[DINE] The Den of Deception

[kwando1313]

Mizuki looked and realized... Well, this would be a great time to ask people who they were, since, well, they were all out here anyways...

"Hmm, since we're all outside and we need to probably wait until the fire gets dealt with... This would be a good time for us to introduce ourselves, no?"

She plastered a wide grin on her face.

"My name is Mizuki! I'm a private investigator! Nice to meet you all~☆"

[DWaM]

I glanced over in Mizuki's direction. I wanted to say: "I don't think you want to be this cheerful when their deceased loved one's mansion is just burning down", but my instinct told me not to. It was as if I'd almost known in advance that whatever I told her wouldn't change her approach. "She's just that type of person" I told myself.

...Although, I wondered how I could say something like that so confidently about someone I'd known for less than an hour.

I considered the idea that I'd met her before, but... I couldn't match her face to any part of my memory. So, I shrugged and decided to let it go.

I looked at the people gathered. Given what Rachel had told us earlier, I deduced the following:

The two young men => Danny's sons
The Asian woman => The maid
The elderly woman => The doctor
The middle-aged man => Rachel's brother

Satisfied with my epic deduction, I decided to speak myself: "Everyone okay? Anyone even know what happened? Has the fire-department been called?"

[Bad Player]

The two sons don't respond to Mizuki. One seems to just not care at all, while the other seems too shy or nervous to approach. The butler gives a small nod and the maid a small bow, but they keep their distance as well.

"You're the detectives that Rachel hired, right?" Rachel's brother asks, glancing at Rachel as he approaches. The doctor approaches as well, but doesn't seem quite as lively; she probably just has nothing better to do right now.

"Yes. This is Edwam and Haru," Rachel says, introducing the other two detectives.

"I'm Gabe. Nice to meet you," the middle-aged man says. He has well-kept salt-and-pepper hair, is of slightly taller-than-average height with an average build, but with perhaps a larger-than-average gut, as men of his age so often develop. He’s wearing a neat black suit with a matching tie. "There was a big 'KABOOM' and then the fire alarm went off... That's about all I know."

"The fire alarm went off, so the fire department should be coming," Rachel added.

Gabe then looks out over the small crowd of people outside. "It doesn't look like anybody is hurt, thank god."

[Reverie]

"If the fire department are already making their way here..." Haru promptly got to the point.

"...Does that mean that the alarm automatically sends a signal their way?" That was usually how the rich dealt with these things. No need to handle calling them manually when they can have the warning sent automatically.

Then again, that did seem a little odd to her. This mansion appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, after all -- it was hard to believe it's all that connected to the outer world.

"Also, if you wouldn't mind, Sir..." she continued. Ordinarily, she would've kept her questioning slow in the face of those related to the recently deceased, but "Gabe" didn't seem all too concerned with the loss. Even so, she phrased her next request delicately.

"...please tell us who you were with at the time. We'll need some foundation to start with, so if we can be sure who you saw wasn't involved, well, it would be a helpful first step."

[Bad Player]

"Well yeah, isn't that how fire alarms work?" Gabe asked. "If there's trouble, it's important for them to get there as quickly as possible...

"And when the boom happened, I was alone, so..."

[kwando1313]

Well. It seemed that no one was in the mood for introductions. What a pity.

Mizuki decided to direct her attention to Gabe, since he seemed to be the only person who was responding.

"Hmm... Gabe... Do you have any idea where the boom could have come from? And, well, any ideas as to what could have caused it?"

[DWaM]

"Well, come now." I sighed, turning to Mizuki. "I very much doubt he would be as calm as he is - much less so brief in giving answers - if he knew the details of what happened.

Still, I think there are some reasonable assumptions of our own we could make. Before we do so, however..."

I pulled out the piece of paper Rachel had given to me earlier.

"Rachel, does everyone here know about Daniel's will and his... final request?"

[kwando1313]

"Well, it's less details I'm interested in... Just more... Well, his ideas of what he thought could have happened..."

