Vol 4 Chapter 6 (1/2)
Chapter 6: The Investigation
The 3rd day of the eighth month
Seron opened his eyes at the same time as usual
The weather was just as great as it had been the previous day It was a lovely
Seron immediately stepped out onto the balcony
There was no one in the garden
All he saere the flowers in bloom
Seron got ready and went downstairs
“Ah, you’re up early”
There he was greeted by Mr Ruf
Mr Ruf was sitting in a chair, his expression stiff There was a blanket over his lap and a shotgun next to him
“GoodI slept very well last night”
“Thank you for being so kind, Seron And you’re very welcoarden, and Ms Litner was ordered to get so”
“What about the police?”
“They finished their on-site investigation, cleaned up the road, and took the body away”
“Did they find out anything else?”
“Apparently the boy was actually stabbed quite a ways away The killer stabbed him, then hauled him over by car and dropped hi so awful to so? I don’t know the family in person, but apparently the boy’s father has a farm out west They say the boy was always a delinquent, which is why hearound alone after dark”
“What about reporters?”
“The police ‘misreported’ the location of the discovery Some local reporters went over about 200 raphs”
“I see I suppose ‘misinformation’ has its uses soreed
“Are you feeling all right, Seron? It must have been a rude shock for you, when you’re supposed to be here on vacation Perhaps we could speak to Miss Jenny and find you all different lodgings”
Seron thought for a moment “Jenny is the president, so I’ll leave it to her”
“Of course But I wager she’ll refuse to leave”
“I agree”
“Ahaha So you knew”
“Mr Ruf I want to ask you so else into account”
“Of course”
“Do the local delinquents seem like the type to commit murder?”
“No Not at all”
By breakfast tied and sat down in the dining rooer
They were all dressed si pants and a jacket
Surprisingly, everyone said that they had gotten a good night’s sleep
“Looks like Mr Kurtz and Ms Litner will be happy” Larry remarked
They said their prayers and dug in
At first, the newspaper club ate in silence But there was no avoiding the elephant in the room Larry spoke first
“I tuned in to the news inabout the case”
“I highly doubt a small incident in a countryside toill o, naturally, is being kept under wraps”
“Jenny, I wanted to discuss so different lodgings as Mr Ruf had suggested, but Jenny did not think twice about replying,
“No”
Seron had expected that answer
“Why do we have to move for some serial killer?”
“It’s seriously a bother” Natalia nodded
“But if one in ten thousand, a bad thing were really to happen…” Meg trailed off nervously
“We can’t set aside the possibility” Seron said
“Pardon?” Meg replied in distress, but Seron continued
“Let’s suppose there really is a serial killer going after the local delinquents Then he’s bound to strike again soon I’m sure he will”
Jenny agreed “And if the police keep suspecting the delinquents, they won’t even look for the serial killer”
“Then there’s the other delinquent teaht assue”
“That’s terrible I don’t think they’d be that stupid, though” Larry remarked
“I do wonder People prove thereat atrocities when placed under pressure—”
“Excuseroo We have a guest here asking for you, Miss Jenny He says he needs to speak to you right away”
Jenny furrowed her brow “Who?”
Before Mrs Ruf could answer, Seron realized who it was
“Let him in, Jenny”
Jenny was quick to realize as well
“Ah! I see Please let him in, Auntie”
“Of course”
Once Mrs Ruf was gone, the others asked Jenny and Seron who it was
But before they could answer, a set of footsteps began running down the hall
“This is bad, Jenfie! You gotta help us!” The boy cried, rushi+ng into the dining room The others had their answer
Jenny first offered tea to Neil, as still gasping for breath
Neil downed the cool tea without even taking a seat and thought about what to say first Then,
“The Wolves’ second-in-coht in this area!”
“We know And?” Jenny urged him
“…You know? Okay So everyone’s out for blood” Neil said between half-sobs
“Could you elaborate for us, Neil?” Asked Seron “How did you find out about the murder?”
“I went into town this uys talked toshots, too They never even used to look at me”
“It’s because you’re not in any of the groups, Neil The Wolves and Hunters lost their members to murder and a mysterious accident, so they would obviously want to knohat the other groups are up to And the Jackals and Govern I’ that the boys all said they’d let you join if you helped them out?” Seron conjectured Neil’s jaw dropped
“Y-y-you know everything! Are you a ?”
