Making it Bizarre and Weird - The Detective Girl

Chapter 08 - The Chase

"An accident."

Three pair of eyes all held the same disbelieving expression. The detective girl held up the long chain in her hand, showing them the row of metal rings that was used to keep the chandelier attached to the ceiling. "It is completely bend," she elaborated, her fingers holding up one ring in particular. "But there are no signs that the space is created by anything other than time. There are no scratch marks that indicate that the ends of this ring have parted forcibly. Metal tends to leave a mark if they are forced to yield. This is the result of an old chain, from a chandelier that has caught dust for generations."

"Nonsense," Lady Lucia stated. "I will not believe anything other than foul play. This chandelier fell on the night a murder was predicted. It nearly killed one of the maids and your assistant was standing just a short distance from the incident."

"That kind of deduction is based on emotions instead of facts," Rin had to counter. "What you are looking for is a scapegoat, not a culprit. Narrowing your vision like that is dangerous. I would strongly advise you to use more common sense."

"Common sense?" the lady countered. "How dare you – "

"I might have caused the ring of the chain to bend a little further, causing the accident," the detective claimed. "When I was investigating the chandelier, I stumbled and leaned my weight on it to catch myself from falling... but sooner or later, it would have fallen down. It is a coincidence that it happened on this particular evening." She glanced at hundred sparkling crystals surrounding the impressively large chandelier. "While the evidence alone is enough to announce this an incident, I doubt that anyone in their right mind would use a chandelier as a murder weapon. There is no possibility of knowing when it would fall down. It could have landed on anyone."

"The letter did not state who would be murdered," Gaillard then said. "The killer could have been satisfied with a random victim."

The detective girl shook her head. "Or landed on no one at all. It could have easily fallen down before or after the masquerade. Would the culprit risk that?"

The heel of the older lady clicked sharply on the marble floor. "Alright, fine, have it your way. This is an accident," she accepted. "But that does not change the fact that you disappeared in the midst of it all. You could at least tell us what you were doing at that time."

"While I still need to hear your statements?" the blonde girl responded.

Lucia parted her lips to protest, but her husband placed a hand on her shoulder. "After helping your assistant, my wife has taken care of the maids. They were all shaken; they were standing close by when this happened..."

"They were all still present after the accident?" she was quick to ask.

"Yes," Gaillard verified. "Since Millina nor my brother were anywhere in sight, I made the decision to end the masquerade early. I escorted the guests outside, with not even the family butler to assist me."

"Ask the maids, they can verify," Lucia muttered. "Where are Millina and Keaton anyway? Even when the fight broke out, my husband was forced to take the lead."

The detective girl folded her arms. "You can continue doing that from this point on. While Lady Millina is doing well under the current circumstances, Keaton Callisford has been murdered... Tell me, have you seen anything suspicious?"

Len flinched at the way she shared the news and could only stare at her in response. The facial expressions of Gaillard and his wife, betrayed their own shock at the news. The older male didn't shed a tear, but the way his body stiffened and his jaw clenched, made it clear that he was affected by the news. Lady Lucia's shoulders were tense as she absently reached for her husband's hand. "He's... gone?" she whispered.