Today, the weather was sunny with a clear sky. The residents finally got relief from the harsh and cold winds accompanied by the rain and storms.
It was a hazy sunlit morning covering the entire city.
James was in Mrs Rosevelt's room. Her room had a very old-fashioned look to it. The decor mostly belonged to the mid-90s. The opened window brought in a bright flash of sunlight which filled up the entire room.
There lay a sofa behind the table with a lamp on it. Behind the sofa was an out-of-the-time television which was positioned on a wooden rack. The walls were made of wood and brick.
There stood a logged study table in the corner of the room with a small bookrest beneath it, mostly about medicine.
Courtlyn greeted Mrs Rosevelt with a warm greeting, as she went inside her room to see James.
"Weren't you with Jacob and Harry? Where are they?" She asked Courtlyn.
"They had an important seminar in their classes, so they said that they would be here in an hour or two." Answered Courtlyn, making her way down the hallway.
Courtlyn went inside to check up on James.
James, from the window, stared at the roadside park which was just adjacent to his lot, it had been vacant and unused by the children for many years. It was the only thing around there not made of concrete or bricks. It served as a heaven for introverts and it looked like nature had reclaimed its land. A security drone peered at the park as it passed by.
A security drone is used by the police to inspect barren and vacant places to look out for criminal activities in that area.
"What happened last night?" Courtlyn asked James as she adjusted herself on a chair.
To her surprise, James was not very lucid about what had happened in the after-hours. The only thing he knew was that an intruder broke into his house and attempted to kill him.
"It may be a burglary." Reasoned Courtlyn.
"I don't think it was a theft, the intruder knew my name." Said James, placing the bowl of soup he had been holding on a nearby table.
"Any suspects?" Asked Courtlyn.
"I'm not certain about this though, Joseph felt considerably suspicious to me." Restored James.
"I think he was a genuinely nice man." Countered Courtlyn with a little uncertainly on her face.
"The other day, when we met him, he acted kind of strange, neither did he answer our queries nor did he tell us anything about the happening." Induced James.
"Didn't you recognize him by his appearance?" Asked Courtlyn.
"It all happened so fast that I didn't catch a glimpse of his face, the dim lighting made it even harder. But, he communicated with me. Although, his voice didn't sound like the butler." Said James.
Mrs Rosevelt interrupted their conversation by bringing a plate of freshly baked cookies.
"Here, have some." Said, Mrs Rosevelt as she kept the plate on the desk.
While they were snacking on the cookies, a certain news headline caught Courtlyn's attention.
"Another great tragedy took place yesterday, on the 24th of March, the Butler of the Royale Mansion, Joseph Stephens was found dead. This is the second murder which took place in the last three days. The cause of his death is said to be poisoning. There are some conspiracies which revolve around his death. However, none of them have been confirmed by the bureau."
James was profoundly dumbfounded, almost ruining his cookie. Mrs Rosevelt and Courtlyn couldn't believe the news either.
The mystery about the Mayor's death was getting complicated. Moreover, a dreadful suspicion filled their mind. No one but time could untangle this.
Who killed the Mayor and why?
Who was the intruder and why did he try to kill him?
Why was the butler hesitant to answer their questions?
Who killed the butler?
These questions arose in James's mind.
An hour later, Jacob and Harry arrived at Mrs Rosevelt's place. Upon arriving, they discussed the details of the mystery.
"That's certainly intriguing." Started Jacob. "The butler was killed in the like manner as James was attacked, and on the same day. It is very hard to believe that it was a coincidence."
"He knew his name as well, James, being a very anti-social creature, I doubt that there are many people who know him." Said Courtlyn.
"Do you think that the butler had connections with the intruder?" Asked Harry.
"That's likely but If the intruder had known the Butler then why did he kill him?" Pondered Courtlyn.
"What if a third person is involved in this situation?" Asked James, out of curiosity.
"So you're telling that somebody hired an assassin to kill the Mayor and the Butler, fearing that you might unravel the truth, he attempted to kill you?" Questioned Jacob, trying to connect the dots.
"Exactly, he had beset the assassin to kill the Mayor and the Butler. Besides, public officials have enemies everywhere." Reasoned James.
"This has taken a complicated turn, We don't even know who might be the culprit." Said Courtlyn, telling her concerns.
"The best thing to do would be to leave it for now." Advised James.
"That would be the best for now, In the coming month, we will be having our exams, so I don't think we will get enough time to search for the clues." Said Harry, siding with James.
A week had passed, and it seemed that everyone had forgotten about the mayor. On the first of April, the new Mayor of Ravellie was announced. His name was Cyrus Elrod, an assistant of Julius and one of his companions moreover his best chap.
James had recovered from his injury and they had gotten along with their daily lives.
The next day after the new Mayor was announced, James was coming home back from his college, when he met someone special.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. James Wilson?" A voice came from behind him.
