Day 7 - Daytime - Dusk
28th Second autumn, 1152
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Jeanne opens her eyes after a while of sleeping. She couldn't stay conscious and slept immediately when she left the church, she had to sleep on Selena's carriage. Somehow, she found peace after she took that rest. But everything is not yet to be over, the case is still in Jeanne's mind, she sees it a waste of time to spend her time sleeping.
Right now, she is confused about where she is at. She sees herself inside in a good-looking room which appears to be a living room. She also sees herself sitting on a couch and at a table with a tray of cups and a teapot on it. She doesn't understand what happened to her when she was sleeping.
"Oh, you're awake?". - A woman's voice sounds out all of a sudden
That person's voice appears to be Selena Breima. She sits opposed to Jeanne and starts filling a cup. Jeanne doesn't know what to do, she just stares at the teacup before her face. Meanwhile, the girl who is the suspect starts drinking the warm teacup she just poured.
"What the matter...? Scared of being poisoned, investigator?". - Selena mocks Jeanne, she later puts down the teacup she was holding
"Where's Gaston?".
"Outside... he asked for my permission to deliver a letter somewhere, I didn't care at all". - Selena then smashes the table. "What does he think he is?! This is my house, not a Messenger Guild! Go find a damn facility out there himself! He has a horse anyway!". - Done yelling, she gently sits back on her seat and starts drinking once again
Jeanne stays quiet. She wonders if she can dig more information from Selena in this very situation.
"You're quiet this time... very well. At least you've respected me by being quiet... or not...?". - Selena drinks a bit more until the cup is empty, she puts it down slowly. "I'm not the killer. I'm not the killer". - She gets off her couch
"We're friends, aren't we?". - Selena speaks up, her voice is a bit mad. "Yeah, I'm not a friend of yours anymore... but do you still want us to be friends?". - She stays quiet. ".........". - She approaches the door. "Fine then. You don't answer".
Jeanne sighs heavily. Selena just left the room in frustration.
The investigator also comes out of that room. She finds a bit struggle to deal with everything right now. She is at a place where she knows nothing about. She doesn't know the way, she doesn't know anyone. Just herself alone. The investigator walks in the hallway, avoids speaking with the people and looks for boards with writings on them to look for directions.
All of a sudden, she sees Selena leaving a room, following her is an aged man. Behind Selena is a man, appears to be old and intimidating. This man walks so fast that Jeanne can't describe fully how he looks, only being able to know that he wears a brown coat. The investigator intends to approach Selena but the man suddenly walks in front of her while on his way.
"Tch... woman...". - For some reason, the man glares at Jeanne and walks away, she heard him click his tongue
The man is now so far away from the investigator. For some reason, she feels terror every time she stands before him, as if he would murder her in the most brutal way if she was alone at that time.
"Welcome to my house". - Selena suddenly appears, she raises her hands to both sides widely as if to welcome, she makes a strained smile with her swollen left cheek. "That's my father".
Jeanne stays silent. She wants to hear her suspect talk as much as possible to gather information. Despite being an experienced investigator, Jeanne knows she is still a woman. Women are more emotional than men, so she can't let her emotions consume her. Killer or not, she is doing her best to make her emotions detached from the case. She can only show her emotions freely when the case ends with her discovering the killer who stands behind everything.
"Where's your mother?".
"Haaahhhh... she's with the Goddess now". - Selena sighs. "Maybe I already told you about that when we were drinking together, I don't know". - She later holds her swollen cheek
"This always happens when I come to visit home. As long as I don't see him, I can find some peace". - Selena comments on her father, she looks away. "If you want to talk to him in peace, make sure you're not a woman with blonde hair. Make yourself like a man instead".
"May I know the way out?". - Jeanne asks
"Sure... this way. I'm not going to stay here, His Highness needs me". - Selena then leads the way
Jeanne and Selena walk side by side with each other. Selena appears to be a bit mad, but she doesn't say anything mean.
"We'll part way on the way back to the palace. I'm not in a good mood, so don't bring anything up". - Selena glares at Jeanne and walks faster
The two women soon come out of the building. Jeanne sees Gaston waiting for her at the entrance. Selena immediately parts ways in silence, the investigator watches her walking away. Selena is later seen enter a wagon parked nearby, she is about to depart once again.
Jeanne doesn't approach Gaston yet, she wants to look around Selena's house a little.
