Dan had a strange dream. A cloudy sky, heavy with the promise of rain, hung over a town bustling with its inhabitants. He found himself in a carriage, draped in a fine suit that felt a tad too stuffy for comfort. Reaching out, his hand brushed against the carriage window. The horse in front of the carriage trotted slowly, as if from a bygone era straight out of the 1800s.

“Mr. Maxwell! We are almost there! are you pondering about the case?”

A youthful man, appearing no older than 16, sat beside him, his eyes brimming with excitement. Dan couldn't place who this Maxwell was or who this eager fellow might be. What kind of dream was this anyway? And why did it feel so oddly real? Maxwell nodded in response to the young man, curious to see where this dream would lead.

“Wow! As expected of you detective! What do you think about the case? Who is the culprit? knowing you it was already a close case right?”

What the hell do you mean by that? the case of what? Do I have to answer him? Shit! what dream gives you no information at all? Dan thought, feeling the pressure to respond. Beads of sweat formed on Dan's brow as he pondered his answer, but fortunately, the young man seemed as nervous as he was.

“Apologies! It was impolite of me to inquire first. I should have presented my theory,” the young man muttered, producing a piece of paper scrawled with hurried notes, barely legible from Dan's perspective. “Based on the testimonies of three individuals—Madam Lucine, who discovered her daughter's brutal murder in the dead of night. Mr. Freddy, who claimed she was unharmed when he left her around 2 before midnight; and a housemaid who witnessed her drinking alone around the same time—I suspect Madam Lucine is the likely culprit.”

OK… So we got like no evidence at all and you’re pointing finger? I’m no detective but that’s not conclusive enough to pin her

“Why?”

Dan's voice rang out, surprising even himself with its commanding depth. In reality, his voice was far from authoritative; his friends often joked that it sounded like an air fryer attempting to fry a cup of milkshake. The young man before him visibly trembled at Dan's abrupt question. Did Max beat the shit out of him or something? Assuming that this body is Maxwell.

“W..well” He looked like he just got called out by his teacher “The maid servant said that after the murder, Madam Lucine looked unconcerned. like it was meant to happen, and she has a pretty solid incentive as well.”

“Which is?”

“She a witch!” The guy said it confidently. Dan physically face-palms himself. That’s like the most 1800s answer they could come up with.

Realizing Dan's lack of enthusiasm for his theory, the young man continued, his voice faltering, "The locals, whom the authorities managed to interview, claimed that she had a penchant for collecting peculiar flowers and shiny stones. My theory is that her daughter stumbled upon her dark secret, suspected her of being a witch in hiding, and planned to expose her, intending to claim a substantial reward. However, Madam Lucine acted preemptively."

“Hum” OK, I’m not going to get all the answers at this rate. He is quite confused. The more he stayed here, the more certain he became that this wasn't just a bad dream. Every little detail, from the occasional jolt on the stone road to the snippets of conversation he overheard while passing through, and even the thick air he breathed in, served as constant reminders of the unsettling reality. However, before he could dwell any further, the carriage jolted to an abrupt stop.

“We’re here! let me open the door for you”

The guy next to Dan quickly gets out of the carriage and loops around to open the door. Is this guy a servant or something? Dan exits the carriage and arrives at the house that he assumes is the scene of the murder. A middle-aged man in navy blue welcomes him there.

“Good morning Mr.Russle, Nice to finally meet you! I’m in charge of this case. Names George Kurtis, people usually call me George”

Dan simply nodded. It appeared that the body he was inhabiting, or himself in this strange reality, bore the name Maxwell Russel, or perhaps Russel Maxwell. Judging by how close the man in the carriage was, it seemed more likely to be Maxwell Russel.

“And who might you be?” George asks the person who came with Dan, he listens in since he is curious too.

“G…Good morning, sir George, I’m The Detective assistant Ruce Mckell! I just start today!” Ok… We are in the same boat then. Dan gives Ruce glances of sympathy and pity because his employer is nowhere to be found, only Dan is left.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Nice to meet you Mr, Ruce. Hope we work well together”

After exchanging pleasantries, Dan trailed behind George as they entered the premises. Observing the grandeur of the house's decor and the evident signs of wealth, it was clear that Madam Lucine was a person of considerable means. The well-maintained interior, with its noticeable absence of dust, spoke of a capable and diligent maidservant. As they stepped into the living room, both the maid-servant and Madam Lucine were already awaiting their arrival.

"I've told you it's Freddy who killed her! Why are you still here?!" Madam Lucine's voice pierced the room as she spotted George and Dan. Her demeanor was seething with anger, clearly dissatisfied with the progress of the investigation. It seemed Ruce's account hadn't been entirely accurate.

"Madam, we have a procedure to follow. Rest assured, we will likely have Freddy in custody by sundown," George calmly assured her.

"I don't care! Bring me Freddy now! He's the one who killed my daughter!" she retorted, her fury unabated.

"Madam, please, calm down first," George attempted to placate her.

"Why do I even pay taxes at this point if you guys won't do your job? You swine, fuck you!" With that final outburst, Madam Lucine stormed out of the room, leaving George to order some of his men to accompany her. He then turned to Dan and offered an apology.

"I understand her anguish, losing her only daughter must be hard," George remarked.

