Chapter Text
Bella Donna! Bella Donna!
The leading actress who newly joined the theater last october, madame Bella. Gorgeous, french and totally talented, as the director calls. Although, the theater staff reportly thinks that she, maybe quite arrogant.
On her last performance of a Greek mythology play, she appeared dizzy and fell on the wooden stage. The concern voices long dissapeared when I arrived. Now this would likely not be a murder, but a simple burnout, afterall the theaters calendar was packed Full with her roles.
But her fellow actor, Ronald of Ness, fled the scene in a hurry. After a short while, he was caught and taken to my office with some other witnesses and theater workers who been present during the incident.
The others sat patiently in a waiting room with Lady Truth to keep them entertained, while I started the interrogation. "You can sit down now, mister Campbell. This will not take too long. " The air definitely seemed thick, almost like you could cut through it.
He touched the chair hesitantly and seated himself. "I- eh didn't kill her, if you want to know that. By the way, I'm now called Ronald. But I assume you already know that. "
"My bad, mister Ronald, " I sighed, "May I ask you a few questions? "
He shrugged. "Why not. "
I took a blow from my pipe, filling the air with smoky flavour. "Why did you fled the theater, the second Madame Bella laid death? "
He took a second but then spoke. "I could not see her death body, corpse, laying all unmoving, on the stage we once performed. " 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥.
"Where were you before the incident?"
"I was backstage, preparing with my stylists."
"Did you saw, something unusual?"
"I don't think so- wait-, " 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, "I overheard a small part of a conversation, it was the director and someone talking about the cutting through theaters costs. "
***
𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵, 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.
"Aw- don't choke on that, you must get through the night to then survive the raging snowing outside. " Said Vera continuing her art of powdering the air around me.
"Are you done, yet? I think you put too much, I look like a snowman. Plus this is taking forever Vera! " I whined while she tap the brush harder.
"Shush. Tell me what you heard earlier. " She said while pulling out a mist containing a loud fragrance.
"It was the time, after I talked to miss Smarty Pants. Coming from the hall, I heard the usual, old Scrooge scolding, no not scolding but arguing with someone. I peaked through the doors key hole, the newcomer looked like a fancy Royal with the clothes. " I talked while checking on Vera if she was even paying attention.
"And then? "
𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 old 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘨𝘦. "We must definitely, do something about this awful sour situation, my dear guest, I propose the best solution would be too cut on their incomes. " She giggled taking it lightly.
𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. "And then something about Kroto getting the short end of a stick. "
"Perhaps, just the usual..."
***
"So It was a coincidence, could you tell me more about the rumor, Ronald? " 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.
Ronald shifts in the chair, probably thinking where he should start. "So it started all in may, the theatre has been bankrupting. Then there was the incident, you probably heard of what happened to Lachesis. "
"Oh, the main actress of the coin of Lachesis that died. Sparking interest of donaters and investors, I see what you mean. The murderer has already been found and punished. " 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘪𝘱𝘦.
"That's true, however there's still a little but. " Said Norton, starting to hide his smirking.
"And you will tell me or-? "
"Of course... For a favor. " Nort- Ronald said putting his hands on the table.
𝘖𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳, 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. "And what would that be? "
"I tell you if you let me go for 2 hours, no minute less and no minute more, then I promise I'll come back here again. "
"Oh- is that all? Really nothing more? " 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘸. 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰- . 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘐'𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺.
"Yep, nothing more. So- do you agree? "
"I do, but do you really expect me to believe your promise, that you will come back? "
"You have my word Naib. " 𝘖𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴-, 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦... 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.
Norton continues to speak, seeking my gaze. "The one who murdered Lachesis, one of the theaters mechanics, was put in prison, where he ultimately met his fate due to hyportermia and poor living conditions. There's no records that he had any family left, yet, his so-called son has been the only one to attend his funeral, here in London. I believe he seeked revenge on the theater, so he killed the leading actress, Madame Bella. Or rather he poisened her. "
"Oh- do you perhaps know the son or have knowledge of where he is? "
"No idea. I don't know for sure, if he even exist. "
"Thank you for the info, Ronald, I guess your free to go now, for the two hours, " I stand up, gesticulating for him to do the same, "but you better keep your promise. "
"I will come back. See you later mister Inference. "
He waved goodbye to Lady Truth and the others, Lady Truth looked up from her interview with Madame Kroto and Miss Vera. Then he walked into the snowy streets of London, putting his hat on, fighting against the cold, harsh wind.
I looked back from the window to Lady Truth, who seemed to be in a middle of a question for Kroto. " Lady Truth I need to chat a bit. " She nodded happily and followed me into our living room space in the investigation office.
"So what interesting secrets, did you found out? "
***
"Good evening, or night? Lady Truth. It's been a while. "