The "house" appears to be an average-sized wooden building, with a decent front yard built for parking lots. Jeanne wonders if the suspect's house has a backyard. The Breima family is known for business in food and medicine although its business expansion has nothing special. Based on known information about Selena, her family has a few facilities working only in Veta region, those facilities are near to the house.
Despite being an aristocrat's house, this place gives Jeanne a different perspective about the aristocrats. In the past, the investigator had many clients who were high-ranked aristocrats, or at least aristocrats with big buildings. Most of their living places were mansions, built in their lands, peacefully isolated. This house is different. It was built in the middle of the town alongside other buildings. The Breima family is a poor aristocratic family after all.
Jeanne wonders if this house has any connection to the case. Even if it has something to do with the case, she won't be able to do much since her manpower is a big issue. Based on what Jeanne saw in Selena's father, he seems to be a difficult man. It's not possible for Selena to use this house as something useful for her crimes.
If that's when she is the real killer... Jeanne has no actual evidence to prove that fact.
"I'm sorry, Gaston. How are you doing?". - Jeanne decides to approach the young guardsman, now she decides to return to the palace since the investigation for today is over
"It took you so long in there, madame. I'm fine... at least I had the opportunity to look at everything going on around me". - Gaston sighs in relief, he turns around to look at the streets. "It has been a long time since I could go out this freely, at least I found nice food and some girls to watch. Well... His Highness prohibited us from going outside because of the missings. It's so good to be free".
Jeanne nods and doesn't say anything else, she slowly approaches her horse. She wonders if the other teams are still safe after doing the stalking duty.
"Did the rest of the teams have any response?". - Jeanne closes her eyes a bit, she mounts on her horse
"I have no idea. I guess some of them are slacking off right now. Maybe they're enjoying freedom after being locked for months". - Gaston replies. "Also, they don't know this location yet, I already sent a letter to the Messenger Guild and they will soon know where we are to find us, madame. Only if one of them is still at the inn, but I know not all of them are".
"Yeah...". - Jeanne sighs a little
The investigator is thinking about visiting the inn. The entire group will gather there once their stalking missions are finished, Jeanne will collect the reports and leave.
"Hey! We're over here!". - All of a sudden, Gaston shouts and waves his hand at someone before him
Jeanne glances at Gaston and sees a man on horseback, away from that guardsman not too far, approaching him. The investigator has yet to meet all ten members of the group, she only knows about their existence through a document Prince Koenig gave her previously. The document only provided limited information about the members of the group. Their appearance wasn't well described as well, it's understandable since this selection was done in a hurry.
"Who is this beautiful lady?". - The guy approaches Jeanne slowly. "Gaston, bitch! She looks good, what do we do? Tonight? At that inn, overnight like animals? It has been a long time without a bitch". - He laughs lightly, speaking non-stop
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"Hey, that's our team leader". - Gaston slaps at the back of the man
"Uhhh... well... sorry...". - The guy approaches Jeanne again. "Hmmm... wanna have a night, beauty?".
"I appreciate that you praised me but you should pay some respect to yourself, young man. Being a royal guard is a majestic thing... so go find a girl who is worthy of that". - Jeanne replies, she doesn't like talking to guys like this man but she still wants to be polite anyway. "Well... you just said something bad about me. Should I say something back as a fair play... c'mon?".
"Ummm... no. But beauty, I can't take much more of this, you know".
"Gaston, remember to get him to a tavern later". - Jeanne feels a bit annoyed, but she ignores it
"So we're allowed to be free after this mission, madame?".
"Kind of. Remember to make this guy touch men only so that he can find something new to do, that's it".
"Hey! What the hell?!". - The guy responds with confusion
"I'll touch a girl for a fair play too". - Jeanne later stays quiet. "............". - She looks at the guy. "Enough joking, I guess you are... Copter. Your information says you're a guy who always looks for girls".
"Correct, beauty".
"I'm Jeanne, the team leader". - Jeanne looks into Copter's eyes. "It's not nice to see you". - She later approaches Gaston after talking. "Gaston, I'll appreciate it very much if you can stay here and ask Copter if everything is going alright".
"Why me, madame?".
"He'll be distracted if that was me". - Jeanne later moves her horse away a bit far away from the two guardsmen
The investigator decides to stay on horseback and hear the conversation between those two. It's been nearly a week since Jeanne and her daughter - Hannah started their investigation. The investigator knows she shouldn't rush the investigation but the longer the case goes unsolved, the more victims can be harmed.