As he turned around, he saw a boy who looked to be around 18 or 19 years old. He had striking cyan-coloured eyes that seemed to hold an entire galaxy in them, and wore a casual black loose sweatshirt, with a silver chain around his neck.
James, surprised by the boy's sudden appearance asked, "Yes, but who are you?"
The boy replied, "Well, I'd like to talk to you. Why don't we go to the cafe over there?" and pointed towards a nearby roadside cafe.
Feeling a bit confused but curious, James agreed, and they both walked towards the cafe and sat down on a bench just beside it.
"Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Sebastian Garcia, the son of the late mayor," he introduced himself to James.
James couldn't believe that he was sitting in front of Sebastian Garcia, Julius's son. It was a surreal moment for him.
"I'm James Wilson," he replied, still in disbelief.
"I know about you. I heard about you from Joseph," Sebastian continued.
James was appalled and asked, "Isn't he dead?"
"Yes, he is dead. Although he acted very strangely during his last days," Sebastian replied.
Curious James asked, "Like what?"
Sebastian went on to explain, "He was very bright and friendly when he became the butler, but with the death of the mayor, he changed entirely. He didn't speak to us anymore and seemed kind of depressed. He started to act strange, starting from the last month."
Listening to Sebastian, James realized that this was the same Joseph he had spoken to just a few days ago. "He sounded very strange when we met him a week ago too. He seemed to be hiding something from us," James said.
Sebastian nodded and added, "Yes, he was like that towards the end. Something bothered him, and I think he was frightened to tell anyone about it."
"It's almost evening now, sorry for stalling you for this long." Said Sebastian.
"It's fine, Here is my contact information, it will help us to inform each other." Replied James, giving Sebastian his contact information.
After exchanging their contact infos both of them went to their respective homes.
The evening came, and the sky was transformed into a canvas of Hues- Soft pink, lavender and blue, which seamlessly blended into the beautiful evening sky. The laughter of the children playing in the streets and the chatter of old people could be heard from any room. Overall, adding to the ambience of the serene evening. The moon paved its way to the evening sky as the sun sat below the horizon.
It had grown dark as the evening clock ticked. James sat in his room, surfing on his computer, when, a specific message caught his attention. It was from an anonymous user.
He clicked on the message as he wondered who it might be. It also seemed to have an image attachment to it.
James turned deathly pale as he saw the image. It was an image of Sebastian, tied to a rope in a dark room.
Below the image was a message, which read, "Room No.286, 24/12 Hudson Hotel, Ravellie.
Come here before 7:00 in the dusk, if you don't want Sebastian to be killed."
The Cyril Hotel was once infamous for the crimes which happened there. One of the most famous cases was of a little girl, who was killed with her mother. It was shut down shortly. But soon after it was banished, it was renamed The Hudson Hotel and was started once again, although no one dared to accommodate there.
James rushed to the apartment stairs. Only 23 minutes remained till the end of twilight. Without wasting any time, he immediately hails a taxi, embarking on his way to the hotel.
After arriving, he straight away ran towards the hallway, as a sense of turmoil and tension lingers in the air. The hotel mostly seemed empty, which made sense as no person in his right mental state would stay here.
When he made it to the room, he conjured up himself and opened the door.
It was completely dark. One could barely see the furniture, which created a gloomy atmosphere. "We met again, Mr James Wilson," Said, a voice lingering in the darkness.
He turned the light on.
There sat a man in his late thirties. He had an overgrown beard, brown hair and ripped clothes.
James immediately recognized that it was the same person from a week ago.
"We don't have much time for greetings, do we?" He threw a knife at James and began.
"Who would you like to save, yourself or Sebastian? If you choose to save him, then you will be killed, and if you decide to save yourself then Sebastian will get killed. The choice is up to you, I'll give you a minute to figure out."
James, in his so distracted state, was stuck between saving himself and Sebastian.
"Fine, I'll kill myself." James took the knife from the floor and pretended to run it through his lower abdomen, pretending to drop dead. But in reality, he had only injured his hand.
The intruder walked carefully to confirm his death. James took this opportunity to kill him and slammed the knife through his chest, causing him to bleed severely and fall on the floor.
"Sir, I heard a really loud noise of falling from your room, are you okay?" A voice came from outside the room, probably a staff member.
The intruder wasted no time to attack James. The knife dropped on the floor with a resonant sound.
The clash between the two began. While the intruder primarily focused on inflicting harm on James, James on the other hand, focused on aiming at his vital spots.
James managed to land a blow on his chest which greatly altered the course of the fight, making him knocked.
Sebastian could do nothing but see the two combatants.
The banging of the door continued.
As the fight reached its climax, a final decisive blow from James helped him to win the fight.
With the door finally opened, he told the administration about what had happened.
Later, The intruder or Heley Stor was arrested with the coming of the police.
James was also taken into custody and was interrogated about the incident. Having been found not guilty, he was freed in a few hours. Whereas, Heley Stor was imprisoned on charges of attempted murder and other malicious felonies.
Later, Heley revealed something so disturbing that it shook their minds.