Vol 2 Chapter 12 (2/2)

Natalia and Nick were shocked

“What are the Confederation Police?” Asked Meg Seron replied,

“The Roxcheanuk Confederation has a very complex law enforcement system Each member state has its own police force, and the Capital District does too And the Confederation military has its own military police The Confederation Police specializes in cases that span multiple member states They’re extreanized cri”

“Oh… I understand That is very incredible” Meg nodded, although it wasn’t clear how much of the explanation she had understood

“How long have you suspected me, Seron?” Asked Hartnett

“Well, at first I was completely fooled But after I saw Jenny’s photo and noticed Mr Murdoch’s strange behaviour, I thought that youto do with the e, for one, that the ministry of education would suddenly decide to cover up athat had been open for three centuries”

“I admit it was a bit of a far-fetched excuse”

“I realized that you ate the baseraph instead of tearing or cru it, and when you easily overpowered Larry, who learned hand-to-hand coh I wasn’t co himself in your presence just now”

“I see”

“But I never expected to see the Confederation Police here” Seron said, then pointed at the man on the floor “Are you here to arrest this man and Mr Murdoch?”

Meg’s shoulders trembled when she heard the word ‘arrest’

“Will you now arrest this man here? Is it true? Is it not allowed for us to help this man?”

Hartnett shook his head

“No, Seron We’re here to protect him”

“Really?” Seron looked up, his eyes widening

“Yes He’s done nothing wrong Does that make you feel better, Missy?”

“Oh? Y-yes Itpeacefully

Several seconds of silence passed before Seron spoke again

“You knehat Mr Murdoch had been doing fro”

Hartnett nodded firmly

“That’s right We’ve been keeping tabs on Mark Murdoch and had his home under surveillance since before summer break We waited for the holidays to enter the school preined I’d end up in a situation like this” Hartnett said

“Why weren’t you working today?”

“We received complaints from the school, so we had to pull out Mark Murdochthe complaints He was like this yesterday, too— tabs on him alone, and when I saw hi to storether But who knew you kids would be here first? By the tirounds”

“Then he waited for et punched in the face and arrested him on the spot” Larry added, astonished

“Anyway…” Hartnett trailed off, turning his gaze to the man on the floor “That’s him, isn’t it?”

“Then who is thisasked desperately “Who is this poor man? If you knoho he is, please tell me Please do!”

“What if I told you it was classified? …Well, I suppose I shouldn’t put it that way I’ll tell you”

Six sets of eyes were on Hartnett He began to explain

“This er brother of Mark Murdoch, who’s two years his senior”

“I-is it true?” Meg asked

“Yes Do you kids know about the Lestki Island Conflict? Cross-river, they call it the Green Island Conflict It took place about 30 years ago, from 3277 to 3278 It was the last armed conflict between East and West”

“Yes, but I’m afraid none of us were there in person to know, Mr Hartnett” Seron said sarcastically “But we learned about it in history class”

“What did you learn?” Hartnett asked

“It was the worst war in recent mey led to an unprecedented number of casualties on both sides” Nick said casually

“That’s right” Hartnett nodded “Both Murdoch brothers fought in that war Mark Murdoch returned and became a teacher, but Burt Murdoch never came hoedy”

“But this man is even now alive Aha, I see! He lived all the time in Sou Be-Il after, yes? Yes?”

“Yes Burt Murdoch had been injured and taken as a POW And he refused to return to Roxche”

“Why?” Asked Larry “I mean, the Great War was such a chaotic e, but there was definitely at least one after the Lestki Island Conflict”

Hartnett nodded

“Officially, all POWs were sent back to their homelands But Burt Murdoch never returned Probably—no, definitely—because he wanted to yield to his brother”

The students looked at Hartnett quizzically He continued to explain

“The Murdoch brothers greithout parents Now, they happened to have a childhood friend in their hoether, and the brothers both fell in love with her Neither of theed to confess to her, and she couldn’t choose one of them So ar broke out, the three of them made a promise If both brothers came back alive, she would make her choice And if one of them didn’t make it—”

“Then she’dunusually downcast

“That’s right Mark Murdoch came home alive But his brother was declared MIA in the war, and he didn’t coes So everyone assu childhood friends got married”

“So that’s why he chose to stay behind, huh” Larry mumbled

“Maybe he thought he’d just get in the way if he came back, since his brother and the childhood friend must have been married already” Natalia speculated Jenny frowned

“That’s stupid If I were hiiven my brother a piece of my mind!”

“No one knows exactly why Maybe Burt Murdoch really liked Sou Be-Il” Hartnett said

Meg looked at the man on the floor

“But, but why is thistears He said he wanted to go back, so why is he in this place? Please tell me!”

Hartnett followed Meg’s gaze to the sleeping man

“Letto be a happy story”

“It does not matter to me!”