"So, is everything alright?". - Gaston starts asking Copter
"Yeah. Nothing suspicious, I guess. Everyone is having a party, it has been a while. I'll go get some bitches, so end this quick, will ya?".
"Is everything really alright?". - Gaston asks again
"Yeah". - Copter sighs in tiredness. "Actually, Braun... that girl, if I remember well. She said she saw a wagon enter the palace at noon, it went away not so long after that but she lettered us to stalk it".
"Wait, what?".
"That wagon had no emblems, it just went in and out. I don't know how it can enter but I guess its owner must have a paper for it". - All of a sudden, Copter points his fingers to a carriage parked in the front yard of Selena's house. "It looks like the one right there, man. Well... same in size, but there's no emblems on it".
Jeanne's mind starts spinning after she heard that information. It's obvious for Braun to know about the stalking group, the female guard was initially added to the team but was then phased out. Somehow, this new information makes Jeanne feel like she can stay awake much longer. This keeps making her mind spinning.
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I just calm down. I must think straight before doing anything else.
Selena's wagon and four other wagons started departing in the early morning. My stalking group was then deployed to follow them. Based on what Copter said, it seems like no carriages we just stalked were suspicious. However, this new carriage is an exception.
Braun saw it. The carriage had no emblems, it went into the palace for a short while and left the place. Copter said that carriage was the same size as those that were parked at Selena's house. It's normal for the wagons to have similar sizes, many of them are like that on the streets, seen every day, just various types of transport.
But this carriage is an odd one.
Since no one in my team followed that carriage, it's no use to track and mark where it went.
But if I have to make a theory... then that no-emblems-carriage was the real target. Selena and other wagons were just a decoy, they attracted our attention and made us loosen our guard in the end.
If I have to assume where that wagon went, the only possible answer would be...
- The Land of The Dead
If a victim was disposed there, then the other victims would end up in the same place. In my 28 years working as an investigator, I've been solving and chasing many serial killers by putting them in jail. Most murderers would end up killing their victims the same way and disposing of them in the same area once their murder sprees progressed. They wouldn't do something uncomfortable by shifting their murder methods all of a sudden, it would be a waste of time to get used to new methods.
Some murderers would change their disposal location if they see it unsuitable to continue. However, who would leave a potential location with full of corpses alone? It's just my assumption. But I have to hurry, I hope if that wagon passed there, it would leave some evidence for me to extract.
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"Oh, madame". - Gaston called Jeanne as he saw her approaching
"Your mission is over now. Enjoy your day, remember to rest well". - Jeanne replies. "I'm busy right now. I need a member to deliver the reports to the palace, hand them to His Highness for me".
Gaston nods.
Jeanne starts feeling her eyes getting heavy again. Her earlier sleep is still not enough to help her stay conscious like she expected. The investigator tries to stay conscious, she starts heading to where is the Land of The Dead.
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Nighttime - Night
It took the investigator a while to return to this road. She had to ask her group members for directions before going there all by herself. She is now all by herself with a horse, about to arrive at the Land of The Dead. Jeanne doesn't want to bother anyone, if something bad happens, she will be the person to face it, it is for everyone's safety.
She has been thinking a lot about the Land of The Dead and its connection to the case. This location is the most potential location used for body disposal. The remains of the victims, if hidden here, are pretty difficult to be found. But she wonders if this place is the only disposal area or if there is also another location.
From what Jeanne can think of, the palace's basement accessible to only royal members is a potential location as well. However, she doesn't think it is a disposal location like the Land of The Dead. It is more right to say that the basement is possibly used to store the goods. The dismembered bodies were stored in packages and waited to be transferred to their final destination for disposal.
The investigator can't do anything but use her deduction skills to make assumptions. She can't make sure if those theories are right until she sees the interior of that basement herself, it's a problem.
Jeanne starts preventing herself from thinking too much. She tries to look forward, she needs more evidence to solve the entire case. The road ahead is leading her to the Land of The Dead, it's not far from her sight anymore. If lucky, she will find something useful after doing her best searching this area.
The investigator can feel her mind getting heavier. She is very sleepy. She knows it's not good to push herself too much. But it has been her habit for 28 years of being an investigator, it happens when she has to solve very difficult cases. Unlike ordinary cases, she tends to let herself starve and forces her mind to work every time she solves a difficult case. This also happened in ordinary cases as well, but she just didn't realize it because the cases were solved shortly and she just ate less and slept less a little.
