Emil departed from the graveyard, rushing back to the town. With each step he took, his internal worries and suspicions only grew. The cleric had been stabbed earlier that day when he murdered Sarah. Yet later that evening, he had shown no signs of being recently stabbed while at the tavern.

Then there was also the mayor. A man who had previously been so quickly willing to dismiss the past murders as accidents. And yet had now gone out of his way to lockdown the town and immediately begin a search. Was he genuinely leading a real investigation, or was it because he already knew what the end result would be?

His mind couldn’t help but try to link it all together. What if the mayor and the cleric were working together as accomplices? Emil had no clue why the mayor would be willing to work with someone murdering the children of his own town. However, was there any other reason that could explain his behavior? If that was the case, were there others involved as well, all working together to keep the murders covered up?

As these thoughts still swirled around inside his brain, he stepped into the town. There were very few people still outside, most of the population seemed to have turned in for the night. Lit lanterns were alongside the streets. Their small, flickering flames only added a further sense of eeriness to the now quiet town.

As Emil continued forward, he saw a small group of guards crossing the street further ahead. And walking alongside them, was the mayor himself. He picked up the pace, quickly going to catch up to them. If he wanted an answer to his suspicions, now was the time to find out.

“Excuse me, mayor Duran? Do you have a moment?” Emil asked, approaching from behind them. The mayor looked back, and raised a hand. The guards halted and stood at attention. Walking up to him, the older man gave Emil a slight smile.

“Ah, you’re the young man from just earlier. I don’t believe I’ve made your acquaintance yet, but it seems you already know who I am. For the sake of formality, however, I must introduce myself properly,” he said as he extended a hand toward Emil. “Mayor Wilhelm Duran, though most simply refer to me as either Mr. Mayor or Sir Duran. And you are?” Emil looked down at the man’s hand for a moment, before hesitantly shaking it.

“Emil, just Emil.” That was all he was willing to give as an introduction. But in those few seconds that they shook hands, he felt the hairs on the back of his next stand up. He couldn’t tell what it was, but something was certainly off about the man standing before him.

“I see, then allow me to personally welcome you to my town, Mr. Just Emil.” His grin widened at his own joke. “Now, was there something that you needed from me?”

“Yes, I wanted to ask you about the murder.” As he said it, Emil looked straight into the mayor’s eyes, watching for any kind of reaction. But there was nothing, so he moved on. “Now that some time has passed, I was wondering if there were any updates to the investigation. Specifically, have you found out there has been anyone with the matching injuries that was recently been admitted for medical treatment?”

“Hmm,” the mayor began as he rubbed his chin. “I have yet to hear the final report regarding a few institutions that could have provided such treatment. However, the rest have reported nothing on that front. But worry not, even if the others also give the same answer, we won’t give up. There are always other leads for us to pursue, and the law won’t rest until we have gone through them all and then some. However, for future reference, I ask that you simply check the local newspaper for developments regarding the investigation. I shall personally write and send them a daily update to published word for word.” He placed a hand on Emil’s shoulder.

“If that is all, I bid you goodnight.” With a quick pat on the back, the mayor returned to his guards and continued their walk through the town. Emil stared at their backs, watching them as they eventually turn a corner and disappeared out of his sight. The bad feeling he from before had only grown worse with that interaction. Every sign from Alice’s words to his own gut feeling pointed at one thing, the mayor was not a man to be trusted.

As an extension of that, so were any results or conclusions made by the official investigation. Emil would need to work on his own to collect evidence. So that even if they claimed there was nothing to be found, he could provide indisputable proof. That way, even if the mayor was covering for the cleric for whatever reason, it wouldn't matter if Emil won the court of public opinion.

To that end, he decided that his first priority was to find out where the cleric lived. If he could do that, then perhaps Emil could snoop around the man’s house whenever he was out. An older cleric likely wouldn’t have a wife or children for him to worry about. There was also the mayor’s office and home, but that could be trickier if guards were around. For now, he needed to find out where the cleric’s home was, but without arousing suspicion.

Emil thought back to the tavern and the other people he had met in it. There was the older woman, he believed her name was Mabel. Didn’t she own an alchemy shop on the same street as the inn? There was a small chance that the shop was still open, even this late into the evening. But if not, it would be a lot easier for him to make up an excuse as to why he needed to see and speak with her. Dorothy the inn owner might know how he could reach her.

He made his way to the street where both businesses were located. Emil checked the alchemy shop first, and confirmed that it was indeed closed for the night. From there, he returned to Dorothy’s Inn and walked in through the front door. Inside, most of the tables were empty, save for a couple of sleepy drunkards. Dorothy was there, sweeping the wooden floors.

The two of them made a bit of small-talk, before he asked about Mabel. The excuse he gave was that while they were at the same table, Emil had asked if he could ask about her selection of alchemical ingredients after they finished eating in the tavern. She had agreed to that and they made an appointment for it as a business discussion. However, when the search came in about Sarah, that obviously didn’t end up happening as originally planned. As such, he wanted to know how he could make contact with her. So that he could confirm if she wished to go ahead with it, or postpone their meeting for the morning.

That was a lie he had more or less made up on the spot. However, it seemed to do the trick. Dorothy had visited Mabel a few times and knew her address. She told him the name of the street she lived on, as well as how to identify which house was hers. Thankful that had gone smoothly, Emil thanked the inn owner before exiting the building.

Back outside, he breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped onto the street. A gust of wind howled through the town as a streak of lightning flashed across the sky. It was only a few seconds before thunder followed. Meaning that the storm would be reaching the town soon.

Following the directions he had been given, Emil was soon near Mabel’s house. He looked at the buildings as he passed by them, watching for the indicators of which one was hers. Dorothy had said that it would be a one-story house with fencing and a small gate in front of it. Along with a wide variety of plants growing in that front garden. He would supposedly know it as soon as he saw it. As he walked though, Emil thought about the lie he would give her.

‘Okay, I know that the cleric’s leg was injured, even if he didn’t make it obvious in the tavern. But I’ll go ahead and roll with that. Let’s say that I’m here to ask her for some medicine for him, because he’s been having knee pain or something.’ Now came the next question, why was it a newcomer like him that was sent to get it, and not someone else instead?

‘Hmm, I think I got it. It was originally supposed to be Ben. But with what happened to his little sister, he couldn’t now. So I can say that he asked me if I could do it instead, and now here I am. Alright, let’s go with that.’ To him, it seemed believable enough.

After all, he was the one that stuck around with Ben and his mother the longest, even as everyone else was leaving. He didn’t remember seeing Mabel in that crowd, but news probably spread fast about the murder. So there was a chance someone had mentioned him, the newcomer who found the knife. With that concluded, it was only a little more searching until he spotted the house. And Dorothy had not been kidding when she said he’d instantly be able to pick it out.

In the front garden was the most diverse spread of plants he had ever seen. There were all sorts of colors, paired near each other for various kinds of wonderful combinations. It was already pretty, but he was sure it was likely gorgeous during the day. There were a couple he recognized and knew the names of, but so much more that he didn’t. To Emil, at least, it was certainly impressive. However, he wasn’t here to gawk and admire.

Emil went through the wooden gate, and walked along the path to the front door. When he reached it, he took a moment to clear his throat before knocking on it. Emil then took a step back, and waited. Hopefully she was already still awake, and he didn’t just wake her up. But he wouldn’t have to wait long. Just a few seconds after knocking, he heard someone moving inside, approaching the door.