"It does seem like she was less angry before?" Dan inquired, going along with the unfolding situation. He figured that solving a murder case might earn him some positive karma. He might even find out why he is here in the first place.

"That's what the maid-servant told me when I initially arrived. Let's hear it from her. Shana!" George called the timid maid-servant over. It was evident that she had likely been on the receiving end of her employer's outbursts following her daughter's demise.

"Y...Yes, sir, is there anything you need?" Shana's voice quivered, much like Ruce's earlier, but Dan discerned a distinct sense of fear underlying her tone.

"This gentleman here would like to know how Madam Lucine reacted when he first discovered the bodies," George inquired.

"Um...u..." Shana averted her gaze, evidently anxious in the presence of both the police and Maxwell. "M... Madam Lucine has been extremely distraught about her daughter all night. I was r...really worried she would..."

"That's not what you told me earlier," George interjected firmly.

"I...I panicked at the time," Shana hurriedly explained, her words rushed. "As you witnessed, Madam is deeply agitated about her daughter's death. So please apprehend Sir Freddy swiftly."

“You don't have to worry about that," George assured, tipping his police hat in gratitude. Since she's not willing to talk, he has no right to pry unless he gets an order. "Thank you for your cooperation. Mr. Russell, let's look at the crime scene."

He ushered Maxwell and Ruce into the living room, where the murder had taken place. The couch remained shrouded in a blanket, concealing the victim's body. As George unveiled the blanket, Dan laid eyes on the grisly scene. The young woman lay on the ornate sofa, a knife wound visible on her chest. Dan fought to suppress any visible reaction. Ruce's earlier mention of a substantial reward for apprehending a witch lingered in his mind, causing him to wonder if his involvement which sounds exactly like a "demonic possession" case might also prove profitable for Ruce.

Surprisingly, Dan's body exhibited minimal signs of distress in response to the gruesome sight. Internally, he felt as if he might vomit, yet outwardly, he remained composed. Before he could delve further into this curious observation, the police interrupted his train of thought.

“What do you think?”

Don’t ask me! I don’t have any experience…. Dan turns to look at his assistant to get a more accurate answer. Hopefully, he would not fumble.

“Judging from the maid's reaction I think Madam Lucine is hiding something or is the culprit” Ruce explained confidently changing from his previous nervous face. “Since there is not much of a break-in and her body got stabbed in the chest, the only person in this house is likely the maid and madam. However, the servant doesn’t have that much of a motive to kill their master's daughter so it was most likely the madam”

Going by that deduction, it made sense that it would be Madam but wasn’t this case too easy? Why would they need an additional detective and his assistant to solve this? Looking at the body of the dagger wound, it ran quite deep and until now the police can’t find the weapon in question. That might be the thing he had to solve right? Maxwell's conclusion is spot on.

“We have also come to that conclusion but several point of this doesn’t make sense” The police point to the pool of blood next to the courpse, there is a little trail of blood linking it to the body “This blood pool right here suggest that the weapon might have been use and drop of the ground. I suspected that the victim pried the weapon off after the killer left the scene but there’s no visible trail anywhere else that suggests that the killer came back to retrieve the weapon. It seems like the weapon just vanished”

“Second, from our autopsy, the victim didn’t die from the wound” The police pointed out her lips “She seemed to suffer some kind of poison beforehand. The person likely uses it along with the knife. Whoever they were, they really hated her.”

“Lastly, is about you, detective.”

“What about me?” His voice has a bit. Is Gorge very chummy with The Detective? Has his cover been blown when he just only been acting for 20 minutes or less? Dan suppressed his urge to run away from this place quickly, he imagined he would be burned at the stake at this rate but the calm demeanor of the police suggested that it was not a suspicion of his identity but something else. Dan calmed down thinking up to this point.

“Madam Lucine request you to be the person in charge of this investigation. She said that she trusts your world more than us. I’m quite hurt by that remark, to be honest, but I can’t measure up to you detective.”

“I guess my reputation is better than I thought” Dan heaved a sigh of relief, only for another question to be brought to his attention. How much did this guy do? Will he be able to fill the role of the detective? Dan is quite nervous at the thought of hunting criminals with his minimal skill.

“All the people in this city have been saved by you once. So they ought to trust you detective.” Gorge tips his hat to respect the detective

“Wait why is the third point me again?”

“Oh,” George notices that he has been off topic “She insists that it has to be you that solves this case. I figure it would be better that way so I call you. but her insistence on your presence is very “aggressive” almost desperate. might be quite a reach but maybe she got something with you detective. Have you had any bad blood recently?”

“No” I don’t fucking know

“Then my theory is a bust” Goerge smiled “Is there anything else you’d like?”

“No, Let me inspect the place a bit.” Dan decided to push this all to later and go about his way looking at stuff and acting like he knew what he was doing. He looks around and inspects a vase nearby. It was white with a little bit of blue pattern scattered throughout. It looks quite expensive.

“What did Madam do for a living?”

“Madam Lucine is a dancer” Ruce answers quickly “She made about 300 dollars a month which put her comfortably in the middle class but not quite upper middle. However, her business is no doing so greater after the opening of a dance class in the east town.”

“Dance class?”