When the detective club returned to the clubroom, Alice crossed out Daniel’s name on the list of suspects.
“Are you sure?” Daisy asked, standing beside the woman.
“Frankly. Yes,” Alice began with a chuckle. “I think the fact Daniel ran away made him innocent. He was the only one who did something stupid. The rest are just smart and playing the blame game on each other. Which is why I’m confident one of them is the killer and set up Daniel..”
Betty, sitting at their usual circular table, crossed her arms, “So the killer is...?”
“Mr Sebastian, Miss Yui or Mr Shiro, huh…” Elaine added, finishing the question.
“Sebastian. He seems very hostile towards the other two,” Betty answered.
“But the other two might be on it too,” Daisy countered.
Alice nodded, agreeing. “Exactly. Then again, Sebastian was the one that Betty met and told her about the gun, which led us to have two different timings where it was stolen. Is he tricking us? Or were the siblings lying?”
Betty sighed and rested her upper body on top of the table, stretching her arms at the front.
“Well… you said there’s a plan, Alice. So what is it?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll know the culprit by then too.”
She couldn’t tell the petite girl of all people. She definitely would strongly object to it for various reasons.
“What is going to happen then?” Elaine asked curiously.
“Just a little show,” Alice smirked. “Considering they did one for us spectacularly, it wouldn’t hurt for us to return the favour.”
Alice walked outside the school entrance, her mobile phone already taken out. She dialled a number and placed it to her ear.
Only one ring passed and a soothing female voice immediately spoke on the other side before Alice could put a word in.
“Alice! Since you’re using this number, that means you have figured out who it is, right? Unless...”
“Yes,” Alice quickly replied before the eccentric woman talked about something else.\. “I have a plan. But I need to borrow a couple of things.”
“Sure, sure,” Harmony chuckled. “What do you need?”
“Where can I find a place selling wigs and good at making clothes in a day?”
Once Harmony and Alice had settled their respective arrangement and informed the plans, the grey-haired woman dialled another number.
“Alice?” This time, an elegant voice replied.
“Elaine. Where are you now?”
“On the way back to the palace,” Elaine answered, guessing this has to do with the plan she talked about. “You need me for tomorrow?”
“Mhmm. Can you come to this particular place in the morning?”
“Ok,” Elaine answered immediately.
They exchanged their greetings, quickly ending their conversation.
Alice stared at the screen of her phone, deep in thought.
I just hope things go well. Or else, we could have captured the wrong suspect.
Then, there’s also the aftermath that she needs to deal with too.
Betty, please forgive me for doing this to you without your permission.
It wasn’t too bad. At least they got to see the small girl once she’s a granny.
The early next morning, the two girls met in a specific location.
It happens to be a costume and clothing store. Elaine raised an eyebrow but kept quiet. She trusted Alice that there has to be a valid reason why they were here.
Her friend walked up to the counter and introduced herself. She then procured a photo from her pocket, showing Harold Jackson’s picture that Shiro had given her yesterday.
“May I know if you can make the items such as the wig and the sleepwear this man wore? But it will be loosely made for my friend here,” Alice indicated to the princess.
The shopkeeper behind the counter adjusted her small glasses and nodded thoughtfully, “We don’t have a problem with that. After all, as Harmony’s escorts, we feel honoured to serve two beautiful young misses by one of our best customers.”
Alice almost choked after hearing the remark. Elaine hid her chuckle behind her raised hand.
“Yes, we are. Just a special request.”
“What is it, miss?”
“I want you to make this as if she’s this man. Just like in this photo.”
“We can do that with no issues.”
“Can you get it done quickly? We need it today.”
“I can finish it by this afternoon,” the shopkeeper replied reassuringly.
She turned to Elaine, showing an open palm while bowing slightly.
“May I bring you to the room to have your measurements, young miss?”
Night enveloped the Jackson’s mansion.
Dark clouds loomed over the night sky while the full moon shone brightly, creating dark shadows. It made the entire compound appear like a horror setting.
It was eerily quiet when a sound of footsteps was overheard near the gates of the mansion.
The detective girls from Lena’s Girls Academy crowded close to the gate, where a certain butler was waiting.
Just as predicted by the forecast, Alice thought.
She looked up at the rooms of the mansion, which had most of its bedroom lights off. This meant the siblings must now be asleep.