“No, I’m not Anyway, you kept your pro any of the groups I’m proud of you”
Jenny nodded “True, true Good job, Neil So Jackals and Governht?”
“Yeah! They didn’t kill anyone, I’ them because they did some pretty bad stuff before What do we do now? What can we do?” Neil fretted, his s
Seron and Jenny fell into silence
Larry and the others waited, knowing that Seron and Jenny were in deep thought
“Please! You gotta help us!” Neil cried, the only oneroom
Seron replied first “There’s not much we can do”
Neil looked like he was about to burst into tears
Then Seron added, “But we’ll do everything we can do”
A smile rose to Neil’s face Jenny chimed in
“Sure We’ll try e can”
“So what exactly are we gonna do, Seron?” Asked Larry
“First, we’ll roups and tell them about the serial killer, and instruct them to halt all activities so they can avoid suspicion What do you think, Jenny?”
“Dunno We’re not locals, so all we can do is hope they believe us”
No sooner had Jenny finished did Meg raise her voice
“And we ht at all’!”
Natalia agreed “Yeah Tell ‘eood kids”
“That sounds like a feasible plan What next?” Asked Nick
“I’ if we should talk to the police one ht now”
“Then it’s settled—we’re going into town I’ll have Mr Kurtz get the car ready” Jenny said
Meg see?”
“He can last two or three days without sleep”
“I understand Then…” Meg trailed off
“This is going to throw us completely off-schedule as far as the camp’s concerned Are you okay with that, Jenny?”
“I exercise ive us a special exemption”
After breakfast, they got ready to leave
“Wait, we’re all going? The girls should stay behind—” Larry began But Natalia cut him off
“Not like the chief’s gonna stay even if you mica all by herself here?”
Jenny slung her ca over her shoulder
Once they were ready to go, Jenny summoned Kurtz and Litner and told them about their plans for the day
Neither Kurtz nor Litner seemed to be particularly thrilled But—
“Please…”
Neil was on the verge of tears
“This is an order”
And Jenny was being as stubborn as a bull They had no choice but to follow orders
“Miss Jenny, ill agree only on the condition that you allow us to closely accompany you”
Kurtz and Litner would each drive a convertible, as only the liht of them at once
Neil insisted on taking his bicycle, but Seron convinced him to join the others on the convertible
“Larry, you take the es if anything happens”
“Got it”
Larry picked up his helles as Seron instructed He refused to take Natalia along this tirabbed a spare helmet just in case
“Let’s go”
The two convertibles and the motorcycle left the villa and drove onto the street
Seron was riding shotgun As the car passed the gate andher head at the now-clean spot where the boy had died
Seron also observed a moment of silence
On the way to town, Nick asked Seron a question from the back
“Will we be assisting in solving this ain?”
Seron thought for a“I don’t think so”
“Oh? Why ht that be?”
“Because if our guess is right, we’re up against a serial killer That’s not someone we can take on”
“I suppose so, but we have Mr Kurtz and Ms Litner with us”
Litner broke her silence
“I’er” She said quickly
Neil, sitting beside Nick, shrank apologetically
“I’ to take that risk either, Nick” Seron said, looking straight ahead “No offense, but sos”
“I see My apologies” Nick replied with a smile
Litner frowned, glancing at Nick through the rear-view mirror
The two convertibles and the motorcycle stopped in front of the restaurant at the center of tohere the group had eaten the previous day
Kurtz and Litner parked on the roadside (which was not illegal) and scanned the area as the newspaper club and Neil walked through the town
Though there had been a murder the day before, the air was fresh and crisp There were few people or cars on the road because it was still during work hours
Neil first led the group to a hardware store a short distance froe center
The store was part of a s frouard outside, and the others entered the store The tiny store quickly became crowded
Because the hardware store did not sell products that people used every day, there were no other custoroup was there to see
A tall boy about 18 years of age sat at the counter, clearly annoyed Perhaps he had been forced to watch the store while he was on summer break The boy noticed Neil
“Hey there, kid Find out anything?”
But he soon spotted the people coers ere clearly outsiders, and an iuard
“Wh-what the?” He squawked “Who are these people, Neil?!”
“Calm down, second-in-co calirl was predictable
“D-don’t h!”
“We’re just here to talk to you” Seron said calmly from behind Jenny