“You're the only chance I got,” Daniel said pleadingly.

“I heard you girls are good at solving things. I don’t care how much you want to charge me. I have the money.”

Alice took a long examination of the man's features.

The middle-aged man seemed haggard and old, unlike what’s being displayed in the newspaper. His eyes have eye bags underneath them. His overall complexion was dark, but she could see his pale features through it. 

This person has been on the run since last night with hardly any rest. Probably resting in trees and under bridges.

“That isn’t important,” Alice said, crossing her arms and not showing much interest. “We can only help you if you can make us believe you are innocent.”

Daisy and Betty agreed. They shared the same assessment.

Daniel clasped his fingers, feeling extremely anxious to speak. His thoughts were all over the place, not knowing where to start.

“I don’t know what else I can do. I know that they will blame me immediately right after the murder. The ones you hear in the news aren't the truth. Don't believe the rubbish they put out there.”

Daisy asked, “If you didn’t kill him, then who did?”

“I’ve asked myself that many times,” Daniel’s eyes swept over to the tall woman, hesitation clearly shown on his face. “I’m sure you girls have seen a real dead body. Perhaps one that has been shot before.”

“Has someone entered the house to kill your father? Was anything stolen?” Daisy continued probing him.

The haggard man shook his head vigorously. “No. Believe me, someone in the family shot him.”

Alice decided to steer him to the proper beginning to calm the man down.

“I think you should tell us exactly what happened that night, Mr Jackson. From the start.”

“Just call me Daniel. Only Father is… ahem… was known as Mr Jackson. It’s not like my surname is worth anything anymore now. If I don’t go to jail after this…”

The man slumped into one of the chairs provided by Harmony as he slowly recalled the night. He gave a small grateful smile at the woman before collecting his thoughts.

"At first, I was in my bedroom on the second floor. It was near midnight when I decided to go down to talk with him. He usually stays up late to finish his work or do some reading in our study room.”

“When I was near the staircase, that was when I heard gunshots coming from it. The moment I stepped in, I immediately recognised the smell of gunpowder in the air. Then, my feet kicked something on the floor, so I blindly picked it up.”

“I knew I would be captured and accused of being the culprit the moment I saw the gun. Everyone would say I killed him.”

“Why do they think so?”

“That’s because… everyone knows I have a terrible relationship with Father. For a long time. A-A-And… just the night before, Father and I fought. Physically. In front of everyone.”

The girls saw his hands tremble.

“I wanted to apologise to him for it, but…”

Alice held up a hand, “Who’s everyone?”

Betty looked unbelievable at her fellow clubmate's lack of empathy. Does Alice feel anything for this man who appeared to be at breaking point?

Daniel laughed uncomfortably, “Ahh… that would be my two step-siblings, Shiro and Yui. My brother and sister come from the first marriage and have a different mother than me. She came from a different country than here. Shiro was in charge of the large trading company. Father still is the owner and Shiro is next in line for it. While my sister paints every day and sells her work in art shows and events. There’s also Sebastian.”

“Sebastian… a butler?” Daisy guessed.

The man showed the first hint of surprise, “How do you-… yes he is. He has been working for Father for over 20 years. In any case, they were all there. The person who told Father was smart to do it in front of everyone, making Father angry so they could see me and him argue.”

“I understand,” Daisy simply said.

Alice asked, “Do you own a gun?”

“Me? No.”

Even though Betty was new to this interrogation thing, she had the biggest feeling that the man was lying.

“What about the rest of the family?”

“I wouldn’t know that either. Even if they had private training, none of us knows. We don’t share our private lives, you see.”

The man appeared flustered, with more of his sweat forming on his forehead the more he spoke.

“Then tell us about your father. The article states that he has heart disease and was already in his 70s.”

For each question, Betty showed more of her sceptical look toward her leader.

Daniel appeared relieved that the subject had changed. “Yes, that part is true. As I mentioned before. Father had two wives. He married the first from another country where they had Yui and Shiroi. Then she died due to childbirth and married my mother, for which I was born. However, she's now dead due to her old age. His heart condition had been declining since then.”

“As I was the youngest and only child from the second marriage, my father treated me far better than them. Shiro is expected to take over his company while Yui is the eldest and a female, so she passed over. So naturally, they both were treated a lot more harshly.”

“So now, since your father is dead, who gets all his stuff?”

Daniel pondered over the question.

“I guess it will be all of us. Even Sebastian. Everyone had a reason to kill him. Shiro and Yui didn’t favour Father much due to his strict and harsh treatment. Sebastian managed to get into Father's good books for so many years and is also included in his inheritance. I feel we are more like rivals in a competition rather than a proper family that helps and cares for each other.”