[Bad Player]

"I don't know, maybe..." Gabe gives a vague point towards the western half of the house with his finger, "That side? It felt like an explosion, but... I have absolutely no idea what could have caused it."

"Me neither," Rachel added. "And yes, everybody knows about Daniel's will... and about our decision to cooperate and hire you."

You hear sirens in the distance, from the other side of the house, getting closer.

[DWaM]

"...Right then." I said, concluding that the arrival of the fire department would probably hinder further questioning. "Once all of this dies down, if possible, we would later like to ask all of you some details on what you were doing when... whatever caused that boom happened.

Given the contents of the riddle, it would be a bit too early for us to dismiss this as just a coincidence, would you not agree?

It shall all begin with a bang.

It's possible that Daniel, given his past work - and given the eccentric nature of his will really, had somehow made arrangements for something like this to happen sometime after his death as a way to signal that the hunt for his fortune has begun. Through which means, obviously, I don't know at the moment -- he may have had an accomplice or perhaps he'd somehow made certain triggers around the mansion to ensure it happening.

Or maybe..." I stopped myself, realizing that the other option would be jumping a bit too far and raise some alarm among the family members.

"...Regardless, if that IS the case, then we'll have to figure out exactly what happened.

Hence, the questioning.

I should hope that won't be a problem for anyone?"

[Bad Player]

"Hrm..." Gabriel brings his right palm to his forehead, and closes his eyes in thought. "Something definitely stinks, but... if this was Daniel's doing, I don't see how he could've known when he was going to die. Especially in the state he was in." A moment after saying this, Gabe opens his eyes and glances at Rachel, who is looking paler than usual. Gabe winces slightly, and speaks a bit slower as he continues. "If he instructed someone do it after he... If he got someone else to do it, it's definitely Christian. But we should probably wait to see what the fire department has to say before we jump to conclusions. Speaking of which..."

Fire trucks pull into view, and firemen descend upon the lawn. They ask about what's going on, and when nobody can answer, head into the mansion themselves to investigate. The police department arrives a few minutes later. They send some of their men inside as well, and also begin to talk to the witnesses.

You notice that the officer who is taking everyone's fingerprints is particularly good-looking; even from across the lawn, you can see his white teeth sparkle when he smiles.

[DWaM]

I shrugged. "Daniel may not have been able to predict the time of his death, but maybe he could've maybe predicted the actions of certain individuals and..." I stopped, realizing it was clutching at straws.

I walked over to Gabe once more, my voice a bit lower than usual. "So... who's Christian, if I might ask? And why are you so sure he would've been responsible for anything -- assuming, hypothetically, that what just happened was intentional?"

[Bad Player]

"Christian Engel, the butler," Gabe answers, jabbing his thumb towards the man who had opened the door when you first came to the mansion. "He's been Danny's loyal servant, for... decades, now."

"Even back when Danny was still a magician," Rachel added.

"Yeah," Gabe agreed. "It was supposed to be a competition among family, so obviously the four of us are out. So then the person he would obviously entrust with something like that is Christian. ...Even if us family weren't barred, he'd probably still go to Christian first."

[DWaM]

"I guess that makes sense." I agreed, scratching the back of my head. "Still, I have to admit I'm still not sure as to why Daniel would go through all this trouble. I mean, to even hide his fortune in form of a riddle. There's the classic 'he was eccentric' explanation, sure, but... surely, it would be cruel to just leave the possibility of nobody getting it on the table, I'd say.

How close were all of you to him? Also, I actually didn't catch if he lived alone along with the servants here, or...?"

[kwando1313]

Seeing that Edwam was busy talking with Rachel and Gabe, and seeing that the the police had arrived, Mizuki figured that this might be a good idea to ask what had happened.

Mizuki approached the dashingly handsome police officer.

"Excuse me, sir. I was wondering if you had any information to share on... Well, what just happened in the mansion..."