Seron looked at Meg’s profiled face She was bri with determination

He said nothing

“All right, then” Hartnett said “Three years ago, Mark Murdoch heard unbelievable news from a friend who’d traveled to Sou Be-Il Apparently this friend had seen Burt Murdoch living cross-river The friend was absolutely convinced that it was him, and insisted that they report to the authorities for a full investigation But Mark Murdoch refused and personally headed to Sou Be-Il to get answers”

“And he found him?” Seron asked

“Yes Burt Murdoch really was alive I don’t knohat happened between them then, but Mark Murdoch made his brother—who by then was a citizen of Sou Be-Il—cross the Lutoni back to Roxche Iration isn’t much of an issue now, so that alone wasn’t a problem”

Meg looked up

“He took his younger brother here… and trapped him in a place like this so he would not be seen by other people? An older brother to his younger brother?”

“I’m afraid so For some reason, Mark Murdoch didn’t take his brother back holed his brother onto this cas clear, this wasn’t a prison Doesn’t this roo for years—over time, he’d furnished this place to suit his needs It was a personal rooht on caood physical condition and he doesn’t seem to be ill at all”

“But… even so…”

Meg closed her eyes and shook her head, unable to say any more

“Occupancy of public property isn’t a heavy offense, but it’s still illegal This is the end for Mark Murdoch’s secret hideout” Hartnett said

“Yeah We need to set everything straight” Jenny agreed

“You’re in no position to be saying that, you know” Larry said snidely

“I’m surprised the police discovered this plot at all” Said Nick “No one at the school noticed until Jenny captured Burt Murdoch on camera yesterday”

“Yeah It wasn’t even on the school tabloids” Natalia said

“I did consider writing so like that ‘Mysterious Man in School Base it while I had the chance” Jenny grumbled

“It’s because your parents’ tax ood ith them about the Confederation Police—we’re always open to donations from the public” Hartnett joked

“That’s not it” Seron said tersely Everyone but Hartnett tilted their heads

Hartnett seemed troubled

“Too sood, eh”

“So so else tipped you off?” Asked Natalia

“Unfortunately, yes” Hartnett admitted Natalia looked at Seron

“Then what? How’d the police find out?”

Seron replied mechanically

“Someone told the police and spurred them into action I realized this because of Mr Hartnett’s clothes”

Hartnett shrugged in his ear

“The police waited for suet on ca as construction workers It doesn’t round information already”

“I get it” Natalia nodded

“That’s correct” Said Hartnett “So the story I just told you The infor Mark Murdoch, but pleaded with us to stop him and rescue Burt Murdoch from the basement They don’t live in the Capital District, so the case was brought to us to avoid a jurisdictional conflict But we had to investigate the claim before we could make a move”

“Who was the informant?” Asked Nick

“It could only have been one person” Seron replied immediately

“Ah…”

Meg iht on She raised her hands to her face in horror

“No… how could such a terrible thing…?”

She shook her head, her pigtails swishi+ng

“Ah! I get it I see now” Jenny understood as well

“Right She wasn’t some bystander in the story”

“I understand now Such a tragedy” Nick added, finally realizing the truth

“Hive, Seron Who the heck was it?” Asked Larry

“The third Murdoch”

“Huh? Oh! …Man…”

Larry hung his head

“Yeah Mrs Murdoch”

“Is that about everything?” Asked Hartnett

“Wait” Jenny stopped him “We still don’t have a motive for Mr Murdoch’s actions”

“There wasn’t a word about theabout that ourselves” Hartnett replied

“It doesn’t make sense I simply don’t understand Mrs Murdoch wouldn’t leave hihts have been a happy reunion” Nick said Natalia continued

“And if he wasn’t planning on bringing his brother ho him to Roxche? He could have just let his brother live cross-river There’s no reason to lock hiht Any ideas, Seron?”

Seron shook his head

“No I’ve been thinking all this time, but I just can’t think of an explanation” Seron said, surrendering

“We’ll know once we get a confession out of hi

Then—

“He wanted him to die”

The heavy, dejected voice came from none other than Larry

All eyes turned to him

“What’s that mean?” Natalia asked immediately

Larry narrowed his eyes sadly

“Mr Murdoch wanted his brother to die Because if the government found out Burt Murdoch was alive, it would put Mr Murdoch in a tough position damn it! This is too cruel”

“Finish explaining before you start crying, kiddo I’ll lend you my handkerchief”

“I’m not a crybaby any relative, right Mr Hartnett?”

