“Not Agatha Lotusburg’s blood? Then who’s is it?” I asked.

“Again, I do not know. It only tells us the blood type.”

“So someone placed a bloody brooch with a strangers blood in the middle of a crime scene? This is gonna be fun.” Pigeon sighed.

“Sorry about that. But there’s not much else I can do to help.” Abara said adjusting his tie. “Though the chief will probably be interested in the results of the analysis. Perhaps you should start there.”

I turned to Price. “Looks like that’s the only thing to be right now. Shall we be going?”

“Sure, let’s.”

Being trapped in a carriage with this man was not on my bucket list. We sat opposite of each other. His lanky legs were stretched on each side of me as he read a newspaper, throwing the uninteresting articles in my direction. He tapped his foot against my thigh and hummed in approval when he read something particularly interesting.

“Mia! Did you hear they are opening a zoo west of here?”

“It’s Mayla!” I snapped, pushing his left foot away from me. “And don’t you think we should focus on the investigation?”

He put down his paper. “And what about it? Just like you said the brooch hints towards Miss Yoshida’s innocence so we can rest easy now.”

“Rest easy? The CEO of a company was murdered as well and we still have no real suspect!”

“Ah, I forgot about that.” He ran his finger over the edge of the paper in his lap. “Either way, there’s no reason to stress. All killers leave a trace. The more crimes one commits the more likely they are to be caught. Things will fall in line eventually.”

“I don’t know,” I sighed, fingering the hem of my petticoat. “Things keep getting more complicated.”

“That is the life of a detective,” He shrugged. “Speaking of which. Why not become a detective? You got a free pass from Detective Clarke himself to work for the yard after. And it’s clear you aren’t cut out for this whole science thing.”

“Says you! But… I already talked to Adam about it. He said no.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier just to train you to be a detective? Hm, seems weird.” He flipped his newspaper back open, clearly done with this conversation. But I wasn’t.

“So, how did you start working for the yard?” I asked. “It seems everyone else spent years of hard work to achieve such a position.”

"Ah, so you've come seeking advice from the renowned detective!" He exclaimed, punctuating his statement by throwing his paper in my direction "It's quite simple, really, if one possesses exceptional intellect as I do. I demonstrated my keen insight and sharp mind throughout my academic years, leading to my swift recruitment into the metropolitan police force. I started as an officer and eventually worked my way up to become a detective. It was a rather straightforward progression, as I've mentioned. Yet, puzzlingly, you were plucked from the squalid streets and promptly elevated to a position of authority. Utterly baffling, and unfair if you ask me."

“So it just takes skill and hard work? Not much prior experience?”

“How dare you!” He took a sharp breath like felt insulted. “Did you not listen to a word I said? Prior education and positions is needed. How you got the job is beyond me!” He shot.

“Yeah, me too,” I exhaled.

“Pfft, atleast you acknowledge it!”

Though he was annoying an aggravating as hell, he was right. I’m not qualified at all. What am I doing here? A young woman’s freedom is on the line and some random street urchin is supposed to be the one to save her? What was I thinking? Or the bigger question: What was Adam thinking?

The carriage came to a sudden stop outside of Scotland Yard.

“Everyone out,” The coachman said tersely.

“Very well sir, thank you!” Pigeon tossed a few coins in his direction has he pushed me aside and exited the carriage. “Alright Mary, let us depart!”

I entered the grand building. A group of officers were huddled together kneeling or crouched on the floor looking down at an expansive spread of papers. Gruesome pictures of the bodies from the two murders, crime scenes, reports, and analysis results. Occasionally they would point at certain papers and discuss any connections. Usually ending their inquiry with a shake of a head and muttering in disappointment. Chief Ironheel stood above the crowd, hands on his knees, and oversaw them. Adam and Cecil kneeled beside him. They glanced up when they saw us.

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“You two. I’ve been waiting,” The chief said in a brusque, hushed tone. “I have something important to tell you. Come to my office.”Pigeon and I exchanged a quick glance before giving a nod of acknowledgment to Ironheel. With a commanding gesture, Ironheel placed his sizable hand on a nearby bobby’s shoulder and uttered an unintelligible command to him. After a swift motion to straighten his pants, he signaled for Adam and Cecil to follow him.

As we ascended the stairs leading to the office, I tried to make out the serious and tense conversation the three men were having to no avail. The chief, upon approaching the door, swiftly unlocked it. We all stood at the entrance of the room, while Ironheel took his seat at his desk.

“Let’s get down to business,” He began in his deep commanding tone. “The assassin that worked for Lotusburg that we had in custody, Ambroise, has died in his cell.”

“What?” I ejaculated, wide-eyed. “But how?”

“That’s what these two are investigating.” He motioned to Clarke and Hans. “It happened this morning. So far the only possibility is that it was a member of the yard. As such, this info has been withheld from the general public and all other than the high-ranking members of the Metropolitan Police. However, last night he did say something interesting. Something that could have led to his death.”

