had been a hunter himself before his father retired and he took up the mantle of constable. Ricky and Patrick had apparently been quite close friends in the past, but they grew apart shortly before Ricky became constable.
"It's getting late, we should find some place to sleep for the night and continue tomorrow." Robin suggested.
"We can go to Maggie's tavern. It looked like she had some extra space that might be rooms we can rent." Cherry said.
They met back up with Perona and Cabernet, sharing what they learned along with their suspicions and working theories as they walked to Maggie's tavern.
"I guess I have rooms I can rent to ya. I usually use them to rip off the louts who drink themselves unconscious, not gonna sleep for free in MY tavern, no sir! I do clean them properly, though, don't worry." Maggie said.
She offered reasonable prices which were far lower than what she charges the drunken fools that pass out in her tavern.
…
Midnight.
The killer sat alone in his own home, staring at something on the table in front of him with blank eyes.
"Yes, I know you want more, but we can't. There are strangers in the village, strong ones, too strong for us to handle." The killer whispered to the object.
A moment passed in silence.
"Okay, okay! Soon, I promise! But not tonight, it's too dangerous, we'll be caught… If they don't leave soon, we'll just have to take the risk… Yes, I promise." The killer spoke placatingly.
Another moment passed.
"Alright, you can have a little bit, just to tide you over…" The killer turned his eyes towards a cat sleeping calmly in the corner of the room.
The killer picked up the object on the table that they'd been speaking to.
It was a long dagger with a black blade. As the killer approached the sleeping cat, the blade began to emit an ominous, blood red glow.
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