Jeanne hopes her daughter is not going to be like her in this tendency. She just wants to see Hannah safe all the time even without her presence.
Jeanne realizes she just got distracted once again. She starts doing her best to make sure she stays conscious to the last moment of the investigation.
The closer Jeanne is about to arrive at the Land of The Dead, the more she realizes how much alone she is in this location. The sky is already dark, she doesn't even use a torch to show her the path to go. On both sides of the dirt trail, she can see the tree lines, cold wind passing by. Everything is so quiet although her horse's footsteps echo firmly every time he walks. At least the investigator finds a little relief, knowing she is alone.
It's cold. Jeanne knows it, but she has gotten used to it since that night, she has adapted well.
All of a sudden, the investigator feels a bit spooky. It's not about being alone, it's about being not alone but thought she was alone. Somehow, she heard sounds like someone was whispering to each other when her horse was stepping forward. Jeanne had to make her horse walk slower to make sure she could hear the whispers well.
However... now she hears nothing.
"Bandits?", Jeanne thinks to herself, knowing if something like that happens, she will be surrounded first and asked for money. If it really happens, Jeanne just has to toss some money and then run away when her opportunity comes.
All of a sudden, a small spark of light catches the investigator's attention twice. It came from the bushes on the left side of the road. She knows what that spark was.
Jeanne immediately dismounts from her horse by rolling to the right side. Almost immediately, she hears her horse screaming in pain. The investigator stays cover by using her horse's body. She heard three sounds like the wind coming out before her horse started screaming due to being shot.
She wonders what those wind sounds mean. Bow? Crossbow?
Unable to think any longer, Jeanne runs away immediately when her horse was about to collapse. Everything didn't happen like what she expected. She just runs through the tree lines, running as far as she can with hope to escape safely, unable to think straight. "They're not bandits", Jeanne thinks to herself. If those people were bandits, they would come up in a circle by surrounding her, they would also demand money or body if she wanted to survive.
"Selena? Reila? The Queen?", those names suddenly came up when Jeanne was running.
"Chase her, stupid! Get our money!". - All of a sudden, a voice of someone yells from behind
Jeanne notices some arrows sticking on the ground when she was running. Despite the darkness, the investigator still sees it well. About two or three archers are shooting at her based on what she can assume. Their projectile weapons are likely the crossbows due to their slow reload time and the time between each shot.
Jeanne notices she saw a spark of light coming out from the bushes twice before the shooting. If she has to think of it, that spark could be the metal reflection of light. However, it only happens to new and shiny weapons.
"Who gave these guys those things?", Jeanne can't stop stopping her mind from spinning
All of a sudden, the investigator finds herself standing before the mountain of piled-up bodies after running too much. She falls on the ground and gaps first, she won't have a chance to get out of here. She doesn't know how many guys are chasing her. There may be a group behind her, but what if there is another group in front of her?
Jeanne snatches a broken spear she found on the ground. This short spear is broken but still useable, its pointy tip is still useful. The spear reminds the investigator of the days when she was a militia in Leafspear Kingdom. She used to guard the city gate and solve the cases sent to the guard post.
The investigator thinks carefully about what she should do next. She can't think of anything, she knows how she will end up if those men come to her.
In anger and desperation, Jeanne tosses her handbag inside those skeleton corpses. She starts pulling away some piled-up bodies, there will be a good enough space for her to crawl inside and blend in. The investigator can't continue to run if she continues. Her legs are burning and her hands are sore, her mind can't think well anymore.
Jeanne feels breathless when she tries to get in, but she pushes herself forward. Now, she has managed to be covered by the dead, only darkness in front of her. She can't breathe well, she is doing her best to hold the spear, she needs to stay conscious. However, she knows that above her, there are dozens of bodies crushing on her.
Never once in her life she would think about throwing herself to the dead to save her life. Most people would be thrown into the dead because they were thought to be dead, but she threw herself to the dead just to escape safely.
Jeanne cannot breathe, she needs some air, she tries to lift her hands but it's impossible. If she tries to raise her hands, there will be many dead bodies pressing on them. Getting out is not a good way. However, staying within the dead is not a smart decision either. The investigator knows that at this rate, she will die even with both choices.
"Uhhhhh...". - Jeanne tries to utter something, but she is too exhausted to do anything
Her vision is going dark. Both of her hands are pulling out the corpses, she desperately wants to see a light, her gasp is getting ragged. Her consciousness is very unstable, she is about to pass out, her hands keep pushing forward...
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