“Yes, he is”

“Then that means Mr Murdoch received his military pension”

“I see”

Hartnett was the first to realize what Larry was trying to say Meg, on the other hand, looked confused Seron stepped up to explain

“A overnment pays to retired soldiers or the family of soldiers killed in action”

“I see it now Thank you for explaining this, Seron”

Larry continued

“The Lestki Island Conflict was geographically limited to the island itself, so one year after the war ended, all MIA personnel were classified as KIA So Mr Murdoch side his own for the past 30 years Not s can collect on Roxche’s military pension But if the ministry of defense finds out that Burt Murdoch was alive—that he deserted, like many other soldiers who defected to the West—”

“Mr Murdoch has to give back the pension?” Seron finished Larry nodded

“Yeah Every last Rox Thirty years’ worth is a lot of money”

“You sure know a lot about pensions, blondie” Jenny said

“That’s ‘cause of this story ood friend as a captain during the Lestki Island Conflict, doing desk work in the Capital District The friend happened to go to Lestki Island for an inspection, when he was caught up in a sudden offensive and wentThe major ith him from the Capital District was killed with shots to the head froun The military concluded that the captain killed his CO and deserted to save himself”

Larry paused, then He continued a moment later

“The captain had a wife They were married in secret But the wife never received the pension because her husband deserted Grandfather knew her in person, and insisted that his friend would never have deserted when his as still alive and well in Roxche But the military wasn’t convinced”

Larry exhaled at length He looked at theand took a deep breath

“Mr Murdoch asted when he heard about his brother And when he went to Sou Be-Il in person, he realized that Burt Murdoch really was alive Mr Murdoch ht find out—that’s why he forced his brother back across the border and hid him in here Burt Murdoch must have known that he put his brother in a difficult position, so he agreed to the plan”

“I see It all makes sense” Seron nodded

“Great! That clears up everything You’ve ation a lot easier, kids” Hartnett said with a smile

“Seriously? That’s all you care about?” Natalia shot hilare Hartnett seemed undisturbed

“I’ as this case is solved”

“Tch” Natalia shrugged

“Mr Murdoch’s probably gonna be arrested for embezzlement Burt Murdoch will be able to leave the basement, but he’ll be known as a deserter for the rest of his life That’s probably why he said earlier that there was nowhere for him in Roxche And Mrs Murdoch won’t end up happy either This is…”

Larry trailed off, but Nick picked up from there

“This is a tragic end for all parties involved There’s nothing we can do at this point”

Natalia narrowed her eyes

“Maybe we should have just not figured out the truth… Then again, I guess the police would have found everything out within the week anyway”

“Yeah” Jenny added sadly “It was just aThis isn’t our fault And there’s no use feeling guilty over it”

Larry gave Jenny a look like he wanted to object, but in the end he said nothing

Meg looked up at Hartnett

“Oh… but this is just too sad Is there now nothing we can do more?”

Hartnett ’s eyes

“I’m afraid not Leave the rest to the police”

Meg closed her eyes

“Is there now nothing we can do more?” She repeated to herself

“There is!” Seron cried

Seron’s voice echoed through the basement All eyes were on him

“There’s still a way!”

It was a rare sight indeed—e on Seron’s face His eyes were narrowed and there was a smile on his lips

“We can still do somica!”

“Y-yes! That’sraised her hand, her eyes wide

“You said before that your father has a contact at the eht?”

“Yes! He is a very high-up man I heard that he is a Royal Army colonel I ather”

“I read in a book that there’s a deep sense of ca in Roxche Especially in the Capital District”

“Y-yes, there is We people froether Most in the Capital District”

“Then ask your father to contact the colonel immediately Tell him to say, ‘we found someone from Sou Be-Il here who needs our help A foolish Roxchean ed him all the way to Roxche’ Tell him to send your driver to pick up the htaway We’ll co too, if necessary—we’re the ones who found him, after all”

“…Yes! I understand! I no it very well, Seron!”

Seron’s grey eyes narrowed as Meg beamed radiantly

“Good thinking, Seron! Haha! This is great!” Larry said between fits of laughter Seron nodded

“If thisin here to escape, I would have handed hi”

“S’right We gotta take this poor, innocent Westerner straight to the eally Sou Be-Il territory, right? Once he steps inside, it’s finished” Natalia added

“Aanted to cover all the juicy details… but I guess I’ll let this story go” Jenny said with a smile

“I knew fro that this ers See? There’s no rese with this joke for so long” Nick finished in half-monotone

“Yeah… you’re right, Nick They really don’t look a thing alike If you’ll excuse us, Mr Hartnett”

Hartnett finally snapped out of his daze

“H-hold it! You think anyone’s going to buy that?”

“We’ll make sure everyone does”

“You want me to act like none of this ever happened? I told you, I’m here to help protect Burt Murdoch”

“I’ve been wondering for a while now, Mr Hartnett Who are you?” Seron asked, deadpan Natalia snorted, holding back her laughter Meg smiled

Hartnett put his hand on his side and responded gravely

“Enough playing games, Seron I’m from the Confederation Police, and I can’t just let this slide—as a police officer and as a responsible adult”

“I don’t see any police officers around here”

“I’ a hand on his own chest But Seron shook his head

“Please, Mr Hartnett You’re from a construction company, here to make repairs to the storehouse The school chairman and the ministry of education would never allow the Confederation Police to conduct an undercover operation on campus without permission It’s just not possible”

“Grk! You’re going to tell theritted teeth

Seron replied,

“I can’t tell anyone about so that never happened, Mr Hartnett”