“Well don’t keep us waiting!” Price exclaimed.

He sighed. Very well. “As you know the suspect has made no other statements. Not a single one, so this was quite a shock. During another questioning of Ambroise with two officers, the death of the Ironclad Innovations was murdered. The suspect had an outburst. He was furious. Apparently, he was the one who was supposed to be hired to take out Neil Ottenburg. Hired by Lotusburg. He was upset that someone took his kill.”

“Well, that isn’t too hard to believe based on the whole extortion thing going on between her and the company.” I mused “She had a whole assassin on standby. But she died before he did, and Ambriose was in jail when the killing took place. So if it wasn’t them who was it?”

“Indeed!” Pigeon added as he tapped his goggles. “And the more you think about it, our little theory of the same person killed the two seems less and less likely. Killing Lotusburg makes sense, she was a criminal after all! But then why will the CEO? He was a victim. So if the murder is truly by the same person then they weren’t motivated by Lotusburg’s crimes so there must be another obscure motive. Or of course, we have two other perpetrators on our hands. And that’s not even taking Ambroise’s murder into account?”

“That’s what I need you to figure out. As bad as all these murders are, the possibility of someone in the yard being the killer is a top priority. They have access to millions of pieces of sensitive data and the ability to manipulate reports and crime scenes as they will. If we find the rat, then we might be able to track down the rest of the murders.”

“But what about Violet Yoshida?” I exclaimed. “She is still locked in her cell. And there is plenty of evidence of her innocence. If we put the investigation into Agatha’s death, then she might be locked up for several more weeks! Can’t we release her?”

“That might not be a good idea,” Adam interjected from my left. His hands were crossed at his chest as he gazed out the window. “So far two people related to Agatha Lotusburg have been killed: Neil Ottenburg and Ambroise. Even if she is the original killer, there is still at least one suspect out there and Miss Yoshida would be a prime target. And if she truly has not killed anyone at all then she’s even a bigger target since she’s currently taking the fall for the real killer.”

“That is true,” I sighed. “But Ambroise was also killed in custody. It seems she is in danger no matter what.”

“I concede that it seems to be the case. The most we can do is fit her with protection. Although if the killer is really part of the yard then that also puts her in danger. But perhaps in there are multiple people around…” Adam kept muttering to himself about possible solutions to Yoshida’s dilemma. If not even Adam knows things can’t be looking good.

“Miss Yoshida will be taken care of,” Ironheel assured us. “But finding the possible rat is of utmost importance.”

“Be that as it may,” Pigeon began carefully. “It is really necessary to have four people investigating the same thing with several other open cases?”

“There won’t be.” Ironheel grabbed a pristine stack of papers off his desk. He hit them against the edge of the table to straighten it. “Take this. All the details on the Lotusburg and Ottenburg cases. It seems most likely those two are related. You and Detective Hans will investigate this while Mayla and Detective Clarke investigate the situation with Ambroise.”

“Unfair! I get the stale cases?” He whined.

“Not to worry,” Cecil interjected. “If you keep up this lamentable detective job of yours, there will be a new murder to investigate in no time” Pigeon crossed his arms in protest but didn’t respond.

“Let’s be kind, Cecil,” Adam sighed. “After, this falls on us as well.”

“But especially them.”

“Time is of the essence.” Ironheel snapped. He clasped his hands in front of them and his gaze turned dark. “The first order of business is to examine where Ambroise was murdered. He was in a secure cell. Meaning if it wasn’t an officer someone had to force themselves through. Search for signs of forced entry or any other suspicious pieces of the scene. Hans and Price, you may keep up the previous investigation. You are dismissed.” He ordered gruffly. Ironheel could be scary when he wanted to.

“Wait, wait wait!” I mentally braced myself for whatever nonsense he was about the other. I looked in his direction. He flailed his arms out wildly as he spoke. “This isn’t fair at all! Why do I have to do the boring stuff while this useless inept girl gets to do the interesting stuff?”

“Hey!” I shot angrily, shoving my index finger in his direction.”That’s enough out of you, boy! Where do you get off?”

“This is getting very annoying.” Detective Hans announced, interrupting our bickering. “If Detective Price wants to go to the newer crime scene let him. Dear Adam can join me instead.” He patted Adam’s shoulder.”

“There’s no reason for that,” Ironheel replied curtly as he glanced in my direction. “Mayla, how about you go instead? You have not worked with Hans yet, correct?”

“Of course sir,” I bent my head down slightly in respect as I heard Pigeon do a quiet victory cheer. I discreetly stole a glance over at Cecil. He stood on Adam’s left, cleaning pewter glasses frames on a handkerchief he fetched out of his pocket. As always, his expression is unreadable. While Adam pleaded with him quietly to “Not leave him with the boy.” A reliable mindset. I brought my attention back to Cecil. Quite an enigma. I do not know the man well, however based on the few times we’ve interacted, I couldn’t imagine it will be a pleasant experience.