[DINE] The Den of Deception

[kwando1313]

"Ohoho... I see then...", she said.

She then turned back to examine the cabinets. As before.

[Reverie]

Well, these two would make quite the couple... let's see...

Haru decided to stay out of their squabbling for the time being; she figured they'd be at it even longer if she interjected. Seeing that the cabinet and mirror were being tended to, Haru turned her attention to what seemed to be the only other notable item in the room -- the potted fern. Deciding to check for the usual tricks, she removes the contents of the vase and checks the space within.

[Bad Player]

The cabinet has a couple of shelves in it, and sitting on the shelf on each side is a small crystal figurine of an animal.

The mirror is circular and decently sized, and the golden frame has zigzag petals poking out around the circumference, immediately giving you an image of the sun. It's fairly heavy, but Edwam picks it up carefully to avoid pricking himself on the petals, and examines the back to reveal... not much besides the wires used to hang the mirror.

In one swift motion, Haru pulls up the fern, bringing up the fern along with the clod of dirt entwined in its roots. Bits of dirt spill over from the vase onto the coffee table. There doesn't seem to be anything in the pot except some dirt.

[kwando1313]

"Huh. They're quite pretty."

Mizuki looks closer at the animal figurines.

[Bad Player]

Each figure is a couple of inches high and made of crystal clear glass. The shapes aren't made with smooth curves, but instead each figure is composed of dozens of small geometric faces that join each other at the edges. There's a dog, a cat, a bird, a sea turtle, a butterfly, and a bunny.

[DWaM]

I carefully put the mirror back on the wall and walked over to Mizuki.

"Odd. Finding animal figurines in a room about flowers. The only one that makes sense would be the butterfly, I guess."

[kwando1313]

"Well, I think they match the aesthetic quite nicely."

She turned to face Haru.

"Are you done ye-"

And then she realized what Haru did.

"W-What exactly are you doing, Haru? Why did you just uproot her plants like this?"

[Reverie]

"Bwaa-- uh...?" Haru, too, had just realized what she'd absentmindedly done. In her haste to "investigate," she seemed to have forgotten that, yes, this was the home of a pretty respectable owner. Whoops.

"Ahh... hehehe..." She attempted some sort of carefree laugh to cover for herself. Between this and her previous outburst, the other guests were probably wondering why she was acting so suspiciously. Or maybe they'd just take her for a klutz.

Trying her best to re-set the plant and its soil in their original positions, she gathered the smaller chunks littered around the room into her palm and chucked them back into the pot, dropping the fern-and-dirt-combo inside after the fact. Good as new.

With her original plans clearly not working out, Haru decided to ignore Mizuki's question entirely. Instead...

"Hey." She tried to focus the others' attention to her. As if that was really necessary at this point.

"With Ms. Johnson gone, we shouldn't have anybody breathing down our necks, for the time being. We should take the opportunity while we can. Maybe there's someplace else we can look over?"

Then, without actually pausing for a silence, she said:

"I'll take that silence to mean you agree! ...So, any suggestions?"

[DWaM]

"How about... out the door...?"

I said, leaving the parlor.

[Bad Player]

When Edwam opens the door, Rachel is standing there, as if she were just about to re-enter. "Oh, sorry," she says in surprise.

It looks like Haru got the plant back in just in time.

[DWaM]

"Oh, no problem. We were just getting a bit worried. Or impatient. Curiosity is a detective's bread and butter and all that jazz.

Erm, everything okay?" I asked, taking a few steps back from Rachel.

[Bad Player]

"Hm? Everything's fine," Rachel said, entering the room. "...Well, this situation is not fine, but... you know what I mean."

[DWaM]

I did my best to force a smile. "Right. Well, then. If you'll excuse us, we'll take a look around the mansion. If the treasure's here, we'll find it. We'll be careful not to disturb anyone else being here.

...Actually, speaking of which, before we go, who is here besides you at the moment?"

[Bad Player]

"Let me see," Rachel said, bringing a finger to her mouth in thought. "There's my brother, Danny's sons, the butler, the maid, and the doctor who was attending to Danny."

[DWaM]

"Well, thanks. We look forward to meeting them. If you remember anything that you think might help us out in solving the riddle, please let us know. We'll keep you posted."

I said, and left the room.