“Thanks for helping us, Sebastian,” the woman whispered.
“What’s this all about?” the butler asked curiously.
Betty had a similar expression to him. Especially after Elaine had, a couple of times, glanced at her with pity and amusement.
Her annoying leader must have a plan that she probably wouldn’t like at all. She immediately frowned, realising the fact.
Alice answered softly, “You’ll understand once you see it. For now, let us in to prepare some things.”
Sebastian glanced back to the mansion, “I hope you know what you’re doing. My transfer hasn't been fully finalised yet, so I'll be in a terrible situation if I get caught.”
“Just trust us, detectives. It will be a fun night.”
With that, the tall metal gates were open slightly before the old man returned to his office to settle his work.
It was about 11 pm when the storm was beginning to blow and howl loudly outside. Rain slowly started to pour in.
A police car stopped in front of its gates, and there emerged a carefree Harmony and a middle-aged man, his wrist wrapped with a metal handcuff.
Daniel appeared dazed, surprised that he was back in the mansion.
“Today, you will be free if everything goes perfect,” was all the busty woman said. “Don’t forget to thank the girls later.”
Meanwhile, inside the mansion, there was a bit of activity occurring in the somewhat illuminated night.
When Alice said they were ready, Sebastian brought the two Jacksons to the ground floor hall.
Yui glanced at the girls, puzzled, whereas Shiro was tapping his foot impatiently.
Alice turned to the entire group and announced, “I hope you will cooperate with us in this matter. We will be going to the study room.”
“Why is that so? Shiro protested. “I am tired and have to meet many clients tomorrow.”
“I agree,” Yui added mildly. “I have deadlines for the paintings that I need to complete by tomorrow,”
“I’m sorry, Shiro, Yui. We need your assistance urgently. Today, we are going to find out who truly killed your father.”
All three members of the household have their jaws dropped.
And just in time, the front door opened, revealing the two silhouettes in the pouring rain under the umbrella.
“Daniel!” Yui gasped.
“What’s this nonsense,” Shiro grumbled. “Didn’t the authorities make it clear who it was? Why is he here?”
“Hmm… interesting…” Sebastian remarked, nodding his head.
“I’m sorry, everyone. There will be time for questions later,” Alice told them strictly. “Let’s head to the study room, shall we?”
The entire group entered as asked.
The lamp illuminated the seat Harold Jackosn once sat on the night he was killed. All the items’ books and positions were rearranged to be precisely the same as the night of the event.
While ignoring all questioning looks, Alice simply led them to the room’s dark side, requesting them to be completely quiet throughout the entire process.
Daisy waited outside in the adjacent room, waiting for the other two girls to finish. There was some soft shuffling being heard on the other side, with the usual Betty’s voice mumbling and protesting about what was happening.
She was trying her best not to laugh so loudly behind the door.
Soon after, the door swung open.
The tall woman took one look at Betty and chuckled, almost overwhelming her restraint.
A disgruntled Betty, with a shoulder-length white wig, emerged. Her body was covered with the same designs as the sleepwear that Harold Jackson wore that night, only that It was loose and overly large.
“Wow, Betty,” Daisy commented, amazed.
“Don’t. Say. It,” the girl warned as if looks could kill.
Elaine smiled knowingly. “No wonder Alice kept quiet about the plan. Because she knows our small friend wouldn’t like it.”
The petite girl swung the sleepwear roughly, but still careful enough not to ruin the attire. She began heading towards the study room. “Let’s get on with this. The longer I am in these wretched clothes, the more irritated I get.”
Betty suddenly felt a small brush on her legs and heard a soft purring below. A little white ball of fur emerged from under the fibre.
“Gilbert…”
The cat simply gave a tiny meow before purring softly, happy to see its master return and remained guardedly close to the legs.
Betty picked it up carefully, awed at the beauty of the white cat. She felt sad that it was quite neglected since no one has taken care of it properly ever since his actual master died.
“Seems the method works. Now we just have to execute it,” Daisy stated neutrally.
“Mhmm, that’s where you come in, Daisy,” Alice said.
Elaine placed a hand on her mouth, simply chuckling to herself.
“I know,” Daisy sighed, preparing for the upcoming red marks on her skin that she might live with for a while.
Someone better pay back for ruining her perfectly maintained soothe skin.
“And only this time, I agree with Betty. Let’s end this quickly.”