Suddenly, the middle-aged man stood up. Defeated in his eyes, he gave one last plea to the three ladies that could save him from this situation. ” Don’t you understand now? They are scared that he might like me too much and give everything to me. So naturally, they could pin all the blame on me!”

 

---

 

“He seems scared and desperate,” Daisy remarked the moment Daniel had left and reentered the room he came from.

Harmony was able to calm the man down and proceeded to accompany him inside.

“It does. But I don’t think he told us everything,” Alice said, deep in thought about all the new information.

“I agree.”

“So both of you think that way too?” Betty asked.

“Yes,” Daisy raised her eyebrows, “It’s a bit obvious. Assuming he’s innocent.”

“Perhaps. For all we know, he might just be trying to mislead us,” Alice said. “You know, make him look innocent by coming to us while investigating the others.”

Betty did not comment but instead had her usual trademark of red cheeks as she stared irritably at Alice. She wondered if there was an ounce of any sympathy within this clubmate of hers during the entire time. How could she make a straight face after seeing the man’s plight and pleas?

Daisy had an empathic look and patted Betty’s head lightly.

“Don’t worry, Betty. It’s just a possibility. It’s not like we are saying he’s guilty. In this kind of investigation, we consider all possibilities and don’t close them off until we are sure of it.”

Betty looked up and slowly nodded. This senior of hers was the only one who understood her and explained whenever there was a need.

Daisy wrapped her arm around the girl’s head, gently caressing the hair at the side.

The taller woman released her hand and sighed. “When we asked him if he owned a gun, I don’t think he told us correctly.”

Alice nodded in agreement. “He kept trying to imply that others might own it rather than him. And also, it’s quite unfortunate that he picked it up when he saw it. That makes him the number one suspect for killing his father if everything he told us is true.”

“Maybe he panicked?” Betty suggested.

“That’s possible. People sometimes do the worst things whenever they can’t think properly. Still, that’s a line of thought we must consider.”

“But you still think he’s innocent, do you?” Daisy asked curiously.

Before Alice could answer, the door to the room opened and Harmony emerged.

“Looks like you ladies need a lot of thinking and investigation to do. I have called the Investigation Officer (IO) and informed him to expect a group of detective girls to arrive anytime and let you in.”

The three girls immediately stood up. 

“Oh Betty,” Harmony called out once they were at the door. “If you are interested, give me a call anytime. A small cute girl like you is hard to come by.”

“W-what? Uh…”

The pink-haired woman winked and grinned, “Just teasing you. Anyway, I suggest you hurry back to your dormitories now. It’s getting late.”

Betty’s face exploded in steam as she faced down, turning completely pink this time. Daisy had to forcefully pull her out of the building as she had frozen in place.

The three girls thanked the woman and left.

 

---

 

Elaine was already in her room when she heard the creaking of her door. 

Betty had arrived, seemingly lost in thought about some matter.

“Betty, you’re back.”

“L-Lady Elaine, I have just returned from the meeting.”

“How is he? Daniel Jackson.”

The room they shared was large enough to accommodate about four people. For the majority of the students, they usually have a double-storey bed. But in this situation, both of them slept on the opposite end of each other. Naturally, Betty cannot sleep below or above an official royal of the kingdom.

As to how she slept with the princess, there’s another story for another time.

“I think he’s innocent. He’s desperate for his life and pleaded with us to save him.”

The petite girl then recalled all that’s been said to them. And also the things they have discussed afterwards.

“I see,” Elaine has her head down, absorbing and understanding the information. “So it’s decided we will go to the mansion tomorrow, right?”

“Yes.” Betty has a smile currently. “Then we can quickly find out who’s the real killer.”

Elaine also returned the smile, relieved that the girl was back to normal, “Yes, that would be good for him.”

With that, the two girls made some small talk before going off to sleep for the night.

 

---

 

The club met in the afternoon after their class to discuss their plans.

“I was able to get a personal phone number of Sebastian from Miss Harmony. Since Daniel has his number. The IO should know about us coming to visit them anytime, although he won’t be there,” Alice announced.

Alice placed her phone at the table and turned on the speaker. She dialled the number and waited.

“Sebastian, the butler of the late Mr Harold Jackson. Who’s this?” An elderly male voice spoke through the phone’s speakers.

Alice greeted and introduced herself and the group.

“We would like to meet you about the case. Is that fine with you?”

“Ahh, I heard about you. That you detective girls are trying to prove Mr Daniel’s innocence, you’ll just waste your time trying to help that young lad. Nevertheless, feel free to come and visit the place. I cannot go out to meet you as I am preoccupied with the aftermath of the incident.”

With that, he ended the call.

“He firmly believes in Daniel being a killer,” Daisy remarked.

“So it seems,” Alice picked up her phone and picked up her small sling bag that contained her daily needs and changing attire.

"Let's head out."

The team went to change in the clubroom and promptly left the academy.